Life Sciences Commons^™

Field Evaluation Of Struvite As A Phosphorus Source, Niyi Sunday Omidire

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Phosphorus (P) is an element that is crucial in many biological processes in all forms of life and is not substitutable. Excess P in wastewaters leading to the degradation of receiving waters or eutrophication once released is a major environmental concern. Removal of excess P from wastewater as the mineral struvite (MgNH4PO4·6H2O) could be a promising solution to reduce P discharge into receiving waters and can potentially provide a valuable fertilizer-P source for agricultural production. The objectives of this project were to evaluate the effects of: 1) chemically precipitated struvite (CPST), compared to triple superphosphate (TSP) and an unamended control …

Responses Of Dragonfly Visual Neurons Mdt3 And Dit3 To Near-Hit Looming Stimuli, Benjamin Goodman Shapiro

Honors Theses

Dragonflies are known to have highly sophisticated visual processing systems, allowing precise flight control and incredibly accurate prey capture (Olberg et al., 2000). These processes are mediated by a group of neurons known as Target Selective Descending Neurons, or TSDNs. Of the TSDNs, MDT3 and DIT3 are known to respond to objects expanding into the animal’s field of view, otherwise known as looming objects. Through the use of intracellular electrical recording, we aimed to understand how these two neurons work together to scan the entire visual field, as well as how they respond to objects on a trajectory to miss …

Developing A Field Indicator For Suckering Ability Of Quaking Aspen, Abbey M. Hudler Oksness

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Quaking aspen is an ecologically valuable deciduous tree species in the high elevation environment typical across many parts of western North America. It is a clonal tree species which primarily depends on vegetative regeneration by root suckering after an aboveground disturbance, e.g., wildfire, removes the stems. A flush of suckers will be stimulated after a disturbance and the resulting regeneration relies on available resources from the undamaged root system for resprouting. Due to wildfire suppression efforts of the last century, many aspen stands are considered mature, overmature, or decadent and lack regeneration to replace the overstory mortality. In the absence …

Comparisons Of Physicochemical Properties Of Watermelon Juice Treated With Pulsed Electric Fields And Thermal Pasteurization, Lauren Nicole Cook

LSU Master's Theses

Pulsed electric field (PEF) treatment is a non-thermal and alternative pasteurization treatment for fruit juices. PEF applies short pulses of electricity to a liquid food sample which inactivates microorganisms and enzymes. Thermal pasteurization is commonly used to pasteurize juice in the fruit juice industry but the process tends to deteriorate color, nutrients, and overall juice appearance. The overall goal of this study was to determine the effects of PEF treatment (30 kv/cm for 57 ìs in bipolar 2 ìs pulses at 22°C) on color, lycopene content, vitamin C content, pH, °Brix, and microbial count when compared with the effects of …

Beneficial Fungal Interactions Resulting In Accelerated Germination Of Astragalus Utahensis, A Hard-Seeded Legume, Sean D. Eldredge

Theses and Dissertations

Seed germination is pivotal in the life cycle of native plants in a restorative context because initiation of the metabolic processes critical to establishment is key to survival in such a competitive environment. Dormancy characteristics of some native plants including the subject species, Astragalus utahensis, have evolved mechanisms to control germination in order to maintain a seed bank and ensure germination at the right time under optimal conditions. In vitro germination studies confirm beneficial interactions between Alternaria and Aspergillus fungi and Astragalus utahensis seed. Inoculated seed trials (1.0 x 106 spores/mL) exhibited a highly significant difference in percent germination between …

Investigations Of Field Performance And Physiological Effects Of Metsulfuron And Metsulfuron Combinations On Field Bindweed (Convolvulus Arvensis L.), Hamid Rahimian Mashhadi

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis L.) is a noxious perennial weed of many fallow and cropland fields all over the world. Present control methods are not satisfactory for field bindweed. Metsulfuron, 2[[[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazine-2-yl) amino] carbonyl] amino] sulfonyl] benzoic acid, is a new herbicide that has been shown to have activity on bindweed especially when tank mixed with other herbicides. This study was conducted to investigate the field performance and some physiological effects of metsulfuron on field bindweed.

Neither metsulfuron alone nor metsulfuron combinations gave persistent control of field bindweed. Metsulfuron usually increased the activity of other bindweed herbicides. Herbicide application to …

Chemical Composition And Acceptability Of Rain Damaged, Field Dried Alfalfa Hay, Cesar Augusto Araque H.

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Water was applied to swaths of cut alfalfa forage with oscillating sprinklers to stimulate rain damage to field drying alfalfa hay to determine the changes in chemical composition, loss of yield, and acceptability of rain damaged hay to sheep. An additional objective was to develop models to estimate yield losses form experimental hay. The experimental hay was prepared with a 2x2x4x4x2 factorial design. The factors were two different cuttings (July and September), two width of swath (3.05 m and 4.27 m), four times of applying artificial rain (3h, 8h, 13h, and 24h after cutting), four levels of artificial rain (no …

The Effect Of Rain Leaching On Field Dried Alfalfa Hay Yield And Lamb Production From The Hay, John M. Kaykay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

A 2 x 3 x 2 factorial arranged split plot experiment was used to determine the decrease of dry matter yield from field-dried alfalfa hay caused by the application of a measured quantity of artificial rain (sprinkling irrigation). The three hay treatment factors were (1) alfalfa hay was cut at late vegetative and early bloom stage of maturity and (2) leached by 0, 5 mm or 20 mm of artificial rain applied by sprinkling and (3) sprinkled in the swath, 24 or 48 hours after cutting.

Changes in dry matter yield were not significantly (P < .05) related to stage of maturity of forage, level of artificial rain applied or the time of application of artificial rain. There were no significant interactions for dry matter yield. The non-significant results were probably due to the variability of the alfalfa stand among the specific areas harvested for each treatment and insufficient replications to control the variability.

Forty-eight lambs were fed for …

An Evaluation Of Using In-Field Evaporation Pans To Schedule Irrigation On Potatoes, Michael J. Tremblay

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

This research project was undertaken to determine if an evaporation pan would accurately predict evapotranspiration when placed in an actual irrigated field situation. Two potato fields in Southern Idaho with different micro-climates and soil types were used in this study. The in-field evaporation pan method was compared with the gravimetric method and the Jensen-Haise and modified-Penman climatic methods. Yield and quality responses were evaluated by varying the amount of sprinkler-applied water so that three distinct moisture regimes were evaluated. It was also necessary to evaluate recent crop coefficient (K_c) curves on potatoes to see if the K_{c …}

Principles Of Irrigation Farming As Developed By American Field Experiments, Prabh Dyall Sikka

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Irrigation is "the artificial application of water to the soil for the purpose of getting large and steady crop yields". It is supplementary to rainfall and the quantity of water applied and the time of application, therefore, must be determined by the character of the rainfall. Irrigation is usually practiced in those regions which have low rainfall as natural precipitation at such places is insufficient to meet the full water requirements of crops.