Life Sciences Commons^™

First Things First: Widespread Nutrient Deficiencies Limit Yields In Smallholder Oil Palm Fields, Hendra Sugianto, Juan Pablo Monzon, Iput Pradiko, Fatima A. Tenorio, Ya Li Lim, Christopher R. Donough, Sunawan, Suroso Rahutomo, Fahmuddin Agus, James Cock, Joni Amsar, Rana Farrasati, Ridho Iskandar, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, Shofia Saleh, Heri Santoso, Antonius P. Tito, Nadib Ulfaria, Maja A. Slingerland, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Indonesia is the most important oil palm producing country. Nearly 40% of planted area is managed by smallholders, with yields well below the potential. Efforts to increase productivity have focused on the source of planting material, with little attention paid to plant nutrition.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the degree to which current productivity in smallholder oil palm fields is limited by nutrients in scenarios with distinct sources of planting material.

METHODS: We collected detailed data on leaf nutrient concentration from 30 fields to derive minimum sampling size needed to diagnose nutrient status. Subsequently, we collected data on …

Irrigation-As-A-Service For Smallholder Farmers, Ishani Lal

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Irrigation is a crucial management practice that can help increase food security among smallholders globally while mitigating climate change impacts. High-efficiency irrigation technologies such as drip kits and sprinkler systems are relatively expensive and smallholder farmers cannot afford them to buffer crop yields against low precipitation. In many developing countries, farmers participate in robust informal markets for renting and sharing of irrigation equipment. Such services may be operated by farmers or via a third party such as irrigation start-ups, water user associations, non-governmental organizations, or even government agencies. These services are referred to collectively as Irrigation-as-a-Service (IaaS).

The objective of …

Predicting Site‑Specific Economic Optimal Nitrogen Rate Using Machine Learning Methods And On‑Farm Precision Experimentation, Alfonso De Lara, Taro Mieno, Joe D. Luck, Laila A. Puntel

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Applying at the economic optimal nitrogen rate (EONR) has the potential to increase nitrogen (N) fertilization efficiency and profits while reducing negative environmental impacts. On-farm precision experimentation (OFPE) provides the opportunity to collect large amounts of data to estimate the EONR. Machine learning (ML) methods such as generalized additive models (GAM) and random forest (RF) are promising methods for estimating yields and EONR. Twenty OFPE N trials in wheat and barley were conducted and analyzed with soil, terrain and remote-sensed variables to address the following objectives: (1) to quantify the spatial variability of winter crops yield and the yield response …

An Innovative Approach To Improve Oil Production And Quality Of Mustard (Brassica Juncea L.) With Multi-Nutrient-Rich Polyhalite, Biswajit Pramanick, B.S. Mahapatra, Debarati Datta, Prithwiraj Dey, S.P. Singh, Ajay Kumar, Bappa Paramanik, Neeraj Awasthi

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Polyhalite popularly known as POLY4 is a multi-nutrient fertiliser containing K, S, Mg, Ca, and micronutrients. POLY4 has a low carbon footprint, is certified for organic agriculture, and has the potential to improve crop productivity and quality attributes Indian mustard which often faces challenges due to imbalanced nutrition supplied in the current fertilisation schedule. The hypothesis of the study was that the multi-nutrient fartiliser POLY4 can ensure balanced nutrition for Indian mustard. Considering this, a field experiment was conducted during the winter seasons of 2017–18 and 2018–19 to evaluate the effect of POLY4 on Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) …

Dicamba Tank Mixtures And Formulations And Their Effects On Sensitive Crops During Cleanout Procedures, Vinicius Velho

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The introduction of dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) in 2017 provided an additional tool for herbicide resistant weeds management. In the subsequent years, off-target movement of dicamba allegedly caused damage to sensitive crops and vegetation.

