Life Sciences Commons^™

Economic Viability Of Weed Management Strategies In High-Tunnel Tomato, Gracie Morrison

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cost-effective weed suppression is an important consideration for tomato growers. Growers often choose methods which minimize hand labor, as hand weeding can be prohibitively expensive. This project determined economic viability of high tunnel tomatoes treated with several methods of weed control, both organic and chemical. These methods included: 2-week hand weeding, 1-week hand weeding, preemergent, straw, landscape fabric, and untreated weedy control plots. These treatments were applied to randomized blocks in a high-tunnel. Weeding, planting, and harvest were all timed to determine labor and material costs of weed management strategy implementation. After harvest, marketable yield was weighed to determine revenue. …

Cover Crop Effects On Near-Surface Soil Aggregate Stability In The Southern Mississippi Valley Loess (Mlra 134), Chandler M. Arel

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Intensive agricultural cultivation within major land resource area (MLRA) 134, the Southern Mississippi Valley Loess, has led to soil erosion, soil compaction, and the overall destabilization of near-surface soil aggregates. The use of cover crops during the agricultural offseason has been shown to help alleviate soil compaction and provide stabilizing effects against soil erosion, which are particularly important as the silty soils of MLRA 134 have a large erosion potential. This study evaluated the effects of cover crop and no-cover crop treatment on silt-loam soils within MLRA 134. Treatments were implemented during Fall 2018 and Fall 2019 and consisted of …

Long-Term Changes In Soil Surface Properties As Affected By Management Practices In A Wheat-Soybean, Double-Crop System, Machaela Morrison

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Long-term agricultural sustainability and productivity are controlled by the integrative effects of different management practices on the soil. Many Arkansas producers use the double-crop system to grow soybeans [Glycine max (L.) Merr] and wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Studying combinations of different, non-traditional, alternative agricultural techniques may help producers better understand the long-term implications of various management practice options on sustainability and productivity. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of agricultural management practices, including residue level, tillage, irrigation, and burning, and soil depth on the change in various soil properties from 2010 to 2020 in …

Baseline Sensitivity To Dmi Fungicides In Cercospora Spp. And Corynespora Spp. In Arkansas Soybeans, Evan Buckner

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cercospora spp. and Corynespora spp. are two common foliar fungal pathogens in Arkansas amongst other soybean producing areas. Two primary diseases caused by Cercospora spp. are Cercospora Leaf Blight (CLB, caused mainly by C. kikuchii) and Frogeye Leaf Spot (C. sojina). Both diseases affect foliage, and when lesions collapse, leaves may fall prematurely resulting in yield loss. In the specific case of CLB, this is a disease on the rise since 2000, and also causes seed infection reducing seed quality. Target spot is a disease caused by Corynespora cassiicola, and is of less damaging for farmers in larger …

Corn And Soybean Response To Wastewater-Recycled Phosphorus Fertilizers, Shane Ylagan

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The ability to recycle phosphorus (P) from wastewaters could provide a sustainable, continuous source of P that might also help protect surface water quality from P enrichment. The mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) is an understudied material that can be created from Pcontaining wastewater and has been shown to have agricultural fertilizer value. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of electrochemically precipitated struvite (ECST), chemically precipitated struvite (Crystal Green; CG), diammonium phosphate (DAP), monoammonium phosphate (MAP), rock phosphate (RP), and triple super phosphate (TSP) on corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) response in a 79-day greenhouse pot …

Comparison Of Morphological Traits In Cowpea Pod Length, Seed Number Per Pod, Seed Weight, Seed Color And Seed Density In Usda Germplasm Accessions And Arkansas Breeding Lines, Sora Imamura

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The objective of the study was to compare and correlate the Arkansas cowpea breeding lines to the USDA cowpea germplasm accessions on the following morphological traits: seed color, pod length, number of seeds per pod, 100 seed weight, and seed density. The seed density is defined as the weight of seed in gram per centimeter of pod length. Three hundred seventeen cowpea genotypes were used in this experiment. Out of the 317, 285 germplasm accessions were from the USDA GRIN and 32 lines were from the Arkansas breeding program.

T-test between Arkansas breeding lines and USDA germplasm accessions were done …

Determination Of Optimum Harvest Date For Winter Malting Quality Barley In Northwest Arkansas, Paul Wolf

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Due to the strict quality requirements, only 10 percent of worldwide barley is used for malting, though malting quality barley comes with a price increase of up to 50 percent or higher. With the craft brewery industry growing in Northwest Arkansas there is a growing demand for locally sourced malt quality barley. However, data is lacking regarding production practices for barley in Arkansas. The optimum harvest date for malting quality barley is at physiological maturity. This is because many of the malting traits (such as germination energy) decline as harvest is delayed, which will make it difficult to meet the …

Evaluation Of Drought Tolerance In Arkansas Cowpea Lines At Seedling Stage, Qirui Cui

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Cowpea [Vigna unguiculate (L.) Walp.] is not only a healthy, nutritious and versatile leguminous crop, it also has a relatively high adaptation to drought. Researches have shown that cowpea lines have a high tolerance to drought, and many of them can survive over 40 days under very hot and dry conditions. The cowpea (Southern pea) breeding program at the University of Arkansas (UA) has been active for over 50 years and has produced more than 1,000 advanced breeding lines. And the purpose of this study is to evaluate the drought-tolerant ability in Arkansas cowpea lines and use the drought tolerant …