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Spring Nitrogen Management For Winter Wheat, John H. Grove

Soil Science News and Views

Wheat producers commonly plan their nitrogen fertilizer management during winter months. The crop begins to break dormancy in many parts of the state in late February and early March and soon begins tillering and growing rapidly if nutrition is adequate. Nitrogen is the nutrient most often required and for which annual costs are the greatest for most wheat growers. Consideration of the following basic principles will help wheat producers improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their nitrogen fertilizer dollars.

Truck Design And Usage Related To Highway Pavement Performance, Robert C. Deen, Herbert F. Southgate, Gary W. Sharpe, David L. Allen, Jerry G. Pigman

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The function of a pavement is to serve traffic safely, comfortably, and efficiently at reasonable costs. Automobile traffic typically accounts for the major volume of traffic using high-type facilities. However, heavy truck traffic accounts for the major portion of accumulated fatigue and therefore requires greater structural designs. Truck design and usage has tended toward larger vehicles and greater payloads. The impact of elements of truck design and usage (such as suspension systems, floating axles, axle configurations, uniformity of loading, payloads, etc.) on fatigue "damage" are illustrated. The effects of increasing vehicle loadings and increased tire pressures are related to potential …

Unstable Subgrade, I 65, Hardin County (I 65 - 5 (17) 92; Fsp 047-0065-091-0396), Tommy C. Hopkins, Gary W. Sharpe

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

During construction of the southbound lanes of I 65, Stations 120+00 to 218+00, in Hardin County, Kentucky, near Elizabethtown, large deformations were observed when dense-graded aggregate (DGA) base courses were loaded with construction traffic. Rutting and cracking of the DGA also was noticeable. A study was performed to determine the causes of the unstable subgrade and base, recommend remedial actions, and evaluate the effectiveness of the remedial measures. The stability, or bearing capacity, of the unstable pavement was determined for different construction stages and combinations of pavement layer thicknesses using a relatively new stability model HOPK-I. The stability of the …

Marketing Programs And Strategies, J. Kenneth Evans

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Hay has never been widely perceived as a cash crop, therefore, it has historically accounted for a very small part of the total cash sales by farmers. It has been estimated that more than 90% of all hay baled in the state is retained on the producing farms. Most of that which is sold is transported very short distances and of course if one farmer in a community has a good hay year, all do. Organized marketing efforts have been minimal in both scope and successes. In 1978, efforts were initiated toward a more organized system of marketing Kentucky hay. …

The Economics Of Stand Life In The Production Of Alfalfa, W. Donald Shurley

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is a crop which once established, can provide production of hay for several years thereafter. The productive years of the established crop are often referred to as the stand life. The life of an alfalfa stand is variable depending on many factors including variety grown, soil, weather conditions during the production period, insect and weed pressures, and of course the management skills of the producer in timely harvesting and other production jobs.

Alfalfa In Livestock Feeding Programs, Gary T. Lane

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

A magazine article entitled "Bidders Paid More For Quality at Wisconsin Hay Auction" caught my attention. Did they really pay more money for higher quality. I could not help but think of some hay sales which I have witnessed. One dollar per bale, large bales, small round bales, sixty dollars per ton, and $275 per ton are all some quotes I have heard recently in connection with hay purchases. Not much is said about quality. We may hear relative terms such as good, not much grass, cut early, not rained on or others but not much about nutrient content or …

Grazing Alfalfa, Charles T. Dougherty

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa (Medicaao sativa) is a native of an area south of the Black and Caspian seas and it still grows wild in Iran and eastern Anatolia. Alfalfa was the chosen forage for the fighting horses of ancient armies as long ago as 1800 B.C. when the Kassites conquered Babylon. The spread of alfalfa followed the pathway of armies through the Mediterranean, Europe, and the New World. For ages before man used alfalfa to fuel his fighting animals natural selection processes worked on the evolution of alfalfa and its predecessors. A scenario which would account for the morphology and …