Possible causes of off-target movement include tank contamination, physical drift, and volatility. Additional products, such as herbicides to control grass, are often added to tank with dicamba, which is used to control broadleaf weeds, to increase the spectrum of control and application efficiency. Dicamba products registered for DT crops require the use of drift reducing …

Field Validation Of A Farmer Supplied Data Approach To Close Soybean Yield Gaps In The Us North Central Region, José F. Andrade, Spyridon Mourtzinis, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, Shawn P. Conley, John Gaska, Herman J. Kandel, Laura E. Lindsey, Seth Naeve, Scott Nelson, Maninder P. Singhi, Laura J. Thompson, James E. Specht, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Producer-reported data can be used to identify suites of management practices that lead to higher yield and profit. However, a rigorous validation of the approach in relation to its potential impact on farmer yield and profit is lacking.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to validate a producer-data approach on its capability to guide on-farm evaluation of management practices with greatest potential for increasing producer yield and profit. We show proof of concept using soybean in the North Central US region as a case study.

METHODS: We used a combination of regression tree analysis and a spatial framework to determine practices …

Does Integrating Crops With Livestock Production Impact Soil Properties And Crop Production?, Lindsey Anderson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Re-integrating crop and livestock production through cover crop (CC) and corn residue grazing could efficiently utilize resources and ensure profitability while improving environmental quality, but how this integration affects soils and crops is not well understood. We conducted two studies to address this. In the first study, we evaluated the impact of cattle (1.3-3.7 head ha^-1) grazing an oat (Avena sativa L.) CC on soil and crop yields in two adjacent irrigated no-till corn (Zea mays L.)-soybean (Glycine max L.) fields on silt loam soils in eastern Nebraska. Field I was grazed twice, while Field …

Phenotypic Plasticity Of Diverse Sorghum Varieties In Response To Nitrogen Deficit Stress, Mackenzie Zwiener

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

The movement of nutrients from old vegetative tissue to young leaves and reproductive organs is known as senescence. Senescence can be influenced by the environment of a plant, such as, drought, heat, and nutrient stress. These environmental stressors can also influence canopy architecture. Crop canopy consists of several traits including: leaf number, angle, length and width. Past research in crops like maize and rice have shown significant influences of more erect leaves, including, the ability for increased planting density, which optimizes light interception and increases yield. In a field trial of a sorghum association panel including 345 different sorghum varieties …

Gwas Revealed Effect Of Genotype × Environment Interactions For Grain Yield Of Nebraska Winter Wheat, Shamseldeen Eltaher, P Stephen Baenziger, Vikas Belamkar, Hamdy A. Emara, Ahmed A. Nower, Khaled F.M. Salem, Ahmad M. Alqudah, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Improving grain yield in cereals especially in wheat is a main objective for plant breeders. One of the main constrains for improving this trait is the G × E interaction (GEI) which affects the performance of wheat genotypes in different environments. Selecting high yielding genotypes that can be used for a target set of environments is needed. Phenotypic selection can be misleading due to the environmental conditions. Incorporating information from phenotypic and genomic analyses can be useful in selecting the higher yielding genotypes for a group of environments. Results: A set of 270 F_3:6 wheat genotypes in the …

Benchmarking Impact Of Nitrogen Inputs On Grain Yield And Environmental Performance Of Producer Fields In The Western Us Corn Belt, Fatima A.M. Tenorio, Eileen L. Mclellan, Alison J. Eagle, Kenneth G. Cassman, Daryl Andersen, Marie Krausnick, Russell Oaklund, John Thorburn, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Benchmarking crop yields against nitrogen (N) input levels can help provide opportunities to improve N ferti-lizer efficiency and reduce N losses on maize in the US Corn Belt by identifying fields most likely to benefit from improved N management practices. Here, we evaluated a large producer database that includes field-level data on yield and applied N inputs from 9280 irrigated and rainfed fields over a 7-year period (2009–2015) in Nebraska (USA). A spatial framework, based on technology extrapolation domains, was used to cluster each field into spatial units with similar climate and soil type that represent 1.3 million ha of …

