Horticulture Commons^™

The Last Continuous Grasslands On Earth: Identification And Conservation Importance, Rheinhardt Scholtz, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Grasslands are the most threatened and least protected biome. Yet, no study has been conducted to identify the last remaining continuous grasslands on Earth. Here, we used World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifications to measure the degree of intactness remaining for the world's grassland ecoregions. This analysis revealed three findings of critical conservation importance. First, only a few large, intact grasslands remain. Second, every continent with a grassland ecoregion considered in this study contains at least one relatively intact grassland ecoregion. Third, the largest remaining continuous grasslands identified in this analysis have persisted …

Preventative Weed Management Strategies In Arkansas Tomato Production, Gracie E. Morrison, Matthew Bertucci

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Cost-effective weed suppression is an important consideration for tomato growers. Growers often choose methods which minimize hand labor, as hand weeding can be prohibitively expensive. This project determined economic viability of high tunnel tomatoes treated with several methods of weed control, both organic and chemical. These methods included: 2-week hand weeding, 1-week hand weeding, preemergent herbicide application (plots sprayed with herbicide prior to weed emergence), straw mulch (plots bedded with straw), landscape fabric (plots covered in fabric), and untreated weedy control plots. These six treatments were applied to randomized blocks in a high tunnel. Weeding, planting, and harvesting were all …

Consumers' Perception Of Quality For Ladies' Swimwear Based On Price And Brand, Jennifer Avila, Laurie M. Apple, Lance M. Cheramie, Leigh Southward

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Consumers shop at multiple retailers for different needs, and it is understood that many choose a retailer for an experience and others will shop at another retailer for better savings. In a time where E-commerce is at an all-time high, retailers need to consider how they compare against online retailers in the apparel sector. In this study, three retailers were compared against one another since they are all swimwear competitors. As these retailers adjust to store and production shortages, it is important to understand how the quality of clothing will keep sales consistent. Consumers are likely to keep shopping at …

Student Perceptions Of Messages Regarding Genetically Modified Organisms Delivered Using Creative Media, Faith Mills, Casandra K, Cox

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

The purpose of this study was to determine how communicating authentic agricultural information using an infographic affects Millennial and Generation Z students’ perceptions of genetically modified organisms (GMO) and to determine the perceptions of college students regarding the infographic used to convey agricultural messages. This study used survey research methods with open- and closed-ended questions administered through Qualtrics. The questionnaire was designed with five sections including a pre-questionnaire, content presentation, post-questionnaire, infographic perception questionnaire, and demographics section. All questions in the pre- and post- questionnaire were focused on the content found in the researcher developed infographic. Overall, participants increased accuracy …

Impacts Of Nitrogen Rate And Source Following Green Manure On Broccoli Yield, Charlie Rohwer

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

Cover crops are beneficial to soil structure and processes and can provide nitrogen (N) to a subsequent crop. Practical studies of N availability from cover crops and organic fertilizers in naive (transitioning) soils are helpful for growers to achieve desirable yield. Microbial soil inoculants (biostimulants) may enhance availability of organic N sources. We found a spring-planted pea-oat cover crop provided less than 27 pounds of N to a subsequent broccoli crop, and no impact of a commercial biostimulant on broccoli yield or development rate. Availability of N from organic amendments used is discussed.

2022 High Tunnel Fresh Market Determinate Tomato Cultivar Trial For Southern Illinois, Bronwyn Aly

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

A determinate tomato cultivar trial was conducted at the University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center (DSAC) located in southern Illinois (Pope County) during the 2022 growing season. The objective of this trial was to compare performance of thirteen fresh market determinate tomato cultivars in a high tunnel production system.

