Agriculture Commons^™

Effects Of Varying Biochar Concentrations On The Growth Of Lactuca Sativa (Newham Bibb Lettuce), Lauren Holler

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

The objective of this research experiment was to investigate the effectiveness of using biochar in potting soil in terms of plant growth and soil quality. This experiment was carried out using varying amounts (0%, 5%, 10%, and 20%) of biochar in the soil to see its effect on seed germination, plant growth, and soil quality such as pH, water retention, and soil temperature. The aim of the experiment was to identify whether biochar can be used in soil to promote healthier and stronger plants. There were four treatments which included 0% (Control), 5% (Treatment 1), 10% (Treatment 2), and 20% …

Nourishing Births: A Program Evaluation Proposal For Community-Based Nutrition Education, Food Access, And Garden Engagement Among Black Birthing People, Naa Deedei-Vera Hammond

Master's Projects and Capstones

Black birthing people in the United States continue to experience unequal maternal health outcomes, shaped in part by racism and barriers to nutritious food, culturally relevant health education, and supportive community spaces. While prenatal nutrition education and food assistance programs can provide important resources, information alone cannot address the challenges many people face when trying to access healthy and affordable food during pregnancy. The Nourishing Births Initiative is a proposed community-based maternal health program designed to respond to these needs by bringing together prenatal nutrition education, help connecting to food resources, community gardening, and peer support for Black birthing people …

Autonomous Smart Vertical Farming: A Systems-Level Synthesis Of Iot And Solar Energy Integration For Sustainable Agriculture, Mahmuda Khatun Mishu, Md Rokonuzzaman, Boon Kar Yap, Tofan Agung Eka Prasetya, Md Arif Hossain, Asif Islam, Kazi Sajedur Rahman, Mohammad Nur-E-Alam

Research outputs 2022 to 2026

Rapid urbanization, land degradation, and climate variability are increasingly constraining food production, especially in densely populated urban regions. Vertical farming (VF), which grows crops in stacked layers under controlled conditions, is gaining recognition as a potential solution for sustainable urban agriculture. However, high energy requirements and questions surrounding long-term resource efficiency continue to challenge its scalability and environmental viability. This review explores the potential of smart vertical farming (SVF) systems, enhanced by the Internet of Things (IoT), wireless sensor networks (WSNs), and hybrid green energy-harvesting systems such as photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) technologies. This research analyzes how real-time data-driven …

Growing South Dakota (Fall 2026), College Of Agriculture, Food And, Environmental Sciences

Growing South Dakota (Publication of the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences)

[Page] 2 Support from donors helping set SDSU dairy graduates above the rest
[Page] 4 A decade of impact: Celebrating 10 years of cow-calf, swine education and research facilitates
[Page] 8 98-year-old donor keeps decades-long scholarship going in honor of late husband
[Page] 11 Looking back at Michele Dudash's tenure in academia
[Page] 12Giving students opportunities, experience to build their futures
[Page] 16 A Jackrabbit's journey in growing agricultural leadership
[Page] 18 Building South Dakota's next generation of rural veterinarians
[Page] 19 Conservation: A family affair
[Page] 20 South Dakota Water Resources Institute finds solutions to South Dakota's water challenges …

Youth Gopher Trapping: Benefits For Agriculture And Youth, Melanie Heaton, Kalen Taylor

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah State University Extension partnered with local government and conservation districts to reduce agricultural losses while creating meaningful opportunities for youth. Over three years, 92 participants removed 3,941 rodents, earned $26,620, and gained practical skills through hands-on conservation work. The program shows how Extension-led partnerships can strengthen agricultural profitability, youth development, and community collaboration at the same time.

Improving Public Perceptions Of Dairy Production Through On-Farm Educational Tours, Drew Swartz, Justin Wyatt Clawson, Jaydee Gunnell, Elise Jenson, Dylan Waldron, Jenna Dyckman

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

Utah dairy producers identified public perceptions as a top concern. Utah State University Extension partnered with Cache County organizations to offer dairy farm tours. Participants reported increased knowledge, more favorable perceptions, and stronger intentions to engage with agriculture, supporting experiential education as a means to strengthen understanding of dairy production.

