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Agriculture

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Open Access Theses

2016

Biological sciences

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Design And Plan Of A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container For Research, John A. Houtman Dec 2016

Design And Plan Of A Modified Hydroponic Shipping Container For Research, John A. Houtman

Open Access Theses

As the world’s population continues to increase, food production will need to increase in order to meet the predicted rise in food demand. However, with increased pressure on cropland available from environmental effects and urbanization, new innovative methods of crop production need to be researched in order to increase agricultural production with limited land. This research focuses on the design of a single form of urban agriculture that is considered Zfarming and has the potential to produce quality urban agricultural produce through ground-based measures. This project produced detailed step-by-step analysis of the design process, develop variability within the modified hydroponic …


Residual Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization On Soil Nitrogen Pools And Corn Growth, Meghan E. Moser Dec 2016

Residual Effects Of Nitrogen Fertilization On Soil Nitrogen Pools And Corn Growth, Meghan E. Moser

Open Access Theses

Given the dynamic nature of soil nitrogen (N), inorganic N fertilization to corn (Zea mays L.) has potential to alter N pool balance by creating an accumulation or depletion of soil N. Current corn N recommendations in the common corn-soybean rotation of Indiana strive to find the best N rate that maximizes producer profit. Increasing our understanding of soil N will inform producers if they should adjust fertilizer rates for corn to influence maintenance of organic N and Carbon. Our objective was to determine residual N effects from fertilized corn in a corn-soybean rotation by measuring (1) soil N …


Farmers' Use Of Mobile Phone Technology For Agricultural Information Services In Lilongwe District, Malawi, Benjamin F. Chisama Aug 2016

Farmers' Use Of Mobile Phone Technology For Agricultural Information Services In Lilongwe District, Malawi, Benjamin F. Chisama

Open Access Theses

Mobile phone technology can be a useful tool to provide farmers with relevant and reliable agricultural information for critical farming decisions in developing countries such as Malawi. An increasing number of rural farmers have been faced with information asymmetry challenges due to some pitfalls in the extension systems. In addition, knowledge gaps on farmers’ use of mobile phone technology; their awareness and use of MAIS; and their preferred topics to be delivered using mobile platforms were identified. However, little was known on how farmers were using existing MAIS. This study’s aim was to explore the potential of providing mobile agricultural …


High School Students' Motivations And Views Of Agriculture And Agricultural Careers Upon Completion Of A Pre-College Program, Andrea K. Scherer Aug 2016

High School Students' Motivations And Views Of Agriculture And Agricultural Careers Upon Completion Of A Pre-College Program, Andrea K. Scherer

Open Access Theses

Pre-college summer residential experiences hosted by a College of Agriculture have the potential to expose high school students to new career opportunities and fields of study that they may not have considered, and may influence agricultural literacy, perceptions of agriculture, and interest in agriculture. Engaging these students is important for meeting the demand for more students graduating with agriculture degrees prepared to solve 21st century challenges. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the outcomes of two separate pre-college experiences, the Molecular Agriculture Summer Institute (MASI) and the Purdue Agribusiness Science Academy (PASA), and participating high school …


Nutrient Runoff And Leachate After Land-Application Of Digestate In A Laboratory Study Using Rainfall Simulations, Min Xiao Aug 2016

Nutrient Runoff And Leachate After Land-Application Of Digestate In A Laboratory Study Using Rainfall Simulations, Min Xiao

Open Access Theses

There has been an increasing number of anaerobic digesters on livestock farms in the United States during the past two decades. Anaerobic digestion of manure allows production of renewable energy and generation of stabilized and nutrient-rich digestate that can be used as organic fertilizer. However, the majority of the existed studies using liquid digestate as fertilizer only focused on the effectiveness for crop yield, nutrient content and microorganism in soil. There is insufficient understanding in the environmental impact of digestate land-application. This laboratory study used six treatments including four different liquid digestate treatments, a chemical fertilizer treatment, and an unfertilized …


Tolerance As A Novel Mechanism Of Hessian Fly Control On Wheat, Kirsten E. Roe Apr 2016

Tolerance As A Novel Mechanism Of Hessian Fly Control On Wheat, Kirsten E. Roe

Open Access Theses

The effects of Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor Say) infestation on the putative tolerant wheat line Pioneer ®brand variety 25R78 were investigated at the seedling stage. Measurements, including leaf and tiller number, leaf growth rate, and total leaf lengths were recorded for two time intervals, 16 and 32 days post infestation (dpi). At 16 dpi, total leaf length changes and leaf growth rates were significantly lower for infested tolerant plants versus uninfested plants. No permanent growth effects occurred in the 32-day set. There were no significant differences in change in leaf length and leaf growth rate in infested tolerant plants …