Life Sciences Commons^™

Leaf Area Index And Light Interception In African Violets (Streptocarpus Sect. Saintpaulia), Chintakunta Keerthi Reddy, Venkat Sai Chatla

Scholars Week

LEAF AREA INDEX AND LIGHT INTERCEPTION IN AFRICAN VIOLETS

(Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia)

ABSTRACT Chintakunta Keerthi Reddy, Venkat Sai Chatla Hutson School of Agriculture Mentor: Dr. Megan Taylor

African violets are a genus of six flowering plants from tropical eastern Africa, commonly known as Saintpaulias. They can thrive indoors in low light conditions and bloom all year round. They require less light than other blooming plants and can bloom during regular daylight hours in the US and Canada if given proper exposure. Several light intensities were used for the African violet (Streptocarpus sect. Saintpaulia) experiment, which showed a significant variation in …

Effects Of Salinity, Alkalinity, And Acidity On Crop Growth And Development On Pea (Pisum Sativum), Laxmi Prasanna Shakamudi, Rasagna Chamakura, Vineela Bathula

Scholars Week

Effects of salinity, alkalinity, and acidity on crop growth and development

on pea (Pisum sativum)

Authors: Laxmi Prasanna Shakamudi, Rasagna Chamakura, Vineela Bathula

Mentor: Dr. Megan Taylor

Hutson school of agriculture, Murray state university

Pea (Pisum sativum) is one of the vegetables that belong to the Fabaceae family, is a pulse crop that has been widely used and cultivated in all parts of the world. As with many crops pea plants also experience abiotic stresses that affect the plant’s growth, development, and productivity. Abiotic stresses that affect crop growth and development include soil salinity, alkalinity, and …

Effects Of Planting Depth Of Soybean (Glycine Max) On Growth And Development, Hannah Dejournett, Mallory White, Mason Welden

Scholars Week

Effects of Planting Depth of Soybean (Glycine max) on Growth and Development

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray, KY

Mentor: Dr. Megan Taylor

Hannah DeJournett, Mallory White, Mason Welden

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of soybean (Glycine max) seed placement on growth and development. Several abiotic and biotic factors influence germination and emergence, planting depth is no exception. Planting depth is a management practice that can be controlled at the time of planting, making it an ideal candidate for experimentation. To determine the effect of planting depth on soybeans, soybeans were established at different depths. Previous …

Effect Of Seed Storage On Germination Of Wheat (Triticum Aestivum L.), Corn (Zea Mays), And Soybean (Glycine Max), Sangam Dangal, Disha Ande, Harshaditya Bijapuri

Scholars Week

Effect of Seed Storage on Germination of Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), Corn (Zea mays), and Soybean (Glycine max)

Disha Ande, Harshaditya Bijapuri, Sangam Dangal, Dr. Megan Taylor

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University, Murray, Kentucky

Disha.ande@gmail.com, Harshadityabijapuri@gmail.com, Sangamdangal121@gmail.com

Seed germination is an essential stage in the plant cycle for growth and development, resulting in the yield's quantity and quality. It is a complex process that is influenced by various biotic and abiotic factors. The storage of seeds leading up to planting is an essential management practice of crop production, as it directly …

Effects Of Soil Salinity, Alkaline Conditions And Acidity On Crop Growth And Development On Radish (Raphanus Sativus), Anvesh Kumar Dasarla, Chandan Prasanna Lakshmi Kumar Sunkavalli, Turki Alanazi

Scholars Week

Effects of soil salinity, alkaline conditions and acidity on crop growth and development on Radish (Raphanus sativus)

Authors:Anveesh Kumar Dasarla,ChandanPrasanna Lakshmi Kumar Sunkavalli,TurkiAlanazi.

Hutson School of Agriculture

Murray State University

Radish (Raphanus sativus) a member of the mustard family, it is a root veggie. This plant, which can be perennial root. The radish is a vegetable that was probably domesticated in Asia or the Mediterranean region. The veggie, which has few calories, is typically consumed raw, though the young leaves can be prepared similarly to spinach. There are numerous radish varieties, one of which is …

Soil Properties And Potassium Availability In Pullen Farm Murray, Kentucky, Ava Isaacs, Gracey Moffitt, Whitney Sides

Posters-at-the-Capitol

One of the most important factors regarding soil and plant health is nutrient availability and fertility. Of these two factors that were mentioned available potassium is a key component. With that being said we decided that it would be beneficial to see how potassium can be traced within the soil in various locations after fertilizer is applied. There were two parts to this experiment. Part one was taking soil core samples in order to obtain various soil properties such as soil organic matter, soil water holding capacity and bulk density and observe if these properties have any effect on the …