2022 Standard-Sized Triploid Watermelon Cultivar Evaluation In Indiana, Wenjing Guan, Dean Haseman, Dennis Nowaskie, Dan Egel

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

A total of 6,600 acres of watermelons were planted in southern Indiana in 2021, making Indiana the sixth largest watermelon production state in the US, following Florida, Texas, Georgia, California, and North Carolina (USDA, 2022). Farmers select cultivars based on yield, disease resistance and fruit quality. This annual watermelon cultivar evaluation trial aims to provide watermelon producers and seed companies with information on the performances of different watermelon cultivars in southern Indiana.

Situation Analysis Of Horticulture In Western Australia: Area, Volume And Value Of Horticultural Crop Production By Local Government Area Within Western Australia, Manju Radhakrishnan, Neil Lantzke, Paul Mattingley

Horticulture research reports

The direct and indirect contribution to the economy from produce grown by WA horticulture industries increases to $3.03b when it moves along the supply chain to reach the end consumer in WAB. This increase results from the addition of storage, packaging, transport and other inputs.

Jobs created on-farm by WA horticulture, the majority of which are in regional communities, are estimated to be 14,520 during peak season (ABARES) making horticulture a significant employer in agriculture in Western Australia.

This study calculates more reliable estimates on the area, volume, and value of horticulture production in the WA across production regions.

The …

Using Poultry To Enhance Food Security In Stann Creek, Belize, Emily Spatz, Lisa S. Wood

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

Food insecurity is a growing issue in developing and developed countries alike, and in countries like Belize, the prevalence of hunger has soared in recent years. Not having access to diets with sufficient calories and nutrients leads to a host of developmental issues, including stunting and cognitive delays. The purpose of this work was to create an all-encompassing manual for small-scale poultry production in order to provide nourishment for the students and staff of a school in Belize. After determining that the best way to meet the school’s needs was through dual-purpose birds, background research was conducted to determine small-scale …

Effects Of Drip Irrigation And Cultivation Methods On Establishment Of Seeded Tall Fescue, Alex P. Bach, Dale J. Bremer, Cathie C. Lavis, Steven J. Keeley, Mu Hong

Kansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Reports

Subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) is becoming increasingly popular for maintaining turfgrass, in part because it conserves water. However, turf managers considering SDI may wonder if SDI is effective in establishing seeded turfgrass, should the need arise. Also, can verticutting or core aeration be used to establish the seedbed without damaging the buried driplines? Is one of those two cultivation methods better than the other? These questions were evaluated in this study. An aboveground drip irrigation system (AGD) was also evaluated because it has been suggested as a portable method for establishing turfgrass planted along roadsides.

Results indicated seeded tall fescue …

2022 Personal-Sized Triploid Watermelon Cultivar Evaluation In Indiana, Wenjing Guan, Dean Haseman, Dennis Nowaskie, Dan Egel

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

Personal-sized (mini) watermelons refer to fruit weighing 4.4 to 8.8 lb (Vinson et al., 2010), with 6-7 lb considered the ideal size. Both seeded and seedless personal-sized cultivars are commercially available. In the annual cultivar trial, we evaluate the performance of personal-sized triploid watermelons in southern Indiana.

Solid-Green Watermelon Cultivar Comparison, Wenjing Guan, Dean Haseman, Dennis Nowaskie, Dan Egel

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

No abstract provided.

2022 Dsac High Tunnel Bell Pepper Variety Trial, Bronwyn Aly

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

This paper reports on seven bell pepper cultivar entries evaluated in a high tunnel production system during the 2022 growing season at the University of Illinois Dixon Springs Agricultural Center (DSAC) located in southern Illinois (Pope County).

