Life Sciences Commons^™

“Participation And Life Skill Development Of The Tennessee Junior Livestock Skillathon Programs, Amy Margaret Powell

Masters Theses

This study examined the Tennessee Junior Livestock Skillathon Program and its objectives. Research was conducted to determine what motivates or deters youth participation, how youth prepare for the skillathon and life skill development in the areas of communication, critical thinking and self-confidence. A self-developed, eleven question, likert scale survey was mailed to 200 randomly selected youth that exhibited livestock in the 2003 Tennessee Junior Livestock beef, sheep or market hog shows. Fifty-two percent (112) participants responded.

Youth that participate in the skillathon do so because they want to see how much they know about their project and they felt the …

Environmental Conservation On Agricultural Working Land: Assessing Policy Alternatives Using A Spatially Heterogeneous Land Allocation Model, Kelly M. Cobourn

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Multifunctionality refers to the ability of agricultural systems to produce an array of non-market goods and services in addition to market commodities. This thesis focuses explicitly on the provision of environmental benefits, through reduced soil erosion and fertilizer applications, by agricultural producers. Soil erosion and nutrient contamination from agricultural production are the foremost contributors to ground and surface water degradation in the United States. Reducing their production implies gains in social welfare, but may generate significant private losses to producers. The objective of this analysis is to quantify the tradeoff between environmental improvements and producer welfare and to examine the …

Teachers' Perceptions And Concerns Of Year-Round Education In Tennessee High School Agriculture Programs, Gary Lee Blackwell Jr.

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to focus on the emergence of year-round education and its possible effects on agricultural education programs throughout the state of Tennessee. The study collected perceptions of teachers who currently teach in a Tennessee high school agriculture program regarding the implementation of a year-round program at their school.

A survey was designed and sent to all 284 teachers identified in the 2002-2003 Tennessee Agriculture teacher directory. Findings were based upon a 69% response rate.

Findings

• The total number of survey respondents was 197; of these 93 .1 % taught in schools operating on a traditional …

Benefits And Challenges Of Service-Learning In Tennessee 4-H Youth Development: A Delphi Study, Lori Jean Mantooth

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to identify benefits and challenges of implementing service-learning in Tennessee 4-H Youth Development. Furthermore, the researcher sought to describe any perceived differences among three subgroups: 4-H members, volunteers, and Extension agents.

A purposefully selected panel of 10 4-H youth, 10 volunteers, and 10 4-H agents utilized the modified Delphi Technique to generate and prioritize benefits and challenges of conducting service-learning projects in Tennessee 4-H Youth Development. Data were gathered through three rounds of questionnaires administered to the panel through the mail and/or the Internet. The first round of questionnaires asked panel members to generate …

Moisture Potential Affects Rate Of Leaf Appearance In Cool Season Grasses, Nina Cherone Terrell

McCabe Thesis Collection

The rate of leaf appearance and onset of growth in cool season grasses may be influenced by soil moisture potential and exposure to below freezing temperatures. Levels of moisture potential and days exposed to freezing temperatures, which will restrict leaf appearance, are not well defined. The first part of this study was to determine the effects of different moisture potentials on the leaf appearance rates in two cool season grasses. Italian ryegrass (IRG) and tall wheat grass (TWG) were grown hydroponically at 4 moisture potentials in seed pouches in an incubator under a photoperiod of 13 hours light and 11 …

Loline Alkaloid Biosynthesis In Neotyphodium Uncinatum, A Fungal Endophyte Of Lolium Pratense, Jimmy Douglas Blankenship

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Some endophytes in mutualistic associations with Festuca, Lolium and other grass species produce insecticidal loline alkaloids (1-aminopyrrolizidines; LA). These loline alkaloids have a saturated pyrrolizidine ring system (two-rings sharing a carbon and nitrogen atom), a 1-amine substituted with methyl, acetyl, or formyl groups, and an oxygen bridge between C-2 and C-7. The development of a reliable system of production of LA in cultures of the Lolium pratense (meadow fescue) endophyte, Neotyphodium uncinatum, facilitated work on the LA biosynthetic pathway. N. uncinatum produced norloline, loline, methylloline, N-acetylnorloline (NANL), N-formylloline (NFL), and N-acetylloline as detected in culture filtrates. The total production …

