Agriculture Commons^™

Forage News [2018-12], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Feeding Your 2018 Hay
• Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forages Conference Program Set
• Jan. 28 Equine Pasture Program
• Silage/Forage Sample Collection Method
• Heart of America Grazing Conference, Jan 22-23

Forage News [2018-11], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Heart of America Conference - Jan. 22-23, 2019
• USDA Hay Markets - October 30, 2018
• Grazing Too Short in Fall and Winter Can Mean More Weeds in the Spring
• Forage Identification Book Now Available
• Utilizing Cost Share for Farm Improvements
• Late Fall Nitrogen Benefits Horse and Cattle Pastures

Growth, Yield Performance And Quality Parameters Of Three Early Flowering Chia (Salvia Hispanica L.) Genotypes Cultivated In Southwestern Germany, Samantha J. Grimes, Timothy D. Phillips, Volker Hahn, Filippo Capezzone, Simone Graeff-Hönninger

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The combination of consumer’s ongoing demand for chia (Salvia hispanica L.) alongside the increased demand for regionally produced food products provided the impetus for this study. Its aim was to test if a regional cultivation of new chia genotypes, which were adapted to day lengths greater than 12 h, is feasible under Central European conditions. Therefore, three early flowering chia genotypes (Sahi Alba 914, W13.1, G8) were cultivated in a randomized block design at two experimental stations in Southwestern Germany (Ihinger Hof, Eckartsweier) over the course of two years (2015, 2016). Mean yields ranged from 100 to 1290 kg …

Forage News [2018-10], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Profitability is focus of Kentucky Grazing Conference
• Bale Grazing: A Solution to the Mud in 2018?
• Poison Hemlock – Be Aware

Forage News [2018-09], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Dealing with high nitrates in forage
• New crimson clover, Kentucky Pride, available
• Horse farm sees success from pasture renovations

Forage News [2018-08], Department Of Plant And Soil Sciences, University Of Kentucky

Forage News

• Plan your fall seeding now
• Submitting plant samples for diagnosis
• Minimize alfalfa crown rot with potassium

Recombinant Promoter (Muascsv8cp) Driven Totiviral Killer Protein 4 (Kp4) Imparts Resistance Against Fungal Pathogens In Transgenic Tobacco, Debasish Deb, Ankita Shrestha, Indu B. Maiti, Nrisingha Dey

Kentucky Tobacco Research and Development Center Faculty Publications

Development of disease-resistant plant varieties achieved by engineering anti-microbial transgenes under the control of strong promoters can suffice the inhibition of pathogen growth and simultaneously ensure enhanced crop production. For evaluating the prospect of such strong promoters, we comprehensively characterized the full-length transcript promoter of Cassava Vein Mosaic Virus (CsVMV; -565 to +166) and identified CsVMV8 (-215 to +166) as the highest expressing fragment in both transient and transgenic assays. Further, we designed a new chimeric promoter ‘MUASCsV8CP’ through inter-molecular hybridization among the upstream activation sequence (UAS) of Mirabilis Mosaic Virus (MMV; -297 to -38) and CsVMV8, as the core …

Cover Crops And Fertilization Alter Nitrogen Loss In Organic And Conventional Conservation Agriculture Systems, Rebecca E. Shelton, Krista L. Jacobsen, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Horticulture Faculty Publications

Agroecosystem nitrogen (N) loss produces greenhouse gases, induces eutrophication, and is costly for farmers; therefore, conservation agricultural management practices aimed at reducing N loss are increasingly adopted. However, the ecosystem consequences of these practices have not been well-studied. We quantified N loss via leaching, NH₃ volatilization, N₂O emissions, and N retention in plant and soil pools of corn conservation agroecosystems in Kentucky, USA. Three systems were evaluated: (1) an unfertilized, organic system with cover crops hairy vetch (Vicia villosa), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), or a mix of the two (bi-culture); (2) an organic …

Influence Of Kernel Shape And Size On The Packing Ratio And Compressibility Of Hard Red Winter Wheat, Marvin C. Petingco, Mark E. Casada, Ronaldo G. Maghirang, Sidney A. Thompson, Samuel G. Mcneill, Michael D. Montross, Aaron P. Turner

Research and Education Center at Princeton Faculty Publications

Grain compaction occurs during bin storage, and its determination is important for the grain mass estimation needed for inventory and auditing. The degree of compaction is dependent on grain type, bin type, moisture content, amount of grain, initial grain bulk density, coefficients of friction, lateral-to-vertical pressure coefficient, and variation in kernel size. Previous studies have correlated several of these parameters, such as bulk density and grain packing, with moisture content. This study investigated the influence of wheat kernel shape and size distribution on packing ratio and compressibility. Two dockage-free hard red winter (HRW) wheat samples, with no shrunken or broken …