Spider Biodiversity And Insecticide Sensitivity Across Active And Restored Cranberry Bogs On Nantucket, Tyler J. Kulak

Graduate Masters Theses

Spiders are one of the most diverse groups of organisms on the planet with over 53,000 species described as of 2026. They provide a suite of ecosystem services including their regulation of problematic pests in agricultural systems, appearing in high biomasses across a breadth of ecological niches. While beneficial as pest regulators, they are also susceptible to the same management techniques as pest organisms and are especially vulnerable to chemical control. Cranberry production in Massachusetts likely benefits from spider ecosystem services, but diversity research on spiders in these systems is limited. This study compares the diversity of spider populations from …

Technologies To Remoisturize Alfalfa In The Windrow For Baling, Earl Creech, Ryan Larsen, Matt Yost, Mark Nelson, Mckenna Barney

All Current Publications

Having the correct moisture at the time of baling is critical to maximizing economic return. In 2020 and 2021, researchers at Utah State University studied moisturization technologies to determine their impact on alfalfa yield, quality, and economic return. This fact sheet provides a research overview and study results on bale moisture and weight, yield, quality, and visual appearance. An economic analysis is also included.

Robust Soil Moisture Content Detection Based On Data Augmentation Under Different Testing Conditions, Yang Li, Chenghao Liu, Jing Nie, Jingbin Li

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Accurate and cost-effective monitoring of soil moisture content is essential for the development of precision agriculture and the optimization of water resource management. While low-frequency acoustic signals are used to detect soil moisture content, models trained with controlled laboratory acoustic data often exhibit significant performance degradation with field data due to their sensitivity to environmental noise, soil heterogeneity, and structural variations. This study proposes a novel framework to enhance model robustness and generalization by integrating a WGAN-GP network data augmentation strategy into the soil moisture content workflow. This framework is designed to generate high-quality and diverse data on different soil …

An In-Depth Study Of Fruit Preservation: Effect Of Calcium Chloride And Methyl Jasmonate Applications On Quality And Biochemical Properties Of Cherry Fruits During Cold Storage, Muhammet Ali̇ Gündeşli̇

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is a highly perishable fruit that undergoes rapid quality deterioration during postharvest storage. This study evaluated the effects of postharvest applications of Methyl Jasmonate (MeJA, 1 mM) and Calcium Chloride (CaCl₂, 2%), applied individually and in combination, on maintaining the quality and biochemical properties of cherries during 21 days of cold storage at 0 ± 1 °C. Key parameters including weight loss, decay rate, soluble solids content (SSC), pH, titratable acidity, respiration rate, phenolic profile, and organic acid composition were monitored. The combined MeJA + CaCl₂ treatment was consistently more effective than individual applications in …

Estimation Of Genetic Parameters In Lemon-Scented Basil (Ocimum Basilicum L.) Lines, Erdi̇nç Günay, İsa Telci̇

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Selective breeding of basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) is primarily aimed at improving plant architecture and essential oil quality, which are critical factors in increasing yield. In lemon-scented basil, the citral component responsible for the intense lemony aroma has significant commercial value in the cosmetics and perfumery industries. This study aimed to evaluate the genetic variability, heritability, and genetic advance of nine agronomic and quality related traits in lemon basil lines, and to explore the interrelationships among these traits. The phenotypic coefficient of variation (PCV) was higher than the genotypic coefficient of variation (GCV) for all traits, suggesting the influence of …

Landscape Character Analysis And Assesment At Local Scale, Eli̇f Önal, Serkan Özer

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

​Landscape areas are one of the most important elements of human life all over the world. Varied landscape areas are a valuable natural resource and have high cultural value. The first step to ensure the effective landscape use is to identify these areas, analyze them in detail, and determine their characteristics. The northeastern Anatolia region in Türkiye has a rich diversity of landscapes because of varied geographic, climatic, and topographic features. The aim of this study was to identify the landscape character types in the Tortum district, located in the Tortum River basin in northeastern Türkiye, and to assess the …

Sewage Sludge Legislation In Central Europe: Contamination Concerns And Cross-Border Comparisons, Valerie Vranová, Aleš Kučera, Vlastimil Skoták, Erika Fialová, Rahul Datta

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Sewage sludge management represents a major challenge in Europe, carrying significant environmental and legal implications that require strong regulatory enforcement. Here, we explore the legislative measures, technological developments, and environmental impacts of sewage sludge management in Central Europe (Czechia, Slovakia, Germany, Austria, and Poland). Sludge management is regulated at the EU level through a series of directives (e.g., Council Directive 86/278/EEC, which forms the basis of national regulatory frameworks). However, national adaptations vary considerably: Croatia and Slovenia have invested in sludge phosphorus-recovery systems, while Poland and Slovakia have focused on the agricultural use of sludge as a fertilizer. Several countries, …