Chemical Preservation Of Alfalfa Hay, Dan O. Riddell

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Kentucky farmers harvest about 3 million tons of hay annually. In order to minimize dry matter losses and quality deterioration, hay should be baled with about 20% moisture. Unfortunately, adequate time required to field-dry hay to 20% moisture is often not available due to weather conditions. This is especially true for the first cutting of alfalfa in the spring. Many farmers are forced to choose between letting cut hay get rained on or baling hay wetter than is recommended. Hay baled with more than 20-25% moisture generally becomes moldy and undergoes a heating process which makes part of the protein …

Biological Control Of Alfalfa Insect Pests, Chris M. Christensen

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is a succulent plant that obviously is good feed for large herbivores such as cattle and horses. Therefore, it should not be surprising that a large number of small herbivores such as insects also find this plant delicious. Fortunately, most of these insects are not major pests. However, we do have a couple pest insects that annually attack this valuable crop and often cause economic damage.

Controlling insect pests is expensive and time consuming. However, not controlling them can be disastrous to the profit margin of the alfalfa producer. Entomologists who work on the insect pests of alfalfa have …

Weed Control In Alfalfa — Present & Future, Charles H. Slack

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

To achieve maximum alfalfa production and maintain excellent stands and forage quality for a number of years, producers need to start including weed control in their management program. Unfortunately good stands are not being established because of early weed competition where herbicides are not used. Alfalfa stands tend to play out before achieving their maximum number of years of production unless maintenance herbicides are used. Fortunately there are now herbicides registered to meet most every phase of alfalfa production.

This paper will deal primarily with the herbicides that are currently labeled for use on alfalfa. Several herbicides that are not …

Fertilizing Alfalfa For Optimum Production, Lloyd W. Murdock

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Alfalfa is a high producing crop. Therefore, it only makes sense not to limit its production or longevity by establishing it on unsuitable soil and by the use of unsound fertility practices. It is the aim of this paper to propose practices which will not limit the production of alfalfa, but, also allow it to be done as efficiently as possible with only the necessary inputs.

No-Till Alfalfa — Research And Observations, Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

In previous addresses to this Conference, I have suggested four basic goals be included in your alfalfa program: 1) attention to details prior to and during establishment such that you establish a thick, weed-free stand; necessary management to; 2) keep the stand productive for five years; 3) produce five tons per acre per year, and; 4) market your harvest product either as a cash crop or through your livestock program for profit. In the presentations to follow today, information will be presented which, if adapted to your program, will permit you to reach and surpass the above goals.

The topic …

Kentucky's Soils Potential For Alfalfa Production, Kenneth L. Wells

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

A description of Kentucky's land base indicates that of nearly 15 million acres suitable for cropland usage, approximately three-fourths has an erosion hazard potential of some degree, relating largely to steepness of slope (1). For this reason, there is a large potential acreage of alfalfa and other perennial forage crops relating to their sod forming growth habit which provides them an inherent value in erosion control.

Foreword [1985], Garry D. Lacefield

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This is the front matter of the proceedings.

Did Combine Traffic On Wet Soils Damage Fields Last Fall?, Lloyd W. Murdock

Soil Science News and Views

Fields rutted by wheel tracks during harvest last fall are a common sight in the grain producing areas of Kentucky. And, foremost on many producer's minds now, is whether this damage will lower productivity from those fields during 1985 and beyond. This concern also exists among some leading agronomists in the United States who think that the amount of soil compaction due to machinery traffic is increasing. One of the reasons cited for this is the use of larger and heavier equipment. One such piece of equipment which has increased in size and weight is the combine. A combine with …

The Hydrogen Line Spectra Of Narrow-Line Radio Galaxies, Gary J. Ferland, Donald E. Osterbrock

