Life Sciences Commons^™

Describing And Quantifying Growth Stages Of Perennial Forage Grasses, K. J. Moore, Lowell E. Moser, Kenneth P. Vogel, Steven S. Waller, B. E. Johnson, Jeffrey F. Pedersen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A system for identifying and quantifying the stages of growth and development of perennial forage grasses was developed. The system consists of a universal set of morphological descriptors for forage and range grasses and a continuous numerical index. The life cycle of individual grass tillers is divided into five primary growth stages (i) germination, (ii) vegetative, (iii) elongation, (iv) reproductive, and (v) seed ripening. Substages corresponding to specific morphological events are defined within each primary stage. Each growth stage consists of a primary and secondary stage and has both a mnemonic code and numerical index associated with it. The codes …

Registration Of 'Trailblazer' Switchgrass, K. P. Vogel, Francis A. Haskins, Herman J. Gorz, B. A. Anderson, J. K. Ward

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

'Trailblazer' switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) (Reg. no. CV-146, PI 549094) was developed by the USDA-ARS and the Nebraska Agricultural Research Division, Department of Agronomy, University of Nebraska, and released in 1984 for use as a warm-season pasture grass in the Central Great Plains and adjacent midwestern states.

Seed Weight Influence On Seedling Hydrocyanic Acid Potential In Sorghum, J. F.S. Lamb, Francis A. Haskins, Herman J. Gorz, K. P. Vogel

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Grain sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) typically produces larger seeds than sudangrass [S. bicolor, formerly S. sudanense (Piper) Stapf); and grain sorghum seedlings are higher in hydrocyanic acid potential (HCN-p) than sudangrass seedlings. Previous studies have shown a seed-parent effect on seed weight and HCN-p in reciprocal F₁ hybrids of sorghum X sudangrass. This study was conducted to determine whether the seed-parent effect on HCN-p could be attributed primarily to the difference in seed size between reciprocal sorghum X sudangrass hybrids. Large and small seeds of low-HCN-p sudangrass, high-HCN-p sorghum, and their reciprocal hybrids, were visually …

Relative Environmental Adaptation Of Bell Pepper Cultivars Across Three Southeastern States [Abstract], Laurie Hodges, Douglas C. Sanders, Katharine B. Perry

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Four commercially available bell pepper cultivars (Capsicum annum L.) were evaluated for yield stability over a combination of 3 years, 3 planting dates, and 7 locations across the Carolinas and Georgia.

Defoliation Effects On Yield And Bud And Tiller Numbers Of Two Sandhills Grasses, J. Jeffrey Mullahey, Steven S. Waller, Lowell E. Moser

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Intensive grazing strategies for the Nebraska Sandhills must be based on time and frequency of defoliation of key warm-season grasses. A 3-year field study was conducted in the Nebraska Sand-hills to determine the effects of defoliation on yield and bud and tiller number of sand bluestem [Andropogon gerardii var. paucipilus (Nash) Fern.] and prairie sandreed [Calamovilfa longifolia (Hook.) Scribn.]. Defoliation (7 cm) treatments imposed on a 1.5 X 1-m plot were: a single defoliation on 10 June, 10 July, or 10 August; 2 successive defoliations on 10 June and 10 August; or 3 successive defoliations on 10 June, …

Fertility And Forage Yield Of Sorghum X Sudangrass Hybrids In A1 And A3 Cytoplasm, J. J. Toy, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, K. J. Moore

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Most sorghum x sudangrass hybrids are currently produced in Al male-sterile cytoplasm. Availability of alternative cytoplasmic sterility systems allows production of sorghum x sudangrass hybrids that may have superior forage characteristics. A study was conducted to compare the agronomic performance of Al and A3 sorghum x sudangrass hybrids. A bulk of eight sudangrass populations was used to pollinate four grain sorghum inbreds normally used as females that had been sterilized in both Al and A3 cytoplasm, and two inbreds normally used as males that had been sterilized in A3 cytoplasm. The hybrids were evaluated in 1990. Results indicate that male-sterile …

Inheritance Of Acid-Soil Tolerance In Sorghum (Sorghum Bicolor) Grown On An Ultisol, C. I. Flores, L. M. Gourley, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, R. B. Clark

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Inheritance of acid-soil tolerance (generally considered AI-toxicity tolerance) i.n sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is not clear. Forty F₁ sorghum hybrids and their 14 parents were grown two seasons in the field at relatively high (67 and 71%) and low (43 and 42%) Al saturations on an acid Ultisol in Colombia, South America to evaluate the effects of acid soil on agronomic component traits and to better understand inheritance of acid-soil tolerance of sorghum. For plants grown at the high Al saturation levels, hybrids from acid-soil tolerant [AS-T] x acid soil-sensitive [AS-S] crosses were as tolerant as hybrids from …

‘Starlight’ —Great Northern Dry Bean, D.P. Coyne, James R. Steadman, Dale T. Lindgren, D.S. Nuland

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The release of ‘Starlight’, a Great Northern dry bean cultivar (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), fulfills a need in western Nebraska for a cultivar with a relatively large seed size and a uniformly bright-white seedcoat (Korban et al., 1981). Foreign buyers of Great Northern beans desire a larger seed than the current predominant Great Northern cultivar Beryl (J.A. McGill, Jr., personal communication). In addition, the cultivar possesses improved architectural avoidance mechanisms to white mold disease (WMD) incited by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (Lib.) de Bary (Coyne, 1980), a serious problem in some seasons in western Nebraska.

