Plant Sciences Commons^™

Agrobacterial Diversity And Competitive Interactions Within An Infected Sunflower, Veronica Mateo

Kansas State University Undergraduate Research Conference

Agrobacterial Diversity and Competitive Interactions Within an Infected Sunflower

Veronica E. Mateo, Kansas State University

Faculty Advisor/Mentor: Thomas Platt, Ph.D., tgplatt@ksu.edu

Co-Author(s): Emireth Monarrez, Seward County Community College; Priscila Guzman, Kansas State University; Ashlee Herken, Kansas State University; Teresa Shippy, Kansas State University

Bacterial communities are highly diverse with each being distinct in composition. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a common soilborne plant pathogen. Some A. tumefaciens strains can cause crown gall disease, in which infected plants develop a tumor. This bacterium disrupts the host plant by genetically transforming plant cells thereby manipulating the plant’s physiology to benefit the pathogen. Competitive interactions …

Soil And Water Conservation: An Annotated Bibliography, Colby J. Moorberg

NPP eBooks

Soil and Water Conservation: An Annotated Bibliography highlights freely-available online resources covering various aspects of soil and water conservation, and is designed to be a resource for conservation students and practitioners. The thirteen chapters in the annotated bibliography are grouped into four sections, including History and Fundamentals, Conservation Practices, Conservation Implementation, and Careers. Types of cited resources include extension bulletins, USDA NRCS conservation practice standards, and other government reports and resources. Cited resources are generally concise, easily read, and meant for general audiences. Annotations and images are used to provide context for each resource. Many contributors made Soil and Water …

Occasional Tillage In A Wheat-Sorghum-Fallow Rotation, A. Schlegel, J. Holman

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Beginning in 2012, research was conducted in Garden City and Tribune, KS, to determine the effect of a single tillage operation every 3 years on grain yields in a wheat-sorghum-fallow (WSF) rotation. Grain yields of wheat and grain sorghum were generally not affected by a single tillage operation every 3 years in a WSF rotation. Grain yield varied greatly by year from 2014–2018. Wheat yields ranged across years from mid-20s to 80 bu/a at Tribune and less than 10 to near 60 bu/a at Garden City. Grain sorghum yields ranged from less than 50 to greater than 140 bu/a, depending …

Vida Alone And In Tank Mixtures For Kochia Control In Fallow, R. S. Currie, P. W. Geier

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

To learn more about kochia control in fallow, a comparison of Vida alone and in tank mixtures was conducted. Glyphosate alone provided no more than 40% kochia control, and was similar to Vida or 2,4-D alone late in the season. The tank mixture of Vida plus Gramoxone and Spartan controlled kochia the best regardless of rating date, and was the only treatment to provide more than 95% control at 28 days.

Split Applications Of Coyote And Lumax For Efficacy In Grain Sorghum, R. S. Currie, P. W. Geier

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

In an effort to determine the efficacy of herbicide application timing in sorghum, full herbicide rates were applied 14 days preplant, and compared with split applications of half rates applied at two timings. Generally, weed control was best when half of the labeled rates were applied 14 days preplant followed by the other half preemergence, compared to full rates applied 14 days preplant. However, control of velvetleaf and common sunflower was excellent (95% or more) regardless of when the treatments were applied. Grain sorghum yields were similar among all herbicide treatments, and each treatment increased yield from 2 to 2.5-fold …

Changes In Soil Microbiology Under Conventional And No-Till Production During Crop Rotation, C. J. Hsiao, G. F. Sassenrath, L. Zeglin, G. Hettiarachchi, C. Rice

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Soil microbial activity is important for crop production. Soil microbes are involved in nutrient and water cycling within the soil, and interact with crop plants to provide the basic nutrient and water resources needed for crop production. Claypan soils have unique physical characteristics that impact soil biology. This study explored the tempo­ral changes in soil microbiology in a claypan soil under conventional and no-till produc­tion during a crop rotation of corn/winter wheat/soybean/fallow commonly planted in southeast Kansas. We found soil microbial activity changed more in the top two inches of soil than in the lower soil layers. Wheat resulted in …

Occasional Tillage And Nitrogen Application Effects On Winter Wheat And Grain Sorghum Yield, A. K. Obour, J. D. Holman, A. J. Schlegel

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Occasional tillage ahead of winter wheat planting could alleviate herbicide-resistant weeds, redistribute soil acidification, and improve seedbed at wheat planting. The objective of this study is to determine occasional tillage and nitrogen (N) fertilizer application effects on winter wheat, and grain sorghum yields and soil quality in a wheat-sorghum-fallow cropping system. Treatments were three tillage practices: 1) continuous no-tillage (NT); 2) continuous reduced-tillage (RT); and 3) single tillage operation every 3 years (June-July) ahead of winter wheat planting [occasional tillage (OT)]. The sub-plot treatments were assigned to four N fertilizer rates (0, 40, 80 and 120 lb/a of N). Preliminary …

