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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences

Nematicidal Activity Of Extracts From Phytolacca Americana On Five Plant-Pathogenic Nematode Species Of Economic Importance, Saleh Ahmed Dec 2015

Nematicidal Activity Of Extracts From Phytolacca Americana On Five Plant-Pathogenic Nematode Species Of Economic Importance, Saleh Ahmed

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Plant-parasitic nematodes cause significant losses to plant agriculture annually. The limited availability and high cost of synthetic nematicides, along with the environmental risks associated with their use, have created a renewed interest in the search for alternative management tactics. One such alternative tactic is the use of plant extracts. The focus of this research is the evaluation of the nematicidal activity of water extracts from Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana). In vitro and greenhouse tests were performed to evaluate the effects of the extracts on five species of plant-pathogenic nematodes of economic importance: Aphelenchoides fragariae, Ditylenchus dispsaci, Meloidogyne incognita, Pratylenchus penetrans, and …


Weeds, Nitrogen, And Yield: Measuring The Effectiveness Of An Organic No-Till System, David Robb Dec 2015

Weeds, Nitrogen, And Yield: Measuring The Effectiveness Of An Organic No-Till System, David Robb

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Previous research in the mid-Atlantic and midwestern USA has identified advantages and drawbacks of "organic no-till" vegetable production, but few studies have been conducted in the warmer southeastern region. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of tillage [no-till (NT) vs. conventional tillage (CT) of a cereal rye/crimson clover cover crop] and three nitrogen fertilization rates on organic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) yield, weed suppression, and soil N dynamics in two years in a soil series in Clemson, SC. Squash yields were similar between tillage treatments in both years. NT tomato …


Development And Implementation Of Hay Yield Monitoring Technology, Henry Ramsey Dec 2015

Development And Implementation Of Hay Yield Monitoring Technology, Henry Ramsey

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Three independent technologies related to hay yield monitoring were developed and studied. One technology involved comparison of infrared and ultrasonic sensors on a self-propelled forage harvester. Sensor response related to grass height and was used to estimate yield. Plots that were harvested ranged from 20-40 ft. in length while a bin mounted on the back of the mower collected the crop for weighing and sampling. The infrared sensors data demonstrated accuracies across plots between 5.9% and 9.5% error. The infrared sensors quickly deteriorated and eventually proved to be useless for data acquisition. As for the ultrasonic sensors, they demonstrated similar …


Influence Of Exurban Neighborhoods On Riparian Vegetation And Stream Salamanders In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Nathaniel Weaver Dec 2015

Influence Of Exurban Neighborhoods On Riparian Vegetation And Stream Salamanders In The Southern Appalachian Mountains, Nathaniel Weaver

All Theses

The southern Appalachian Mountains have experienced large population growth and a change in land use in the past 30 years. The majority of development has been low density, suburban land, known as exurban development. Lotic Systems and riparian areas are severely degraded by conversion from urban to rural land uses. The long-term effects of exurbanization on riparian vegetative communities and stream salamanders in the southern Appalachian Mountains are not well known. We sought to determine if vegetative community composition and structure change with time since neighborhood development or with the amount of impervious surface within the watershed. In order to …


The Detection And Characterization Of Some Viruses Infecting Blackberry And Cherry In South Carolina, Bindu Poudel Dec 2015

The Detection And Characterization Of Some Viruses Infecting Blackberry And Cherry In South Carolina, Bindu Poudel

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Three separate virus research projects were conducted. Blackberry yellow vein disease (BYVD), a disorder caused by virus complexes, has become a major threat to blackberry production in the United States, especially in the southeastern part of the country where blackberries are grown for the fresh market. More than 30 viruses have been found to be associated with the disease. Most of these induce no symptoms when infecting the plant alone. However, when more than a single virus is present in the host visible symptoms are displayed. The incidence of 6 different viruses (Blackberry yellow vein-associated virus, Blackberry virus Y, Blackberry …


Establishing A Permanent Feeding Site: Reniform Nematode Manipulation Of Soybean Genes, Nathan Wayne Redding May 2015

Establishing A Permanent Feeding Site: Reniform Nematode Manipulation Of Soybean Genes, Nathan Wayne Redding

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Reniform nematode, Rotelynchulus reniformis, is a semi-endoparasite capable of infecting more that 300 host plant species in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions. Female nematodes penetrate host roots and introduce effectors that lead to the formation of multinucleate feeding sites called syncytia. The objective of our study was to identify plant genes involved in the process of syncitium formation. We used a split-root system in which half of a plant’s roots were inoculated with R. reniformis while the rest of the root system remained uninfected. Illumina RNA-seq was used to quantify gene expression patterns in replicate samples of infected and …