Life Sciences Commons^™

2020 Director's Report Of Research In Kansas, J. E. Minton

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The Director’s Report of Research in Kansas includes a list of journal articles, station publications, and other published manuscripts from scientists in our departments, research-extension centers, and associated programs.

Assessment Of Soy-Based Imports Into The Us And Associated Foreign Animal Disease Status, Allison K. Blomme, Cassandra K. Jones, Jordan T. Gebhardt, Jason C. Woodworth, Chad B. Paulk

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Soy-based products are known to pose a viable risk to US swine herds because of their ability to harbor and transmit virus. This study evaluated soy imports into the US as a whole and from foreign animal disease positive (FAD+) countries to determine which products are being imported in the highest quantities and observe potential trends in imports from FAD+ countries. Import data were accessed through the United States International Trade Commission website (USITC DataWeb) and summarized using R (version 4.0.2, R core team, Vienna, Austria). Twenty-one different Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes were queried to determine quantities (US tons, …

Director's Report Of Research In Kansas, 2018 And 2019, J. E. Minton

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The Director’s Report of Research in Kansas includes a list of journal articles, station publications, and other published manuscripts from scientists in our departments, research-extension centers, and associated programs.

Director's Report Of Research In Kansas 2017, J. E. Minton

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The 2017 Director’s Report of Research in Kansas includes a list of journal articles, station publications, and other published manuscripts from scientists in our departments, research-extension centers, and associated programs.

Director's Report Of Research In Kansas, 2016, J. E. Minton

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The 2016 Director’s Report of Research in Kansas includes a list of journal articles, station publications, and other published manuscripts from scientists in our departments, research-extension centers, and associated programs.

Assessing Training Methods To Educate Dairy Workers, L. Mendonca, B. E. Voelz, A. Scanavez

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Training employees is fundamental for dairy producers to achieve efficiency in order to increase profitability. Training videos offered online are becoming more common and recommended to train employees. The goals of this survey were to evaluate the comfort level of dairy employees in using computers and tablets, and preferred training delivery methods. A total of 71 employees from 6 dairies were interviewed. Interviews were conducted in the preferred language of the interviewee – English or Spanish. Of the respondents, 52 and 65.6% of employees consider computers and tablets easy to use, respectively. More than half of the employees reported that …

Effects Of Intensive Late-Season Sheep Grazing Following Early-Season Steer Grazing On Population Dynamics Of Sericea Lespedeza In The Kansas Flint Hills, J. Lemmon, W. H. Fick, J. A. Alexander, G. W. Preedy, C. A. Gurule, K C. Olson

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Sericea lespedeza (Lespedeza cuneata; SL) is a high-tannin, invasive forb in the Tallgrass Prairie ecosystem. In Kansas, sericea lespedeza infests 980 square miles of pasture, primarily in the Flint Hills region. Sericea lespedeza infestations reduce native grass production by up to 92% through a combination of aggressive growth, prolific reproduction, canopy dominance, and chemical inhibition (allelopathy). Herbicides retard the spread of sericea lespedeza, but application is laborious and expensive; moreover, herbicides are lethal to ecologically-important, non-target plant species.

Increased grazing pressure on sericea lespedeza by domestic herbivores may slow its spread and facilitate some measure of biological control. …

Director's Report Of Research In Kansas, 2015, J. E. Minton

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The 2015 Director’s Report of Research in Kansas includes a list of journal articles, station publications, and other published manuscripts from scientists in our departments, research stations, and associated programs.

Value And Use Of Artificial Insemination By Beef Producers, S. K. Johnson, Garland R. Dahlke

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Artificial insemination and estrous synchronization remain underutilized by U.S. beef producers. The most recent National Animal Health Monitoring Survey (NAHMS 2007–08) reported that 7.6% of producers used artificial insemination and 7.9% used estrous synchronization. The most common reason cited for not using these reproductive technologies was time and labor, followed by cost and difficulty. Little information is available on actual management practices used by producers who do use these technologies and their value to such operations.

