Life Sciences Commons^™

Comparison Of Private And Public Lab Fertilizer Recommendation Impacts On Field Crop Production And Soil Test Results, Megan Baker

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

There are many sources that farmers utilize to determine fertilizer needs for crops such as private and public labs, crop advisors, and fertilizer dealers. In many cases, these sources provide recommendations for a specific crop that can vary greatly, which can lead to large differences in cost. An experiment was established in 2021 with 12 sites across the state of Utah in alfalfa, small grains, and corn to test and compare fertilizer recommendations from five labs. The recommendations tested were from two public labs (Utah State University and the University of Idaho) and three commercial labs located in the Western …

Novel Techniques To Determine Soil Evaporation Rates: Heat Pulse Probe And Automated Microlysimeter, Kashifa Rumana

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Increase in world population rate has augmented the global water use in municipal, industrial, and agricultural sectors, with renewable water resources changing
very little with time. Climate change and variability, degradation of water quality as a result of industrial waste streams, animal manure and waste, application of chemicals, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, heavy metals, etc. have largely influenced the quantity and quality of soil water. Root zone water helps sustain the agricultural industry by providing much of the water needed for irrigation. It is critical to monitor the soil water availability, especially within the plant root zones. The subsurface water tends to …

Phosphorous And Potassium Fertility Management For Maximizing Tart Cherry Fruit Quality And Productivity On Alkaline Soils, Sean D. Rowley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Suitable orchard land in regions of the Intermountain West is becoming more limited due to urban sprawl. With the loss of suitable farmland, increasing production costs, and the lack of sound fertility information for these regions, fruit growers face challenges to produce high quality fruit for market demand. Current standard management practices are not sufficient to optimize yield and fruit quality in the marginal farm land that is currently be used for fruit production. Fertility management of orchard trees is vital to tree health, yield, and fruit quality.

Three different approaches were used to investigate the effects of Phosphorus (P) …

Influence Of Soil Compaction On Nitrogen Volatilization In A Management Intensive Grazing System: Estimation Of Gaseous N Losses Using Mass Balance In Intact Soil Cores, Luke Alan Petersen

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Increasing concern about the environmental impacts of greenhouse gases and PM 2.5 particulates has prompted many researchers to examine the processes of gaseous loss of nitrogen (N) from agricultural land. As agricultural production becomes more competitive and producers strive to become more efficient by reducing input costs, they will increasingly employ practices such as the rotational stocking, also called Management Intensive Grazing (MIG). MIG utilizes high animal stocking rates for short periods of time to efficiently harvest pasture crops. Unfortunately, MIG also produces relatively high concentrations of livestock excreta. This has caused intensive grazing practices to become a focal point …

Field Testing Of Abrasion Resistant Carbides, Kevin C. Orme

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Chromium, tungsten, titanium, and vanadium carbides were investigated to determine relative cost of operation for each in an agricultural environment. For use on a ripper plow, these carbides were field tested in two different soil types; one soil having a matrix of gravel and cobblestones, and the other consisting of hard dirt and large underground rocks. Each alloy was applied to a high carbon plow point using an arc welding process. Along with the welded points, cast chromium carbide was tested. The results are given in price per acre and not solely longevity of the point. It was concluded that …

The Effects Of Osmotic Potential On Ammonification, Immobilization, Nitrous Oxide Production, And Nitrification Rates In Penoyer Soil, Andrew P. Low

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

An isotopic dilution method was used to test the effects of osmotic potential, (𝛹_s), upon nitrification, ammonification, N-immobilization, and nitrous oxide production rates in soil at solute concentrations encountered in Penoyer soil. A nitrification potential assay was also performed to approximate maximum nitrification rates.

Nitrification potential rates in soil slurries exponentially declined in response to decreased osmotic potential. However, nitrification was independent of salt concentration at the ambient NH₄⁺ concentrations of the soil. The differential response was attributed to the variable NH_4⁺ substrate quantities. The effects of osmotic potential were secondary to NH_{4 …}

Discussion And Measurement Of Soil Erosion In Iceland, Kimberly Jane Richardson

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Soil erosion has occurred since the beginning of time. It is a natural process, but one that has been increasing at an alarming rate. Once soil is eroded--whether it is blown out to sea or washed down a river to sedimentize a lake--it is lost. It is almost impossible to reestablish similar soil components and characteristics in a given system. Since soil and vegetation reestablishment is expensive, the prevention of soil erosion by controlling its causes has become the most cost-effective reclamation effort.

