Life Sciences Commons^™

Root Phenotyping Of Peptide-Treated Glycine Max, Salem Jackson

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Plant elicitor peptides (Peps) – endogenous chains of amino acids involved in natural plant defense – have been shown to decrease damage from herbivores and pathogens by inducing an immune response, increasing the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOCS), transcripts, and metabolites. Exogenous treatment of soybean seeds with plant elicitor peptide GmPep3 has been shown to induce these broad-spectrum defenses and offers a new method for increasing crop yield. However, the effects of GmPep3 on indicators of soybean health – root characteristics, growth stages, etc. – have not been fully realized.

Using the root-phenotyping platform RhizoVision Explorer, several root traits …

Potato Processing In The Home: Sustainability And Nutritional Impacts, Aubin Payne

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Potatoes are the world's fourth most consumed crop. Their versatility and long shelf-life make them a staple food for millions of people worldwide. Still, the increasing consumption of highly processed potato products in developed countries has damaged the public's appreciation of potatoes as a valuable source of essential nutrients. Additionally, as public awareness of environmental sustainability increases, the average consumer is more likely to value processing methods that mitigate environmental damage.

Researchers simulated several home storage and processing conditions to find out how nutrition and environmental impact are affected by the home processing timeline. Then, a nutrient analysis, life cycle …

Using Ai To Examine Nocturnal Moth Pollination, Conor Moriarty

Biological Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

The importance of insect-mediated agriculture cannot be understated especially in the wake of pollinator population declines. Most research of insect-mediated pollination is focused on diurnal pollinators like the honeybee (Apis mellifera). Deepening our understanding of how other pollinators, such as nocturnal pollinators, can benefit agriculture and ecosystems will be very important as honeybee populations decline. I explored nocturnal moth interactions with flowering apple flowers during their pollination season to better understand how these nocturnal pollinators interact with the plants. To accomplish this, I used a University of Arkansas farm area with a dedicated apple orchard. I gathered my raw data …

Consumer Perceptions Of Plastic-Free Food Packaging, Cara Conner

Human Nutrition and Hospitality Management Undergraduate Honors Theses

This study surveyed consumers in Fayetteville, Arkansas to assess their perceptions of plastic-free food packaging. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys were administered via email to Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences undergraduate students and faculty at the University of Arkansas. Eleven questions were asked in the survey. Numerical values were assigned to each answer option in order to interpret the results. The factors impacting consumer decisions to purchase foods packaged with or without plastic were ranked from greatest to least: sanitation/safety, availability where shopping, cost, shelf-life, and convenience. Food packaging materials were ranked from most to …

Effects Of Diesel And Biodiesel Blends On Engine Performance And Efficiency, Christopher Hunt, Donald Johnson, Don Edgar

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Tests were conducted during the summer of 2009 on a John Deere 3203 diesel tractor to determine differences in specific fuel consumption (sfc), power take-off (PTO) torque (Nm), and PTO power (kW), between ultralow sulfur No. 2 Diesel (D2), 20% biodiesel (B20), 50% biodiesel (B50), and100% biodiesel (B100). Four 1-hr tests were conducted with D2, while three 1-hr tests were conducted with B20, B50, and B100. The results indicated that there was no significant (p < 0.05) difference between D2 and B20 for power or torque. Fueling with B50 resulted in significantly lower power and torque than fueling with D2 or B20, but significantly higher power and torque than fueling with B100. There were significant differences between each fuel in sfc; as the biodiesel blend increased, sfc also increased. Based on these data, B20 appears to be the optimal biodiesel blend for this and similar compact utility tractors since fueling with B20 resulted in no significant loss in power or torque (compared to D2) and only a slight increase in fuel consumption.

Diversity Of Arkansas Water Resources Research, Kenneth F. Steele

Technical Reports

In order to understand, protect, and manage our water resources effectively knowledge is required from many diverse areas of science, engineering, economics, and sociology. These proceedings of the conference on the Diversity of Arkansas Water Resources Research reflect this need and demonstrate how researchers in the state are responding to water issues and problems in Arkansas. The papers in these proceedings are representative of the research in Arkansas, but are only a sample of the work being conducted by universities and government agencies in Arkansas. We are grateful that Arkansas has the expertise available to provide the information necessary to …