Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Alfalfa Establishment And Management In South Carolina, Liliane Silva, Michael Mrshall, Jeremy Greene, Matias Aguerre

Livestock and Forages

Alfalfa is a perennial legume with high forage quality that can be used under grazing or hay management. This publication outlines establishment and management recommendations for alfalfa plantings in South Carolina.

Continuous Ph Monitoring And Control: Selecting And Interfacing The Electrode, Controller, And Datalogger, Noah J. Langenfeld, Bruce Bugbee

Techniques and Instruments

pH control is essential to well-managed hydroponics. Here, we describe the selection and interfacing of electrodes, controllers, and loggers.

Snp Discovery In Proso Millet (Panicum Miliaceum L.) Using Lowpass Genome Sequencing, Rituraj Khound, Guangchao Sun, Ravi V. Mural, James C. Schnable, Dipak K. Santra

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Domesticated ~10,000 years ago in northern China, Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a climate-resilient and human health-promoting cereal crop. The genome size of this self-pollinated allotetraploid is 923 Mb. Proso millet seeds are an important part of the human diet in many countries. In the USA, its use is restricted to the birdseed and pet food market. Proso millet is witnessing gradual demand in the global human health and wellness food market owing to its health-promoting properties such as low glycemic index and gluten-free. The breeding efforts for developing improved proso millet cultivars are hindered by the …

An Analysis Of Decolonization Efforts In Urban Agriculture: A Pathway To Indigenous Food Sovereignty And Cultural Revitalization, Sarah Fisher

Environment and Sustainability Summer Fellows

My research focuses on applications of urban agriculture, relationships between Indigenous peoples and community-based agriculture projects, and decolonizing food systems. I provide insight on colonialist tendencies, or ways in which the marginalization of Indigenous peoples is deeply entrenched within government, educational, and other leadership settings, as a way to evaluate and restructure urban agriculture projects to serve, represent and heal Native communities. Conventional urban agriculture has many known benefits, including its capacity for food production; however, the extent to which Indigenous communities participate in and benefit from urban agriculture has not been widely studied. Ongoing exclusion of Indigenous peoples from …

B.R. Wells Arkansas Rice Research Studies 2021, J. Hardke, X. Sha, N. Bateman

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading rice producer in the United States. The state represents 47.5% of total U.S. rice production and 47.8% of the total acres planted to rice in 2021. Rice cultural practices vary across the state and across the U.S. However, these practices are also dynamic and continue to evolve in response to changing political, environmental, and economic times. This survey was initiated in 2002 to monitor and record changes in the way Arkansas rice producers approach their livelihood. The survey was conducted by polling county extension agents in each of the counties in Arkansas that produce rice. Questions …

Reproduction Of Soybean Cyst Nematode Populations On Field Pennycress, Henbit, And Purple Deadnettle Weed Hosts, Pawan Basnet, Sharon A. Clay, Emmanuel Byamukama

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Several weeds serve as alternative soybean cyst nematode (SCN) hosts. Still, the relative reproductive capacity of SCN HG types (Heterodera glycines type) on weed hosts relative to soybean is not well understood. This study examined the reproduction of three South Dakota endemic SCN populations—PSCN-1 (HG 0), PSCN-2 (HG 2.5.7), and PSCN-3 (HG 7)—on purple deadnettle, field pennycress, and henbit. The Relative Female Index (RFI) was calculated to compare SCN reproduction relative to the susceptible soybean check. Weed hosts, HG types, and their interactions influenced SCN reproduction. Henbit (RFI = 51.8) and purple deadnettle (RFI = 47.6) roots had a similar …

Quantification And Machine Learning Based N2o-N And Co2-C Emissions Predictions From A Decomposing Rye Cover Crop, Deepak R. Joshi, David E. Clay, Sharon A. Clay, Janet Moriles Miller, Aaron L.M. Daigh, Graig Reicks, Shania Westhoff

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Cover crops improve soil health and reduce the risk of soil erosion. However, their impact on the carbon dioxide equivalence (CO2e) is unknown. Therefore, objective of this two-year study was to quantify the effect of cover crop-induced differences in soil moisture, temperature, organic C, and microorganisms on CO2e and to develop machine learning algorithms that predict daily N2O-N and CO2-C emissions. The prediction models tested were multiple linear regression (MLR), partial least square regression (PLSR), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), and artificial neural network (ANN). Models’ performance was accessed using R2 , RMSE and MAE. Rye (secale cereale) …