A Non-Destructive Approach For Measuring Rice Panicle-Level Photosynthetic Responses Using 3d-Image Reconstruction, Jaspinder Singh Dharni, Balpreet Kaur Dhatt, Puneet Paul, Tian Gao, Tala Awada, Paul Staswick, Jason Hupp, Hongfeng Yu, Harkamal Walia

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our understanding of the physiological response of rice inflorescence (panicle) to environmental stresses is limited by the challenge of accurately determining panicle photosynthetic parameters and their impact on grain yield. This is primarily due to lack of a suitable gas exchange methodology for panicles, as well as non-destructive methods to accurately determine panicle surface area. To address these challenges, we have developed a custom panicle gas exchange cylinder compatible with the LiCor 6800 Infra-red Gas Analyzer. Accurate surface area measurements were determined with a 3D panicle imaging platform to normalize the panicle-level photosynthetic measurements. We observed differential responses in both …

Characterization Of Salt And Drought Tolerance In Sunflower (Helianthus Annuus L.), Sevgi Saylak

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

Consequent to the increasing world population, food sources are needed to be increased to meet the nutritional needs. However, due to natural processes and agricultural activities, the most destructive environmental factors that limit crop production, soil salinity, and drought-exposed areas are growing. As one of the major oilseed crops, sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.), is considered to be moderately tolerant to salt and drought. Although it can grow in arid to semi-arid regions, increasing salinity and drought might adversely affect sunflower production. This study aimed to investigate several sunflower germplasms' morphological responses to salt and drought stresses. For this purpose, …

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Featured Faculty Mentor And Student Explore The Dynamics Of This Research Relationship, Matt Bertucci, Gracie Morrison

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Proceedings Of The 2022 Passion Fruit Conference: Growing The U.S. Passion Fruit Industry A Strategic Conference For: Growers, Marketers, Researchers, And Stakeholders, Eric T. Stafne

Coastal Research and Extension Center Publications

We are pleased to deliver these proceedings of the passion fruit conference that was held in Homestead, Florida on June 14 and 15, 2022. It was a culmination of a lot of hard work by many people, most of them listed in the previous page. However, it would not have been a success without the attendees who came from various parts of the country to share their experiences growing passion fruit. What follows in these proceedings are the slides of the presentations with by notes taken by attendees along with notes taken of discussion regarding the five priority topic areas: …

Getting To The Root Cause: The Genetic Underpinnings Of Root System Architecture And Rhizodeposition In Sorghum, Farren Smith

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports

Plants are some of the most diverse organisms on earth, consisting of more than 350,000 different species. To understand the underlying processes that contributed to plant diversification, it is fundamental to identify the genetic and genomic components that facilitated various adaptations over evolutionary history. Most studies to date have focused on the underlying controls of above-ground traits such as grain and vegetation; however, little is known about the “hidden half” of plants. Root systems comprise half of the total plant structure and provide vital functions such as anchorage, resource acquisition, and storage of energy reserves. The execution of these key …

Nebline, Jan./Feb. 2022

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

2021 Extension Highlights

Your Trusted Educational Resource

4-H Programs Engaged 24,313 Youth

A New Year, A New You, A Renewed Community by Emily Gratopp

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

Extension’s 2022 Master Gardener Training, Two Sites Available

Upcoming Green Industry Conferences

ProHort Lawn & Landscape Update

2022 Pesticide Applicator Trainings

Crop Production Clinics In-Person and Zoom

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Phil Wharton and Jenny DeBuhr

Watch Chicks Hatch on Egg Cam

4-H Rabbit Show, March 19

Dog Club Accepting New Members, Starts Jan. 10

4-H Club Gives Youth With Special Needs Opportunity to Show Lambs

4-H Announcements …

Field Validation Of A Farmer Supplied Data Approach To Close Soybean Yield Gaps In The Us North Central Region, José F. Andrade, Spyridon Mourtzinis, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, Shawn P. Conley, John Gaska, Herman J. Kandel, Laura E. Lindsey, Seth Naeve, Scott Nelson, Maninder P. Singhi, Laura J. Thompson, James E. Specht, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

CONTEXT: Producer-reported data can be used to identify suites of management practices that lead to higher yield and profit. However, a rigorous validation of the approach in relation to its potential impact on farmer yield and profit is lacking.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to validate a producer-data approach on its capability to guide on-farm evaluation of management practices with greatest potential for increasing producer yield and profit. We show proof of concept using soybean in the North Central US region as a case study.

