Life Sciences Commons^™

Avian Diversity, Abundance, And Nest Success Among Managed Prairies And Agricultural Plots In Oklahoma And Texas, Phillip J. Leonard, Douglas R. Wood, Wayne E. Meyer

The Prairie Naturalist

Over the last 50 years, grassland birds experienced rapid declines due to habitat loss and degradation as a result of agricultural practices. Our objective was to document the diversity, abundance, and nest success of bird communities using managed prairie and agricultural plots at the Tishomingo National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in southern Oklahoma and Hagerman NWR in northern Texas. From April 1 to July 15, 2013–2014, point count surveys, nest searches, nest monitoring, and vegetation sampling were conducted among three habitat treatments: managed prairie, unharvested wheat, and fallow agricultural plots. Species richness values for potential nesting species were higher in managed …

Quinoa For Utah, Kristine Bunkland, Earl Creech, Jennifer R. Reeve, Grant Cardon, Michael Pace

All Current Publications

This fact sheet provides insight into some of the opportunities and limitations to quinoa production in Utah.

Davis County Agriculture Profile, Shawn Olsen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet presents an agricultural profile of Davis County, Utah, including area, population, location, agricultural snapshot and growing season.

Secadera/Marchitez De Las Plantulas, Michael Johnson, Claudia Nischwitz

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Mansfield, Sherry R. And Bruce Greene (Fa 1112), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project 1112. Student folk studies project titled: “Just a Man—Captain William Hicks” which includes an interview of C. Jeff Hicks, the son of Confederate Captain William Hicks. The interview includes a description of the life of the son and his father while living in Barren County, Kentucky and Sumner County, Tennessee.

Ncer Assistance Agreement Annual Progress Report For Grant #83582401 - Assessment Of Stormwater Harvesting Via Manage Aquifer Recharge (Mar) To Develop New Water Supplies In The Arid West: The Salt Lake Valley Example, Ryan Dupont, Joan E. Mclean, Richard C. Peralta, Sarah E. Null, Douglas B. Jackson-Smith

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The aims of the original proposed project remain the same, that is, to test the hypothesis that Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) for stormwater harvesting is a technically feasible, socially and environmentally acceptable, economically viable, and legally feasible option for developing new water supplies for arid Western urban ecosystems experiencing increasing population, and climate change pressures on existing water resources. The project is being carried out via three distinct but integrated components that include: 1) Monitoring of existing distributed MAR harvesting schemes involving a growing number of demonstration Green Infrastructure (GI) test sites; 2) Integrated stormwater/vadose zone/groundwater/ ecosystem services modeling; and …

Climate Change And Food Systems: Assessing Impacts And Opportunities, Meredith T. Niles, Richie Ahuja, Jimena M. Esquivel, Nelson Mango, Mil Duncan, Martin Heller, Cristina Tirado

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Organic Solvent Exposure And Depressive Symptoms Among Licensed Pesticide Applicators In The Agricultural Health Study, Miriam Siegel, Sarah E. Starks, Wayne T. Sanderson, Freya Kamel, Jane A. Hoppin, Fred Gerr

Epidemiology and Environmental Health Faculty Publications

Purpose

Although organic solvents are often used in agricultural operations, neurotoxic effects of solvent exposure have not been extensively studied among farmers. The current analysis examined associations between questionnaire-based metrics of organic solvent exposure and depressive symptoms among farmers.

Methods

Results from 692 male Agricultural Health Study participants were analyzed. Solvent type and exposure duration were assessed by questionnaire. An “ever-use” variable and years of use categories were constructed for exposure to gasoline, paint/lacquer thinner, petroleum distillates, and any solvent. Depressive symptoms were ascertained with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D); scores were analyzed separately as continuous (0–60) …

Avian Pox (Fowl Pox), David D. Frame

All Current Publications

This fact sheet addresses specifically fowl pox affecting backyard chickens.

Simple Soil Tests For Onsite Evaluation Of Soil Health In Orchards, Esther Thomsen, Jennifer R. Reeve, Diane G. Alston, Grant Cardon

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes the importance of soil health and best soil testing practices.

Soil Series: Elevation And Agricultural Soil Test Survey Of The Godfrey Dryland Experimental Farm, Clarkston, Utah, Ryan Hodges, Robert Clawson, Grant E. Cardon

All Current Publications

The survey reported in this fact sheet details the areal distribution of soil type, topographical variation across the site and key agricultural soil test results to serve as baseline guidance information to potential researchers and farm managers.

Understanding The Contributions Of Beef Cattle To Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Elizabeth Stewart, Eric Thacker, Matthew D. Garcia, Juan J. Villalba

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes current and projected beef consumption, methane, nitrogen, beef cattle production, and possibilities for more sustainable beef production.

