Digital Commons Network^™

The Effect Of Row Spacing And Irrigation On Seed Production Of Four Forb Species From The Uncompahgre Plateau, Colorado, Mark Judson, Dr. Val Jo Anderson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The Uncompahgre Plateau Project involves a series of studies to help with the production of native seeds for large-scale restoration of this Colorado Plateau Region. Studies are being conducted at various research centers throughout the United States. The present study at Brigham Young University sought to identify optimum row spacing and evaluate irrigation regimes for maximum seed production and harvest efficiency.

Characterization Of A Cdna Encoding Β-Amyrin Synthase Involved In Saponin Biosyntheses In Chenopodium Quinoa, Derrick J. Reynolds, Dr. P. Jeff Maughan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is an important crop for subsistence farmers in the Altiplano (high plains) of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina. Quinoa has the potential to be an effective crop for many temperate and highland-tropical regions due to its ability to thrive in drought, saline and high-altitude conditions. The nutritional value of quinoa has been well documented. Several analyses have confirmed that quinoa grain has an excellent balance of carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins and provides an ideal balance of essential amino acids for human nutrition.1 Quinoa grain also has a seed coating consisting of various saponins. Saponins are waxy, soap-like …

The Effects Of Planting Techniques On Maize Grain Yield And Silage Production, Tyler D. Kaufman

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is a comprehensive analysis of the effects of seed orientation, row direction and planting population on grain yield, kernel composition, and silage yield and composition. Producers are striving to increase profit by efficiently using their available land area to maximize crop production. However, little research is available testing the effect of seed orientation on grain or silage production. Quantifying the impacts of seed orientation and row direction on grain and silage is essential for maximum crop production. Dissemination of the results should benefit grain and silage producer.

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of manipulating seed …

Title, Scott A. Davis, Dr. Bruce Roundy

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The invasion of non-native species, mainly cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), into our rangelands, especially following the destruction caused by wildfires, has made it necessary to find viable options for the restoration of native plant species to these areas. The aim of this project was to determine whether or not it is possible to create models for the germination and seminal root growth of a suite of species using heat accumulation models. By creating these models, we hope to be able to discover other native species that not only compete with cheatgrass through early establishment, but provide a quality food source for …

Bioavailable Lead In Topsoil Collected From General Aviation Airports, Jerry H. Kavouras, Randal J. Demik, Allison C. Hopkins

Biology Department Faculty Articles

Representatives of the aviation community are interested in determining the environmental effects of leaded fuel emissions from general aviation flight operations. Soil is an environmental sink for lead to accumulate over time. This study measured bioavailable lead concentrations in topsoil at three general aviation airports and at one site with no general aviation operations in order to determine if general aviation aircraft operations are contributing to the contamination of airport topsoil at levels that require remediation by law. Bioavailable refers to substances that organisms can absorb, because they have access to them. Topsoil was collected from refueling areas, run-up areas, …

Endophyte Effects On Drought Resistance In Forage Grass, Alan Chambers, Dr. Brad Geary

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Endophyte infected, drought resistant crops are gaining in popularity with growers because irrigation can be expensive and rainfall unpredictably sparse. For this reason there has been a recent explosion of research relating to the benefits of plant microbe interactions. Our investigations were focused on fungal endophytes that produce alkaloid compounds which confer drought resistance in forage grasses.

Economic Impact Assessment Of Sorghum, Millet And Other Grains Crsp: Sorghum And Millet Germplasm Development Research, Timothy J. Dalton, Yacob A. Zereyesus

INTSORMIL Scientific Publications

As a result of the offsetting effect of a rise in productivity and decline in harvested area, the world sorghum production (tonnes) has been on a horizontal trend. The combined effect of a decline in area harvested and a rise in yield productivity have resulted in an overall increase in world millet production (tonnes) trend.