Seroprevalence And Titer Concentration Testing For Leptospirosis In Equine, Ashley Himmelsbaugh

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The most common best management practice used to combat diseases in horses is vaccination, which can decrease the incidence or severity of illness. However, the duration of immunity will vary for each vaccination and must be considered for revaccination purposes. Titer concentration, which evaluates antibodies in the blood, may be a helpful way of determining how long an animal has immunity to a disease. Leptospirosis, a zoonotic, bacterial disease, can result in uveitis, potentially leading to blindness, and abortion in mares. One serovar, Leptospirosis pomona (L. pomona), is associated with most cases of clinical disease in horses in North America. …

Linking Soil Properties To Originally Wooded And Afforested Areas, Ashton A. Crowe, Matthew Laun

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Linking Soil Properties to Originally Wooded and Afforested Areas

Matthew Laun, Ashton Crowe

Mentor: I. P. Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture Murray State University, KY, USA

Abstract

Afforestation, adding an artificial forest to a piece of land that has been barren of trees for a significant amount of time, has some seriously huge impacts on the environment. These effects can be seen as an increase in the soil organic matter, a decrease in compaction, and enhancement of porosity. Therefore, the soil can support more diverse microbes and fungal communities leading to better micro and macro nutrient transfers between plants. This …

Foliar Application Of Acetic Acid And Effectiveness Against Drought At Different Time Points In Soybean (Glycine Max) Development, Miranda Rudolph, Megan Taylor Phd.

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Drought is arguably the most serious environmental factor affecting crop production today. A plant's response to drought stress is extremely complex, affecting numerous metabolic pathways that are all interconnected in their responses. Due to this complex nature, scientists do not fully understand the implications of different treatments and how they affect these processes. Acetic acid has been shown to improve plant growth and resistance to drought stress, but exactly how it accomplishes this is also unknown. Soybeans (Glycine max) are one of the most important crops worldwide and can suffer significant yield loss due to drought stress. As climate change …

Economic Feasibility And Consumer Acceptance Of Strawberry Plants As An Additional Offering In Fall Mum Sales, Alyx Shultz, Eva Bogue, Anna Griggs, Allison Croslin

Posters-at-the-Capitol

As consumers become more health conscious and concerned with food production practices, increased market demand had developed for edible plants with ornamental properties. This action research examined the economic feasibility, production realities, and consumer acceptance of offering garden and alpine strawberries at fall mum sales. Each year $173 million in mums are sold in the United States. By offering potted strawberries for sale alongside mums, Kentucky producers may be able to mitigate their risk as well as generate additional on-farm revenue from a proven consumer base and market. Researchers grew 100 garden strawberries and 100 alpine strawberries and offered the …

Foliar Application Of Acetic Acid And Effectiveness Against Drought At Different Time Points In Soybean Development, Miranda Rudolph

Scholars Week

Abstract

Drought is arguably the most serious environmental factor affecting crop production today. A plants response to drought stress is extremely complex, affecting numerous metabolic pathways that are all interconnected in their responses. Due to this complex nature, scientists do not fully understand the implications of different treatments and how they affect these processes. Acetic acid has been shown to improve plant growth and resistance to drought stress, but exactly how it accomplishes this is also unknown. Soybeans (Glycine max) are one of the most important crops worldwide and can suffer significant yield loss due to drought stress. As climate …

The Impacts Of Land Management Practices On Soil Organic Carbon And Soil Physical Properties, Kinsey Hamby, Raelee Story, Dallas Patey

Scholars Week

The Impacts of Land Management Practices on Soil Organic Carbon and Soil Physical Properties

K. Hamby, R. Story, D. Patey, C. Hale, I. P. Handayani, B. Parr, and M. Snider

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University

ABSTRACT

To understand how to care for our soils, an understanding of soil physical properties must first be established. Soil organic carbon (SOC) refers to the carbon component of the organic compounds found in soil organic matter (SOM). SOC can be an indicator of soil structure, tilth, aeration, drainage, and stability. Soil pH is the measure of hydrogen ions suspended in a soil …

Soil Quality As Affected By Hemp And Grain Production Systems In Western Kentucky, Jack Eaker

