Digital Commons Network^™

Effects Of Prescribed Fire And Herbicide Application On Cattle Grazing And Herbage Production From Yellow Bluestem Pastures, S. A. Gunter, R. L. Gillen

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Forage management practices influence the quantity and quality of forage available to grazing cattle. The objectives of this experiment were to determine the effects of prescribed fire or herbicides on the density of forbs, the production and nutritive value of the herbage, and the performance of beef steers grazing Yellow bluestem [Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Keng var. ischaemum (Hack.) Celarier and Harlan] pastures. The experiment was conducted in northwestern Oklahoma from 1998 through 2000, and the untreated pastures (control) were not burned or sprayed. The prescribed-fire treatment (PFT) occurred annually between March 27 and April 10. The herbicide treatment (HT) consisted …

Comparison Of Broiler Litter And Commercial Fertilizer At Equivalent N Rates On Soil Properties, Ardeshir Adeli, Haile Tewolde, Karamat Sistani, Dennis Rowe

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

A 3-year study was conducted to determine the effects of broiler litter relative to inorganic fertilizer on soil nutrient content and quality in an upland Loring silt loam soil. Treatments included annual broiler litter rates of 0, 2.2, 4.5, 5.6, 6.7, 10.1, and 13.4 Mg ha⁻¹ y⁻¹ and commercial fertilizer rates of 34, 68, 90, 112, 134, and 168 kg nitrogen (N) ha⁻¹ y⁻¹. Broiler litter application linearly increased soil total carbon (C), microbial biomass C, extractable soil phosphorus (P), potassium (K), soil cation exchange capacity (CEC), and the stability of soil aggregate. At the …

Overseeding Unimproved Warm-Season Pasture With Cool- And Warm-Season Legumes To Enhance Forage Productivity, P. W. Bartholomew, R. D. Williams

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Overseeding forage legumes into existing warm-season pasture may help to reduce cool-season forage deficit on small and resource-limited small farms in the southern Great Plains of the United States. Unimproved warm-season grass pastures were overseeded with Korean lespedeza (Lespedeza stipulacea Maxim) were not overseeded with summer legume. These same plots were subsequently overseeded with hairy vetch (Vicia villosa Roth), crownvetch (Coronilla varia L.), black medic (Medicago lupulina L.) or ladino white clover (Trifolium repens L.) or, not overseeded with cool-season legume. Including lespedeza in a forage mixture increased total forage yield by an average of …

The Effect Of Drying And Submersion Pretreatment On Adventitious Shoot Regeneration From Hypocotyl Explants Of Flax (Linum Usitatissimum L.), Mustafa Yildiz, Sebahatti̇n Özcan, Cansu Telci̇ Kahramanoğullari, Si̇bel Day, Hande Özat

Turkish Journal of Botany

Hypocotyl explants of 3 flax cultivars were cultured for adventitious shoot regeneration in 3 different ways. Two pretreatment applications were compared with the routinely applied conventional regeneration protocol of culturing explants directly on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing 1 mg L^{-1} 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and 0.02 mg L^{-1} naphthalene acetic acid (NAA). In the first pretreatment application, explants kept in a sterile cabin under an air flow for 30 min were immersed in MS solution containing 1 mg L^{-1} BAP and 0.02 mg L^{-1} NAA for 15 min; then pretreated explants were cultured on MS medium without any growth regulators …

Emissions Savings In The Corn-Ethanol Life Cycle From Feeding Coproducts To Livestock, Virgil R. Bremer, Adam Liska, Terry J. Klopfenstein, Galen E. Erickson, Haishun Yang, Daniel T. Walters, Kenneth G. Cassman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Environmental regulations on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from corn (Zea mays L.)-ethanol production require accurate assessment methods to determine emissions savings from coproducts that are fed to livestock. We investigated current use of coproducts in livestock diets and estimated the magnitude and variability in the GHG emissions credit for coproducts in the corn-ethanol life cycle. The coproduct GHG emissions credit varied by more than twofold, from 11.5 to 28.3 g CO₂e per MJ of ethanol produced, depending on the fraction of coproducts used without drying, the proportion of coproduct used to feed beef cattle (Bos taurus …

Effect Of Nitrogen Addition And Weed Interference On Soil Nitrogen And Corn Nitrogen Nutrition, John L. Lindquist, Sean P. Evans, Charles A. Shapiro, Stevan Z. Knezevic