The Genetic Basis For Panicle Trait Variation In Switchgrass (Panicum Virgatum), Li Zhang, Alice Macqueen, Xiaoyu Weng, Kathrine D. Behrman, Jason Bonnette, John L. Reilley, Francis M. Rouquette, Philip A. Fay, Yanqi Wu, Felix B. Fritschi, Robert B. Mitchell, David B. Lowry, Arvid R. Boe, Thomas E. Juenger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Key message: We investigate the genetic basis of panicle architecture in switchgrass in two mapping populations across a latitudinal gradient, and find many stable, repeatable genetic effects and limited genetic interactions with the environment. Abstract: Grass species exhibit large diversity in panicle architecture influenced by genes, the environment, and their interaction. The genetic study of panicle architecture in perennial grasses is limited. In this study, we evaluate the genetic basis of panicle architecture including panicle length, primary branching number, and secondary branching number in an outcrossed switchgrass QTL population grown across ten field sites in the central USA through multi-environment …

Mycorrhizae In Maize (Zea Mays L.) Cropping Systems Respond Differently To Nitrogen Fertilization Under Increasing Crop Rotational Diversity, Morgan Mcpherson

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

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) remain a vital obligate symbiont of nearly all plants. It is well established that the symbiosis between AMF and host plant improves plant nutrient acquisition, alleviates abiotic and biotic environmental stressors, defends against plant pathogens, and contributes to overall plant fitness and productivity through modification of the soil habitat. Modifications include increased soil aggregation and stability, carbon sequestration through provision of fungal wall precursors to soil organic matter (SOM) formation, and enhanced nutrient cycling in the mycorrhizosphere. The goal of this dissertation was to assess how AMF respond to nitrogen (N) fertilization regimes in maize cropping …

Quantification And Machine Learning Based N2o–N And Co2–C Emissions Predictions From A Decomposing Rye Cover Crop, Deepak R. Joshi, David E. Clay, Sharon A. Clay, Janet Moriles-Miller, Aaron L. M. Daigh, Graig Reicks, Shaina Westhoff

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crops improve soil health and reduce the risk of soil erosion. However, their impact on the carbon dioxide equivalence (CO_2e) is unknown. Therefore, the objective of this 2-yr study was to quantify the effect of cover crop-induced differences in soil moisture, temperature, organic C, and microorganisms on CO_2e, and to develop machine learning algorithms that predict daily N₂O–N and CO₂–C emissions. The prediction models tested were multiple linear regression, partial least square regression, support vector machine, random forest (RF), and artificial neural network. Models’ performance was accessed using R², …

Registration Of Lcs ‘Valiant’ Hard Red Winter Wheat, P. Stephen Baenziger, S. D. Masterson, J. D. Boehm Jr., Vikas Belamkar, M. D. Barnett, Devin J. Rose, Lan Xu, Stephen N. Wegulo, T. Regassa, Amanda Easterly, Cody F Creech, Dipak K. Santra, G. R. Kruger, G. W. Hergert, R. N. Klein, J. Kolmer, J. Kolmer, M.-S. Chen, Gary L. Hein, R. L. Bowden, M. J. Guttieri, G. Bai, El-Basyoni Salah, J. Poland

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Historically cultivars developed jointly by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and USDA-ARS wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) improvement project tend to be late and better adapted to the northern Great Plains. LCS ‘Valiant’ (Reg. no. CV-1196, PI 693223; tested as NE10478-1) was released based on the merits of its earliness, agronomic performance, relevant disease resistances, and end-use quality characteristics and its adaptation to the central Great Plains. As such, the line was licensed to Limagrain Cereal Seeds for their ability to market outside of Nebraska. LCS Valiant hard red winter wheat was released in March 2020 by the developing institutions and …

Optimization Of Nozzle, Application Height, And Speed For Uass Pesticide Applications, Trenton Houston

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

Unmanned aerial spray systems (UASS) applications have the potential to be efficient pesticide application platforms under conditions that are not accessible or fit for typical pesticide application equipment. Although this type of application is still under development in the U.S., UASS pesticide applications are common in Asia, as they have replaced backpack sprayers. There is limited literature on the optimization of UASS applications and many parameters need to be investigated to identify the best combination of application variables such as flight height, flight speed, and nozzle selection. The objectives were to identify the deposition patterns of a four rotor UASS …