After spending six months in Iceland, I wrote this paper on the unique erosion problems facing that …

Effect Of Short Duration Grazing On Soil Moisture Depletion And Plant Water Status In A Crested Wheatgrass Pasture, Jon M. Wraith

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A short duration grazing system was utilized to determine the effects of intensive periodic defoliation during spring on soil moisture depletion patterns and plant water status in a crested wheatgrass (Agropyron cristatum and A. desertorum) pasture in central Utah. Exclosures were constructed to compare grazed and ungrazed responses. Soil moisture was monitored to a depth of 193 cm at one to two week intervals from mid-April to late-September using a neutron moisture gauge. Predawn and midday leaf water potentials were estimated using a pressure chamber technique. The two paddocks included in the study were grazed three times between …

Temporal And Spatial Partitioning Of The Soil Water Resource Between Two Agropyron Bunchgrasses And Artemisia Tridentata, Halldor Thorgeirsson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Dynamics of soil water use by two cool-season Agropyron bunchgrasses during the warm season depletion of soil water reserves were monitored for two years in experimental plots in the field. Agropyron desertorum, an introduced, competitive species from Eurasia, extracted more water from the deeper ( > 50 cm) soil layers than the native, less competitive Agropyron spicatum. Agropyron desertorum both extracts this water earlier and to lower soil water potentials than Agropyron spicatum. From the water extraction dynamics of the grasses in monocultures and in their two-way (50:50) mixtures with a shrub they commonly co-occur with, Artemisia tridentata …

The Impact Of Surface Soil Removal On Plant Production, Transpiration Ratios, Nitrogen Mineralization Rates, Infiltration Rates, Potential Sediment Losses, And Chemical Water Quality Within The Chained And Reseeded Pinyon-Juniper Types In Utah, Steven M. Lyons

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

During the period of October 1974 to August 1976, a study was conducted to measure the effects of surface soil removal on plant production, plant transpiration rates, nitrate nitrogen mineralization rates, and selected hydrologic parameters (infiltration rates, potential sediment production, and chemical quality of runoff water). The treatments were incremental 7.6 centimeter soil layers to a depth of 30.5 centimeters.

Plant production and transpiration ratios (or water use efficiencies) were measured in greenhouse studies using Agrogyron desertorum grown in the incremental 7.6 centimeter soil layers from five study sites throughout the state of Utah, (Blanding, Brush Creek, Milford, Huntington, and …

Nitrogen Fixation In Arid Western Soils, Robert Charles Rychert

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Nitrogen fixation by blue-green algae-lichen crusts from South Curlew Valley, Utah, in the Great Basin Desert, was studied using the acetylene reduction technique. A molar ratio of 3 moles C₂H₄ produced/mole of N₂ fixed was used to estimate nitrogen (N₂) fixation by acetylene reduction. Nostoc was found to be present in many of the lichen thalli examined microscopically. Crust nitrogen fixation decreased rapidly below -1/3 bar pressure (water potential) which indicated that nitrogen fixation occurs only when the crust is wet. This would suggest that most of the crust nitrogen fixation in the Great …

Influence Of A Soil Microfloral Crust On Hydrologic And Chemical Properties Of Soils In Southeastern Utah, Walter L. Loope

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Cryptogamic soil crusts within the Colorado Plateau were studied to determine their effect on infiltration rates, potential sediment production, permeability, and several chemical properties of the soil. Six different crust stages were identified. Undisturbed soil cores were used to determine intrinsic permeability under three treatments and disturbed soil samples were analyzed for pH, percent organic matter, soil texture, Ca+Mg content and total conductivity.

It was found that the cryptogamic crust had little effect on soil chemical properties. Analysis of undisturbed soil core data indicates that high cryptogamic cover tends to decrease intrinsic permeability; this effect was reinforced when cores were …

Estimating Agricultural Production Functions From Experimental Data For Different Crops In Relation To Irrigation, Fertilization And Soil Management In Northern Utah, Subramaniuam Swami Nathan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Estimates of agricultural production functions from experimental data for four different crops in relation to six variable inputs are calculated by this study. There are four basic sections in the study. The first section covers the review of production function concepts and the procedures and problems that specifically pertain to this study. Also the importance of joint economic-agronomic research efforts, methodologies and applications of agricultural production functions are cited.

The second section includes the presentation data and postulated functional relationships in estimating production functions. Model building programs are used in developing three dimensional figures, which aid in the selection of …

The Effect Of Decomposing Organic Matter On Zinc Level In Soil And Plants, Kamilia Shoukry Mohamed Shoukry

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

That proportion of the total zinc (Zn) in the soil that is available to plants is variable, and little is known about the various forms of Zn or even the extent to which it occurs. Because of the complexity of the problem, most workers have approached the problem of availability of Zn to plants from the opposite point of view, that is, the forms in which the added or available Zn becomes unavailable.

A Physico-Chemical Study Of Weathering Products In The Payson Soil Series, Lowell A. Douglas

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A knowledge of the clay minerals in a particular soil series would aid in the characterization and classification of that soil. The physical and chemical properties of a soil are largely controlled by the properties of the clay minerals in the soil.