An Analysis Of Marginal Effects Of Land Characteristics And Purchase Factors On Rural Land Values In North Louisiana, Rebecca Summers Mclaren

LSU Master's Theses

Hedonic models estimate the marginal effect of land characteristics and factors that contribute to a purchase decision on rural land values in submarkets of north Louisiana. While size of tract and mix of land use have expected impacts on rural land values, forces that motivate the buyer also affect price. The natural resource endowment of each of the three submarkets in this study differs significantly from one another. Topography has clearly identifiable impacts on crop selection and income in each submarket. Additionally, the relative location of the submarkets to major metropolitan areas is influential on rural land values in one …

Temporal Variability In Nutrient Transport In A First-Order Agricultural Basin In Southern Ontario, Merrin L. Macrae

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

This thesis examines phosphorus and nitrate transport in a first-order agricultural catchment in Southern Ontario. Specific areas of concern relate to (1) long- and short-term temporal variability in nutrient export patterns, (2) the role of drainage tiles in annual nutrient export, (3) the effects of antecedent hydrologic conditions (AHC) on nutrient export patterns and (4) temporal variability in the nutrient retention in riparian buffer strips and streams. Temporal variability in hydrochemical export from the study basin over a two-year period is described and quantified and the importance of high magnitude events is highlighted. This is the first comprehensive study to …

Evaluating International Agricultural Trade In Central America: Three Analyses, Jose Roberto Andino

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

A case study framework was used to study the competitiveness of Honduran coffee with major importing partners, along with an import demand analysis. Several important points summarize the findings. First, trends in green coffee supply and consumption continue to depress world coffee prices, making the production of coffee less attractive. Since small coffee producing countries, like Honduras, cannot affect the international price, they must improve efficiency, productivity, employ cost reduction techniques, and rely on the promotion of specific product attributes to remain competitive. Second, increased market share of Honduran coffee in major importing markets, Germany, Japan, and the U.S. was …

Spatial Econometric Analysis Of Louisiana Rural Real Estate Values, Patricia Soto

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

The general purpose of this study was to conduct a spatial analysis of the dynamics of rural land values in Louisiana. Specifically, spatial econometric procedures and hedonic price analysis were used to evaluate the impact of land characteristics on land prices across rural land markets in Louisiana. Initially, hedonic models were estimated by ordinary least squares (OLS) procedures to test for the presence of spatial autocorrelation using Lagrange Multiplier tests. Results suggested that there was spatial autocorrelation in the error terms. Hedonic models were then estimated using maximum likelihood (ML) spatial error techniques. Log likelihood numbers and likelihood ratio tests …

The Potential Impact Of Trade Policy Changes On Caribbean Sugar, Delroy Anthony Armstrong

LSU Master's Theses

This study of the Caribbean Sugar Industry summarizes its sugar trading activities and evaluates the potential impact of changes in preferential trading arrangements with the European Union (EU) on the six countries that makes up the Sugar Association of the Caribbean, namely: Jamaica, Barbados, Belize, Guyana, St. Kitts-Nevis, and Trinidad & Tobago. The trading policies that govern sugar trade between these countries and developed countries such as the EU, the United States of America (US) and to a limited extent trade among them is discussed. The report briefly describes how the Caribbean sugar industry is organized, including supply and demand …

An Economic Evaluation Of Using Management Zones In Cotton Production, Jose Antonio Cabrera-Davila

LSU Master's Theses

This thesis examines the use of Precision Agriculture technologies to define Management Zones within a multicrop production system. It further evaluates the economic feasibility of implementing spatially variable insecticide applications against conventional blanket treatments with respect to insect pest management in cotton production. The use of geographical information systems was critical in the development of the different yield maps established to determine the level of consistency of management zones across crops over time. Several important concepts, such as data normalization, yield grid maps, inverse distance weighted and stability, were introduced throughout this research to: set the scale of measures to …