During the last three decades, significant numbers of breeding lines, parental stocks, germplasm and cultivars have been released through INTSORMIL/host countries collaboration around the world. Some of the remarkable breeding success stories include the release of the first hybrid sorghum Hageen Dura (HD-1) and Striga …

Foraging Habits Of Bighorn Sheep (Ovis Canadensis), Joshua Whitaker, Dr. Todd F. Robinson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Over the course of the last few months the final foraging samples have been collected on five populations of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) in the Great Basin and along the Wasatch Front. These locations include the Newfoundland Mountains, Antelope Island, American Fork Canyon, Rock Canyon, and Mt. Nebo. The purpose of this project was to develop an idea of the foraging habits of these different herds, and within the Antelope Island herd, determine the differences in foraging habits between age and sex classes. By no means is this intended as a complete final report, but rather as preparations for a …

Tall Fescue Endophyte Effects On Tolerance To Water-Deficit Stress, Padmaja Nagabhyru, Randy D. Dinkins, Constance L. Wood, Charles W. Bacon, Christopher L. Schardl

Plant Pathology Faculty Publications

BACKGROUND: The endophytic fungus, Neotyphodium coenophialum, can enhance drought tolerance of its host grass, tall fescue. To investigate endophyte effects on plant responses to acute water deficit stress, we did comprehensive profiling of plant metabolite levels in both shoot and root tissues of genetically identical clone pairs of tall fescue with endophyte (E+) and without endophyte (E-) in response to direct water deficit stress. The E- clones were generated by treating E+ plants with fungicide and selectively propagating single tillers. In time course studies on the E+ and E- clones, water was withheld from 0 to 5 days, during which …

Biology And Control Of Common Purslane (Portulaca Oleracea L.), Christopher A. Proctor

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

Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) is a summer annual with wide geographic and environmental distribution. Purslane is typically regarded as a weed in North America, but it is consumed as a vegetable in many parts of the world. One of the characteristics that make purslane difficult to control as a weed is its ability to vegetatively reproduce. Severed sections of purslane stem containing a node will produce adventitious roots from the cut end of the stem. Isoxaben and simazine were the only two effective preemergence herbicides for controlling purslane in our studies when applied at maximum or one-half maximum …

Confirming Artificial Fungal Endophyte Inoculation Of Maize By Aflp And Sem, Alan Chambers, Dr. Brad Geary

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Plant microbe interactions have been shown to enhance plant growth (Nassar, 2005) and it is well established that fungal endophytes affect beneficial phenotypes like resistance to drought or insects (Bacon 1997). Plants have been selected for beneficial phenotypic traits for thousands of years, but selection for beneficial microbe interactions is under studied. We desire to investigate improving crop yield and quality, while minimizing the expenditure of natural resources, by growing maize artificially infected with fungal endophytes from plants adapted to stressful environments. We report our early success here.

Transformations In Matter And Energy: Student Learning And Inquiry To Inform Teaching, Jenny Dauer

Discipline-Based Education Research Group Speaker Series

Learning progressions are descriptions of increasing levels of sophistication of student reasoning about a topic based on empirical evidence. Our learning progression framework about student explanations of carbon-transforming processes (e.g. photosynthesis, cellular respiration) describes how student’s interconnected and mutually supporting ideas and practices are deeply embedded in discourse at all levels of achievement. My research is in two areas: 1) applying the learning progression framework for student explanations of carbon-transforming processes to describe the most productive pathways for student learning, 2) extending the research to student reasoning during inquiry activities about carbon-transforming processes. One finding is that students who consistently …

Metagenomic Profiling Reveals Lignocellulose Degrading System In A Microbial Community Associated With A Wood-Feeding Beetle, Erin D. Scully, Scott M. Geib, Kelli Hoover, Ming Tien, Susannah G. Tringe, Kerrie W. Barry, Tijana Glavina Del Rio, Mansi Chovatia, Joshua R. Herr, John E. Carlson

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) is an invasive, wood-boring pest that thrives in the heartwood of deciduous tree species. A large impediment faced by A. glabripennis as it feeds on woody tissue is lignin, a highly recalcitrant biopolymer that reduces access to sugars and other nutrients locked in cellulose and hemicellulose. We previously demonstrated that lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose are actively deconstructed in the beetle gut and that the gut harbors an assemblage of microbes hypothesized to make significant contributions to these processes. While lignin degrading mechanisms have been well characterized in pure cultures of white rot basidiomycetes, little …

Forage News [2013-09], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• KFGC Field Day
• Choose Forage Varieties Wisely
• Orchardgrass Publication
• 14th Kentucky Grazing Conference
• Nutrient Removal and Tissue Testing Alfalfa
• Kentucky Grazing School
• Expect Tight Forage Seed Supplies this Fall
• Ergot in Pastures

Nebline, September 2013

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Community Gardens are Growing: UNL Extension in Involved With Several in Lincoln

