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Full-Text Articles in Agriculture

Plasticity Of Sorghum Biomass And Inflorescence Traits In Response To Nitrogen Application, Kyle M. Linders May 2023

Plasticity Of Sorghum Biomass And Inflorescence Traits In Response To Nitrogen Application, Kyle M. Linders

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nitrogen is an essential nutrient required for growth and development in plants. Insufficient nitrogen availability can reduce vegetative growth and grain yield. However, nitrogen is a costly input for farmers, is energy intensive to manufacture, and runoff of excess nitrogen fertilizer impacts water quality. Compared to its close relative, maize, sorghum has much greater resilience to nitrogen and water deficit, and heat stress, allowing sorghum to be grown with fewer inputs and on marginal land. Variation in total biomass accumulation and grain yield between sorghum accessions, as well as between nitrogen conditions, can be largely explained by differences in vegetative …


Nitrification Inhibitor, Nitrogen Source, And Herbicide Effects On Soil Nitrogen Transformations And Corn Yield, William Neels Dec 2022

Nitrification Inhibitor, Nitrogen Source, And Herbicide Effects On Soil Nitrogen Transformations And Corn Yield, William Neels

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Nitrogen fertilizer management continue to be challenging due to potential nitrogen losses under variable weather conditions. The objective of this was to evaluate the performance of nitrification inhibitors, nitrogen sources and herbicides on in-season nitrogen availability and agronomy indicators. A two site-year field experiment was conducted in silty clay loam soil in corn phase of the corn-soybean rotation at Central Nebraska. The treatments included three herbicide (no pre-emergence, Acuron, Resicore) and five nitrogen treatments: 1) control, 2) anhydrous ammonia, 3) anhydrous ammonia without nitrification inhibitor, 4) urea with nitrification inhibitors, and 5) urea without nitrification inhibitors. Results indicated that nitrogen …


Mycorrhizae In Maize (Zea Mays L.) Cropping Systems Respond Differently To Nitrogen Fertilization Under Increasing Crop Rotational Diversity, Morgan Mcpherson Aug 2022

Mycorrhizae In Maize (Zea Mays L.) Cropping Systems Respond Differently To Nitrogen Fertilization Under Increasing Crop Rotational Diversity, Morgan Mcpherson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) remain a vital obligate symbiont of nearly all plants. It is well established that the symbiosis between AMF and host plant improves plant nutrient acquisition, alleviates abiotic and biotic environmental stressors, defends against plant pathogens, and contributes to overall plant fitness and productivity through modification of the soil habitat. Modifications include increased soil aggregation and stability, carbon sequestration through provision of fungal wall precursors to soil organic matter (SOM) formation, and enhanced nutrient cycling in the mycorrhizosphere. The goal of this dissertation was to assess how AMF respond to nitrogen (N) fertilization regimes in maize cropping …


Post-Termination Effects Of Cover Crop Monocultures And Mixtures On Soil Inorganic Nitrogen And Microbial Communities On Two Organic Farms In Illinois, Eleanor E. Lucadamo, Ashley A. Holmes, Samuel E. Wortman, Anthony C. Yannarell Feb 2022

Post-Termination Effects Of Cover Crop Monocultures And Mixtures On Soil Inorganic Nitrogen And Microbial Communities On Two Organic Farms In Illinois, Eleanor E. Lucadamo, Ashley A. Holmes, Samuel E. Wortman, Anthony C. Yannarell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crops can continue to affect agricultural systems even after they have been terminated by influencing nitrogen dynamics and by altering soil microbial communities. These post-termination effects can influence soil fertility, weed pressure, and the dynamics of potential plant pathogens in the narrow window of time between cover crop termination and cash crop emergence. We evaluated the post-termination effects of 12 different spring-sown cover crop mixtures and monocultures on soil nitrogen and microbial communities on two different organic farms in Central Illinois (on Lawson silt loam soil) and Northern Illinois (on Virgil silt loam soil). In comparison to control plots …


Post-Termination Effects Of Cover Crop Monocultures And Mixtures On Soil Inorganic Nitrogen And Microbial Communities On Two Organic Farms In Illinois, Eleanor E. Lucadamo, Ashley A. Holmes, Samuel E. Wortman, Anthony C. Yannarell Feb 2022