Crispr-Cas9: An Emerging And Precise Genome Editing System For Crops To Combat Food Insecurity, Muhammad Faran Tahi̇r, Muhammad Hamzah Saleem, Sidra Aslam, Emi̇ne Orhan, Hayat Topçu, Tauqeer Ahmed Qadri, Khalid Ali Khan, Muhammad Anas

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Genome editing has emerged as a transformative tool to improve crop productivity, resilience, and nutritional quality, helping address global food insecurity. Among gene-editing platforms, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/ Cas systems (notably CRISPR-Cas9) offer simple, efficient, and scalable methods for targeted modifications, including knockouts, base edits, and precise “search-and-replace” prime edits. In plants, recent advances such as improved base editors, optimized prime-editing platforms, and DNA-free delivery methods have expanded the scope of edits achievable while reducing off-target effects and regulatory concerns. This review summarizes CRISPR principles, highlights technical breakthroughs and crop applications that mitigate biotic and abiotic stresses, …

In Vitro Propagation Of A New Clonal Apple Rootstock Candidate Hatay, Zeynep Nas, Ahmet Eşi̇tken, Lütfi̇ Pirlak

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

​Some clonal apple rootstocks are traditionally propagated using the layering technique. However, traditional propagation methods are seasonal and require a lot of space and labor. In addition, the multiplication rate is low with these methods, resulting in low-profit sapling production for growers. In vitro propagation techniques provide an efficient and effective method of obtaining species-appropriate, quality saplings in less time and space. The study aims to determine the in vitro propagation protocol of the Hatay genotype and to establish an appropriate method. In the study, the highest number of shoots was observed in media containing BA and mT at concentrations …

Cultivar, Canopy Architecture, And Harvest Stage Shape The Chemical Profile Of Plum (Prunus Domestica) Fruit, Jelisaveta Seka Cvijanović, Milica Sredojević, Dragana Dabić Zagorac, Maja Natić, Geza Bujdoso, Miljan Cvetković

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Plum (Prunus domestica L.) is a nutritionally valuable fruit with significant commercial importance, yet consumer acceptance is often constrained by inconsistent fruit quality. This study investigated the effects of cultivar, training system, and harvest stage on the chemical composition of plum fruit, focusing on polyphenols, organic acids, sugars, and sugar alcohols. Three cultivars (Čačanska lepotica, Stanley, and Empress) were evaluated under different canopy architectures, including plum spindle as a control and novel 2-dimensional systems (Bi axe and upright fruiting offshoot), across multiple ripening stages. The results showed that genotype and canopy structure significantly influenced the accumulation of primary and secondary …

Enhancing Salinity Tolerance In Phyla Nodiflora L. With Potassium Humate: Crosstalk Between Osmolytes, Antioxidants, And Mineral Uptake, Fatemeh Sadeghi, Somayeh Esmaeili, Mehrangiz Chehrazi

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

Salinity stress impairs plant growth, nutrient homeostasis, and metabolism, particularly in arid ecosystems. Phyla nodiflora, a ground cover used for erosion control, shows preliminary salinity tolerance, but the mechanistic basis of its long-term adaptation and the potential for enhancement via potassium humate (KH) were unknown. Plant growth, key biochemical attributes, and nutrient uptake were assessed to elucidate how KH modulates physiological performance under increasing salinity. In a 129-day greenhouse experiment, plants were exposed to five salinity levels (0 to 16 dS m⁻¹ NaCl) and three KH concentrations (0, 500, and 1000 mg L⁻¹). Severe salinity (16 dS m⁻¹) without KH …

Distribution And Seasonal Prevalence Of Nosema Maddoxi (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) In The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha Halys (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) Populations In Türkiye, Ömer Ertürk, Samet Eker, Mustafa Yaman, Gönül Algi

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys feeds on a wide range of crops and causes major economic losses. With its high flight capacity, H. halys is an invasive species that damages many crops worldwide. By elucidating the activity, distribution, and prevalence of the microsporidian pathogen Nosema maddoxi, the damage and economic losses caused by H. halys can be reduced. This study aimed to assess the distribution and seasonal prevalence of N. maddoxi in H. halys populations distributed throughout hazelnut fields the Eastern Black Sea Region of Türkiye. H. halys adults were collected and examined in detail under the microscope …

