Digital Commons Network^™

Heartside’S Glean Ride: Bringing Fresh Food And Ideas To The Heart Of Grand Rapids, Selina Dorking, Paige Eisen, Joseph Godfrey, Regina Lopez, Steven Smith

LIB 322: Wicked Problems of Sustainability

The Heartside Gleaning Initiative (HGI), a local non-profit organization, is a powerful example of place-based social justice work that fosters both sustainable and healthy living within the Heartside neighborhood of Michigan’s second largest city, Grand Rapids. Since 2014 HGI has been utilizing a bottom-up approach by actively listening to its community members in order to cultivate radical change around the issue of food insecurity within the Heartside neighborhood. The Food Fighters, an interdisciplinary team of Grand Valley State University (GVSU) students enrolled in LIB322 “Wicked Problems of Sustainability” during the winter semester of 2015, were tasked to work with HGI …

Implementing Sustainable Literacy In Grand Rapids, Mi, Joe Neikirk, Hannah Swanson, Sam Blumer

LIB 322: Wicked Problems of Sustainability

Recognizing the dimensions and complexity of wicked problems, Phoenix Farms has decided to address the issue of sustainable illiteracy in Western Michigan. With a goal to work with local stakeholders, we have partnered with Sonder Farms in order to develop advertisements and classes aimed to raise awareness about, and interest in, sustainability. This partnership with Sonder Farms, a self-sustaining farm located in the Grand Rapids and Allendale communities, has given us the opportunity to put our skills, knowledge, and values to use in our local community. Sonder Farms practices conventional farming as well as aquaponics. Their hope is to target …

Biochar As A Soil Amendment In A High Tunnel, Polybag Growth System, Ron Goldy, Virginia Wendzel

Midwest Vegetable Trial Reports

No abstract provided.

Bumpers College Students In Action, Discovery Editors

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

No abstract provided.

Invasiveness Of An Exotic Gall Wasp Is Influenced By Interactions With Exotic And Endemic Organisms, Ignazio Graziosi

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

American chestnut was once a crucial component of North American forests, but it was functionally eliminated by the introduction of the chestnut blight fungus. Chestnut is recently experiencing resurgence, but the introduced Asian chestnut gall wasp, a specialist herbivore, threatens chestnut recovery. I characterized this invasion and the interactions developing with host associates as the gall wasp spread in North America. Gall wasp dispersal is attributable to host plant distribution, effects of prevailing winds during adult insect emergence, and to topography. This knowledge may be useful to more accurately predict locations of future gall wasp infestations. Gall wasp invasiveness is …

New Insights Into The Function And Development Of The Soldier Caste In Termites, Li Tian

Theses and Dissertations--Entomology

The evolution of nonreproductive castes is a defining characteristic of eusociality. The function and developmental regulation of the altruistic worker and soldier caste is the central element contributing to major advantages of eusociality over solitary animals. The soldier caste is the first evolved sterile caste in termites. Their primary function is believed to be colony defense. However, the function and development of termite soldiers remains largely unknown. Because of their apparent morphological adaptation for fighting and their limited behavior repertoire, our understanding of colony defense by termite soldiers is limited to their physical defense. In addition, we know little about …

Student Perceptions Of Organic Food In Relation To Health, Environment And Pricing, Stacey Paterson

Theses and Dissertations--Nutrition and Food Systems

The organic industry is full of opinions and perceptions, which influence consumer purchasing decisions. A convenience sample of 69 college students between the ages of 19-23 registered in a basic food preparation class participated in this study. A sensory analysis of organic and conventional fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry, eggs and dairy measuring categorical taste differences between the two types of food. Student perceptions of organic foods in relation to health, environment and pricing and the likelihood of purchase were also studied. The influence of Diet and Well-being on organic purchases predominantly mattered somewhat to students, while price mattered completely. …

Management And Production Practices Of The Missouri Beef Cattle Industry, Jordan Lee Kinder

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

A survey of beef cattle producers in Missouri was conducted to evaluate the management and production practices of the beef cattle industry. Production and demographic data from 112 (response rate of 5.9%) were analyzed to identify areas in need of future research and education. The web-based survey was conducted through Survey Monkey© and distributed by the Missouri Cattlemen's Association to a list of their members. Responding producers were located in 65 of the 114 counties in Missouri, with 63.3% located north of Interstate 44 and 36.7% south of Interstate 44. The majority (47.3%) of producers were between ages 31 and …

Letter From The Dean, Michael Vayda

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

No abstract provided.