Post-Termination Effects Of Cover Crop Monocultures And Mixtures On Soil Inorganic Nitrogen And Microbial Communities On Two Organic Farms In Illinois, Eleanor E. Lucadamo, Ashley A. Holmes, Samuel E. Wortman, Anthony C. Yannarell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crops can continue to affect agricultural systems even after they have been terminated by influencing nitrogen dynamics and by altering soil microbial communities. These post-termination effects can influence soil fertility, weed pressure, and the dynamics of potential plant pathogens in the narrow window of time between cover crop termination and cash crop emergence. We evaluated the post-termination effects of 12 different spring-sown cover crop mixtures and monocultures on soil nitrogen and microbial communities on two different organic farms in Central Illinois (on Lawson silt loam soil) and Northern Illinois (on Virgil silt loam soil). In comparison to control plots …


Insufficient Nitrogen Supply From Symbiotic Fixation Reduces Seasonal Crop Growth And Nitrogen Mobilization To Seed In Highly Productive Soybean Crops, Nicolas Cafaro La Menza, Juan Pablo Monzon, John L. Lindquist, Timothy J. Arkebauer, Johannes M.H. Knops, Murray Unkovich, James E. Specht, Patricio Grassini Jan 2020

Insufficient Nitrogen Supply From Symbiotic Fixation Reduces Seasonal Crop Growth And Nitrogen Mobilization To Seed In Highly Productive Soybean Crops, Nicolas Cafaro La Menza, Juan Pablo Monzon, John L. Lindquist, Timothy J. Arkebauer, Johannes M.H. Knops, Murray Unkovich, James E. Specht, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen (N) supply can limit the yields of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] in highly productive environments. To explore the physiological mechanisms underlying this limitation, seasonal changes in N dynamics, aboveground dry matter (ADM) accumula- tion, leaf area index (LAI) and fraction of absorbed radiation (fAPAR) were compared in crops relying only on biological N2 fixation and available soil N (zero-N treatment) versus crops receiving N fertilizer (full-N treatment). Experiments were conducted in seven high-yield environments without water limitation, where crops received optimal management. In the zero-N treatment, biological N2 fixation was not sufficient to meet the N demand of …


Transforming Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav) And Multispectral Sensor Into A Practical Decision Support System For Precision Nitrogen Management In Corn, Laura J. Thompson, Laila A. Puntel Jan 2020

Transforming Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (Uav) And Multispectral Sensor Into A Practical Decision Support System For Precision Nitrogen Management In Corn, Laura J. Thompson, Laila A. Puntel

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Determining the optimal nitrogen (N) rate in corn remains a critical issue, mainly due to unaccounted spatial (e.g., soil properties) and temporal (e.g., weather) variability. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) equipped with multispectral sensors may provide opportunities to improve N management by the timely informing of spatially variable, in-season N applications. Here, we developed a practical decision support system (DSS) to translate spatial field characteristics and normalized difference red edge (NDRE) values into an in-season N application recommendation. On-farm strip-trials were established at three sites over two years to compare farmer’s traditional N management to a split-application N management guided by …


Benchmarking Impact Of Nitrogen Inputs On Grain Yield And Environmental Performance Of Producer Fields In The Western Us Corn Belt, Fatima A.M. Tenorio, Eileen L. Mclellan, Alison J. Eagle, Kenneth G. Cassman, Daryl Andersen, Marie Krausnick, Russell Oaklund, John Thorburn, Patricio Grassini Jan 2020

Benchmarking Impact Of Nitrogen Inputs On Grain Yield And Environmental Performance Of Producer Fields In The Western Us Corn Belt, Fatima A.M. Tenorio, Eileen L. Mclellan, Alison J. Eagle, Kenneth G. Cassman, Daryl Andersen, Marie Krausnick, Russell Oaklund, John Thorburn, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Benchmarking crop yields against nitrogen (N) input levels can help provide opportunities to improve N ferti-lizer efficiency and reduce N losses on maize in the US Corn Belt by identifying fields most likely to benefit from improved N management practices. Here, we evaluated a large producer database that includes field-level data on yield and applied N inputs from 9280 irrigated and rainfed fields over a 7-year period (2009–2015) in Nebraska (USA). A spatial framework, based on technology extrapolation domains, was used to cluster each field into spatial units with similar climate and soil type that represent 1.3 million ha of …


Effects Of Different Water And Nitrogen Regimens On Yield Of Winter Wheat Produced In Nebraska, Joseph Emory Davis Dec 2019

Effects Of Different Water And Nitrogen Regimens On Yield Of Winter Wheat Produced In Nebraska, Joseph Emory Davis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Wheat is the 3rd most prominent crop in the USA and approximately 50% is exported annually. Nebraska wheat production is 11th in the country, and it plays a major role in the state's agricultural economy, especially in western NE. Generally, wheat is grown under dryland conditions and the region grows much more wheat on unirrigated land than it does on irrigated. However, deficit irrigation has shown great value in producing high yielding wheat with much less water than needed for other crops. Finding new ways to leverage irrigation in wheat production may help address the need to produce food …