Scholars Week

Since 2018, hemp cropping systems have become increasingly popular in Kentucky. However, there is limited data on soil’s behavior/changes under these management practices as compared to corn and soybean cultivation systems. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine soil characteristics including soil organic matter, bulk density, water holding capacity, macroporosity, and water at field capacity in hemp and grain cropping systems. The thirty undisturbed soil samples were collected from three different hemp fields and a corn, soybean, and a bare field adjacent to these hemp fields. Each field was located at Murray State University West Farm, Calloway County, …

The Impact Of Hemp Cropping Systems On Soil Quality In Western Kentucky, Jack Eaker

Scholars Week

Recently, hemp farming systems are increasingly popular in Kentucky replacing tobacco cropping systems. However, the study on the impacts of hemp cropping on soil properties is rarely conducted, resulting in limited data on soil’s behavior/changes under these management practices. Therefore, the objective of this study was to determine soil characteristics including compaction, acidity level, moisture level, and water retention. The measurements were collected from three different hemp fields, three crop rotation studies ( in 2020 - corn, soybean and tobacco) and a bare field adjacent to these fields. All fields are located at Murray State University West Farm, Calloway County, …

Evaluating The Impact Of Common Fertilizers On Soil Properties After Planting Tomatoes And Marigolds, Rachel Stuckey, Iin Handayani

Scholars Week

There are many name brand fertilizers that are used today in gardening in the state of Kentucky. Due to the standardization of name brand fertilizer production in factories, this can cause the fertilizers to compromise the nutrients of soil, while all-natural fertilizers are seen as better quality for the consumers, plants and soils. Alaska, Miracle Grow, Monty’s, Pure Gold, Tiger Bloom are the top five fertilizers sold in the state of Kentucky. This study aims to determine the impact of five top commercial fertilizers on soil quality indicators including organic matter, acidity level and moisture content. These fertilizers were applied …

Germination And Early Seedling Growth Of Vegetables Under Various Salinity Stresses, Waqas Ahmad, Muhammad Haider Ali, Iin P. Handayani Dr., Brian Parr Dr.

Scholars Week

Vegetables are an important part of our daily diet. As salinity levels in soil and irrigation water have increased, biomass production of horticultural crops has been reduced during the past few years. The main objective of this study was to check the effect of different salinity levels (0mM, 25mM, 50mM, 100mM, 200mM NaCl) on the germination percentage and the growth rate of young seedlings of vegetables (tomato, turnip, onion, fenugreek and cauliflower) comprehensively. This experiment was designed through Factorial under Completely Randomize Design (CRD) and the results were analyzed through all Pair-wise comparison of means using Tukey test (P ≤ …

Hemp As A Livestock Feedstuff: A Review Of Current Literature, Sarah Mead, Alyx Shultz

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Hemp was removed from the list of controlled substances in the 2018 Farm Bill, making regulated hemp production legal in the United States. Kentucky agriculturalists and entrepreneurs are at the cutting edge of the United States hemp production and processing industries. Hemp production generally falls into one of three categories: grain, fiber, or floral (CBD extraction). Each production category also produces byproducts; one such byproduct is meal. In order to make hemp oil and fiber processing viable, markets for the remaining meal must be found. The high fiber, fat, and protein of hemp meal make it a potential feedstuff for …

Evaluating Opinions Of Kentucky’S Agri-Science Educators On Climate Change, Emily Cook

Scholars Week

Climate Change is the significant long term changes in the weather and temperatures on a large scale and is seen globally. Scientists have been studying the effects of Climate Change on the planet for decades; foreseeing problems of the future. Global Warming has been escalating over the past hundred years with the amount of Carbon Dioxide gases rising into to atmosphere at an alarming rate. Agri-Science Educators across Kentucky are teaching the topics of Climate Change and Global Warming and this research intends to find the truth and variances in their knowledge. Twenty educators from across the state of Kentucky …

Sustainability Of Organic Soil Amendments On Soil Fertility And Earthworms, Mackenzie Hoffman

Scholars Week

One of the growing concerns of farmers is soil fertility which is defined as the ability of soil to grow and support plant life by minerals and nutrients needed for the plants. Healthy soil leads to better yields which lead to more food produced. Traditionally, soil fertility has been maintained with the use of chemical fertilizers. This research looked at an alternative method of increasing soil fertility: the addition of a soil amendment. Chemical fertilizers can lead to an oversupply of nitrogen which can make the plants more susceptible to diseases and pests and can also reduce the colonization of …

Effects Of Sowing Methods On Plant Survival, Michaela Hathaway

Scholars Week

No abstract provided.