Effects Of Seed Treatment On Sudden Death Syndrome Symptoms And Soybean Yield, E. A. Adee

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Sudden death syndrome (SDS) is a soybean disease that perennially limits yields in the Kansas River Valley. The presence of soybean cyst nematode (SCN) and saturated soils have been implicated in contributing to the severity of the disease. Selecting varieties with some degree of tolerance to SDS is the only cultural practice that can potentially reduce the severity of SDS and improve yields. Variety selection alone, however, cannot improve the production of soybeans to make them profitable. The challenge of trying to manage irrigation scheduling to avoid saturated soils further complicates efforts to increase productivity with irrigation while still avoiding …

Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome Influenced By Macronutrient Fertility On Irrigated Soybean In A Corn/Soybean Rotation, E. A. Adee, D. Ruiz Diaz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilization on a corn/ soybean cropping sequence were evaluated from 1983 to 2014, with corn planted in odd years. We observed a relationship between the P rate applied during the corn years and the severity of sudden death syndrome (SDS) in 2014 soybean.

Tillage Study For Corn And Soybean: Comparing Vertical, Deep, And No-Till, E. A. Adee

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The need for tillage in corn and soybean production in the Kansas River Valley continues to be debated. The soils of the Kansas River Valley are highly variable, with much of the soil sandy to silty loam in texture. These soils tend to be relatively low in organic matter (<2%) and susceptible to wind erosion. Although typically well drained, these soils can develop compaction layers under certain conditions. A tillage study was initiated in the fall of 2011 at the Kansas River Valley Experiment Field near Topeka to compare deep vs. shallow vs. no-till vs. deep tillage in alternate years. Corn and soybean crops are rotated annually. This is intended to be a long-term study to determine if soil characteristics and yields change in response to a history of each tillage system.

Forage Sorghum Performance Trial, J. L. Moyer, E. A. Adee

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

In our sorghum trials, production of forage was greater (P<0.05) for ‘FS 4’ and ‘AF 7401’ than for ‘AF 7202,’ possibly related to differences in maturity. Estimated grain production was greater for ‘AF 7401’ than for all others, except for ‘AF 7102.’

Late-Season Nitrogen Fertilizer Application In Soybean, G. R. Balboa, D. R. Hodgins, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Field experiments were conducted at the North Central Kansas Experiment Field near Scandia, KS, in the summer of 2014 to evaluate effect of late-season nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on modern soybean genotypes under dryland and irrigated environments. The main objective was to determine if the N application late in the season has an agronomical benefit to soybean producers. A unique fertilizer N source (urea) was applied at five N rates (0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 lb N/a) to soybean at the R3 growth stage. Overall soybean yields under dryland conditions ranged from 73 to 89 bu/a, whereas yield variation …

Late-Season Nitrogen Fertilizer Application In Soybean, D. R. Hodgins, E. A. Adee, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Field experiments were conducted at the Kansas River Valley Experiment Field, located near Rossville and Topeka, KS, in the summer of 2014 to evaluate effects of late-season nitrogen (N) fertilizer application on modern soybean genotypes. A unique fertilizer N source (urea) was applied at five N rates (0, 40, 80, 120, and 160 lb N/a) to soybean at the R3 growth stage. The main objective was to determine if late-season N application has an agronomical benefit to soybean producers. Overall soybean yields ranged from 43.7 to 57.5 bu/a considering both experimental fields. At Rossville, sudden death syndrome (SDS) affected the …

Seeding Date Effects On Camelina Seed Yield And Quality Traits, E. Obeng, A. Obour

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Identifying crops that are adapted to dryland environments of the central and northern Great Plains (GP) has been a major challenge. An alternative crop with potential for dryland crop production in the GP is camelina (Camelina sativaL. Crantz). Time of planting is an important management consideration that can affect camelina production. Early planting allows camelina to mature before the onset of hot summer temperatures in the central GP that can affect seed yield. A study was carried out in the spring of 2013 and 2014 to evaluate planting date effects on spring camelina varieties grown under dryland conditions …

Corn Yield Response To Plant Populations, D. E. Shoup, E. A. Adee, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Corn hybrid development with a focus on drought tolerance has emerged in recent years, and producers have questions about their yield performance across a range of plant populations. A two-year study was conducted to determine the yield of corn hybrids across several plant populations. Corn hybrids responded differently in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, a lower yield environment occurred. The hybrid with drought tolerance had the greatest yield of 95 bu/a at a plant population of 21,500 plants/a, whereas the non-drought-tolerant hybrid’s greatest yield was 90 bu/a at a plant population of 13,500 plants/a. In 2014, the yield environment was …