Wheat Grain Yield And Protein Response To Nitrogen And Sulfur Rates, B. R. Jaenisch, R. P. Lollato

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Winter wheat is often double-cropped after soybeans in no-tillage systems. The soybean crop removes large quantities of sulfur (S), which might unbalance ratios of nitrogen (N) to S for the following wheat crop. Our objective was to evaluate the responses of two wheat varieties to three N and four S rates representing a range of N:S ratios. The experiment was arranged as a complete factorial with a split-split-plot design. Variety was the whole-plot, N the sub-plot, and S the sub-sub plot. Nitrogen rates were 50, 100, and 150% of the recommended rate for 60 bu/a, which corresponded to ~45, 87, …

Evaluating Large Patch-Tolerant And Cold Hardy Zoysiagrass Germplasm In The Transition Zone, Mingying Xiang, Jack Fry, Megan Kennelly

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

More than 2,800 zoysiagrass progeny, all having a single parent in common that exhibited tolerance to large patch, were evaluated in several transition zone states for quality characteristics and large patch tolerance. From these evaluations conducted over several years, 10 progeny have been identified for further evaluation that have good quality and large patch tolerance that is superior to Meyer zoysiagrass.

Effect Of Late Nitrogen Fertilization On Grain Yield And Grain Filling In Corn, J. A. Fernandez, I. A. Ciampitti

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

For decades, yield improvement in corn has been accompanied by an increase in plant nitrogen (N) uptake. Modern hybrids are absorbing more N during reproductive stages, while delaying N remobilization to the grain for later in the growing season. To evaluate the effect of late-season N applications in distinct corn genotypes, grain yield and grain filling parameters were evaluated in field experiments under early and late N regimes during 2017 and 2018 growing seasons. Hybrids with different release years (3394, 1990s; P1151, 2000s; and P1197, 2016) and contrasting N application scenarios (including a zero-N control) were evaluated at the Kansas …

Cattle Preference For Annual Forages, J. K. Farney

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Many plant species that are available to use as cover crops also have potential as for­age for cattle. With this array of options it can be daunting to decide which plants to establish to meet goals as either a cover crop, forage, or for both. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify the annual forages fed to cattle in the fall, winter, or sum­mer that cattle preferred. To summarize, grasses were the most highly preferred forage for cattle regardless of grazing period. Low glucosinolate brassicas such as ‘Graza’ forage radish was the most highly preferred brassica that was …

Anthem Maxx Tank Mixture Comparisons In Irrigated Corn, R. S. Currie, P. W. Geier

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

The use of multiple herbicide modes of action in single versus sequential applications was examined for efficacy in corn. Common sunflower control was complete with all early postemergence and postemergence herbicides late in the season. Control of Russian thistle, Palmer amaranth, and green foxtail were 95% or more with all early postemergence and postemergence herbicides except Halex GT. All herbicide treatments increased grain yield 15–33% compared to the nontreated controls except Halex GT applied early postemergence.

Correlation Of Sikora And Smith-Mclean- Pratt Soil Buffer Ph Measurements, B. Rutter, D. A. Ruiz Diaz, J. Thomas

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Historically, the K-State Research and Extension Soil Testing Laboratory has used the Smith-McLean-Pratt (SMP) buffer solution to estimate total soil acidity and estimate lime recommendations. The SMP solution contains hazardous chemicals and poses a health risk to lab workers. The Sikora buffer solution was designed as a replacement for SMP and contains no hazardous chemicals. A study was conducted to investigate the relationship between these two buffers in Kansas soils. A strong positive correlation was observed between SMP and Sikora buffer pH measurements. However, linear regression suggests that the relationship is not 1:1 (slope = 0.88). Therefore recommendation equations using …

Alternative Cropping Systems With Limited Irrigation, A. Schlegel, D. Bond

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

A limited irrigation study involving four cropping systems and evaluating four crop rotations was initiated at the Southwest Research-Extension Center near Tribune, KS, in 2012. The cropping systems were two annual systems (continuous corn [C-C] and continuous grain sorghum [GS-GS]) and two 2-year systems (corn- grain sorghum [C-GS] and corn-winter wheat [C-W]). In 2018, corn yields were similar for all rotations, although averaged across the past 6 years, corn yields were greater following wheat than following corn. There were no significant differences in grain sorghum yields in 2018, which was similar to the multi-year average. Wheat yields were near the …

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

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

In 2018, adding nitrogen (N) greatly improved average wheat yields with about a 10% increase with knife compared to broadcast application methods. Even though tillage did not affect wheat yields, soybean yield was about 10% greater with no-till.