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We report the results of the first detection of Lyα in a narrow-line radio galaxy. Nearly simultaneous optical and UV observations of 3C 192 and 3C 223 allow the measurement of both Balmer and Lyman decrements. These line ratios are approximate functions of the interstellar reddening and of a parameter which is proportional to the amount of H I collisional excitation present. The reddening of 3C 192 is slightly larger than that due to our Galaxy, although 3C 223 may have a larger value. Both galaxies have intrinsic Balmer and Lyman decrements which are significantly steeper than case B, …

Depositional Environments And Petrology Of The Felix Coal Interval (Eocene), Powder River Basin, Wyoming, Peter D. Warwick

Theses and Dissertations--Earth and Environmental Sciences

A study of a 250 ft. (76.2 m) stratigraphic interval that includes the Eocene-age Felix coal of the Wasatch Formation was undertaken in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming to establish a depositional model based on the interrelations of coal-seam geometry, coal maceral composition, and spatial distribution of adjoining rocks. Regional cross sections and maps of major rock bodies were prepared from 147 measured stratigraphic sections and 56 geophysical logs. Trends in maceral and chemical properties within the Felix coal were identified from petrographic and geochemical analyses of 72 coal channel samples. The combined data sets indicate that the thickest …

Equilibrium Moisture Properties Of Corn Cobs, G. M. White, Thomas C. Bridges, Samuel G. Mcneill, Douglas G. Overhults

Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering Faculty Publications

Equilibrium moisture content-equilibrium relative humidity data for broken corn cobs have been determined for both desorption and adsorption conditions for three temperature levels and five moisture levels. The Modified Henderson and Chung equilibrium moisture equations have been fitted to these data by using non-linear regression procedures to estimate equation parameters. Both equations adequately represented the experimental data. A test of varietal differences indicated no significant difference in cob desorption ERH values for three selected corn varieties.

Mineralogy Of Kentucky Soils, Anastasios D. Karathanasis

Soil Science News and Views

Very few mineralogical data have been published for soils in Kentucky. As an initial attempt to classify mineralogy of the subsoil, a general mineralogy map of the state was constructed based on currently available information (Fig. 1). The map suggests that quartz, mica, and feldspars are the dominant minerals of the sqnd and silt size fractions and that illite, smectite, kaolinite and hydroxyinterlayered vermiculite or smectite dominate the clay size soil fraction. Soils of the Western Coalfields, Eastern Coalfields, and Eastern Pennyrile regions generally contain more quartz in the sand and silt fraction than soils of the Purchase, Western Pennyrile, …

Caves And Karst Of Kentucky, Percy H. Dougherty

Special Publication--KGS

Published in cooperation with the National Speleological Society. Includes an overview of Kentucky geology, karst, cave development, list of caves including Mammoth Cave and Carter Caves, historical caves, archaeology, and cave life of Kentucky.

Developing Realistic Agricultural Production Functions For Use In Undergraduate Classes, David L. Debertin

Agricultural Economics Textbook Gallery

This journal publication is included here as a supplement to Agricultural Production Economics text.  Supplementary files are also included.

Using Urea Nitrogen As A Fertilizer, Kenneth L. Wells

Soil Science News and Views

Solid granular or prilled urea (45-46% N) has become widely available in Kentucky, as has 28% nitrogen solution (UAN solution) which is half urea and half ammonium nitrate. When applied to a field, urea is transformed to ammonium N soon after application. The rate of transformation is greatly increased by urease, the enzyme found to varying degrees in soil and on plants and plant residues. Due to the chemical reactions involved as urea nitrogen undergoes transformation, there is some degree of likelihood for volatilization loss of some N. Whether such a loss will occur, and how much N will be …

Effectiveness Of Liming Materials, Monroe Rasnake

Soil Science News and Views

A number of different sources of liming materials are available to Kentucky farmers and homeowners. The best one for any particular use depends on several factors:

1. Size of area being treated
2. How quickly the reaction is needed
3. Method of application
4. Cost of the material
5. Quality (neutralizing value) of the material

Following is an evaluation of some liming materials based on those factors.