Association Analyses Of Host Genetics, Root-Colonizing Microbes, And Plant Phenotypes Under Different Nitrogen Conditions In Maize, Michael A. Meier, Gen Xu, Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero, Guangyong Li, Christine Smith, Brandi Sigmon, Joshua R. Herr, James R. Alfano, Yufeng Ge, James C. Schnable, Jinliang Yang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The root-associated microbiome (rhizobiome) affects plant health, stress tolerance, and nutrient use efficiency. However, it remains unclear to what extent the composition of the rhizobiome is governed by intraspecific variation in host plant genetics in the field and the degree to which host plant selection can reshape the composition of the rhizobiome. Here, we quantify the rhizosphere microbial communities associated with a replicated diversity panel of 230 maize (Zea mays L.) genotypes grown in agronomically relevant conditions under high N (+N) and low N (-N) treatments. We analyze the maize rhizobiome in terms of 150 abundant and consistently reproducible …

Replacing Fallow With Field Pea In Wheat Production Systems Across Western Nebraska, Samuel T. Koeshall, Amanda Easterly, Rodrigo Werle, Strahinja Stepanovic, Cody F. Creech

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Integration of field pea (Pisum sativum L.) (FP) into dryland cropping systems has increased due to ecological and economic benefits, paired with a growing market for pea-derived products. Challenges exist in the High Plains that limit the integration of crop rotations to replace fallow periods with FP in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)- based systems. This experiment compares chemical summer fallow to FP in a fallow– wheat rotation at two locations in western Nebraska. Soil water content, soil fertility, N mineralization, FP yield, and subsequent hard red winter wheat (HWW) yields were recorded. Subsequent HWW yields were not different …

Snp Genotyping For Purity Assessment Of A Forage Oat (Avena Sativa L.) Variety From Colombia, Luis Fernando Campuzano-Duque, Diego Bejarano-Garavito, Javier Castillo-Sierra, Daniel Ricardo Torres-Cuesta, Andrés J. Cortés, Matthew Wohlgemuth Blair

Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Faculty Research

Single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers have multiple applications in plant breeding of small grains. They are used for the selection of divergent parents, the identification of genetic variants and marker-assisted selection. However, the use of SNPs in varietal purity assessment is under-reported, especially for multi-line varieties from the public sector. In the case of variety evaluation, these genetic markers are tools for maintaining varietal distinctness, uniformity and stability needed for cultivar release of multi-line or pure-line varieties of inbred crops. The objective of this research was to evaluate the purity and relationships of one original (AV-25) and two multi-line sub-populations …

Non-Destructive Classification And Quality Evaluation Of Proso Millet Cultivars Using Nir Hyperspectral Imaging With Machine Learning, Laruen E. Doyle, Julia R. Loeb, Nader Ekramirad, Dipak K. Santra, Akinbode A. Adedeji

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Millet is a small-seeded cereal crop with big potential and remarkable characteristics such as high drought resistance, short growing time, low water footprint, and the ability to grow in acidic soil. There is a need to develop nondestructive methods for differentiation and evaluation of the quality attributes of different of proso millet cultivars grown in the U.S. Current methods of cultivar classification are either subjective or destructive, time consuming, not allowing for the whole population to be tested, and requiring trained operators and special equipment. In this study, the feasibility of using near-infrared (NIR) hyperspectral imaging (900-1700 nm) to predict …

Characterization And Selection Of Hop Cultivars Adapted To Nebraska, Kristina Alas

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

Hop (Humulus lupulus L.) is an ingredient in the beer brewing industry that provides beer its flavor and aroma. High demand from the brewing industry has encouraged production outside of the traditional Pacific Northwest, the primary production region. Producers in the Midwest are attempting to grow cultivars adapted to the Pacific Northwest, but environmental differences have caused low yields and changes in secondary metabolite content. To aid producers, a regional breeding program was initiated to develop cultivars adapted to the Midwest. Success of any breeding program relies on the selection of genetically superior parents to generate progeny with the …

Dicamba Tank Mixtures And Formulations And Their Effects On Sensitive Crops During Cleanout Procedures, Vinicius Velho

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

The introduction of dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L) in 2017 provided an additional tool for herbicide resistant weeds management. In the subsequent years, off-target movement of dicamba allegedly caused damage to sensitive crops and vegetation.

Possible causes of off-target movement include tank contamination, physical drift, and volatility. Additional products, such as herbicides to control grass, are often added to tank with dicamba, which is used to control broadleaf weeds, to increase the spectrum of control and application efficiency. Dicamba products registered for DT crops require the use of drift reducing …

International Rice Outlook: International Rice Baseline Projections 2021–2031, A. Durand-Morat, S. Bairagi

Research Reports and Research Bulletins

The war in Ukraine and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are pushing input costs to record levels. Although rice prices have increased some in the last several months, production costs have increased more than proportionally, undermining rice profitability.

We project global rice production will surpass global rice consumption for most of the coming decade, with a small deficit developing by the end of the projected period.