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Weeds cause crop loss indirectly by reducing the quantity of resources available for growth. Quantifying the effects of weed interference on nitrogen (N) supply, crop growth, and N nutrition may assist in making both N and weed management decisions. Experiments were conducted to quantify the effect of N addition and weed interference on soil nitrate-N (NO₃- N) over time and the dependence of corn growth on NO3-N availability, determine the corn N nutrition index (NNI) at anthesis, and evaluate if relative chlorophyll content can be utilized as a reliable predictor of NNI. Urea was applied at 0, 60, …

Rna-Seq Atlas Of Glycine Max: A Guide To The Soybean Transcriptome, Andrew J. Severin, Jenna L. Woody, Yung-Tsi Bolon, Bindu Joseph, Brian W. Diers, Andrew Farmer, Gary J. Muehlbauer, Rex T. Nelson, David Grant, James E. Specht, Michelle A. Graham, Steven B. Cannon, Gregory D. May, Carroll P. Vance, Randy C. Shoemaker

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Next generation sequencing is transforming our understanding of transcriptomes. It can determine the expression level of transcripts with a dynamic range of over six orders of magnitude from multiple tissues, developmental stages or conditions. Patterns of gene expression provide insight into functions of genes with unknown annotation.

Results: The RNA Seq-Atlas presented here provides a record of high-resolution gene expression in a set of fourteen diverse tissues. Hierarchical clustering of transcriptional profiles for these tissues suggests three clades with similar profiles: aerial, underground and seed tissues. We also investigate the relationship between gene structure and gene expression and find …

Economic Potential Of Substituting Legumes For Synthetic Nitrogen In Warm Season Perennial Grasses Used For Stocker Cattle Grazing, Maru Kering, John Biermacher, Ryan Reuter, Twain Butler, Job D. Springer, James Rogers, John Blanton, Joe Bouton, John A. Guretzky

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Stocker cattle grazing warm season perennial grasses is an important economic activity in the southern Great Plains. Substantial increases in the price of nitrogen fertilizer is negatively affecting forage producers‟ profitability. Two alternative nitrogen management systems that use annual and perennial legumes have been developed for bermudagrass pastures. The goal of the study is to determine if the legumes systems are more profitable than the conventional practice of applying synthetic sources of nitrogen. Results of the two-year grazing study show that the legume systems could not compete economically with the common practice.

Fertilizer Rate Effects On Forage Yield Stability And Nutrient Uptake Of Midland Bermudagrass, John A. Guretzky, Maru K. Kering, Jagadeesh Mosali, Eddie Funderburg, Jon T. Biermacher

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Our objectives were to document effects of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) fertilizer rates on forage yields and uptake of N, P, and K by Midland bermudagrass [Cynodon dactylon (L.) Pers.] on a Minco fine, sandy loam in southern Oklahoma. After six years of this long-term experiment, forage yield responses to fertilization were mixed and depended on year. Stability analysis indicated forage yields responded positively to N fertilization during favorable weather conditions but negatively during poor weather conditions. Application of 112 kg N ha⁻¹ provided the best yield stability and mean annual forage yield among treatments, …

Evaluation Of The Intercom Model For Predicting Growth Of Forest Herbs, Zorica S. Popović, J. L. Lindquist

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The ecophysiological model INTERCOM was evaluated for its suitability in predicting the growth of perennial forest herbs. A field experiment was conducted to obtain data on photosynthesis and growth parameters of two spring flowering understorey geophytes. Results were used to parameterize the model and its performance was evaluated using the average normalized difference (AE) between predicted and observed biomass and the leaf area index. The model was assumed to provide accurate simulations if the AE was smaller than 0.4. Adjusting the photosynthetic intensity parameters in the model to reflect observed changes in photosynthesis throughout the growing period resulted in the …

High-Throughput Snp Discovery And Assay Development In Common Bean, David L. Hyten, Qijian Song, Edward W. Fickus, Charles V. Quigley, Jong-Sung Lim, Ik-Young Choi, Eun-Young Hwang, Marcial Pastor-Corrales, Perry B. Cregan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Next generation sequencing has significantly increased the speed at which single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) can be discovered and subsequently used as molecular markers for research. Unfortunately, for species such as common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) which do not have a whole genome sequence available, the use of next generation sequencing for SNP discovery is much more difficult and costly. To this end we developed a method which couples sequences obtained from the Roche 454-FLX system (454) with the Illumina Genome Analyzer (GA) for high-throughput SNP discovery. Results: Using a multi-tier reduced representation library we discovered a total of …