This thesis presents the results of a study of the weathering products in a calcareous soil, with a B horizon high in clay content, attempting to determine if the clay accumulation is a product of in situ weathering. It was decided to study soil profiles from within the Bonneville Basin, since a fair estimate of time of in …

The Effect Of 2 Soil Fertility Levels On 5 Potato Varieties In Relation To Yield, Specific Gravity And Chipping Quality, Gayland D. Robison

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The potato enterprise is important in Utah as it provides a cash crop and also a means of diversifying and intensifying the operations on many irrigated farms. It is of particular value in the sections of the state that have a short growing season where other crops cannot feasibly be produced. The potato chip industry supplies a demand for large quantities of potatoes. The usage by this industry makes it a major factor in potato farming economy.

The making of chips originated over a hundred years ago as the result of an accident. A silver of potato fell into a …

Some Chemical Properties Of The Profiles Of Two Soil Series As Shown By Horizons And By Increments, Verle Q. Hale

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Soil classification in this country is based on the system proposed by Marbut in 1920 (2). This system uses eight criteria, one of which is the chemical composition of the soil horizons. Workers in the field of soil survey are depending more and more upon laboratory data to characterize and differentiate soils not only at the series level but also at higher levels of classification where it may be necessary to establish the presence or absence of critical horizons or characteristics. This was predicted by Robinson (16) when he said that laboratory analysis is needed to give "precise physical meaning …

Root Yields, Sucrose, And Glutamic Acid Content Of Sugar Beets As Influenced By Soil Moisture, Nitrogen Fertilization, Variety, And Harvest Date, Donald G. Woolley

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The United States produces about 1.8 million tons of sugar annually. Approximately 75 per cent of this production is derived from sugar beets. The importance of the sugar beet crop in national and world economy is justification for research effort as a means to more economical production.

It is desirable that sugar beet processing be carried out in the most efficient manner. More effective utilization of the sugar beet and its by-products will add stability to the sugar beet industry.

For the past 170 years, since Achard found that sugar could be used for human consumption and that pulp might …

On The Kinetics Of Moisture Flow In Unsaturated Soils, James Wellington Biggar

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The flow of fluids in porous media continues to be a widely studied phenomenon. Soil moisture relationships and particularly the flow of water in soil is perhaps the most widely investigated of the four edaphatic factors related to plant growth, namely moisture, aeration, temperature and compaction.

The Response Of Barley To Soil Moisture Tension And Fertilization, Mahmood Agah

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Barley is one of the important crops in many of the irrigated regions of the world. It is an important crop in Iran for both human consumption and livestock feed. In the United States and Europe it is used for livestock feed and beverages.

The income from this crop is moderate in comparison to that from other major agricultural products.

Barley production has a definite place in the economy of the region, because it requires only a small amount of care. It can be readily grown on poor lands. One of the factors contributing to the increased acreage of barley …

The Total Surface Of Some Soils As Related To Permeability And Water Retention Characteristics, Warren W. Rasmussen

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

It is generally recognized that many of the chemical and physical properties of soils are dependent upon the surface activity of the finer soil fractions. The importance of the magnitude of the surface areas to such properties as base exchange, water-holding capacity, absorption of gases, and the plasticity of soils has been demonstrated. Attempts have been made to determine or estimate the surface of soils and soil fractions by various methods and to relate the values obtained to the physical and chemical characteristics exhibited by these materials. Most determinations have been based on calculations of surface area from mechanical analysis …

The Influence Of Temperature Gradients On Soil Moisture Flow, Luigi Cavassa

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The isothermal movement of liquid water in saturated soil has been intensively studied, and a sound theoretical basis has been developed. Considerably less is known about the flow of water in unsaturated soils, but a general theory based on Darcy's law of flow is beginning to develop. A good theoretical basis exists for the vapor diffusion under isothermal conditions. Inconsistent data and theories are found in the literature concerning the movement of water in both the vapor and liquid phases, under the influence of thermal fields.

The Yield And Thiamine, Riboflavin And Niacin Content Of Alfalfa Hay As Related To Fertilizer Treatment Of Soil, Rasik L. Pathak

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Alfalfa has long been recognized as an outstanding hay plant in terms of both yield and feeding value. It is high in digestible protein, minerals, and vitamins. Because of its long life it can be economically produced. It is of exceptional value in maintaining soil fertility by helping to control erosion, by improving the physical condition of the soil, and by accumulating large amounts of nitrogen.

The great importance of alfalfa growing in the United States is attested by its rapid and continued expansion. It is one of the most important forage crops and is grown on a greater acreage …

Fertilizer Studies As Conducted On Muck Soil In Sanpete County, Utah, Lemoyne Wilson

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The reclamation of muck soil is a new development in the state of Utah. Knowledge concerning the various properties and requirements of the newly-drained area in Sanpete County, Utah, is extremely limited. A need for fundamental information concerning this type of soil was the basis for the establishment of an experimental farm in this region. The fact that most organic soils respond to mineral fertilizers soon after they have been reclaimed was an important reason for starting fertilizer work on this soil as soon as it was possible to do so. This thesis reports some of the fertilizer work being …