METHODS: We used a combination of regression tree analysis and a spatial framework to determine practices …

A Phytobacterial Tir Domain Effector Manipulates Nad+ To Promote Virulence, Samuel Eastman, Thomas Smith, Mark A. Zaydman, Panya Kim, Samuel Martinez, Neha Damaraju, Aaron Diantonio, Jeffrey Milbrandt, Thomas Clemente, James R. Alfano, Ming Guo

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The Pseudomonas syringae DC3000 type III effector HopAM1 suppresses plant immunity and contains a Toll/interleukin-1 receptor (TIR) domain homologous to immunity-related TIR domains of plant nucleotide-binding leucine-rich repeat receptors that hydrolyze nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) and activate immunity. In vitro and in vivo assays were conducted to determine if HopAM1 hydrolyzes NAD+ and if the activity is essential for HopAM1’s suppression of plant immunity and contribution to virulence. HPLC and LC-MS were utilized to analyze metabolites produced from NAD+ by HopAM1 in vitro and in both yeast and plants. Agrobacterium-mediated transient expression and in planta inoculation assays were performed to …

Predicting Munsell Color For Turfgrass Leaves, William L. Berndt, Roch E. Gaussoin

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Linking turfgrass color to hue, value, chroma (H V/C) in the Munsell Plant Tissue Color Book is a visual comparison process for specifying and communicating plant color. If subjectivity of visual comparison can be mitigated, then accuracy of color matching may be improved. Research was conducted to develop an algorithm predicting H V/C from CIE-xyY color (xyY) in digital images of leaves of four turfgrasses. First, value-chroma (V/C) arrays for Munsell hue groups 5Y, 2.5GY, 5GY, 7.5GY, 10GY, and 2.5G were converted to xyY. Next, chromaticity (xy) plots from each array were fitted with …

4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase (Hppd)-Inhibiting Herbicides: Past, Present, And Future, Amit J. Jhala, Vipan Kumar, Ramawatar Yadav, Prashant Jha, Mithila Jugulam5, Martin M. Williams Ii, Nicholas E. Hausman, Franck E. Dayan, Paul M. Burton, Richard P. Dale, Jason K. Norsworthy

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)-inhibiting herbicides are primarily used for weed control in corn, barley, oat, rice, sorghum, sugarcane, and wheat production fields in the United States. The objectives of this review were to summarize (1) the history of HPPD-inhibitor and their use in the United States, (2) HPPD-inhibitor resistant weeds, their mechanism of resistance, and management, (3) interaction of HPPD-inhibitor with other herbicides, and (4) the future of HPPD-inhibitor-resistant crops. As of 2022, three broadleaf weeds (Palmer amaranth, waterhemp, and wild radish) have evolved resistance to the HPPD-inhibitor. The predominance of metabolic resistance to HPPD-inhibitor was found in aforementioned three …

Limited Irrigation For Managing Declining Water Resources In The Us High Plains, Bijesh Maharjan, Gary Hergert, Saurav Das

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The US High Plains region has a semiarid climate receiving between 330 and 455 mm of rainfall annually. In the Nebraska Panhandle of the High Plains, 30-year average rainfall is 394 mm, and one-fourth of agriculture is under irrigation. In addition to concerns about water quality, there is a growing concern over water quantity for ground- and surface-water resources that producers use for irrigation. Wisely managing limited water resources for irrigation can help maintain crop productivity and profitability. Deficit irrigation research for 13 years (2005–2017) was conducted in the Nebraska Panhandle to study effects of limited irrigation on maize ( …

Charles A. Francis, Abstracts And Publications [1969--2022], December 2022, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Contents