Integrated Management Of Phytophthora Stem And Root Rot Of Soybean And The Effect Of Soil-Applied Herbicides On Seedling Disease Incidence, Vinicius Castelli Garnica

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Soybean seedling diseases and Phytophthora stem and root rot (PSRR; caused by Phytophthora sojae) are two of the most economically important diseases in North Central U.S. Remarkable differences in disease incidence occur each year, which demonstrate that abiotic and biotic factors must interact for disease onset and development. During 2017 and 2018, field studies were conducted to (i) address the efficacy of seed treatment and genetic resistance for PSRR management on soybean population, canopy coverage (CC), and yield, and (ii) investigate potential interactions between pre-emergence (PRE) herbicides and the incidence of seedling diseases in alluvial soils in Nebraska.

Despite …

Can Ratoon Cropping Improve Resource Use Efficiencies And Profitability Of Rice In Central China?, Shen Yuan, Kenneth G. Cassman, Jianliang Huang, Shaobing Peng, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Identifying cropping systems with small global warming potential (GWP) per unit of productivity is important to ensure food security while minimizing environmental footprint. During recent decades, double-season rice (DR) systems in central China have progressively shifted into single-crop, middle-season rice (MR) due to high costs and labor requirements of double-season rice. Ratoon rice (RR) has been proposed as an alternative system that reconciliates both high annual productivity and relatively low costs and labor requirements. Here we used onfarm data collected from 240 farmer fields planted with rice in 2016 to evaluate annual energy balance, environmental impact, and net profit of …

Water Productivity Of Rainfed Maize And Wheat: A Local To Global Perspective, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, Nicolas Guilpart, Victor Sadras, Kenneth G. Cassman, Martin K. Van Ittersum, Rene L.M. Schils, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Water productivity (WP) is a robust benchmark for crop production in relation to available water supply across spatial scales. Quantifying water-limited potential (WPw) and actual on-farm (WPa) WP to estimate WP gaps is an essential first step to identify the most sensitive factors influencing production capacity with limited water supply. This study combines local weather, soil, and agronomic data, and crop modeling in a spatial framework to determine WPw and WPa at local and regional levels for rainfed cropping systems in 17 (maize) and 18 (wheat) major grain-producing countries representing a wide range of cropping systems, from intensive, highyield maize …

Strawberry Cultivars Vary In Productivity, Sugars And Phytonutrient Content When Grown In A Greenhouse During The Winter, Ellen T. Paparozzi, George Meyer, Vicki Schlegel, Erin Blankenship, Stacy A. Adams, M. Elizabeth Conley, Benjamin A. Loseke, Paul Read

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In many areas of the US, fresh locally grown berries are not available during the winter. With this in mind, a research study comprised of three experiments was conducted focused on cultivar selection for berry yield, number, sweetness and phytonutrient content. Using a capillary mat system with under bench heating within a double-layer polyethylene greenhouse, strawberries were grown in the Great Plains Region of the US during the winter. During experiment 1, 12 cultivars were grown; berries were weighed, counted and analyzed for sugars and phytonutrients. “Albion” plants produced a high number/mass of berries, had relatively high sugar content but …

Long-Term Winter Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.) Seasonal Irrigation Amount, Evapotranspiration, Yield, And Water Productivity Under Semiarid Climate, Koffi Djaman, Michael O'Neill, Curtis K. Owen, Daniel Smeal, Margaret West, Dallen Begay, Samuel Allen, Komlan Koudahe, Suat Irmak, Kevin Lombard