Corn Grain Yield Components And Nutrient Accumulation In Response To Nitrogen, Plant Density And Hybrid, Maria Julia Santoro

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Modern maize hybrids exhibit higher yields, increased biomass production, stress tolerance and greater nitrogen (N) use efficiency. Increased biomass accumulation can influence nutrient uptake and lead to increased nutrient removal. Hybrids were tested at seeding rates (SR) of 74000 (low) and 148000 (supraoptimal) plants ha^-1 and at N rates of 0 (deficient) and 390 (non-limiting) kg N ha^-1. Plants were sampled at V7, V14, R3, R5 and R6 and separated into vegetative and reproductive fractions for determination of dry matter and N accumulation. Grain yield was harvested at R6.

The high SR and high N treatment combination …

Can Increasing Grass-Fungal Endophyte Symbiotic Diversity Enhance Grassland Ecosystem Functioning?, Mahtaab Bagherzadeh

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning is important in maintaining agroecosystem sustainability. Plant-microbe symbioses, such as exists between the grass tall fescue (Schedonorus arundinaceum) and the asexual fungal endophyte Epichloë coenophiala, can be utilized to enhance agroecosystem functions, such as herbivore resistance. “Novel” E. coenophiala strains that vary in the production of mammal- and insect-toxic compounds have been identified, inserted into tall fescue cultivars, and are planted in pastures globally. Novel fungal endophyte-tall fescue associations may have divergent ecosystem function effects. This study assessed effects of different fescue-endophyte symbiotic combinations on pasture ecosystem function, including aboveground …

Bacterial Inoculants, Endophytic Bacteria And Their Influence On Nicotiana Physiology, Development And Microbiome, Andrea Marisa Sanchez Barrios

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Soil and root microbial communities have been studied for decades, and the incorporation of high-throughput techniques and analysis has allowed the identification of endophytic/non-culturable organisms. This has helped characterize and establish the core microbiome of many model plant species which include underground and aboveground organs. Unfortunately, the information obtained from some of these model plants is not always transferable to other agronomic species. In this project, we decided to study the microbiome of the Nicotiana genus because of its importance in plant physiological and plant-microbe interactions studies. The data obtained was used as baseline information that allowed us to better …

Chemical Topping Burley Tobacco, Mitchell D. Richmond

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The act of topping tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) involves the removal of the terminal bud or inflorescence of the tobacco plant. This practice ordinarily is accomplished by manually removing the top of each tobacco plant in an entire field which is labor intensive and costly. Chemical topping utilizes sucker control products to inhibit the terminal bud and axillary bud growth without manually removing the top of the tobacco plant. There were several research objectives in order to determine the utility of a chemical topping system: 1) determine if burley tobacco could be chemically topped with currently registered suckercide products …

Characterizing Nitrogen Loss And Greenhouse Gas Flux Across An Intensification Gradient In Diversified Vegetable Systems, Debendra Shrestha

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

The area of vegetable production is growing rapidly world-wide, as are efforts to increase production on existing lands in these labor- and input-intensive systems. Yet information on nutrient losses, greenhouse gas emissions, and input efficiency is lacking. Sustainable intensification of these systems requires knowing how to optimize nutrient and water inputs to improve yields while minimizing negative environmental consequences. This work characterizes soil nitrogen (N) dynamics, nitrate (NO₃¯) leaching, greenhouse gas emissions, and crop yield in five diversified vegetable systems spanning a gradient of intensification that is characterized by inputs, tillage and rotational fallow periods. The study systems …

Measured Soil Hydraulic Properties As Rzwqm2 Input To Simulate Soil Water Dynamics And Crop Evapotranspiration, Saadi Sattar Shahadha

Theses and Dissertations--Plant and Soil Sciences

Agricultural system models integrate many different processes that cannot all be measured in field experiments and help quantify soil water dynamics, crop evapotranspiration, and crop growth with high temporal resolution. Understanding soil water dynamics and crop evapotranspiration is essential to improve agricultural management of field crops. For example, the interaction between nitrogen application rate and water dynamics is not sufficiently understood. In most cases, model simulations deviate from field measurements, especially when model input parameters are indirectly and unspecifically derived. The extent to which measured soil hydraulic property inputs decrease the discrepancy between measured and simulated soil water status is …