Comparison Of Berry Quality In Highbush Blueberry Cultivars Grown According To Conventional And Organic Methods, Ireneusz Ochmian, Karolina Kozos, Piotr Chelpinski, Malgorzata Szczepanek

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This research was conducted in the Laboratory Orchard at the Department of Horticulture, West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin and at a certified production farm specializing in the cultivation of highbush blueberry located in Szczecin. The effect of cultivation conditions?organic plantation in organic peat substrate (pH 3.46) and conventional plantation in mineral substrate (pH 5.32)-on the berry quality of four highbush blueberry cultivars (firmness, size, chemical composition including content of organic compounds and polyphenols) was examined. Blueberry bushes were planted at a spacing of 2.3 × 1.2 m. Bushes were planted on organic and conventional plantations, and the substrates …

Metal Uptake, Oxidative Metabolism, And Mycorrhization In Pigeonpeaand Pea Under Arsenic And Cadmium Stress, Neera Garg, Priyanka Singla, Purnima Bhandari

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Presence of arsenic (As) and cadmium (Cd) at elevated levels in the soils is threatening agricultural productivity. Arbuscular mycorrhizae (AM) enhance plant resistance to metal(loid)s by sequestering them into roots, thus restricting their translocation into leaves. The present study evaluated differential responses of AM-colonized Cajanus cajan and Pisum sativum plants to As and Cd uptake and oxidative metabolism under As and Cd stress (0, 30, and 60 mg kg-1). Arsenic uptake was significantly higher than Cd uptake, which caused greater growth inhibitions and induced oxidative stress. Pea was more sensitive, with higher toxicity symptoms in roots than leaves. Mycorrhizae were …

Effects Of Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungus, Humic Acid, And Whey On Wilt Diseasecaused By Verticillium Dahliae Kleb. In Three Solanaceous Crops, Semra Demi̇r, Suat Şensoy, Elvan Ocak, Şefi̇k Tüfenkci̇, Emre Demi̇rer Durak, Çeknas Erdi̇nç, Hüsameddi̇n Ünsal

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

This study examined the effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), humic acid (HA), and whey (W) application on wilt disease caused by Verticillium dahliae Kleb. in tomato, pepper, and eggplant. Single, dual, and triple applications of AMF (2.5 g inocula of either Glomus mosseae or G. intraradices), HA (500 ppm), and W (50 mL kg-1) were found to improve the morphological growth and nutritional status of all three host species. Moreover, dual and triple applications reduced the severity of wilt disease caused by V. dahliae by between 40% and 70.5%. Triple application of AMF, HA, and W decreased the number …

Modernization In Plant Breeding Approaches For Improving Biotic Stress Resistance In Crop Plants, Babar Hussain

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Biotic stresses are a potential threat to global food security. The origin of new pathogens and insect races due to climatic andgenetic factors is a major challenge for plant breeders in breeding biotic stress resistant crops. Yield losses due to biotic stresses haveresulted in 800 million people underfed in the world. Reduced yield due to biotic stresses and increasing food demand put internationalfood security at risk as 70% more food will be required in 2050. This review describes and compares the conventional and moleculargenetics methods being used for breeding biotic stress resistant crops. In the past, classical breeding approaches like …

Insect-Resistant Transgenic Crops: Retrospect And Challenges, Allah Bakhsh, Saber Delpasand Khabbazi, Faheem Shahzad Baloch, Ufuk Demi̇rel, Mehmet Emi̇n Çalişkan, Rüştü Hati̇poğlu, Sebahatti̇n Özcan, Hakan Özkan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The advent of genetic engineering has revolutionized agriculture remarkably with the development of superior insect-resistantcrop varieties harboring resistance against insect pests.Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has been used as a main source for insect-resistantgenes. In addition to Bt endotoxins, various plant lectins and other non-Bt genes from different sources have also been introduced incrop plants of economic importance. The insect-resistant crops have made a huge economic impact worldwide since their commercialrelease. The cultivation of insect-resistant cultivars has resulted both in increased crop productivity and in decreased environmentalpollution. Although insect-resistant crops have been allowed to be commercialized following proper biosafety guidelines and procedures,still …

