Digital Commons Network^™

Plant Stimuli-Responsive Biodegradable Polymers For The Use In Timed Release Fertilizer Coatings, Spencer Heuchan

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

The use of nitrogen-based fertilizers continues to accelerate with human population growth and increases in global food requirements. Enhanced efficiency fertilizers (EEFs) have been developed to improve the synchronization between nutrient supply and crop nutrient demand. However, many of the current controlled release fertilizers are coated with non-degradable polymers that contribute to accumulation of microplastics within ecosystems. This thesis describes research towards the development of a new class of fertilizer coatings using a self-immolative polymer known as poly (ethyl glyoxylate) (PEtG). PEtG itself does not have suitable properties to produce a viable coating but once blended with another degradable polyester …

Supply Chain Optimization And Economic Analysis Of Using Industrial Spent Microbial Biomass (Smb) In Agriculture, Lixia He Lambert

Masters Theses

This thesis uses a mixed integer program to minimize the transport and storage cost of delivering spent microbial biomass (SMB), a bio-coproduct resulting from the production of 1,3-propanediol, to farm fields as a soil amendment and fertilizer substitute. The case study examines focuses on a bioprocessing facility and corn production in East Tennessee. The results indicate on-farm storage of SMB minimizes transport and storage costs of the material. A one percent decrease in the moisture content of SMB results in less than five percent decrease in the total transport and storage costs. Future research should investigate farmers' willingness to adopt …

Water Temperature And Harmful Algal Bloom Rate, Geoff Bright, Greg Michalski, Benjamin P. Wilkins

The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Symposium

Harmful algal blooms, made up of cyanobacteria, is an increasing problem in Midwestern lakes. Nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers used in crops such as corn and soybeans run off into streams and eventually lakes. Nitrogen and phosphorus in the form of nitrate and phosphate respectively is then used by cyanobacteria as a food source, allowing them to bloom at an alarming rate. Massive bloom events can be hazardous to both human health and the natural environment because of the release of neurotoxins, hepatotoxins and others into the air and drinking water. We set out to find if different water temperature can …

Development Of A Sensor-Based, Variable-Rate Fertigation Technique For Overhead Irrigation Systems, Phililp Williams

All Dissertations

Irrigated land in South Carolina has increased at a rate of about 4,047 hectares per year over the past two decades. With this increase in irrigated land comes the ability to gain higher yields by applying nutrients through irrigation water. Therefore, many growers apply nutrients through irrigation systems, known as fertigation.

On average, South Carolina growers apply approximately 100 kg/ha nitrogen (N) on cotton for a total of 32 million kg annually which totals $4.4 million annually. To stay competitive in the global market, it is increasingly important for growers to reduce crop input costs while maximizing yields. For example, …

Optimizing Fertilizer And Compost Rates In Organic Reduced Till Agriculture, Nicholas W. Rowley

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Interest in reduced tillage systems has been increasing and advanced by a need to practice agriculture in a sustainable way to limit environmental degradation. The focus on preserving soil integrity has become commonplace in all scales of agriculture. Recently trends in agricultural production have given rise to numerous small farms centered on local and sustainable farming. In turn, this has led to a growing desire to implement conservation tillage into these systems.

In 2015 and 2016 a collaborative effort between the University of Maine at the Maine Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station: Highmoor Farm and Cornell University at the Homer …

An Analysis Of Grain Corn Nutritional Supplements And Relative Maturity In Mississippi, Joseph Bryan Whittenton

Theses and Dissertations

A review of available corn relative maturity groups in Mississippi shows a limited range of maturity groups in use. Research focusing on expanding the range of maturity groups was conducted in MS in 2015 and 2016. Along with expanded maturity groups, treatments of fertilizer (10-34-0), foliar zinc, and a plant hormone blend were studied to shorten the growing season. Four site years in MS were studied to determine optimal plant maturity group and treatment for length of season. The results showed decreased yield of 0.09-0.15 Mg ha-1 (1.5-2.3 bu ac-1) for each day of decreasing relative maturity in three of …

The Impact Of Land Use On Nitrate-N Movement And Storage In The Vadose Zone Of The Hastings’ Whpa, Craig Adams

School of Natural Resources: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nebraska has one of the largest agricultural economies in the United States and relies heavily on irrigation and fertilizer application to maintain crop yields. Over-irrigation and continuous application of nitrogen (N) in many areas has led to accumulation of nitrate-N in soils and sediments throughout the state’s vadose zone. Because nitrate-N is both persistent and mobile, groundwater concentrations in many areas of Nebraska and other agriculturally intensive states are increasing. Nitrate-N contamination of public and private drinking water supplies that utilize groundwater are of particular concern. Vadose zone sampling is an important method for rapidly assessing the effect of changing …

Effects Of Application Timing And Soil Type On Optimal N Rate Requirement Of Sugarcane (Saccharum Spp.) And Changes In Soil Inorganic And Leaf N Concentrations, Joseph Martin Garrett

LSU Master's Theses

Research is limited on the effects of soil types and early nitrogen (N) fertilizer applications to N management strategies in sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) production in Louisiana. This study was established in 2015 at two locations in St. Gabriel, LA to 1) determine the effect of fertilizer application timing and soil type on the optimal N rate requirement and yield of sugarcane and 2) relate the relationship of soil and leaf N content to yield at different growth stages with sugarcane yield. Treatments were set in a randomized block design on a clay soil and in a complete randomized …

Effects Of Enhanced Efficiency Nitrogen Fertilizers On Agronomic Parameters And Loss Pathways In The Subtropical Mississippi Delta Region, Scott Michael Pensky