Stewart, Karen (Fa 1084), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project FA 1084. Student folk studies project titled: “Broommaking in Western Kentucky,” which includes a description of broom making practices in Ohio County, Kentucky. Survey sheets may include photos of a tool, brooms, and descriptions.

Jaggers, Katie (Fa 1066), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Folklife Archives Project FA 1066. Paper titled “Folk Beliefs” in which Katie Jaggers details various proverbs, remedies, superstitions, and predictions relating to childhood, agriculture, medicine, and other facets of daily life. Paper is based on data collected by Jaggers from immediate family in Edmonson County, Kentucky.

Beneficial True Bugs: Minute Pirate Bugs, Ronald Patterson, Ricardo Ramirez

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes beneficial true bugs: minute pirate bugs. It includes their life cycle and tips for promoting beneficial insects such as conservation and enhancement, predator release, and the predator release process.

Spotted Wing Drosophila [Drosophila Suzukii], Lori R. Spears, Cami Cannon, Diane G. Alston, Ryan S. Davis, Cory Stanley-Stahr, Ricardo Ramirez

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes spotted wing drosophila, an invasive vinegar fly that infests soft fruits and vegetables. It includes information on how to identify, plant hosts, injury symptoms, monitoring, non-chemical control, and chemical control.

Agricultural Intensification Can Preserve The Brazilian Cerrado: Applying Lessons From Mato Grosso And Goia's To Brazil’S Last Agricultural Frontier, Stephanie A. Spera

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

Food security and climate change are two pressing issues shaping the future of tropical land use. Brazil, home to abundant land that is rich in carbon, water, and biodiversity and often cleared for agropastoral and renewable energy purposes, is the ideal location for studying socioeconomic and environmental trade-offs of land use dynamics. Here, I use recent (2000–2016) land-use land-cover change dynamics in the established agricultural states of Mato Grosso and Goia's to demonstrate how incentivizing intensive agricultural practices and improving degraded pastures may be a means by which Brazil can increase agricultural production while conserving the remainder of the Cerrado. …

Leafrollers In Fruit Orchards (Lepidopters: Tortricidae), Diane G. Alston, Marion Murray

All Current Publications

Leafrollers are a type of caterpillar that may roll or tie leaves together to form a protective shelter. They feed on the leaves and fruits of host plants. This fact sheet describes them, the crop injury they cause, their orchard preferences, monitoring, treatment timing, and management.

Suppression And Control Of Field Bindweed - (Perennial Morning Glory) In Residential Areas, Taun Beddes, Michael Caron, James Barnhill, Kelly Kopp

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes field bindweed (perennial morning glory). It tells how to identify it, its life cycle, suppression and control options, including prevention, non-herbicide options, and herbiicide options.

Collection Of Biological Material For Commercial Genomic Testing In Beef, Matthew D. Garcia, Kevin Heaton, Linden Greenhalgh

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes collecting biological material for commercial genomic testing of beef cattle. It includes a description of materials needed, methods of collecting including blood, ear notching, or tissue collection, and how to ship and store samples.

Drip Irrigation For Commercial Vegetable And Fruit Production, Tiffany Maughn, Niel Allen, Dan Drost

All Current Publications

Drip irrigation is a highly efficient irrigation method well suited to many fruit and vegetable row crops. Drip tubing or tape discharges water to the soil through emitters positioned close to the plant. The drip tubing can be placed uncovered on the soil surface, under plastic mulch, buried in the soil, or suspended above the ground (e.g., on a trellis system). Water application rate is relatively low and irrigations are usually frequent. Properly designed and maintained drip-irrigation systems can have benefits that help increase the profitability of crop production.

Determining Effects Of Heat Stress On Illinois Soybeans, Ava Alford, Charles Burroughs, Lisa Ainsworth

PRECS student projects

Rising global temperatures affect our food supply. Heat stress could negatively affect photosynthesis, plant development, and flower and pod production. The research summarized in this poster aims to better understand which physiological processes in soybeans are negatively affected by heat stress in order to identify targets for future soybean production. Using infrared heat arrays, two different cultivars of Illinois soybeans are continually heated. Throughout the experiment, data is collected on photosynthesis, leaf area index, and overall productivity of the plant. At the end of the growing season, all of the soybean plants will be harvested and their biomass will be …

An Automated Approach To Map Winter Cropped Area Of Smallholder Farms Across Large Scales Using Modis Imagery, Meha Jain, Pinki Mondal, Gillian L. Galford, Greg Fiske, Ruth S. Defries

Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources Faculty Publications

Fine-scale agricultural statistics are an important tool for understanding trends in food production and their associated drivers, yet these data are rarely collected in smallholder systems. These statistics are particularly important for smallholder systems given the large amount of fine-scale heterogeneity in production that occurs in these regions. To overcome the lack of ground data, satellite data are often used to map fine-scale agricultural statistics. However, doing so is challenging for smallholder systems because of (1) complex sub-pixel heterogeneity; (2) little to no available calibration data; and (3) high amounts of cloud cover as most smallholder systems occur in the …

Ennis, William Franklin, Sr., 1856-1939 (Mss 614), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

MSS Finding Aids

Finding aid only for Manuscripts Collection 614. Journals with short entries about daily happenings and listings of farm expenses for William F. Ennis, a farmer, quarry owner, and businessman from Warren County, Kentucky. Also includes some poetry, weather information, and data about an unnamed individual conducting a school.

