Life Sciences Commons^™

Assessing The Spatial Variability Of Soil Physical Properties Under A Corn Field In Kentucky, Usa, Sai Neela Kesumala

Scholars Week

Analyzing soil physical properties is crucial for advancing sustainable and precision agricultural practices in today's world. Sustainable agriculture emphasizes responsible resource utilization and preservation. Precision agriculture utilizes technology, data, and targeted decision-making to optimize resource usage and minimize environmental impacts. Assessing soil property variability aids in efficient input application, irrigation adjustment, nutrient runoff reduction, and fertilizer management. This approach prioritizes soil conservation, boosts sustainability, and supports long-term agricultural productivity. This study aimed to evaluate the spatial distribution of specific soil physical properties across the four border rows, central corn field area, and sod area. Seventy-two soil samples were collected from …

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 …

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 …

Relationships Between Different Management Practices And Selected Soil Health Indicators, Erika Lambert, Jack Howard, Sammuel Tapp

Scholars Week

Relationships Between Different Management Practices and Selected Soil Health Indicators

Jack Howard, Erika Lambert, Samuel Tapp, Corey Hale, Mallorie Snider, Dr. Brian Parr, and Dr. Iin Handayani

Hutson School of Agriculture, Murray State University

Abstract

Soil health is essential for growing crops productively. Healthy soils help to reduce erosion, improve nutrient cycling, and lower input cost. Understanding how crop rotations and tillage systems affect soil is key to preserving soil while also improving agricultural income and efficiency. This study was conducted in Calloway County, Kentucky to observe the effects of different management practices over nine sites of management on the …

Chemical Free Edible Flowers, Elise Abbott

Scholars Week

Nature is equipped with all the right systems and services in order to be self sustaining. But in the global flower industry, growers are battling insect infestations like never before because of stricter import laws by the United States Department of Agriculture. In order to ensure the processing of their flowers, growers douse them in pesticides making them inedible and harmful to those who work with them. As edible flowers are making their way into the market on cakes and desserts, fresh salads, specialty spreads and much more it's imperative that they are grown in a sustainable and safe manner. …

Comparison Of Peat-Based Planting Media To Sustainably Produced Planting Medias: Watering And Other Considerations, Mary Grace Jackson

Scholars Week

Researchers are actively addressing the questions that haunts all agriculturalists: Will we be able to feed the projected population of 9.8 billion people in 2050? Newly developed soil mixes might be the key to solving this daunting question. Research is proving that this sustainable media is a way to add nutrients back into our existing soil.

Soil Responses To Various Farming Systems In Western Kentucky, Samantha Peterson

Scholars Week

The interactions among the farming systems and the soil, water, biota, and atmosphere control the effects of cultivation on soil properties. Land conversion from forest or pasture ecosystems into crop fields altered soil properties due to the loss of soil organic matter (SOM) and the increase of soil compaction. However in Kentucky, the magnitude of the changes varied among the soil properties. Therefore, the objective of this research was to investigate the changes of selected soil properties include SOM, soil pH, and compaction under different crop fields such as corn-soybean-tobacco rotation (Field #1), continuous corn field (Field #2), hemp field …

Evaluating Soil Surface Properties In Two Contrasting Tillage Systems, Riley Mabe, Kaeden Mollett, Marcus Robertson

Scholars Week

Soil properties are affected by tillage practices. Tillage practices that provides an adequate growing environment for crops and maintains good soil structure is crucial. The objective of this study was to compare selected soil properties collected from no-till (NT) and conventional tillage (CT) systems in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. Three undisturbed and three disturbed soil samples were taken from the topsoil at the depth of 0 to 7.5 cm. The samples were analyzed for bulk density (BD), water holding capacity (WHC), field capacity (FC), soil pH, soil organic matter (SOM), and compaction. Bulk density, WHC, and FC of the soil …

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 …

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 …

Measuring Leaf Area Index (Lai) And Vegetation Growing Season Length To Better Understand The Interactions And Feedbacks Between Vegetation And The Changing Climate., Steven Schwarz

Scholars Week

The purpose of this research was to measure and model vegetation growing seasons of deciduous tree species located at Murray State University Hancock Biological Station. The study began in September of 2015, and consisted of collecting leaf area index (LAI) from 3 defined locations using the Decagon LP80 Ceptometer, and Sentek soil probes to measure soil moisture/temperature. LAI data were collected weekly at various times, while soil temperature and moister recordings were collected in 60 minute intervals at depths of 5 to 55 cm in 10 cm increments. This study was important because it is essential to measure LAI and …

Eku’S Red Barn Garden And Orchard – A Hands-On Learning Laboratory For Horticulture Students, Mary Mckinney

Posters-at-the-Capitol

The Red Barn Garden and Orchard (RBGO) is a five-acre fruit and vegetable garden on the campus of Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky. RBGO began as a venue for students to apply classroom knowledge gained in the fruit and vegetable courses taught as part of the horticulture program. During the start-up year a kitchen garden, gourd tunnel and one acre of tomatoes, pumpkins, beans, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, onions, corn, and several cole crops were established. By the end of the second year an additional two acres were planted including a small fruit orchard consisting of apples, pears, peaches, plums, …

Comparison Of The Production Of Bibb Lettuce Reared In Indoor Aquaponics System Using Large Mouth Bass (Micropterus Salmoides) Vs. Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis Niloticus), George J. Pate

Posters-at-the-Capitol

Aquaponics is a sustainable food production system that combines hydroponic plant growth with fish rearing in a recirculating aquaculture system. Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) are predominantly raised in aquaponics due to their fast growth rates and ability to tolerate a variety of water conditions. As aquaponics becomes more popular in temperate climate zones, farmers are looking for alternative fish species that are more compatible with cooler temperatures and have a higher market value than tilapia. Authors will determine if plant growth factors as well as, the availability of nutrients in aquaponic systems are affected by the difference in nutrient requirements …

Evaluating Pedestrial Compaction Variation & Soil Organic C Content, Gunner B. Decker

Scholars Week

Over time, playing fields are monitored by overall appearance. However, pedestrian compaction is not evenly distributed throughout the entire surface.