Plant Sciences Commons^™

Canavalia Gladiata And Dolichos Lablab Extracts For Sustainable Pest Biocontrol And Plant Nutrition Improvement In El Salvador, Carlos Martinez

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Botanical repellents and pesticides are now being rediscovered as new tools for integrated pest management in order to reduce the use of toxic chemicals in crop production. Canavalia gladiata and Dolichos lablab are two Fabaceae very well adapted to farmlands of El Salvador, effective as living barriers and mostly as cover crops, however, they are not yet very well disseminated. This document describes the potential for using the liquid extracts and the dry flour of raw seeds of those plants for economic benefit and practical convenience for pest management in Salvadorian agriculture under field conditions. Seed extracts were useful when …

Cover Crops Have Negligible Impact On Soil Water In Nebraska Maize–Soybean Rotation, J. Burdette Barker, Derek M. Heeren, Katja Koehler-Cole, Charles Shapiro, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Roger W. Elmore, Christopher A. Proctor, Suat Irmak, Charles A. Francis, Tim M. Shaver, Ali T. Mohammed

Biological Systems Engineering: Papers and Publications

One perceived cost of integrating winter cover cropping in maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] rotation systems is the potential negative impact on soil water storage available for primary crop production. The objective of this 3-year study was to evaluate the effects of winter cover crops on soil water storage and cover crop biomass production following no-till maize and soybean rotations. Locations were near Brule (west-central), Clay Center (south-central), Concord (northeast), and Mead (east-central), Nebraska, United States. Treatments included crop residue only (no cover crop) and a multi-species cover crop mix, both broadcast-seeded before …

Integrating Cover Crop Mixtures And No-Till For Sustainable Sweet Corn Production In The Northeast, Julie S. Fine

Masters Theses

Fall-planted forage radish (Raphanus sativus L. longipinnatus) cover crops have shown successful weed suppression and recycling of fall-captured nutrients. This research evaluated the nutrient cycling and weed suppressive benefits of forage radish cover crop mixtures to develop an integrated system for no-till sweet corn (Zea mays L. var rugosa) production that improves crop yield and soil health. Treatments included forage radish (FR), oats (Avena sativa L.) and forage radish (OFR), a mixture of peas (Pisum sativum subsp arvense L.), oats and forage radish (POFR), and no cover crop control (NCC). Subplots were assigned to …

Cover Crops And Fertilization Alter Nitrogen Loss In Organic And Conventional Conservation Agriculture Systems, Rebecca E. Shelton, Krista L. Jacobsen, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Agroecosystem nitrogen (N) loss produces greenhouse gases, induces eutrophication, and is costly for farmers; therefore, conservation agricultural management practices aimed at reducing N loss are increasingly adopted. However, the ecosystem consequences of these practices have not been well-studied. We quantified N loss via leaching, NH₃ volatilization, N₂O emissions, and N retention in plant and soil pools of corn conservation agroecosystems in Kentucky, USA. Three systems were evaluated: (1) an unfertilized, organic system with cover crops hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), or a mix of the two (bi-culture); (2) an organic …

Interseeding Cover Crops To Suppress Weeds In Corn- Soybean Rotations In Kentucky, Victoria Leigh Stanton

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Cover crops are typically sown between cash crops and can suppress weed emergence and growth. If cover crops are sown after cash crop harvest the system is left susceptible to weed emergence while they establish. Interseeding cover crops into a standing cash crop may limit this bare period by allowing cover crops to become established, go into dormancy, and then revive around cash crop senescence. Studies were conducted in Princeton and Lexington, KY, to determine (i) which corn pre-emergent herbicides and mixtures of herbicide active ingredients commonly used by Kentucky growers would impact interseeded cover crop density and biomass, (ii) …

Root And Shoot Contribution To Carbon And Nitrogen Inputs In The Topsoil Layer In No-Tillage Crop Systems Under Subtropical Conditions, Marciel Redin, Sylvie Recous, Celso Aita, Bruno Chaves, Ismael Cristiano Pfeifer, Leonardo Mendes Bastos, Getulio Elias Pilecco, Sandro Jose Giacomini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Recycling of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) from plants into soils is decisive for maintaining soil organic matter and soil fertility. Therefore, we quantified plant biomass and C and N in the shoots and roots from the topsoil layer for a wide range of annual crops grown under subtropical conditions. We grew 26 species, 13 main crops, and 13 cover crops, in the field in standard sowing arrangements. Root biomass was recovered from the 0.00-0.20 m soil layer at flowering, and shoot biomass was measured at flowering for all crops and at maturity only for the main crops. Root dry …

Effects Of Fallow Replacement Crops On Wheat And Grain Sorghum Yields, J. Holman, A. Obour, T. Roberts, S. Maxwell

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Interest in replacing fallow with a cash crop or cover crop has necessitated research on soil, water, and wheat yields following a shortened fallow period. Fallow stores moisture, which helps stabilize crop yields and reduces the risk of crop failure; however, only 25 to 30% of the precipitation received during the fallow period of a no-till wheat-fallow rotation is stored. The remaining 75 to 70% of precipitation is lost, primarily due to evaporation. Moisture storage in fallow is more efficient earlier in the fallow period, when the soil is dry, and during the winter months when the evaporation rate is …

Electrical Resistivity Tomography Of Claypan Soils In Southeastern Kansas, M. A. Mathis Ii, S. E. Tucker-Kulesza, G. F. Sassenrath

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Claypan soils cover approximately 10 million acres across several states in the central United States. The soils are characterized by a highly impermeable clay layer within the profile that impedes water flow and root growth. While some claypan soils can be productive, they must be carefully managed to avoid reductions to crop productivity due to root restrictions, water, and nutrient limitations. Clay soils are usually resistant to erosion but may exacerbate erosion of the silt-loam topsoil.

Soil production potential is the capacity of soil to produce at a given level (yield per acre). The productive capacity is tied to soil …

Exploring The Physical, Chemical And Biological Components Of Soil: Improving Soil Health For Better Productive Capacity, G. F. Sassenrath, K. Davis, A. Sassenrath-Cole, N. Riding

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

“Soil health” is a term that is used to describe soil quality. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service has defined soil health as “The continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living ecosystem that sustains plants, animals and humans (NRCS 2018).” For a farmer, soil health is the productive capacity of the soil, or the capacity of the soil to produce a crop or pasture. Healthy soils produce more and with better quality.

Soil health is critical for water and nutrient cycling. Soil captures rainwater and stores it for use by plants. Soil health is …