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A long-term field experiment was conducted from 2002 to 2014 for the evaluation of yield and water productivity of three winter wheat varieties—Kharkof, Scout 66, and TAM107—under sprinkler irrigation at New Mexico State University Agricultural Science Center at Farmington, NM. Winter wheat daily evapotranspiration was estimated following the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization FAO crop coefficient approach (ETc = Kc ETo), and crop water use efficiency (CWUE), evapotranspiration water use efficiency (ETWUE), and irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) were estimated for each growing season. There was inter-annual variation in seasonal precipitation and irrigation amounts. Seasonal irrigation amounts varied from …

Genetic Architecture Of Soybean Yield And Agronomic Traits, Brian W. Diers, Jim Specht, Katy Martin Rainey, Perry Cregan, Qijian Song, Vishnu Ramasubramanian, George Graef, Randall L. Nelson, William Schapaugh, Dechun Wang, Grover Shannon, Leah Mchale, Stella K. Kantartzi, Alencar Xavier, Rouf Mian, Robert M. Stupar, Jean-Michel Michno, Yong-Qiang Charles An, Wolfgang Goettel, Russell Ward, Carolyn Fox, Alexander E. Lipka, David Hyten, Troy Cary, William D. Beavis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soybean is the world’s leading source of vegetable protein and demand for its seed continues to grow. Breeders have successfully increased soybean yield, but the genetic architecture of yield and key agronomic traits is poorly understood. We developed a 40-mating soybean nested association mapping (NAM) population of 5,600 inbred lines that were characterized by single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers and six agronomic traits in field trials in 22 environments. Analysis of the yield, agronomic, and SNP data revealed 23 significant marker-trait associations for yield, 19 for maturity, 15 for plant height, 17 for plant lodging, and 29 for seed mass. …

Chemical Interruption Of Late Season Flowering To Improve Harvested Peanut Maturity, Marshall C. Lamb, Ronald B. Sorensen, Christopher L. Butts, Phat M. Dang, C. Y. Chen, Renée S. Arias

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) is a botanically indeterminate plant where flowering, fruit initiation, and pod maturity occurs over an extended time period during the growing season. As a result, the maturity and size of individual peanut pods vary considerably at harvest. Immature kernels that meet commercial edible size specifications negatively affect quality during processing due to their increased propensity for off flavors, higher moisture and water activity, and variable roasting properties. As peanuts progress toward maturation, late season flowers set within 40 days till harvest will not have sufficient time to develop into mature, marketable pods prior to harvest. …

Understanding Rice Adaptation To Varying Agro-Ecosystems: Trait Interactions And Quantitative Trait Loci, Shalabh Dixit, Alexandre Grondin, Cheng-Ruei Lee, Amelia Henry, Thomas-Mitchell Olds, Arvind Kumar

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Interaction and genetic control for traits influencing the adaptation of the rice crop to varying environments was studied in a mapping population derived from parents (Moroberekan and Swarna) contrasting for drought tolerance, yield potential, lodging resistance, and adaptation to dry direct seeding. A BC₂F₃-derived mapping population for traits related to these four trait groups was phenotyped to understand the interactions among traits and to map and align QTLs using composite interval mapping (CIM). The study also aimed to identify QTLs for the four trait groups as composite traits using multivariate least square interval mapping (MLSIM) …

Drivers Of Spatial And Temporal Variation In Soybean Yield And Irrigation Requirements In The Western Us Corn Belt, Patricio Grassini, Jessica A. Torrion, Kenneth Cassman, Haishun Yang, James Specht

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Both rainfed and irrigated soybean production are important in Nebraska (western US Corn Belt), accounting for a respective 48 and 52% of the state’s soybean production of 7 Mt on a respective 55 and 45% share of the state soybean area of 1.9 Mha. To date, no assessment of factors that may account for regional and inter-annual variation in yield and irrigation amount has been performed. To accomplish that objective, we evaluated a database containing on-farm field yields and total irrigation amount used in those fields. These data have been collected annually from ca. 1000 soybean fields in six regions …