Evaluation Of The Impact Of Changes In Commodity Income Support Measures Included In The Agricultural Act Of 2014 On Equitable Louisiana Rice Production Rental Arrangements, Abdallahi Ould Abderrahmane

LSU Master's Theses

ABSTRACT This research uses a Simetar simulation technique to evaluate the effect of the adoption of the Price Loss Coverage program included in the 2014 Agricultural Act on Louisiana’s rice equitable rental arrangement choices. Two scenarios are examined: one in which prices of the last three years are detrended and a second one in which they are not detrended. Each scenario includes six rental arrangements (Cash rent, Fixed Price, Fixed Yield, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20) and each rental arrangement has four adjustments (base, price trigger, yield trigger, and price and yield trigger). Three different risk measure analysis were conducted: Mean-Variance, Value …

Model And Sensor-Based Recommendation Approaches For In-Season Nitrogen Management In Corn, L. J. Thompson, R. B. Ferguson, N. Kitchen, D. W. Frazen, M. Mamo, H. Yang, J. S. Schepers

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen management for corn (Zea mays L.) may be improved by applying a portion of N in-season. This investigation was conducted to evaluate crop modeling (Maize-N) and active crop canopy sensing approaches for recommending in-season N fertilizer rates. These approaches were evaluated during 2012–2013 on 11 field sites, in Missouri, Nebraska, and North Dakota. Nitrogen management also included a no-N treatment (check) and a non-limiting N reference (all at planting). Nitrogen management treatments were assessed for two hybrids and at low and high seeding rates, arranged in a randomized complete block design. In 9 of 11 site-years, the sensor-based …

Three Essays On Land Ownership, Gender, And Agricultural Productivity In The Case Of Developing Countries, Krishna H. Koirala

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation set out to evaluate the impact of land ownership and role of gender to the Filipino farmers and to investigate gender difference in agricultural productivity and technical efficiency of Malawian rural households. The first essay investigates the impact of land ownership on the productivity and technical efficiency of rice farmers in the Philippines. We use a 2007-2012 Loop Survey from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and analyzed it by using a stochastic frontier function method. Results show that land ownership has a significant impact on technical efficiency. In particular, counter to the theory, the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform …

Three Essays On Economic Analysis Of Production Systems Of U.S. Grass-Fed Beef Industry, Basu Deb Bhandari

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

This dissertation research consists of three essays. The first two studies analyze experimental research data based on three pasture systems for grass-fed beef (GFB) production in the Gulf Coast Region. System 1 included bermudagrass and ryegrass; System 2 included bermudagrass, ryegrass, rye, dallisgrass, and clover mixtures (red, white, and berseem clovers); and System 3 included bermudagrass, soybean, sorghum sudan hybrid, ryegrass, rye, dallisgrass, and clover mixtures (red, white, and berseem clovers). Fifty-four Fall-born steers were weaned in May and grouped into nine groups and randomly blocked into treatments and replicates. Inputs and output data were recorded on a daily basis. …

Barley Molybdenum Cofactor Sulfurase (Mcsu): Sequencing, Modeling, And Its Comparison To Other Higher Plants, Ertuğrul Fi̇li̇z, Assaf Distelfeld, Tzion Fahima, Özge Karakaş Meti̇n, Eviatar Nevo, Song Weining, Ahu Altinkut Uncuoğlu

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Molybdenum cofactor sulfurases (MCSUs) are important enzymes for plant development and response to environmental queues, including processes such as nitrogen metabolism and regulation of the abscisic acid levels in plant tissues. We cloned and sequenced MCSU gene from barley and performed in silico comparison with rice, tomato, and Arabidopsis. Physico-chemical properties and subcellular predictions were found to be similar in different plant species. All MCSUs had three critical domains: aminotransferase class-V (Pfam: PF00266), MOSC N-terminal beta barrel (Pfam: PF03476), and MOSC (Pfam: PF03473). Secondary structure analysis revealed that random coils were the most abundant, followed by α-helices and extended strands. …