Genetic Algorithm For Agricultural Logistics Optimization: Solving The Capacitated Vehicle Routing Problem In Rural Distribution, Min Song, Kan Lu

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

With the rapid advancement of agricultural modernization and the increasing demand for agricultural products, inefficient logistics distribution has become a major bottleneck in rural supply chains. This study addresses the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP) in agricultural logistics. A genetic algorithm (GA)-based optimization model was proposed to enhance distribution efficiency. The model integrates critical agricultural characteristics, including multidistribution center networks, seasonal delivery schedules, and regional road infrastructure constraints, to minimize both transportation distance and operational costs. Experimental results show that the GA outperforms traditional metaheuristic methods (e.g., particle swarm optimization and simulated annealing), achieving a >5 km reduction in total …

Genetic Diversity And Population Structure Of Carob Germplasm From Lebanon, Morocco, And Spain Reveal Potential For Innovative Breeding Programs, Mohamad Ali El Chami, Guillermo Palacios-Rodriguez, Rafael Maria Navarro-Cerrillo, Lamis Chalak, Maria Dolores-Rey

Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry

The carob tree (Ceratonia siliqua L.) is a drought-tolerant species native to the Mediterranean Basin. It has been cultivated for centuries for its highly nutritious, edible pods. Genetic diversity is one of the key requirements for the effective management and utilization of plant genetic resources. In this study, we evaluated the genetic diversity and population structure of 169 seminatural carob individuals from Lebanon, Spain, and Morocco using nine expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers. A total of eight polymorphic EST-SSR loci produced 43 alleles, with Cesi_187 and Cesi_1187 identified as the most informative markers. Results of AMOVA and SAMOVA …

Environmental Ethics Of Plastics And Microplastics Manufacturing: Balancing Industrial Production And Ecological Responsibility, Arindam Gupta

Discovery Day - Daytona Beach

The global production of plastics has increased dramatically over the past several decades, providing substantial economic and societal benefits while simultaneously generating complex environmental and ethical challenges. A growing body of research has identified microplastics—plastic particles smaller than 5 millimeters—as persistent pollutants that accumulate in aquatic ecosystems, soil systems, and the atmosphere. These particles originate both from the degradation of larger plastic products and from direct industrial production processes used in plastics manufacturing. The ethical implications of plastics and microplastics production raise important questions about environmental responsibility, regulatory oversight, and the balance between economic development and ecological sustainability. This project …

Economic Contribution Of The Agricultural Sector To The Arkansas Economy In 2024, Frank Seo, Luke Pullo

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

This report is the nineteenth in a series that examines agriculture’s economic contribution to the Arkansas economy. The total economic contribution of agriculture (direct, indirect, and induced effects) on value added, employment, and labor income was estimated with the Impact Analysis for Planning System (IMPLAN) for the most recent year available, 2024.

Evaluating The Motivations Of Participants In Online Equine Extension Courses, Sarah Vos

Department of Animal Science: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Traditional program evaluations emphasize participant demographics, knowledge gain, behavior change, and program impact. However, evaluating participant motivation can provide addition insight into why participants enroll in extension programs and help explain participant engagement and persistence throughout a program. The purpose of this study was to evaluate participant motivation in two online equine extension courses and examine potential relationships between motivation, demographics, and course delivery method, and describe participant engagement in Virtual Horse Judging Camp (VHJC). This cross-sectional study utilized convenience sampling of participants in two online equine extension courses, Horse Adult Leader Training and Educational Resource (HALTER) and VHJC. The …

Thermal Conversion Of Cotton Gin Byproducts Into Liquid Fuels And High-Value Chemicals, Emmanuel Asare

Mechanical Engineering Theses

In this study, we performed fast pyrolysis, catalytic fast pyrolysis (CFP), and catalytic hydropyrolysis (CHP) of cotton gin byproducts (CGB) to investigate their conversion into hydrocarbon-rich liquid fuels and high-value aromatic chemicals. Five CGB fractions (CC1, CC2, SM, TM, and FCGB) were collected from different stages of cotton ginning operation and characterized by proximate, ultimate, and higher heating value (HHV) analysis. The feedstocks contained 41.5 44.8 wt.% carbon, 54.2–58.5 wt.% volatile matter, 6.0–15 wt.% ash, and higher heating values of 15.2–16.8 MJ kg⁻¹. All pyrolysis experiments were performed using a Pyroprobe 5200 coupled with GC-MS/FID, while catalyst loading, hydrogen pressure, …