Identification And Validation Of Quantitative Trait Loci For Seed Yield, Oil And Protein Contents In Two Recombinant Inbred Line Populations Of Soybean, Xianzhi Wang, Guo‑Liang Jiang, Marci Green, Roy A. Scott, Qijian Song, D. L. Hyten, P. B. Cregan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soybean seeds contain high levels of oil and protein, and are the important sources of vegetable oil and plant protein for human consumption and livestock feed. Increased seed yield, oil and protein contents are the main objectives of soybean breeding. The objectives of this study were to identify and validate quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated with seed yield, oil and protein contents in two recombinant inbred line populations, and to evaluate the consistency of QTLs across different environments, studies and genetic backgrounds. Both the mapping population (SD02- 4-59 × A02-381100) and validation population (SD02- 911 × SD00-1501) were phenotyped for …

Evaluating Decision Rules For Dryland Rotation Crop Selection, David C. Nielsen, Merle F. Vigil, Joseph G. Benjamin

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

No-till dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow systems in the central Great Plains have more water available for crop production than the traditional conventionally tilled winter wheat-fallow systems because of greater precipitation storage efficiency. That additional water is used most efficiently when a crop is present to transpire the water, and crop yields respond positively to increases in available soil water. The objective of this study was to evaluate yield, water use efficiency (WUE), precipitation use efficiency (PUE), and net returns of cropping systems where crop choice was based on established crop responses to water use while incorporating a …

A High-Oleic-Acid And Low-Palmitic-Acid Soybean: Agronomic Performance And Evaluation As A Feedstock For Biodiesel, George L. Graef, Bradley J. Lavallee, Patrick Tenopir, Mustafa Tat, Bruce Schweiger, Anthony J. Kinney, Jon H. Van Gerpen, Thomas E. Clemente

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Phenotypic characterization of soybean event 335-13, which possesses oil with an increased oleic acid content (> 85%) and reduced palmitic acid content (< 5%), was conducted across multiple environments during 2004 and 2005. Under these conditions, the stability of the novel fatty acid profile of the oil was not influenced by environment. Importantly, the novel soybean event 335-13 was not compromised in yield in both irrigated and non-irrigated production schemes. Moreover, seed characteristics, including total oil and protein, as well as amino acid profile, were not altered as a result of the large shift in the fatty acid profile. The novel oil trait was inherited in a simple Mendelian fashion. The event 335-13 was also evaluated as a feedstock for biodiesel. Extruded oil from event 335-13 produced a biodiesel with improved cold flow and enhanced oxidative stability, two critical fuel parameters that can limit the utility of this renewable transportation fuel.

Harvest Frequency And Burning Effects On Monocultures Of 3 Warm-Season Grasses, Gregory J. Cuomo, Bruce Anderson, Linda J. Young, Wally Wilhelm

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Harvest frequency and burning can affect forage yield of monocultures of switchgrass (Panicurn virgutum L.), big bluestem (Andropogon gerurdii Vitman), and Indian grass [Sorghastrum nutuns (L.) Nash]. Current information is based largely on results from mixed stands. A field experiment was established in 1986, and from 1988 to 1991 treatments were applied with burning in March, April, or May plus an unburned control. Growing season yield was measured by harvesting 1 (June), 2 (June and July), or 3 (June, July, and August) times with unharvested control plots included. End-of-season standing crop from all plots was determined …

Carbon Dioxide Exchange Rate Of Tall Fescue-Leaf Area Vs. Leaf Weight Basis, Wallace Wilhelm, C. J. Nelson

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The basis used for expression of carbon dioxide exchange rate (CER) of single leaves may alter the relative ranking of genotypes being selected for a breeding program. Therefore, field and growth chamber experiments were conducted on 16 genotypes of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) to determine the relative merit of expressing CER data on a leaf area or leaf weight basis. Genotypes were grown in plots in the field and in pots in the growth chamber. The CER was measured using an infrared gas analyzer. Herbage yield was determined. Significant genotypic variation within experiments was found for CER when …