Response Of Bread-Wheat Seedlings To Waterlogging Stress, Murat Ti̇ryaki̇oğlu, Sema Karanlik, Mehmet Arslan

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Waterlogging is a widespread problem and one of the major yield-limiting factors of wheat in some parts of the coastal plains of Turkey. The object of this study was to identify waterlogging-tolerant cultivars in bread wheat. Twenty-four bread-wheat genotypes were tested under aerobic and anaerobic conditions to determine shoot dry weight gain, root dry weight gain, total dry weight gain, dry leaf weight, specific dry leaf weight, chlorophyll content, carotenoid content, transpiration and photosynthesis rates, and their tolerance indices. A complete randomized block design with three replications was conducted for both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. The current study clearly demonstrated …

Radiation, Water, And Nitrogen Use Efficiencies Of Gossypium Hirsutum L., Shakeel Ahmad, Ilyas Raza, Di̇lbaugh Muhammad, Hakoomat Ali, Sajjad Hussain, Hülya Doğan, Muhammad Ziaulhaq

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Resource use efficiency is a baseline for productive agriculture and proper management of different resources (water, nitrogen, light, and land), and it plays a pivotal role in the accomplishment of this goal. Three field experiments were carried out at the experimental farm area of the Central Cotton Research Institute, Multan, Pakistan, in 2009 and 2010 to investigate the effects of different resources on cotton crops. Treatments for the first experiment included 4 cultivars and 6 nitrogen levels. The second experiment comprised 3 variables, irrigation methods, cultivars, and plant spacing, whereas 2 variables, including different irrigation regimes and glycinebetaine application, were …

Clonal Propagation And Synthetic Seed Production From Nodal Segments Ofcape Gooseberry (Physalis Peruviana L.), A Tropical Fruit Plant, Bahti̇yar Buhara Yücesan, Ali̇yu Mohammed, Merve Arslan, Ekrem Gürel

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Physalis peruviana L. contains polyphenols and carotenoids with antiinflammatory and antioxidant activities used against diabetes. To establish an efficient regeneration system using nodal segments excised from 4-week-old germinated seedlings, direct plant regeneration, without additional rooting stage, was achieved on LS medium containing 0.5 mg/L 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP), kinetin (KIN), thidiazuron (TDZ), or gibberellic acid (GA3), alone or in combination with 0.25 mg/L indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) or indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), after 2 weeks of incubation. The highest mean numbers of shoots and well-developed roots were obtained on LS medium containing solely 0.5 mg/L TDZ, producing 5.3 shoots and 3.3 roots per explant …

Potential For Crop Production Increase In Argentina Through Closure Of Existing Yield Gaps, Fernando Aramburu Merlos, Juan Pablo Monzon, Jorge L. Mercau, Miguel Taboada, Fernando H. Andrade, Antonio J. Hall, Esteban Jobbagy, Kenneth Cassman, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Favorable climate and soils for rainfed crop production, together with a relatively low population density,results in 70–90% of Argentina grain production being exported. No assessment to date has tried to estimate the potential for extra grain production for soybean, wheat and maize, which account for 78%of total harvested area, by yield gap closure on existing cropland area and its impact at a global scale.The objectives of this paper are (i) to estimate how much additional grain could be produced without expanding crop area by closing yield gaps in Argentina, (ii) to investigate how this production and yield gaps varies across …

Plants Coping Abiotic And Biotic Stresses: A Tale Of Diligent Management, Hatem Rouached, Sikander Pal, Shimon Rachmilevitch, Marc Libault, Lam-Son Phan Tran

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Plants unlike other living forms are sessile thereby facing severe biotic and abiotic stresses. Plants have evolved different efficient defence responses which thrive upon a number of intrinsic factors, such as genotypic and phenotypic constitutions and developmental circumstances, and extrinsic factors like severity and duration of the stresses. Stress management uses molecular and biochemical level controls, the competence, and speed, at which a stress signal is perceived and transmitted to generate stress signal molecules and activate stress-protective mechanisms. A well-concerted action of the plants’ competence at morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular strata regulates numerous adaptive responses to biotic and abiotic …