I. Journal articles (218), p.1

II. Book reviews (60), p. 18

III. Published abstracts (213), p. 23

IV. Books (23), p. 40

V. Chapters in books (81), p. 42

VI. Symposium or workshop proceedings (127), p. 50

VII. Symposia or extension publications edited (31), p. 62

VIII. Miscellaneous (522), p. 65

A New Perspective When Examining Maize Fertilizer Nitrogen Use Efficiency, Incrementally, Newell R. Kitchen, Curtis J. Ransom, James S. Schepers, Jerry L. Hatfield, Raymond Massey, Scott T. Drummond

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

For maize (Zea mays L.), nitrogen (N) fertilizer use is often summarized from field to global scales using average N use efficiency (NUE). But expressing NUE as averages is misleading because grain increase to added N diminishes near optimal yield. Thus, environmental risks increase as economic benefits decrease. Here, we use empirical datasets obtained in North America of maize grain yield response to N fertilizer (n = 189) to create and interpret incremental NUE (iNUE), or the change in NUE with change in N fertilization. We show for those last units of N applied to reach economic optimal N …

Ecological Intensification With Soil Health Practices Demonstrates Positive Impacts On Multiple Soil Properties: A Large-Scale Farmer-Led Experiment, Fernanda Souza Krupek, Daren D. Redfearn, Kent M. Eskridge, Andrea Basche

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Improving soil health is critical to reversing trends of soil degradation and is of increasing interest to a range of stakeholders including policymakers, agricultural industry leaders, food companies, and farmers. Crop and soil management practices focused on ecological functions can be effective in restoring fundamental biological, chemical and physical soil properties. The call for ecological intensification of agricultural systems has the potential to improve soil health and input-use efficiency. In this study, we developed a framework to classify spatial and temporal ecological intensification with soil health practices: tillage, crop rotation, cover crop, organic amendment, and crop-livestock integration. We applied this …

First Plant Cell Atlas Symposium Report, Selena L. Rice, Elena Lazarus, Christopher Anderton, Kenneth Birnbaum, Jenniofer Brophy, Benjamin Cole, Diane Dickel, David Ehrhardt, Noah Fahlgren, Margaret Frank, Elizabeth Haswell, Shao-Shan Carol Huang, Samuel Leiboff, Marc Libault, Marisa S. Otegui, Nicholas Provart, R. Glen Uhrig, Seung Y. Rhee, The Plant Cell Atlas Consortium

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The Plant Cell Atlas (PCA) community hosted a virtual symposium on December 9 and 10, 2021 on single cell and spatial omics technologies. The conference gathered almost 500 academic, industry, and government leaders to identify the needs and directions of the PCA community and to explore how establishing a data synthesis center would address these needs and accelerate progress. This report details the presentations and discussions focused on the possibility of a data synthesis center for a PCA and the expected impacts of such a center on advancing science and technology globally. Community discussions focused on topics such as data …

Identification Of Beneficial And Detrimental Bacteria Impacting Sorghum Responses To Drought Using Multi-Scale And Multisystem Microbiome Comparisons, Mingsheng Qi, Jeffrey C. Berry, Kira W. Veley, Lily O'Connor, Omri M. Finkel, Isai Salas-González, Molly Kuhs, Julietta Jupe, Emily Holcomb, Tijana Glavina Del Rio, Cody Creech, Peng Liu, Susannah G. Tringe, Jeffery L. Dangl, Daniel P. Schachtman, Rebecca S. Bart

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Drought is a major abiotic stress limiting agricultural productivity. Previous field-level experiments have demonstrated that drought decreases microbiome diversity in the root and rhizosphere. How these changes ultimately affect plant health remains elusive. Toward this end, we combined reductionist, transitional and ecological approaches, applied to the staple cereal crop sorghum to identify key root-associated microbes that robustly affect drought-stressed plant phenotypes. Fifty-three Arabidopsis-associated bacteria were applied to sorghum seeds and their effect on root growth was monitored. Two Arthrobacter strains caused root growth inhibition (RGI) in Arabidopsis and sorghum. In the context of synthetic communities, Variovorax strains were able to …