A Recommendation For Polyculture Agriculture To Reduce Nitrogen Loading That Leads To Hypoxia, Bethany Stevens

Honors College

The natural cycle of nitrogen is an essential part of both plant growth and crop

production, but in recent years there has been an increase in nitrogen through the use of synthetic fertilizers. Agricultural surface runoff can carry away the converted, mobile nitrate nitrogen into downstream systems leading to an unnatural influx of nitrogen. This increased nutrient load can stimulate algal growth in the marine ecosystem which can cause an oxygen depletion. When the dissolved oxygen levels fall, the area is deemed ‘hypoxic’ and can no longer support most aquatic life. In recent decades, industrial agriculture has used monoculture practices, …

Farm Food Safety Laws: Fsma Vs. Gap, Shawn Olsen, Karin Allen

All Current Publications

This fact sheet describes the differences in the farm food safety laws, FSMA and GAP. The FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) includes a Produce Safety Rule that became final in November, 2015 (U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2015). The rule establishes minimum standards for the safe growing, harvesting, packing, and holding of fruits and vegetables grown for human consumption. All covered growers will need to comply with FSMA as it is a federal law. GAP is a voluntary audit program designed to verify that produce is grown, packed, handled, and stored as safely as possible.

Precipitation Drivers Of Cropping Frequency In The Brazilian Cerrado: Evidence And Implications For Decision-Making, Keith R. Spangler, Amanda H. Lynch, Stephanie A. Spera

Geography and the Environment Faculty Publications

The Amazon basin has been subjected to unprecedented rates of land-use change over the past several decades, primarily as a result of the expansion of agriculture. Enhanced rain forest conservation efforts toward the end of the twentieth century slowed deforestation of the Amazon but, in turn, increased demand for land repurposing in the adjacent Cerrado (savanna) region, where conservation regulations are less strict. To maintain or increase yields while minimizing the need for additional land, agricultural producers adopted a form of intensification in which two rain-fed crops are planted within a single growing season (double cropping). Using 10 years (August …

The Use Of Extrafloral Nectar In Pest Management: Overcoming Context Dependence, Ian Matthew Jones, Suzanne Koptur, Eric J. Von Wettberg

College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty Publications

Extrafloral nectar (EFN) provides plants with indirect defence against herbivores by attracting predatory insects, predominantly ants. Decades of research have supported the role of EFN as an effective plant defence, dating back to Thomas Belt's description of ants on acacia in 1874. Despite this extensive body of literature, knowledge of the ecological role of EFN has rarely been applied in the field of pest management. We review the existing literature on the use of EFN in agriculture and consider the obstacles that have hindered this transition. Chief among these obstacles is the influence of ecological context on the outcome of …

Perceived Effects Of Use Of Information And Communication Technologies (Icts) On Rural Farmers’ Knowledge In Orlu Agricultural Zone, Imo State., Tijjani Abu Rimi Mr, Anaeto Francis Chudi Dr, Emerhirhi Emily Emily Mrs

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

The aim of this study was to ascertain the effects of use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) on farmers’ knowledge in Orlu Agricultural Zone, Imo State. Data were collected with structured questionnaires distributed to 130 respondents randomly selected from the 10 extension blocks in Orlu Agricultural Zone. Data collected were analyzed descriptively. The result obtained showed that, radio is the most readily available ICT device (99.2%), followed by mobile phone (97.7%). It was also observed that ICT use have effects on the farmers’ knowledge on improve use of equipment with a mean response of 2.93, increase knowledge of use …

Analysis Of The Roles Of Information And Communications Technologies In Rural Women Farmers’ Empowerment In Rivers State, Nigeria., Tijjani Abu Rimi Mr, Anaeto Francis Chudi Dr

Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal)

Information and Communication Technology is a potent force in the developing world for social, economic and educational transformation of individuals, agencies and institutions. This study examined the veritable roles of ICT in empowering rural women farmers in Rivers State. The specific objectives were to examine the demographic characteristics of the respondents, identify ICT devices in use by the respondents; information needs of the respondents, the roles of ICTs in rural women empowerment and constraints to the use of ICT devices by the respondents. Structured questionnaire was used to elicit information from respondents and oral interview where necessary. The respondents were …