Horticulture Of Ribes, K. E. Hummer, A. Dale

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

The genus Ribes L., known as currants and gooseberries, contains more than 150 diverse species indigenous throughout the northern hemisphere and along the Rocky Mountain, Sierra Nevada and Sierra Madres in North America through mountain ranges of Central America to the Andes in South America. Beginning in the 1400s, four main crop types, black currants (Ribes, subgenus: Ribes, section: Botrycarpum), red and white currants (Ribes, subgenus: Ribes, section: Ribes) and gooseberries (Ribes, subgenus: Grossularia) were domesticated from European species. American and Eurasian species were selected and combined into …

Yeasts Associated With Nectarines And Their Potential For Biological Control Of Brown Rot, W. J. Janisiewicz, C. P. Kurtzman, J. S. Buyer

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Resident fruit microflora has been the source of biocontrol agents for the control of postharvest decay of fruits and the active ingredient in commercialized biocontrol products. With the exception of grapes and apples, information on the resident microflora of other fruits is only fragmentary, but greater knowledge in this area can be very helpful in developing biocontrol strategies. We characterized the yeast microflora of nectarines (‘Croce del Sud’) from the early stages of fruit development until harvest. The fruit samples were collected from trees in an unmanaged orchard. The resident fruit microflora was separated from the occasionally deposited microorganisms by …

Response Of Photosynthesis In The Leaves Of Cucumber Seedlings To Light Intensity And Co2 Concentration Under Nitrate Stress, Xiaoyu Yang, Xiufeng Wang, Min Wei

Turkish Journal of Botany

The effects of 2 nitrate levels, 14 (CK) and 140 mmol L^{-1} (T), on the leaf gas exchange variables of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L. cv. Xintaimici) seedlings grown in hydroponic culture were investigated. Photosynthetic light- and CO_{2}-response curves from CK and T seedlings were determined and used for the analysis of photosynthetic capacity. The results showed that nitrate stress resulted in a significant reduction of net photosynthesis of T seedlings compared with CK. At the same time, the apparent quantum yield, light-saturated net photosynthesis, carboxylation efficiency, and CO_{2}-saturated net photosynthesis in nitrate-stressed cucumbers also decreased significantly with the increase of …

Optimizing The Physical And Nutritional Environment Of Unleached Root-Zones, Curtis B. Adams

Publications

Unleached root-zones represent an environmental ideal by eliminating wasteful leaching of nutrients and water. NASA grows plants in space in unleached root-zones, incorporating polymer-coated fertilizer (PCF) into a ceramic media (Turface or Profile). However, lack of growth productivity in space has led to the need for research to improve the nutritional and physical environment of the root-zone, which is the objective of this research. PCF types are diverse in release characteristics and the effects of temperature and substrate water content have not been well characterized. In spite of widespread use, studies on chemical properties and applied studies to verify soil …

Whole Genome Wide Expression Profiles Of Vitis Amurensis Grape Responding To Downy Mildew By Using Solexa Sequencing Technology, Jiao Wu, Yali Zhang, Huiqin Zhang, Hong Huang, Kevin M. Folta, Jiang Lu

School of Information Faculty Publications

Background: Downy mildew (DM), caused by pathogen Plasmopara viticola (PV) is the single most damaging disease of grapes (Vitis L.) worldwide. However, the mechanisms of the disease development in grapes are poorly understood. A method for estimating gene expression levels using Solexa sequencing of Type I restriction-endonuclease-generated cDNA fragments was used for deep sequencing the transcriptomes resulting from PV infected leaves of Vitis amurensis Rupr. cv. Zuoshan-1. Our goal is to identify genes that are involved in resistance to grape DM disease.

Results: Approximately 8.5 million (M) 21-nt cDNA tags were sequenced in the cDNA library derived from PV pathogen-infected …

Safety Evaluations Of The Cry1ia1 Protein Found In The Transgenic Potato 'Spuntag2', Hector Quemada, Kelly Zarka, Walter Pett, Gurling Bothma

University Faculty Publications and Creative Works

The transgenic potato 'SpuntaG2' (Solanum tuberosum), which is resistant to potato tuber moth (Phthorimaea operculella), was subjected to protein safety evaluations including protein equivalency tests for the Cry1Ia1 protein from 'SpuntaG2' and bacterially produced Cry1Ia1, toxicity and allergenicity evaluations of Cry1Ia1 protein, and compositional equivalency of 'SpuntaG2' compared with non-transgenic 'Spunta'. Western blot analysis and biological activity assays showed molecular and functional equivalency between 'SpuntaG2'-derived Cry1Ia1 protein and bacteria-derived Cry1Ia1 protein. Comparison of the Cry1Ia1 amino acid sequence to known amino acid sequences revealed no significant homology to known toxins or known allergens. Acute toxicity studies using rodents were used …