LSU Master's Theses

Minimizing nitrogen (N) loss is critical for improving N use efficiency (NUE) in crop production and reducing its effects on the environment. Management practices such as seasonal application timing of N fertilizers and the addition of enhanced efficiency N fertilizers (EENFs) were investigated for the high N requirement of the two most common cereal crops globally, corn (Zea mays L.) and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), in the subtropical climate of Louisiana. Field research was established during the 2016 and 2017 seasons at the LSU Agricultural Center’s Dean Lee and Central research stations to examine the effect of different EENFs and …

Herbivory And Eutrophication Mediate Grassland Plant Nutrient Responses Across A Global Climatic Gradient, T. Michael Anderson, Daniel M. Griffith, James B. Grace, Eric M. Lind, Peter B. Adler, Lori A. Biederman, Dana M. Blumenthal, Pedro Daleo, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Andrew S. Macdougall, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Suzanne M. Prober, Anita C. Risch, Mahesh Sankaran, Martin Schütz, Eric W. Seabloom, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Peter D. Wragg, Elizabeth T. Borer

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

Plant stoichiometry, the relative concentration of elements, is a key regulator of ecosystem functioning and is also being altered by human activities. In this paper we sought to understand the global drivers of plant stoichiometry and compare the relative contribution of climatic vs. anthropogenic effects. We addressed this goal by measuring plant elemental (C, N, P and K) responses to eutrophication and vertebrate herbivore exclusion at eighteen sites on six continents. Across sites, climate and atmospheric N deposition emerged as strong predictors of plot‐level tissue nutrients, mediated by biomass and plant chemistry. Within sites, fertilization increased total plant nutrient pools, …

Herbivory And Eutrophication Mediate Grassland Plant Nutrient Responses Across A Global Climatic Gradient, T. Michael Anderson, Daniel M. Griffith, James B. Grace, Eric M. Lind, Peter B. Adler, Lori A. Biederman, Dana M. Blumenthal, Pedro Daleo, Jennifer Firn, Nicole Hagenah, W. Stanley Harpole, Andrew S. Macdougall, Rebecca L. Mcculley, Suzanne M. Prober, Anita C. Risch, Mahesh Sankaran, Martin Schütz, Eric W. Seabloom, Carly J. Stevens, Lauren L. Sullivan, Peter D. Wragg, Elizabeth T. Borer

Ecology Center Publications

Plant stoichiometry, the relative concentration of elements, is a key regulator of ecosystem functioning and is also being altered by human activities. In this paper we sought to understand the global drivers of plant stoichiometry and compare the relative contribution of climatic vs. anthropogenic effects. We addressed this goal by measuring plant elemental (C, N, P and K) responses to eutrophication and vertebrate herbivore exclusion at eighteen sites on six continents. Across sites, climate and atmospheric N deposition emerged as strong predictors of plot‐level tissue nutrients, mediated by biomass and plant chemistry. Within sites, fertilization increased total plant nutrient pools, …

Application Of The Superabsorbent Polymer Hydrogels For Water Retention Under Drying Conditions, A. O. Asamatdinov, U. K. Akhmedov, A. M. Reymov

Karakalpak Scientific Journal

The use of polymer in agriculture is gaining popularity in science, particularly in the field of polymer chemistry. This has provided solutions to the problems of the present day agriculture which is to maximize land and water productivity without threatening the environment and the natural resources. Superabsorbent polymer hydrogels potentially influence soil permeability, density, structure, texture, evaporation and infiltration rates of water through the soils. Functionalized polymers were used to increase the efficiency of pesticides and herbicides, allowing lower doses to be used and to indirectly protect the environment by reducing pollution and clean-up existing pollutants.

Ensuring Compliance With The Duration Of The Discharge Of Liquid Organic Fertilizers On The Speed Of The Unit, B. M. Khudayarov, U. T. Kuziev

Irrigation and Melioration

The yield of intensive gardens and the fertility of the soil are enhanced by the localization of liquid organic and mineral fertilizers into the soil. Filling a certain amount of liquid organic fertilizers is caused by the fertilization of each root system of trees and the technical hydrodynamic laws of the fluid. The results of these calculations allowed each root system of trees to fill 10÷11 liters of liquid fertilizer in accordance with the speed of the unit. In accordance with this regime, the dimensions of the working organ and its volume are justified. Also given, the duration of discharge …

Atlas Of Maine: Water Bodies And Pesticide And Fertilizer Use In Maine, Rachel L. Benway

Atlas of Maine

This Atlas of Maine map displays the location of natural bodies of water - vernal pools, lakes, and ponds, and shows the relative amount of pesticide and fertilizer use on the farms in each county. By combining these sets of data, I hope to illustrate where aquatic freshwater ecosystems could have a higher potential for negative impacts resulting from run-off of these pesticides and fertilizers. The water bodies are dark blue and the vernal pools are indicated by lighter blue dots. The level of pesticide use in each county is indicated by a graduated color ramp of 6 classes, where …

Response Of Soybean Grown On A Claypan Soil In Southeastern Kansas To The Residual Of Different Plant Nutrient Sources And Tillage, D. W. Sweeney, Philip Barnes, Gary Pierzynski

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Increased fertilizer prices in recent years, especially noticeable when the cost of phosphorus spiked in 2008, have led U.S. producers to consider other alternatives, including manure sources. The use of poultry litter as an alternative to fertilizer is of particular interest in southeastern Kansas because large amounts of poultry litter are imported from nearby confined animal feeding operations in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Annual application of turkey litter can affect the current crop, but information is lacking concerning any residual effects from several continuous years of poultry litter applications on a following crop. This is especially true for tilled soil …

Kansas Fertilizer Research 2018

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Report of research on crop fertilization at Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station sites.