Utilizing Municipal Compost And Equine Stall Waste As Potential Economic Alternatives In An In-Ground Pot-In-Pot Production System, Ashley Robert, Alyx Shultz

Posters-at-the-Capitol

For Western Kentucky farmers, one viable income source could be a pot-in-pot nursery production. One of the highest costs of production in this system was the planting media that the plants were grown in. Economical alternatives to high-priced, non-renewable peat-based mixes were important to consider. Unique to this region, were two renewable soil amendments that may help farmers to widen their profit margin in a pot-in-pot system. This research looked at the economic viability of locally sourced horse stall waste and municipal compost as soil amendments to a traditional bark and peat based mix. Initial cost projections were favorable for …

Soil Responses To 48 Years Of Continuous No Till And Conventional Till Corn In Central Kentucky, Usa, Emily Cook

Scholars Week

Cropping systems, fertilizer applications and tillage practices influence soil physical and chemical characteristics. In this study, the impact of long-term conventional and no-tillage systems on selected soil properties were evaluated in a continuous corn system on a Maury silt loam soil. This field for the study is located on the University of Kentucky's Research Farm (Spindletop Farm). The field was tilled in 1969 from bluegrass sod and the first year's data was in 1970. Each plot is 20 ft. by 40 ft. and for many years each plot was split with winter cover crop planted to rye or hairy vetch. …

Evaluating The Impact Of Two Contrasting Tillage Practices On Soil Properties In Central Kentucky, Emily Cook

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Farming practices such as no tillage and plowing can institute change on soil physical and chemical characteristics. In this research, the effects of long-term conventional and no-tillage systems on the selected soil properties were determined in a continuous corn system on a farm with Maury silt loam soil. These samples were taken from University of Kentucky's Research Farm (Spindletop Farm). The field used was tilled in 1969 from bluegrass sod and the first time research was conduced was in 1970. Each plot is 20 ft. by 40 ft. and for many years each plot was split with winter cover crop …

Differences Of Soil Properties In Various Agricultural Practices In Western Kentucky, Bailey Webster

Scholars Week

Cropping systems in Kentucky are strongly dominated by corn, tobacco, soybeans and wheat. Various crop management practices affect soil properties resulting in different functional quality of the soil to support crop growth. Crop rotation and tillage practices influence soil properties, and understanding the effect of these practices is essential to maintaining optimal soil environment. Therefore, the objective of this research is to determine the differences of soil properties in various agricultural practices in western Kentucky on soil chemical and physical properties. In addition, soil samples from pasture, wood, and garden practices will be collected to use as a reference for …

Comparison Of Two Hydroponic Tower Systems For Lettuce Production, Robert Cavasos

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Hydroponic vegetable production is increasing at a rate of 5.3% each year. Vertical farming has proven to use less land and water than traditional farming while reducing fossil-fuel emissions and fertilizer waste. This study evaluated the production of Black Seeded Simpson lettuce, Lactuca sativa, to test the performance of two hydroponic tower systems, a commercially available tower and a student-designed tower in an indoor farming system in Richmond, KY. Each tower contained 24 plant compartments. The commercial tower compartments were evenly spaced on an eight-inch diameter, four-foot-tall pipe; the student-designed tower compartments were dispersed on two four-inch-diameter pipes that …

Recycled Waste Increased Tomato Production Under Field Conditions, Lusekelo J. Nkuwi

Posters-at-the-Capitol

As more municipal sewage sludge (SS) treatment districts turn to composting as a means of sludge stabilization and because of the rapid growth in the poultry industry, significant chicken manure (CM) and municipal SS generation will become available in increasing quantities. A field trial area was established at the University of Kentucky South Farm. Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum var. Mountain spring) seedlings of 52 days old was planted in 30’ × 144’ beds of freshly tilled soil at eight inch row spacing on June, 2016. The entire study area contained 30 plots ( 3 replicates × 10 treatments). Each bed …

Land Management Effects On Selected Properties Of Silt Loam Soil In Tennessee, Usa, Kang-Chi Wu

Scholars Week

Land management practices greatly influence soil properties. However, the effects are different among soil properties. This study was conducted to determine the impact of various common land management systems on selected soil properties, include organicmatter content, the level of acidity, soil color and macro-aggregate content. During fall of 2015, soil samples were collected fromtopsoiland subsoil of silt loamatStewart County, TN. Soil samples were taken from six different land management systems, such as 30 years of tobacco field, 30 years of hardwood forest, 20 years of vegetable garden, 20 years of pasture, 35 years of lawn, and 6 years of corn …