Cover Crops And Tillage Systems For Organic Corn Production In Kentucky, Alfonso Suarez

University of Kentucky Master's Theses

Organic corn (Zea mays L.) producers generally use intensive tillage for weed control. No-till methods reduce soil erosion, conserve water, maintain soil structure and reduce CO₂ emissions. The objective of this study was test different cover crops, tillage systems, N sources and N rates for organic corn production. Two tillage systems (no-till and moldboard plow), two cover crops [hairy vetch (Vicia villosa) and rye (Secale cereale)] and two organic N sources [Louisville Green (LG) and Nature Safe (NF)] at four N rates (45, 90, 135, 180 kg N ha^-1) were evaluated …

Grazing Evaluation Of A Novel Endophyte Tall Fescue Developed For The Upper Transition Zone, Jennifer Michelle Johnson

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

A wild-type endophyte (Neotyphodium coenophialum [(Morgan-Jones & Gams) Glen Bacon & Hanlin]) that infects tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh. = Schedonorous arundinaceum (Schreb.) Dumort.] imparts tolerances to moisture, heat, and grazing stresses, but also produces ergot alkaloids that adversely affect performance and physiology of cattle. Novel endophytes, developed by AgResearch Ltd. NZ, can sustain fescue persistence and productivity, but do not produce toxic ergot alkaloids. University of Kentucky Plant Breeder, T. D. Phillips Ph.D, developed a tall fescue experimental population (KYFA9301) for the upper transition zone. A 2-yr grazing experiment was conducted with steers to evaluate steer …

Improvement Of New Oil Crops For Kentucky, Watchareewan Jamboonsri

University of Kentucky Doctoral Dissertations

Three oil crops, chia (Salvia hispanica L.), flax (Linum usitatissimum L.), and castor (Ricinus communis L.), were studied because of their nutritional and industrial values. Chia and flax are rich in an ω3 fatty acid, α-linolenic acid, and castor is a very high oil producer and high in a hydroxy fatty acid. Ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS) and gamma rays were employed to mutagenize chia seeds to produce early flowering mutants. The M₁ population was grown and induced to flower by short-day photoperiods. The M₂ population was planted in the field in Lexington, KY in 2008. Early …

Insights Into The World Of Pea Nodulation Using The Low Nodulator R50, Scott Clemow

Theses and Dissertations (Comprehensive)

Cytokinin oxidase (CKX) is the enzyme responsible for the degradation of cytokinin, a class of adenine-based plant hormones that stimulate cell division, among other physiological processes. The pea mutant R50 is characterized by having a pale leaf phenotype, dwarf stature, few lateral roots, low nodule formation, and elevated levels of endogenous cytokinins in its shoots, roots and nodules. When compared to that of the wild-type Sparkle, total CKX activity is low but the transcript levels of PsCKX1 are significantly higher. In this study, I investigated the expression of PsCKX1 throughout the development of a nodule and the localization of PsCKX1 …

New Binary Ti Vectors With Co-Directional Replicons For Agrobacterium Tumefaciens-Mediated Transformation Of Higher Plants, Seokhyun Lee

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

Small, high-yielding binary Ti vectors of Agrobacterium tumefaciens were constructed. All four basic components of the vector, ColE1 replicon (715 bp) for Escherichia coli, VS1 replicon (2,659 bp) for A. tumefaciens, a bacterial kanamycin resistance gene (999 bp), and the T-DNA region (170 bp), were modified to reduce the vector size to 4,566 bp and to introduce a number of mutations to increase the copy number and other functionality. The transcriptional direction of VS1 replicon can be the same as that of ColE1 replicon (co-directional transcription), or opposite (head-on transcription) as in the case of widely used vectors (pPZP or …

Physiological, Biochemical And Molecular Characteristics Associated With Virulence Of Burkholderia Glumae: The Major Causative Agent Of Bacterial Panicle Blight Of Rice, Hari Sharan Karki