The projected growth in production is almost exclusively due to productivity gains since the global rice area is projected to increase only marginally by 2029–2031.

The projected growth in global rice consumption …

Whole Farm Net Zero: Approaches To Quantification Of Climate Regulation Ecosystem Services At The Whole Farm Scale. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Report #7, Christopher Bonasia, Lindsey Ruhl, Benjamin Timothy Dube, Alissa C. White, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In this report, approaches to the quantification of climate mitigation ecosystem services at the whole farm scale are reviewed and summarized for easy comparison. Eight quantification tools, and three case studies demonstrating possible tool applications, are summarized to fulfill the requirements of the Technical Services Contract—Task 7. Information from a combination of literature review and expert interviews served to document the inputs, outputs, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats for each quantification tool. This research was conducted in service to the Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services (PES) Working Group (VT PES working group). It is our hope that …

Simulating The Impact Of Crop–Livestock Interaction On Crop Performance Using Dssat, Teerath Rai, Sandeep Kumar, Thandiwe Nleya, Gerrit Hoogenboom

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

An integrated crop–livestock system (ICL) can help with enhancing soil quality and crop productivity, ultimately increasing farm income. Field experiments that evalu- ated the impact of cover crops (CCs) and grazing on crop productivity have shown mixed results primarily because of a relatively short duration of the crop–livestock system. Dynamic crop models can help to simulate the long-term impact of soils and crop management on crop yield. The objectives of the current study were to develop a simple simulation methodology for crop–livestock interaction using the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) and to evaluate the perfor- mance of CC …

Increased Signal-To-Noise Ratios Within Experimental Field Trials By Regressing Spatially Distributed Soil Properties As Principal Components, Jeffrey C. Berry, Mingsheng Qi, Balasaheb V. Sonawane, Amy Sheflin, Asaph Cousins, Jessica Prenni, Daniel P. Schachtman, Peng Liu, Rebecca S. Bart

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Environmental variability poses a major challenge to any field study. Researchers attempt to mitigate this challenge through replication. Thus, the ability to detect experimental signals is deter-mined by the degree of replication and the amount of environmental variation, noise, within the experimental system. A major source of noise in field studies comes from the natural heterogeneity of soil properties which create microtreatments throughout the field. In addition, the variation within different soil properties is often nonrandomly distributed across a field. We explore this challenge through a sorghum field trial dataset with accompanying plant, microbiome, and soil property data. Diverse sorghum …

Soybean Management For Seed Composition: The Perspective Of U.S. Farmers, Andre F. Borja Reis, Luiz Rosso, Dan Davidson, Peter Kovacs, Larry C. Purcell, Frederick E. Below, Shaun Casteel, Hans J. Kandel, Seth Naeve, Sotirios V. Archontoulis, Ignacio A. Ciampitti

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

The soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] compositional quality is mainly provided by the seed concentration of protein and oil. These traits are critical for sustaining global use, and although there is demand for high protein soybean, no mechanism to differentiate production is in place. At the opposite end of the supply chain, farmers are remunerated on a mass basis without having any incentive regarding seed composition. This study evaluated farmers' perspectives and knowledge on soybean quality and their propensity to adopt quality improvement technologies. Farmers from the main U.S. producing regions (n = 271) were investigated with a …

Valuation Of Soil Health Ecosystem Services. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #5, Benjamin Timothy Dube, Alissa C. White, Taylor H. Ricketts, Heather M. Darby

UVM Extension Faculty Publications

In this report, we present estimates for ecosystem services from soil health using two approaches for four different services. One approach generates estimates based on soil-health practices, and the other approach is based on improvements in soil-health indicators. For soil- health practices, such as adopting best-management practices on annual corn, we utilize a set of off-the shelf empirical models widely used to estimate ecological functions on farm landscapes. For soil-health indicators, we make estimates by linking these tools with soil data and statistical models describing how soil-health parameters influence the interaction of soils with water and their environment. We provide …

Arkansas Corn And Grain Sorghum Research Studies 2021, Victor Ford, Jason Kelley, Nathan Mckinney Ii

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The 2021 edition of the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Research Studies Series includes research results on topics pertaining to corn and grain sorghum production, including weed, disease, and insect management; economics; sustainability; irrigation; post-harvest drying; soil fertility; mycotoxins; cover crop management; and research verification program results. Our objective is to capture and broadly distribute the results of research projects funded by the Arkansas Corn and Grain Sorghum Board. The intended audience includes producers and their advisors, current investigators, and future researchers. The Series serves as a citable archive of research results.