Farm Views

Urban Agriculture

Food & Fitness

Home & Family Living

Horticulture

Environmental Focus

4-H & Youth

Community Focus

Extension Calendar

Nutrition Education Program

Family and Community Education (FCE) Clubs

and other extension news and events

Cryptic Genetic Subdivision In The San Benito Evening Primrose (Camissonia Benitensis), Cynthia A. Dick, Julie A. Herman, Ryan E. O'Dell, Adriana Lopez-Villalobos, Chris Eckert, Justen B. Whittall

Biology

When rare plants are distributed across a range of habitats, ecotypic differentiation may arise requiring customized conservation measures. The rate of local adaptation may be accelerated in complex landscapes with numerous physical barriers to gene flow. In such cases, examining the distribution of genetic diversity is essential in determining conservation management units. We investigated the distribution of genetic diversity in the federally threatened Camissonia benitensis (Onagraceae), which grows in two distinct serpentine habitats across several watersheds in San Benito, Fresno, and Monterey Cos., CA, USA. We compared genetic diversity with that of its two widespread relatives, C. contorta and C. …

Summaries Of Arkansas Cotton Research 2012, Derrick M. Oosterhuis

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

No abstract provided.

The Benefits Of Tannin-Containing Forages, Jennifer W. Macadam, Joe Brummer, Anowarul Islam, Glenn Shewmaker

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes tannins, a group of chemical compounds produced by a number of broadleaf forage plants, that can bind proteins.

Epilithic And Aerophilic Diatoms In The Artificial Environment Of Kungsträdgården Metro Station, Stockholm, Sweden, Lena Norbäck Ivarsson, Magnus Ivarsson, Johannes Lundberg, Therese Sallstedt, Catarina Rydin

International Journal of Speleology

The Kungsträdgården metro station is an artificial and urban subsurface environment illuminated with artificial light. Its ecosystem is almost completely unknown and as a first step to better understand the biology and rock wall habitats the diatom flora was investigated. A total of 12 species were found growing on the rock walls of Kungsträdgården metro station. The results show the diatom flora in Kungsträdgården to be dominated by e.g. Diadesmis contenta, Diadesmis perpusilla, Pinnularia appendiculata, Nitzschia amphibia, Nitzschia sinuata and Diploneis ovalis. One species, Caloneis cf. aerophila, has never been reported from Sweden before. …

Climate Change And North American Rangelands: Assessment Of Mitigation And Adaptation Strategies, Linda A. Joyce, David D. Briske, Joel R. Brown, H. Wayne Polley, Bruce A. Mccarl, Derek W. Bailey

United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Recent climatic trends and climate model projections indicate that climate change will modify rangeland ecosystem functions and the services and livelihoods that they provision. Recent history has demonstrated that climatic variability has a strong influence on both ecological and social components of rangeland systems and that these systems possess substantial capacity to adapt to climatic variability. Specific objectives of this synthesis are to: 1) evaluate options to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions and future climate change; 2) survey actions that individuals, enterprises, and social organizations can use to adapt to climate change; and 3) assess options for system transformation when adaptation …

A Review Of Hair Morphology Classification Techniques From The Past Thirty Years, Britten Sessions, Dr. Wilford Hess

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Due to its implicit nature in species identification, hair has been studied and classified since the beginning of the 20th century. Hausman visualized enough hair characteristics and variation between mammalian species to attempt an identification system using light microscopy. His efforts in characterizing species based on hair patterns established the form by which other later mammalogists created taxonomy keys.

Discovery And Development Of New Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Resistance Genes, David L. Price, Dr. Mikel R. Stevens

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The tomato is susceptible to more than 200 diseases. Tomato spotted wilt virus is one of the most damaging pathogens in tomatoes. Due to its wide spread, TSWV has become an important limiting factor in tomato production worldwide. Most often the virus is spread by Frankliniella occidentalis (commonly known as thrips), tiny insects that act as a vector carrying the virus. After the plant is infected, the virus will spread throughout the plant. Tomatoes showing symptoms of the disease are unmarketable due to severe discolorations. In areas of high infection, the economic losses for farmers are substantial. By developing lines …

Saponin Microarray, Jimena B. Alvarez, Dr. P. Jeff Maughan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd) is an important crop originally from the Andes of South America. Quinoa grows well in high altitude and high saline conditions, for which it is used as a substantial food source by the farmers of the Altiplano (high plains) in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. Quinoa has great nutritional value, as its seeds contain high quality protein in vast amounts and other nutrients such as carbohydrates, lipids, and minerals1. However, quinoa has a seed coat with high levels of saponin that limits its nutritional uptake in humans. In addition, saponins are bitter-tasting compounds, thus making quinoa unpalatable. …