Southeast Research And Extension Center Agricultural Research 2019, L. W. Lomas

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Report on agricultural research performed at Southeast Research and Extension Center. Full book to view.

Surface Lime Application In Long-Term No-Till Crop Production With Stratified Soil Ph, F. D. Hansel, D. A. Ruiz Diaz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Lime application is a key management strategy to control the acidifying effects promoted by long-term application of nitrogen (N) fertilizers and is also a source of calcium for the crops. Two field studies located in Mitchell County was carried out during 3 years (2016-2018), exploring the effect of lime application in wheat (first year), corn (second year), and soybean (third year) crops. After the first year, there was an increase in wheat yield of up to 8% with lime application. For corn (second year), liming showed a yield response of up to 10%. Soybean (third year) yield response to lime …

Estimating Annual Forage Yields With Plant Available Water And Growing Season Precipitation, J. Holman, A. Obour, A. Schlegel, T. Roberts, S. Maxwell

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Forage production is important for the western Kansas region’s livestock and dairy industries and has become increasingly important as irrigation-well capacity declines. Forages require less water than grain crops and may allow for increased cropping intensity and opportunistic cropping. Being able to estimate forage production is important for determining forage availability versus forage needs. Data from several studies were used to quantify annual forage yield response to plant available water (PAW) at planting and growing season precipitation (GSP). In addition, water use efficiency was quantified. Forages evaluated included winter triticale, spring triticale, and forage sorghum. Preliminary results showed PAW and …

Large-Scale Dryland Cropping Systems, A. Schlegel, L. Haag, A. Burnett

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

This study was conducted from 2008–2018 at the Kansas State University Southwest Research-Extension Center near Tribune, KS. The purpose of the study was to identify whether more intensive cropping systems can enhance and stabilize production in rainfed cropping systems to optimize economic crop production, more efficiently capture and utilize scarce precipitation, and maintain or enhance soil resources and environmental quality. The crop rotations evaluated were continuous grain sorghum (SS), wheat-fallow (WF), wheat-corn-fallow (WCF), wheat-sorghum-fallow (WSF), wheat-corn-sorghum-fallow (WCSF), and wheat-sorghum-corn-fallow (WSCF). All rotations were grown using no-tillage practices except for WF, which was grown using reduced-tillage. The efficiency of precipitation capture …

Seeding Rate For Dryland Wheat, A. Schlegel, J. Holman, L. Haag

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Four winter wheat varieties (PlainsGold Byrd, Limagrain T158, Syngenta TAM 111, and WestBred Winterhawk) were planted at five seeding rates (30, 45, 60, 75, and 90 lb/a) in the fall of 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017 at Colby, Garden City, and Tribune, KS. The objective of the study is to identify appropriate seeding rates for dryland winter wheat in western Kansas. Averaged across varieties, a seeding rate of 60 lb/a seemed to be adequate at all locations in 2015. However, with higher yields in 2016, a higher seeding rate (75 lb/a) was beneficial. Although yields were less in 2017 than …

Liberty Compared To Glyphosate Products In Irrigated Corn, R. S. Currie, P. W. Geier

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Postemergence treatments of Liberty (glufosinate) were compared to Durango DMA and Roundup PowerMax (glyphosate) after various preemergence treatments for efficacy in corn. Control of common sunflower, green foxtail, Russian thistle, and quinoa exceeded 92% regardless of herbicide treatment or evaluation date. Similarly, all preemergence (PRE) treatments controlled Palmer amaranth, kochia, and crabgrass by 93% or more. Later in the season, control of kochia was slightly less when Verdict (saflufenacil/dimethenamid) and atrazine PRE was followed by Roundup PowerMax and atrazine postemergence (POST). Palmer amaranth and crabgrass control was less when Verdict and atrazine PRE was followed by Roundup PowerMax or Liberty …

Long-Term Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilization Of Irrigated Corn, A. Schlegel, D. Bond

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Long-term research shows that phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) fertilizer must be applied to optimize production of irrigated corn in western Kansas. In 2018, N applied alone increased yields by 76 bu/a, whereas P applied alone increased yields by more than 17 bu/a. Nitrogen and P applied together increased yields up to 169 bu/a. This is 26 bu/a more than the 10-year average, where N and P fertilization increased corn yields up to 143 bu/a. Application of 120 lb/a N (with highest P rate) produced 97% of the maximum yield in 2018, which is slightly greater than the 10-year average. …

Weather Information For Tribune, D. Bond, J. Slattery

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Summary of 2018 weather for research conducted at the Tribune field location.