Expression Of Atwri1 And Atdgat1 During Soybean Embryo Development Influences Oil And Carbohydrate Metabolism, Cintia Lucía Arias, Truyen Quach, Tu Huynh, Hanh Nguyen, Ademar Moretti, Yu Shi, Ming Guo, Amira Rasoul, Kyujung Van, Leah Mchale, Thomas E. Clemente, Ana Paula Alonso, Chi Zhang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soybean oil is one of the most consumed vegetable oils worldwide. Genetic improvement of its concentration in seeds has been historically pursued due to its direct association with its market value. Engineering attempts aiming to increase soybean seed oil presented different degrees of success that varied with the genetic design and the specific variety considered. Understanding the embryo’s responses to the genetic modifications introduced, is a critical step to successful approaches. In this work, the metabolic and transcriptional responses to AtWRI1 and AtDGAT1 expression in soybean seeds were evaluated. AtWRI1 is a master regulator of fatty acid (FA) biosynthesis, and …

Neuropilin-2 Regulates Androgen-Receptor Transcriptional Activity In Advanced Prostate Cancer, Samikshan Dutta, Navatha Shree Polavaram, Ridwan Islam, Sreyashi Bhattacharya, Sanika Bodas, Thomas Mayr, Sohini Roy, Sophie Alvarez, Marieta I. Toma, Anza Darehshouri, Angelika Borkowetz, Stefanie Conrad, Susanne Fuessel, Manfred Wirth, Gustavo B. Baretton, Paramita Ghosh, Kenneth J. Pienta, David L. Klinkebiel, Surinder K. Batra, Michael H. Muders, Kaustubh Datta

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Aberrant transcriptional activity of androgen receptor (AR) is one of the dominant mechanisms for developing of castration-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC). Analyzing AR-transcriptional complex related to CRPC is therefore important towards understanding the mechanism of therapy-resistance. While studying its mechanism, we observed that a transmembrane protein called neuropilin-2 (NRP2) plays a contributory role in forming a novel AR-transcriptional complex containing nuclear pore proteins. Using immunogold electron microscopy, high-resolution confocal microscopy, chromatin immunoprecipitation, proteomics, and other biochemical techniques, we delineated the molecular mechanism of how a specific splice variant of NRP2 becomes sumoylated upon ligand stimulation and translocates to the inner nuclear …

Identification Of Putative Snp Markers Associated With Resistance To Egyptian Loose Smut Race(S) In Spring Barley, Kamal A.M. Abo-Elyousr, Amira M.I. Mourad, P. Stephen Baenziger, Abdelaal H.A. Shehata, Peter E. Eckstein, Aaron D. Beattie, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Loose smut (LS) disease is a serious problem that affects barley yield. Breeding of resistant cultivars and identifying new genes controlling LS has received very little attention. Therefore, it is important to understand the genetic basis of LS control in order to genetically improve LS resistance. To address this challenge, a set of 57 highly diverse barley genotypes were inoculated with Egyptian loose smut race(s) and the infected seeds/plants were evaluated in two growing seasons. Loose smut resistance (%) was scored on each genotype. High genetic variation was found among all tested genotypes indicating considerable differences in LS resistance that …

Sorghum Association Panel Whole-Genome Sequencing Establishes Cornerstone Resource For Dissecting Genomic Diversity, J. Lucas Boatwright, Sirjan Sapkota, Hongyu Jin, James C. Schnable, Zachary Brenton, Richard Boyles, Stephen Kresovich

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Association mapping panels represent foundational resources for understanding the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity and serve to advance plant breeding by exploring genetic variation across diverse accessions. We report the whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 400 sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) accessions from the Sorghum Association Panel (SAP) at an average coverage of 38× (25–72×), enabling the development of a high-density genomic marker set of 43 983 694 variants including single-nucleotide polymorphisms (approximately 38 million), insertions/deletions (indels) (approximately 5 million), and copy number variants (CNVs) (approximately 170 000). We observe slightly more deletions among indels and a much higher prevalence …

Results Of The 2022 Vermont Farmer Conservation & Payment For Ecosystem Services Survey. Vermont Payment For Ecosystem Services Technical Research Report #3a, Alissa C. White

Reports and Policy Briefs

This survey was commissioned by the Vermont Soil Health and Payment for Ecosystem Services Working Group (VT PES Working Group) to gather farmer input on the development of payment for ecosystem services (PES) in Vermont for agriculture. In particular, the survey was intended to help set appropriate levels of compensation for participation in a soil health PES program, although additional information was gathered in the survey to inform the development of a new incentive program. The VT PES Working Group has explored the potential for a performance-based soil health PES program that would compensate farmers on the basis of environmental …