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Plant Sciences

University of Massachusetts Amherst

Theses/Dissertations

2012

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The Evolutionary Genetics Of Seed Shattering And Flowering Time, Two Weed Adaptive Traits In Us Weedy Rice, Carrie S. Thurber Sep 2012

The Evolutionary Genetics Of Seed Shattering And Flowering Time, Two Weed Adaptive Traits In Us Weedy Rice, Carrie S. Thurber

Open Access Dissertations

Weedy rice is a persistent weed of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) fields worldwide, which competes with the crop and drastically reduces yields. Within the US, two main populations of genetically differentiated weedy rice exist, the straw-hulled (SH) group and the black-hulled awned (BHA) group. Current research suggests that both groups are derived from Asian cultivated rice. However, the weeds differ from the cultivated groups in various morphological traits. My research focus is on the genetic basis of two such traits: seed shattering ability and differences in flowering time. The persistence of weedy rice has been partly attributed to its ability …


Management Of Switchgrass For The Production Of Biofuel, Leryn Elise Gorlitsky May 2012

Management Of Switchgrass For The Production Of Biofuel, Leryn Elise Gorlitsky

Open Access Dissertations

Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a warm-season perennial being considered as a biofuel to meet energy challenges. In Massachusetts, a small state where the price of land is expensive, farmers want to determine if switchgrass can produce sufficient yields for consecutive years to warrant its production. The objective of this study was to determine what harvest management practices affect the vigor and health of switchgrass and which varieties produce the best yields for biofuel production.

Four experiments were conducted from 2009-2012. Twelve varieties were tested to determine their viability in the Massachusetts climate. Five were chosen for further chemical analysis. …


Influence Of Phosphate On The Adsorption/Desorption Of Bovine Serum Albumin On Nano And Bulk Oxide Particles, Lei Song May 2012

Influence Of Phosphate On The Adsorption/Desorption Of Bovine Serum Albumin On Nano And Bulk Oxide Particles, Lei Song

Open Access Dissertations

This work consists of four sections: 1) the adsorption behavior of bovine serum albumin (BSA) by three types of oxide nanoparticles (NPs), TiO2 (50 ± 5 nm), SiO2 (30 ± 5nm), and Al2O3 (150 ± 5 nm for α type and 60 ± 5 nm for γ type) in deionized water; 2) phosphate adsorption on these oxide NPs and bulkparticles (BPs); 3) influence of phosphate ions on BSA adsorption; and 4) BSA desorption from oxide NPs in phosphate solution. BPs were also used for comparison with NPs. For BSA adsorption in deionized water, the adsorption maxima on oxide particles are …