Bromus Tectorum: Cheating Its Way To The Top, Keith R. Merrill, Dr. Craig E. Coleman

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Bromus tectorum (cheatgrass, or downy brome) is an exotic annual weed (recently?) introduced to the United States (ca. 1890) . Since its introduction, B. tectorum has been extremely effective at invading the Intermountain West, displacing native vegetation and causing extensive loss of shrub and rangeland habitats. Because B. tectorum is almost entirely self-pollinating, successful individuals within a given region can be distinguished by genetic analysis. We are using microsatellite markers for genotyping ecologically diverse populations of B. tectorum. Our goal is to better understand the correlation between B tectorum genotypes and the ecological habitats in which they are found, as …

Dna Barcoding In Chenopodium, Benjamin L. King, Dr. Peter J. Maughan

Journal of Undergraduate Research

DNA barcoding is one of the most important, novel techniques to be introduced in molecular systematics and genetics research in the last decade. Barcoding has been established as a consistent and reliable indicator of taxonomic relationships in eukaryotes, particularly in animals, where a uniform barcode sequence in the mitochondrial genome is used. In plants, a standard barcoding system has only been settled upon in the past year, and it is based on combining DNA sequences from three regions of the chloroplast genome. As part of the greater C. quinoa project overseen by the faculty of the Plant and Wildlife Sciences …

The Effects Of Juniper Litter Depth And Allelopathy On Two Native Species, Chad S. Horman, Dr. Val Jo Anderson

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Juniper (Juniperus spp.) forests cover a large percentage of the West and are continuing to invade grass/shrub ecotypes. This eventually leads to a reduced understory and lower productivity for grazing animals. This reduction in understory biomass is due to the competitiveness of this species. The negative affects of Juniper on the understory have been attributed to one or more of the following: 1) shading, 2) rainfall interception, 3) litter accumulation, 4) allelopathy, and 5) competition for water and nutrients.

Mscs-Like Mechanosensitive Channels In Plants And Microbes, Margaret E. Wilson, Grigory Maksaev, Elizabeth S. Haswell

Biology Faculty Research

The challenge of osmotic stress is something all living organisms must face as a result of environmental dynamics. Over the past three decades, innovative research and cooperation across disciplines have irrefutably established that cells utilize mechanically gated ion channels to release osmolytes and prevent cell lysis during hypoosmotic stress. Early electrophysiological analysis of the inner membrane of Escherichia coli identified the presence of three distinct mechanosensitive activities. The subsequent discoveries of the genes responsible for two of these activities, the mechanosensitive channels of large (MscL) and small (MscS) conductance, led to the identification of two diverse families of mechanosensitive channels. …

Dotpopulation Genetic Analysis Of Puma Concolor Using Microsatellites, Eric Swenson, Dr. Keith A. Crandall

Journal of Undergraduate Research

The mountain lion, Puma concolor, is the last widespread species of top predator remaining in the United States (2). Despite this, P. concolor is the subject of annual hunts, except in Florida and South Dakota, where they are threatened, and California (4). The impact of hunting on these populations is not well understood, but sport hunting constitutes the highest source of mortality in Utah (5). Indications are that increased hunting activity over the past few years may be causing a decline in the P. concolor population in Utah (1). The impact of hunting practices on the genetic variation of mountain …

Scanning Electron Microscopy Of Early Infection Of Dyers Woad, Isatis Tinctoria By Germlings Of Puccinia Thlaspeos, Michael T. Binns, Dr. Gary R. Hooper

Journal of Undergraduate Research

Dyers Woad (Isatis tinctoria) is an introduced noxious weed of crop and rangeland in northern Utah. A native rust fungus (tentatively identified as Puccinia thlaspeos) is being investigated as a possible biological control agent of the weed. In order to effectively use the rust in a biocontrol program, it is necessary to understand its epidemiology and characteristics.

The Finest View: Embryology In Four Dimensions, Research Results, Justin N. Craig, Dr. Robert E. Seegmiller

Journal of Undergraduate Research

One of the most complicated and difficult to comprehend organ systems in embryological development is the nervous system. In the study of embryology, one realizes that the understanding of human origin exists and must be studied not only in three dimensions, but also the fourth, i.e. time. The complex folding and sealing of the neural tube, the arching through space and enlargement to form hollow areas for the developing portions of the brain, spinal cord, and neurons, can best be comprehended in a four dimensional manner. One of the greatest mysteries of the human body is still the brain, and …