Balanced Nutrition And Crop Production Practices For Closing Grain Sorghum Yield Gaps, B. Mchenry, E. A. Adee, P. V. Vara Prasad, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

A field experiment was conducted at the East Central Kansas Experiment Field near Ottawa, KS, and at the Kansas River Valley Experiment Field near Rossville, KS, in the summer of 2014 to evaluate diverse cropping systems approaches on closing sorghum yield gaps. Yield gaps can be understood as the difference between maximum yield and attainable on-farm yields. The factors that were tested include narrow row spacing; plant population; balanced nutrition practices, including various timings of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) and micronutrient applications; crop protection with fungicide and insecticide applications; plant growth regulator effects; and the use of precision ag …

Corn Yield Response To Water Availability, T. Newell, K. Roozeboom, G. J. Kluitenberg, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Drought-tolerant technologies have become popular in hybrids for low-yielding corn environments across central and western Kansas and are marketed for their ability to produce higher grain yields with less water. The objective of this study was to compare water use, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) of two types of drought-tolerant (DT) corn hybrids and a high-yielding non-DT hybrid. Water use and yield of two DT and one non-DT, high-yielding hybrid were compared in both dryland and irrigated situations. The average yield for the irrigated corn was 217 bu/a, and the average was 127 bu/a in dryland, representing a yield …

Breaking Corn Yield Barriers: A Cropping Systems Approach, G. R. Balboa, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

A corn research trial was conducted at Scandia, KS, during the 2014 growing season. The objective was to study the contribution of different farming systems in developing efficient and high-yielding corn production systems. The experiment had five treatments: farmer practices, comprehensive fertilization, production intensity, ecological intensification, and advanced plus. Farmer practice was the lowest-yielding treatment, and ecological intensification and advanced plus treatment presented similar yields.

Grain Sorghum Yield Response To Water Availability, J. P. Broeckelman, E. A. Adee, G. J. Kluitenberg, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Yield effects of irrigation on sorghum and corn were compared, but this report is merely focused on the sorghum phase of the crop rotation. Mean yield for irrigated sorghum was 168 bu/a, whereas dryland yield was 145 bu/a. The latter represents a yield improvement of 24 bu/a, an increase of approximately 2 bu/a per unit (in.) of water applied (considering a total of 11 in. of water applied in the irrigation block).

The irrigated sorghum used a mean of 7.8 in. more water than the dryland, which suggests that the dryland sorghum consumed 3.4 in. more water from the soil …

Grain Sorghum Yield Response To Water Availability, J. P. Broeckelman, G. J. Kluitenberg, K. Roozeboom, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Yield effects of irrigation on sorghum and corn were compared, focusing only on the grain sorghum phase. Average water use for irrigation was 22 in., and dryland sorghum used 17 in. Average yields based on 12.5% grain moisture for dryland and irrigated sorghum were similar, with 138 bu/a for the irrigated and 142 bu/a for the dryland environment. Irrigated sorghum yields were similar, but in dryland, the Pioneer 84G62 hybrid yielded 149 bu/a, a 10 bu/a increase over Pioneer 84Y50 and DKS 53-67 hybrids, which yielded 139 bu/a and 138 bu/a, respectively. Although there was a difference in the yield …

Balanced Nutrition And Crop Production Practices For Closing Grain Sorghum Yield Gaps, B. Mchenry, P. V. Vara Prasad, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

A field experiment was conducted at the North Central Kansas Experiment Field near Scandia, KS, in the summer of 2014 to evaluate diverse cropping systems approaches to closing sorghum yield gaps. Yield gaps can be understood as the difference between maximum and attainable on-farm yields. The approach taken in this project is system wide, rather than focusing on one factor and its interaction. The factors that were tested include narrow row spacing; plant population; balanced nutrition practices, including various timings of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) and micronutrient applications; crop protection with fungicide and insecticide applications; plant growth regulator effects; …