Origin

‘Starlight’ (evaluated as F₁₀ WM1-85-43) …

Effect Of Preemergence Herbicide On Wildflower Establishment, K.S. Erusha, C. Fricker, Bob Shearman, Don Steinegger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This study was initiated to evaluate wildflower establishment using a preemergence herbicide. Fifty species of wildflowers (Table 1) were established on a Sharpsburg silty-clay loam (Typic Argiudoll), with a 6.9 pH, near Mead, Neb. Fortyseven (Table 1) wildflowers were established near Hubbard, Ore., on a Willamette sandy loam (Pachic Ultic Argixeroll) with a 6.6 pH. Both studies used a split-plot design, with herbicide treatment as main plots and wildflowers as subplots. Each treatment consisted of two replicates.

Herbicide treatments included an untreated control and a combination of S-ethyl dipropylthiocarbamate (EPTC) at 2.3 kg·ha-1 and α, α, α -trifluoro-2,6-dinitro-N,N-dipropyl-ptoluidine (trifluralin) at …

Plant Production Cost-Accounting/ Management System, Kevin C. Power, Jay Fitzgerald, George Meyer, Dennis D. Schulte

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A microcomputer program has been developed to keep records on energy, labor costs, product pricing, and revenue predictions for greenhouse and nursery production. The program manages plant production data, potentially enabling the grower to improve production and profits. The grower can use the program to determine how much it costs to produce individual plants, to ascertain labor costs and where to reallocate employees. Advertising and other indirect costs can be included to determine cost of production on a per-plant or per-square-foot basis.

Monofilament Lines Fail To Protect Grapes From Bird Damage, Don Steinegger, Danilo A. Agüero, Ron J. Johnson, Kent M. Eskridge

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Birds feeding on horticultural crops may cause extensive losses, but control techniques currently available are not always practical or otherwise appropriate. Control of certain birds is attempted by placing widely spaced lines or wires over or around sites needing protection (Pochop et al., 1990). Recently, Knight (1988) reported observations that monofilament lines could be used to protect various horticultural crops, including grapes, from bird damage. However, more closely controlled research was needed to better quantify effectiveness of this technique for various bird species. The objectives of this study were to determine the effectiveness of monofilament lines in protecting ripening grapes …

Medium Ph And Leaf Nutrient Concentration Influence Rust Pustule Diameter On Leaves Of Dry Beans, Haytham Z. Zaiter, Dermot P. Coyne, Ralph Clark, James R. Steadman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Nine bean cultivars/lines (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) were grown in three soils/ rooting media at pH values of 7.9, 6.5, and 5.8 in greenhouse, growth chamber, and field experiments to evaluate the leaf reaction of the plants to a Nebraska bean rust [Uromyces appendiculatus (Pers.) Unger var. appendiculatus] isolate US85-NP-10-1. Significant differences were observed for rust pustule diameter between cultivars/lines grown in the three growth media. Plants grown in the medium at pH 5.8 showed significantly larger rust pustule diameters than those of plants grown at pH 6.5 or 7.9. A significant interaction occurred between growth medium and …

Notes: Interpretive Analysis For Forage Yield Trial Data, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, K. J. Moore, Edzard Van Santen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Forage cultivar evaluation is often done in small plots with multiple harvests throughout the growing season. Data is often summarized by presenting a yearly total yield for each cultivar in addition to the mean for each harvest date. Data summarization often becomes burdensome and difficult to interpret. Regressing yield against a growth index associated with harvest dates can be utilized to describe forage performance in a concise and easily interpreted format. Subsets of data from tall fescue (Festuca amndinacea Schreb.) yield trials conducted in Alabama and Kentucky were used to demonstrate the technique. The analysis involves regressing yield of a …

Nitrogen And Methyl Jasmonate Induction Of Soybean Vegetative Storage Protein Genes, Paul E. Staswick, Jing-Feng Huang, Yoon Rhee

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Vegetative storage protein (VSP) and VSP mRNA levels in soybean (Glycine max) leaves correlated with the amount of NH₄NO₃ provided to nonnodulated plants. The mRNA level declined as leaves matured, but high levels of N delayed the decline. This is consistent with the proposed role for VSP in the temporary storage of N. Wounding, petiole girdling, and treatment with methyijasmonate (MeJA) increased VSP mRNA in leaves 24 hours after treatment. The magnitude of the response depended on leaf age and N availability. N deficiency essentially eliminated the response to wounding and petiole girdling. MeJA was …