An Evaluation Of Cost Of Production Insurance As An Income Support Tool For Rice And Cotton Producers In Louisiana, Erica Harding

LSU Master's Theses

Crop insurance has received a great deal of attention over the past several years. The main interest and focus of analysis on crop insurance has been to evaluate its use and performance as a risk management tool for agricultural producers. Several different types of crop insurance policies are currently available, ranging from minimal yield coverage to revenue coverage. Cost of production crop insurance has been proposed recently as a low cost, safety net type of insurance policy for agricultural producers. This study evaluated the performance of cost of production crop insurance for cotton and rice producers in Louisiana. Crop income …

Case Study Analysis Of Strategic Alliances For The U.S. Beef Industry, Angel Bu Zapatta

LSU Master's Theses

This paper provides case studies on the structure of six strategic alliances in the beef industry. Strategic alliances are identified whose structure could conceivably be used in Louisiana. Strategic alliances are compared and contrasted on the basis of development and performance. The main objective of this study was to determine the organization and operation of six strategic alliances in the beef industry. The study examines strategic alliances in the U.S. beef industry using multiple exploratory case studies. The exploratory type, allows the researcher to better understand critical points in the beef industry and how the use of strategic alliances can …

Determination Of Four Production Indicators In Llama (Lama Glama) Herds In Ayllu Pumasara, Saucari, Oruro, Magin Herrera Lopez

Theses and Dissertations

Camelid exploitation, despite its economic antiquity in our nation, recently has awakened greater interest in investigators. Currently, there are more than 2,500,000 llamas in the Altiplano, which is the highest number of camelids on the world. Production is organic, with the llama capital of Bolivia being the department of Oruro. This work's objective is to determine four production parameters: composition and structure of llama herds, percentage of births, cria [calf] mortality, and crias that reach 5 months old, in 3 communities of Ayllu Pumasa of Saucar’ province, department of Oruro. The llama-raising system is traditional and herds contain more than …

Evaluation Of Drip And Microasperation Irrigation Methods In Spinach (Spinaca Oleracea) And Swiss Lettuce (Valerianella Locusta) In Walipinis, Marina Roxana Luque Quispe

Theses and Dissertations

This study occurred at the Ventilla Ecologic farm, situated in the central Altiplano of the Murillo province, 26 km from La Paz. Its objectives were to evaluate two types of irrigation, by drip and by microasperation, in spinach and Swiss lettuce in Walipinis, and to conduct an economic analysis. The genetic material used was spinach (viroflay variety) and Swiss lettuce (large-leaved variety). Chapin irrigation belts and nebulizers were used, and two tensiometers were used to determine the soil moisture. Manual planting occurred on September 1, 2002, in all experimental areas. Seeds were dispersed in a continual flow with Swiss lettuce …

Sexual And Asexual Reproductive Characteristics Of The North American Pawpaw [Asimina Triloba (L.) Dunal], Sheri Beth Crabtree

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

The North American Pawpaw [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] shows great potential as a new fruit crop. Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Ky. is the site for the USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository (NCGR) for Asimina species. Both the fruit and the trees themselves are of high value to growers and nursery producers. Pawpaw cultivars are currently propagated by grafting or budding onto seedling rootstock; no method currently exists to clonally propagate pawpaw on its own roots. Three methods of layering were attempted in this study to clonally propagate pawpaw: trench layering, pot layering, and mound layering. Both trench layering …

Recommended Practices For Effective Teaching In The International Baccalaureate Program: An Examination Of Instructional Skills, Assessment Practices, And Teacher-Efficacy Beliefs Of Ib Teachers, Linda Prince Hutchinson

Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects

The purpose of this study was to analyze the design and implementation of the International Baccalaureate Program for its fit as an advanced academic option. The first step involved determining the alignment of program and curricular goals with recommended practices for general and gifted education and, consequently, to examine the instructional practices and self-efficacy beliefs of International Baccalaureate teachers.;A review of literature revealed limited research on IB Program implementation and its grounding in recommended instructional practice. Therefore, a comparative analysis was conducted of IB program and curricular goals to determine their alignment with 21 recommended practices for gifted and general …