Understanding Agricultural Irrigation Practices Along Utah's Wasatch Front Through Farmer-Reported Data, Garland Ledbetter

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

Water is a growing concern in Utah, especially along the Wasatch Front, where cities, farms, and communities all rely on the same limited water supply. Agriculture uses a large portion of the state’s water, so understanding how farms manage irrigation is important for statewide water planning. Utah currently uses a dataset called Water-Related Land Use (WRLU) to estimate agricultural water use across the state. This dataset provides useful information about irrigated land and crop types. However, it does not capture many of the day-to-day decisions farmers make when managing irrigation.

To better understand irrigation practices, this study surveyed 61 farmers …

Nutrient Leaching Under Traditional And Intercropped Cover Crop Fields In Northern Utah, Katherine Hewitt

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Fall 2023 to Present

This study examines whether cover crops can be used in Utah and the Intermountain West to improve water quality and reduce contamination due to nutrient leaching from agricultural soils into the groundwater. Cover crops such as grasses, clover, and other seed mixtures can be planted to improve soil health, increasing the soil’s ability to retain water and nutrients, which reduces the amount of nitrate and phosphate fertilizers lost through leaching and contamination. In Utah, short growing seasons and limited irrigation water availability hinder the ability to establish cover crops. By planting the cover crop between the rows (intercropping) when the …

Flexible Grazing: Evaluating Stocker Cattle As A Drought Management Tool For Utah Livestock Producers?, Ross Israelsen

All Graduate Reports and Creative Projects, Fall 2023 to Present

Drought is a persistent concern in the western United States, often leading to reduced forage production, overgrazing, and economic challenges for livestock producers. This study evaluates the economic feasibility of incorporating stocker cattle as a flexible drought management strategy under varying forage conditions across four Utah grazing locations: Park Valley, Nephi, Vernal, and Beaver. The Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP) was used to estimate annual forage production and stocking rates from 2001 through 2025. Four stocking-rate scenarios (100%, 75%, 60%, and 50% cow–calf stocking rates) were evaluated using a Net Present Value (NPV) framework to compare the economic performance of traditional …

B.R. Wells Arkansas Rice Research Studies 2025, J. Hardke, X. Sha, N. Bateman

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading rice producer in the United States. The state represents 45.2% of total U.S. rice production and 45.7% of the total acres planted to rice in 2025. Rice cultural practices vary across the state and across the U.S. However, these practices are also dynamic and continue to evolve in response to changing political, environmental, and economic times. This survey was initiated in 2002 to monitor and record changes in the way Arkansas rice producers approach their livelihood. The survey was conducted by polling county extension agents in each of the counties in Arkansas that produce rice. Questions …

Summaries Of Arkansas Cotton Research 2025, Fred M. Bourland

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Planted cotton acreage in Arkansas decreased in 2025 to 520,000 acres compared to 650,000 planted acres in 2024. Arkansas producers harvested 515,000 acres, which was a decrease of 125,000 acres from the 640,000 acres harvested in 2024 (https://www.nass.usda.gov/Quick_Stats/Ag_Overview/stateOverview.php?state=Arkansas&year=2025). The 515,000 harvested acres ranked Arkansas third nationally, trailing only Texas and Georgia in harvested acres (https://esmis.nal.usda.gov/sites/default/release-files/795725/cropan26.pdf). The average cotton yield, as reported by the USDA, was 1,239 lb lint/ac, which ranked fourth nationally, behind California, Louisiana, and Arizona. Arkansas farmers produced an estimated 1.329 million bales, which is a decrease from 1.788 million bales produced in 2024. This production still ranks …

Bridging The Gap In Science Research: Preparing Students For College- Level Research In The Sciences, Victoria Helwig, Yaoguang Li

UConn Library Presentations

Many first-year students enter college unprepared to fully engage with scientific literature and academic library resources. Drawing on experiences from academic librarians working with STEM students, this session explores common gaps in science research skills, including navigating databases, identifying scholarly sources, and understanding the structure of scientific literature. Participants will be introduced to practical strategies and classroom-ready activities to better prepare students for college-level research. Discussion questions: What science research skills do students struggle with most when entering college? How can high school instruction better support these skills? Where can librarians and educators collaborate to support student success?