Response Of Wheat To Residual Fertilizer Nitrogen Applied To Previously Failed Corn, D. W. Sweeney, D. Ruiz Diaz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

When drought conditions result in poor corn growth and yield, the potential exists for carryover of fertilizer nitrogen (N) to wheat. Soil sampling at the wheat jointing stage showed that NO₃-N levels increased slightly as previous N rate increased up to 240 lb/a N, but did not appear sufficient for the wheat yield increase to previous N rate. The relationship between wheat normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) measurements at jointing and wheat yield was linear. The use of crop active sensors such as the GreenSeeker (Trimble Navigation Ltd., Sunnyvale, CA) may provide plant response data to supplement soil …

Surface Runoff Characteristics From Claypan Soil In Southeastern Kansas Receiving Different Plant Nutrient Sources And Tillage, D. W. Sweeney, Philip Barnes, Gary Pierzynski

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Preliminary results show that two-year average total nitrogen (N) runoff losses and ortho-phosphorus (P) and total P runoff losses in the second year were greater with N-based turkey litter/no-till applications than P-based turkey litter or fertilizer-only applications. Incorporation of turkey litter applied based on N requirements resulted in N and P losses that did not differ from losses from P-based or fertilizer-only treatments. Chemical and statistical analyses of third-year samples will allow for final results and interpretation.

Tillage And Nitrogen Placement Effects On Yields In A Short-Season Corn/Wheat/Double-Crop Soybean Rotation, D. W. Sweeney

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

In 2013, late planting resulted in corn yields that were less than 100 bu/a. Nitrogen (N) placement did not affect yields in the higher-yielding conventional tillage system, but knifing tended to result in greater yield in reduced and no-till systems.

Evaluating The Effectiveness Of Iron Chelates In Managing Iron Deficiency Chlorosis In Grain Sorghum, A. Obour, R. Perumal

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Grain sorghum production in alkaline or calcareous soils is frequently affected by iron (Fe) chlorosis. Soil conditions such as high pH, high free calcium carbonate (lime), and low organic matter favor development of iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC), which can delay crop maturity and reduce yields. Two field experiments were conducted in the summer of 2014 to determine the effectiveness of Fe chelate application in alleviating IDC in grain sorghum. Treatments in the first study were four Fe chelate application rates (0, 3, 6, and 9 lb/a) applied either in-furrow with the seed at the time of planting or 2 weeks …

Nitrogen And Sulfur Fertilization Effects On Camelina Sativa In West Central Kansas, E. Obeng, A. Obour

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Camelina sativais early maturing and possesses characteristics that make it a good fit as a rotation crop in dryland wheat cropping systems. Nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) play very important roles in oilseed production, including camelina. This study was undertaken in 2013 and 2014 to determine N and S rates necessary for optimum camelina production in West Central Kansas. The experiment was set up as randomized complete blocks with four replications in a split-plot arrangement. Treatments were two S rates (0 and 18 lb/a) as the main plots, and N rates (0, 20, 40, and 80 lb/a) were the …

Corn Response To Foliar-Applied Zinc Fertilizers, A. Lamb, N. O. Nelson

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

This study was conducted to determine corn response to three foliar-applied zinc sources. The study was conducted on dryland corn in Manhattan, KS, during the 2014 growing season. Yields were low as a result of very low precipitation during pollination and grain fill. There was no yield response to foliar-applied Zn; however, grain analysis show significant increases in grain Zn concentration from foliar-applied Zn. Foliar-applied Zn products are effective for increasing Zn uptake in corn. Additional studies need to be conducted to determine the yield response.

Fertilizer Placement And Tillage Interaction In Corn And Soybean Production, A. T. Rosa, D. A. Ruiz Diaz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Different tillage systems can affect the availability of phosphorus (P) by changing the soil environment. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects and interaction of fertilizer placement, tillage, and varieties for soybean and corn. The experiment was established at two locations in Kansas in 2014. The experimental design was a factorial in a randomized complete block with four replications. Three fertilizer treatments were combined with two tillage systems and two varieties of soybean and corn selected based on contrasting root systems. Plant tissue samples were collected during the vegetative and reproductive stages to evaluate P concentration, P …