Nutrient Availability And Dynamics Of Compost Bedded Pack Dairy Barn Waste, Leslie Hammond

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Increased adoption of compost bedded pack dairy barns (CBP), a relatively new housing and manure handling strategy, warrants study to facilitate proper use of CBP waste as a soil amendment. This study: 1) characterized in situ nutrient content and availability of CBP waste in terms of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P); 2) examined the decomposition of surface-applied CBP waste compared to an alternative processed solid waste amendment; 3) examined nutrient dynamics of incorporated CBP waste in high and low soil test phosphorus (STP) environments. Quick anaerobic mineralization assays revealed that bed management affects nutrient content and availability of CBP waste. …

Growing Community Gardens Through Education, Kaitlyn Becka, Sydney Martis, Rich Mehok

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

This paper explores the process of our leadership experience project on the topic of community gardens. Initially, our proposed research question was where in Akron area is the best location to build a community garden? Based on the primary and secondary research conducted, building a community garden would not be feasible or needed. Our conclusion showed that the real need and importance within the community was an education program on the topic of community gardens rather than planting a real garden. Therefore, the research question was revised to develop an education program focusing on healthy eating, victory gardens, and pollination …

Agriculture/ Graduate Students/ Carlson & Bracke/ Purdue University/ 2014, Jake Carlson, Marianne S. Bracke

Data Information Literacy Case Study Directory

Librarians at Purdue University had the opportunity to develop a semester long data information literacy program to ten students in the College of Agriculture. The program was run as a pilot to test out ideas and approaches in teaching data literacy competencies to students. Topics included high level subjects such as data lifecycles, data management planning, metadata and sharing data, along with practical issues such as file naming conventions, developing a metadata record for a data set and depositing data into a repository. Materials in this case study include weekly lesson plans, slide decks, assignments, an application and other documents …

Sheep Updates 2015 - Ravensthorpe, Bruce Mullan, Kate Pritchett, Kimbal Curtis, Chris Wilcox, Mike Hyder, Leigh Sonnerman, Lynne Bradshaw, Geoff Lindon, Katherine Davies, Joe Young, Stephen Lee, Ian Robertson, Lucy Anderton, Hayley Norman, Ed Barrett-Lenard, Jackie Jarvis, Ben Patrick

Sheep Updates

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors:

1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis

4. Lifetime management for maternal ewes, Mike Hyder, Research Officer, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

5. National Livestock Identification System (NLIS) for sheep and goats - what is the NLIS database? Leigh Sonnermann, …

Industry Career Guide: Agribusiness, Roderick C. Bugador

Angelo King Institute for Economic and Business Studies (AKI)

Agribusiness is generally the commercial aspect related to agriculture or agricultural activities and its products. The Agribusiness sector is engaged in the production and operations of a farm, the manufacture and distribution of farm equipment and supplies, and the processing, storage, and distribution of farm commodities. The very core of the industry is agriculture, which is supported by the manufacturing sector and service sector. As a whole, the Agribusiness sector is quite diverse as it encompasses input production, farm operations and management, equipment and supplies manufacturing, food/non-food processing, trading, and retailing.

Sheep Updates 2015 - Merredin, Bruce Mullan, Kate Pritchett, Kimbal Curtis, Chris Wilcox, Lynne Bradshaw, Geoff Lindon, Katherine Davies, Joe Young, Stephen Lee, Dawson Bradford, Khama Kelman, Lucy Anderton, Jaq Pearson, Jackie Jarvis, Ben Patrick

Sheep Updates

This session covers fourteen papers from different authors:

1. The Sheep Industry Business Innovation project, Bruce Mullan, Sheep Industry Development Director, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

2. Western Australian sheep stocktake, Kate Pritchett and Kimbal Curtis, Research Officers, Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia

3. Wool demand and supply - short term volatility, long term opportunities, Chris Wilcox, Principal of Poimena Analysis

4. Myths, Facts and the role of animal welfare in farming, Lynne Bradshaw, president, RSPCA WA

5. Latest research and development on breech strike prevention, Geoff Lindon, Manager Productivity and Animal Welfare, AWI

6. …