LSU Master's Theses

Burkholderia glumae is the bacterial pathogen causing bacterial panicle blight disease of rice (BPB). The pathogen, whose growth and pathogenicity is favored by high temperatures, has become a serious threat to rice production around the world possibly due to the current global climate changes. In this study, previously reported avirulent B. glumae strains were characterized in respect to the production of known virulence factors, toxoflavin, lipase and motility, and potential virulence factors, including polygalacturnase and type III secretion system (hypersensitive response). Considerable phenotypic variation was observed among the strains tested. Virulence of the B. glumae strains was closely related to …

Lucerne Guidelines For Western Australia Principles For Integrating A Perennial Pasture Into Broadacre Dryland Farming Systems, Diana Fedorenko, Perry Dolling, Christopher Loo, Tom Bailey, Roy Latta

Bulletins 4000 -

Lucerne, often regarded as the queen of forages, has been used in agriculture for centuries. In Western Australia, however, its potential has never been fully realised despite its well-documented ability to dewater soils and reduce groundwater recharge. Over the years adoption has been limited by a range of factors including pests and diseases, soil acidity, grazing management and economics. During the last decade research has addressed these issues, paving the way for much greater impact at the farm and catchment level.

Vitisnet: ‘‘Omics’’ Integration Through Grapevine Molecular Networks, Jerome Grimplet, Grant R. Cramer, Julie A. Dickerson, Kathy Mathiason, John Van Hemert, Anne Y. Fennell

Agronomy, Horticulture and Plant Science Faculty Publications

Background: Genomic data release for the grapevine has increased exponentially in the last five years. The Vitis vinifera genome has been sequenced and Vitis EST, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic tools and data sets continue to be developed. The next critical challenge is to provide biological meaning to this tremendous amount of data by annotating genes and integrating them within their biological context. We have developed and validated a system of Grapevine Molecular Networks (VitisNet).

Methodology/Principal Findings: The sequences from the Vitis vinifera (cv. Pinot Noir PN40024) genome sequencing project and ESTs from the Vitis genus have been paired and the …

Forage News [2009-12], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Grazing Conference Photos
• Growing Alfalfa in the South
• Heart of America Grazing Conference
• Role and Importance of Clovers in Kentucky
• Advantage of Rotational Grazing Confirmed Using Time Lapse Photography
• Corn Stalk Quality After Weathering
• Kentucky Land Values Buck the Trend
• Results of the 1st Year for a Grazing Evaluation of KYFA9302 Tall Fescue, With and Without the AR584 Novel Endophyte
• Cutting Ash Content
• KFGC Update
• Upcoming Events

Heirloom And Hybrid Tomato Yield And Quality In Organic And Conventional Production Systems, Diana J. Edlin

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Due to the recent changes in the economy of Kentucky tobacco production, some producers are seeking an alternative crop that will provide similar economic gains to tobacco without needing more acreage. Tomatoes are an existing crop in Kentucky that have been declining in acreage over the last five years. There is evidence to suggest that, through niche and local marketing, tomatoes may be able to fill the void left by tobacco. However, there is concern among producers that they will lose yield and/or quality if they switch to one of these niche production systems or cultivars.

A two year study …

The Malawi Project: From Conventional To Holistic Decision Making, Grace Wetmore

Animal Science

How the Cal Poly Malawi Appropriate Technologies Team, and other development groups, can use Holistic Management to aid developing countries in an effort towards a sustainable future.

Effect Of Different Schedules Of Baby Corn (Zea Mays L.) Harvests On Baby Corn Yield, Grain Yield, And Economic Profit Value, Zheng Wang

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

Maize (Zea mays L.) ranks third as a food crop after wheat and rice and is characterized not only as a cereal crop but also as a vegetable. Maize used as a vegetable is known as “baby corn”. Baby corn consists of unfertilized young ears harvested 2 or 3 days after silk emergence. The present study was implemented in 2009 at Western Kentucky University Agriculture Research and Education Center (36.93 N, 86.47 E) in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The purpose of the study was to compare the effect of different schemes of harvest on baby corn (BC) yield, grain maize (GM) …

Current And Future Food Demand In Western Australia. Module 1 Scoping Study, Andrew Weinert, Robert R. Rouda

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Maintaining and growing our food industries are priorities of the Western Australian Government and its Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA). Understanding our current food consumption levels, imports, exports and production limitations is critical to the formulation of effective agricultural and food polices.

The WA food industries are affected by several factors that include previous domestic policies and market instruments; general lack of scale; geographical isolation; access to suitable land and water; the availability and use of new technology, communication, processing and transport infrastructure that facilitate efficient marketing; sales and administration; social factors; international tariffs and other trade …