Wheat And Grain Sorghum In Four-Year Rotations, A. Schlegel, J. Holman, A. Burnett

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

In 1996, an effort began to quantify soil water storage, crop water use, and crop productivity on dryland systems in western Kansas. Research on 4-year crop rotations with wheat and grain sorghum was initiated at the Southwest Research-Extension Center near Tribune, KS. Rotations were wheat-wheat-sorghum-fallow (WWSF), wheat-sorghum-sorghum-fallow (WSSF), and continuous wheat (WW). Soil water at wheat planting averaged about 9 in. following sorghum, which is about 3 in. more than the average for the second wheat crop in a WWSF rotation. Soil water at sorghum planting was only about 1 in. less for the second sorghum crop compared with sorghum …

Comparisons Of Terbuthylazine And Atrazine Rates And Tank Mixtures In Irrigated Corn, R. S. Currie, P. W. Geier

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

A comparison of terbuthylazine and atrazine rates alone and in combination with other herbicides in corn was conducted. All herbicides controlled Russian thistle and common sunflower by 90% or more. Preemergence control of green foxtail required a tank mixture of mesotrione (Stalwart C, Stalwart 3W, SA-0070128, and SA-0070129) with terbuthylazine or atrazine to be effective. Both terbuthylazine and atrazine alone provided similar kochia control, but control tended to increase with the addition of mesotrione. Palmer amaranth control was similar among terbuthylazine rates early in the season, but increased as atrazine rate increased. Crabgrass control increased as terbuthylazine rate increased early …

Southwest Research-Extension Center Field Day 2019, R. Gillen

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Agricultural research was conducted at the Southwest Research-Extension Center in Kansas. Topics include cropping, tillage, soil fertility, and weed science.

Herbicide And Application Timing Effects On Windmillgrass (Chloris Verticillata) Control, Nicholas Mitchell, Jared Hoyle

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Windmillgrass (Chloris verticillataNutt.) populations commonly infest turfgrass systems in the midwest, which result in aesthetically unacceptable turfgrass stands. Research trials were initiated in 2017 and 2018, in Onaga and Junction City, KS, to determine windmillgrass control with various single herbicide applications at dif­ferent application timings. Pylex (topramezone) resulted in more than 80% wind­millgrass control 8 weeks after spring and summer application.

High And Low Management Input Regimes Result In Similar Net Carbon Sequestration Rates In Zoysiagrass Golf Course Fairway Turf, Ross C. Braun, Dale J. Bremer

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

This study was conducted from 2013–2016 to determine how irrigation and N fertilization may be managed to enhance carbon (C) sequestration in turf. In this study, the annual rate of change in soil organic carbon (ΔSOC) was measured under two management regimes, a high management input regime (HMI) and low man­agement input regime (LMI), in a ‘Meyer’ zoysiagrass (Zoysia japonicaSteud.) golf course fairway.

Both management regimes maintained acceptable turf quality and at least 75% green cover during both summers. In both management regimes, soil organic carbon (SOC) increased after the 3.16-yr (1154-d) period indicating that C was sequestered …

Strategic Tillage In Dryland No-Tillage Crop Production Systems, A. K. Obour, J. D. Holman, A. J. Schlegel

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Emerging challenges in continuous no-till (NT) systems require developing flexible management strategies that will minimize the impacts of herbicide resistant (HR) weeds and nutrient stratification on soil and crop productivity. This study evaluated the effectiveness of strategic tillage (ST) operations as an option to redistribute soil nutrients and acidity, control perennial grass and HR weeds, and improve crop yields following tillage of an otherwise long-term NT soil. Treatments were five crop rotations: 1) continuous winter wheat (WW); 2) wheat-fallow (WF); 3) wheat-sorghum-fallow (WSF); 4) continuous sorghum (SS); and 5) sorghum-fallow (SF) as main plots. Sub-plots were reduced tilled (RT), continuous …

Corn Yield Response To The Use Of A Nitrification Inhibitor With Anhydrous Ammonia, F. D. Hansel, D. A. Ruiz Diaz

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Nitrification inhibitors are used to delay the nitrification process, reducing nitrogen (N) loss. The increase of nitrogen fertilization efficiency could promote greater corn grain yields and reduce environmental losses. The objective of this study was to evaluate corn response to the use of a nitrification inhibitor in corn grain. The study was carried out at four locations (Manhattan, Scandia, Rossville, and Ashland, KS) during 2017 and 2018 crop seasons. There was corn response to N fertilization, but no differences in corn yield were observed when anhydrous ammonia was treated with nitrification inhibitor at these site-years.