Cosmic Rays And The Emission-Line Regions Of Active Galactic Nuclei, Gary J. Ferland, R. F. Mushotzky

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We discuss the effects that the synchrotron emitting relativistic electrons, which are known to exist throughout many distance scales in active nuclei, could have on the emission-line regions that characterize these objects. Detailed models of both the inner, dense, broad-line region and the outer, lower density, narrow-line region are presented, together with the first models of the optically emitting gas often found within extended radio lobes. We show that, in all cases, if the relativistic gas that produces the synchrotron radio emission is mixed with the gas in the emission-line region, then significant changes in the emission-line spectrum will result. …

Fertilizing Alfalfa For Optimum Yields, William O. Thom

Soil Science News and Views

Alfalfa is one of the most important forage crops in Kentucky. It is grown on a wide range of soil types, has the ability to produce high yields, and will respond to good management including a sound soil fertility program.

Radiation Pressure And The Stability Of Broad-Line Region Clouds, Gary J. Ferland, Moshe Elitzur

Physics and Astronomy Faculty Publications

We discuss two constraints on the existence and stability of quasar emission-line gas. The case of a constant pressure photoionized cloud in pressure equilibrium with a surrounding hot gas is considered. We show that the radiation pressure of the internally generated line emission makes a significant contribution to the total pressure in standard broad-line region models, and that models with either a higher ionization parameter or lower gas density are dominated by radiation pressure and hence unstable. Further, clouds with ionization parameters lower than the standard value cannot be supported by any hot gas which is heated only by the …

Plant Available Water And Plant Water Stress, Ronald E. Phillips

Soil Science News and Views

The 1983 growing season in Kentucky was a vivid reminder that water is essential for good plant growth. And the water used by plants is taken from the reserve or water stored in soil.

Wetlands And Coal Surface Mining: A Management Handbook, Milady A. Cardamone, Jan R. Taylor, William J. Mitsch

KWRRI Research Reports

As the third phase of a three-year project, this report outlines management options for protecting wetlands during the surface mining of coal, particularly for the portion of the Eastern Interior Coal Region that is found in Kentucky, Indiana, and Illinois. It is presented in manual form for use by coal mine operators, regulatory agencies and research institutions.

The previous phases of the project produced an atlas of the most heavily-mined areas of the western Kentucky coal field, which classified and identified wetlands in these areas, and discussed some specific impacts of mining on these wetlands. The need to present information …

Relationship Between Kentucky Cbr And Slake Durability, Tommy C. Hopkins

Kentucky Transportation Center Research Report

The design of pavements requires a knowledge of the relative strength and durability of subgrade materials. In Kentucky, the CBR (California Bearing Ratio) test is used to define the relative bearing strength of subgrade materials. Pavement thickness can be obtained if traffic loadings and CBR values are known. Durability of subgrade materials can be characterized using the slake-durability test. The purposes of this study were to correlate values of (soaked) KYCBR and slake-durability indices and examine the swell potential of compacted shales. Correlations were developed between soaked KYCBRs and slake-durability indices obtained from three different slake-durability I testing procedures. The …

Finite Element Simulation Of Saturated-Unsaturated Subsurface Flow, George E. Blandford

KWRRI Research Reports

A two-dimensional transient model for flow through saturated-unsaturated porous media is developed, The model numerically solves the pressure head dependent or moisture content dependent form of Richard's equation. The model code uses isoparametric quadratic triangular and/or quadrilateral finite elements for the geometric representation and for the weak Galerkin spacial integrations. An implicit, unconditionally stable single-step numerical time integration scheme with an oscilliatory noise reduction option is utilized for the temporal discretization. The highly efficient symmetric skyline (profile) solution scheme is used to solve the resulting simultaneous equations. The nonlinear subsurface flow parameters are approximated using cubic spline interpolation. The element …