Effects Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilizer And Topsoil Amendment On Native Plant Cover In Roadside Revegetation Projects, Heidi L. Hillhouse, Walter H. Schacht, Jonathan M. Soper, Carol E. Wienhold Oct 2017

Effects Of Nitrogen And Phosphorus Fertilizer And Topsoil Amendment On Native Plant Cover In Roadside Revegetation Projects, Heidi L. Hillhouse, Walter H. Schacht, Jonathan M. Soper, Carol E. Wienhold

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Establishing vegetation on roadsides following construction can be challenging, especially for relatively slow growing native species. Topsoil is generally removed during construction, and the surface soil following construction (“cut-slope soils”) is often compacted and low in nutrients, providing poor growing conditions for vegetation. Nebraska Department of Transportation (NDOT) protocols have historically called for nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilization when planting roadside vegetation following construction, but these recommendations were developed for cool-season grass plantings and most current plantings use slower-establishing, native warmseason grasses that may benefit less than expected from current planting protocols. We evaluated the effects of nitrogen and …


Nutrients In The Nexus, Eric A. Davidson, Rachel L. Nifong, Richard B. Ferguson, Cheryl Palm, Deanna L. Osmond, Jill S. Baron Jan 2016

Nutrients In The Nexus, Eric A. Davidson, Rachel L. Nifong, Richard B. Ferguson, Cheryl Palm, Deanna L. Osmond, Jill S. Baron

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Synthetic nitrogen (N) fertilizer has enabled modern agriculture to greatly improve human nutrition during the twentieth century, but it has also created unintended human health and environmental pollution challenges for the twentyfirst century. Averaged globally, about half of the fertilizer-N applied to farms is removed with the crops, while the other half remains in the soil or is lost from farmers’ fields, resulting in water and air pollution. As human population continues to grow and food security improves in the developing world, the dual development goals of producing more nutritious food with low pollution will require both technological and socioeconomic …


Grain Sorghum Leaf Reflectance And Nitrogen Status, Akwasi A. Abunyewa, Richard B. Ferguson, Charles S. Wortmann, Stephen C. Mason Jan 2016

Grain Sorghum Leaf Reflectance And Nitrogen Status, Akwasi A. Abunyewa, Richard B. Ferguson, Charles S. Wortmann, Stephen C. Mason

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Nitrogen deficiency is a common but readily managed constraint to grain yield. A quick and nondestructive detection of crop N status using remote sensing could be a means to increased N use efficiency. Research was conducted in a greenhouse in 2006 at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to establish the relationship of spectral reflectance with N status in leaves of grain sorghum, to develop indices for interpretation of the results and to predict chlorophyll content. Nitrogen stress decreased chlorophyll meter reading and leaf N content, but increased leaf and canopy reflectance. The SPAD values were significantly increased by both water and …


Remote Estimation Of Nitrogen And Chlorophyll Contents In Maize At Leaf And Canopy Levels, Michael Schlemmer, Anatoly A. Gitelson, James S. Schepers, Richard B. Ferguson, Y. Peng, J. Shanahan, Donald Rundquist Dec 2013

Remote Estimation Of Nitrogen And Chlorophyll Contents In Maize At Leaf And Canopy Levels, Michael Schlemmer, Anatoly A. Gitelson, James S. Schepers, Richard B. Ferguson, Y. Peng, J. Shanahan, Donald Rundquist

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Leaf and canopy nitrogen (N) status relates strongly to leaf and canopy chlorophyll (Chl) content. Remote sensing is a tool that has the potential to assess N content at leaf, plant, field, regional and global scales. In this study, remote sensing techniques were applied to estimate N and Chl contents of irrigated maize (Zea mays L.) fertilized at five N rates. Leaf N and Chl contents were determined using the red-edge chlorophyll index with R2 of 0.74 and 0.94, respectively. Results showed that at the canopy level, Chl and N contents can be accurately retrieved using green and red-edge Chl …


The Effect Of A Controlled Nitrogen Supply With Different Temperatures And Photoperiods Upon The Development Of The Potato Plant, H. O. Werner Sep 1934

The Effect Of A Controlled Nitrogen Supply With Different Temperatures And Photoperiods Upon The Development Of The Potato Plant, H. O. Werner

Historical Research Bulletins of the Nebraska Agricultural Experiment Station

The potato (Solanum tuberosum Linn.) is grown under a great variety of conditions with regard to temperature, length of day, intensity and character of light, texture, fertility, and moisture of soil, and atmospheric humidity. There is need for a better understanding concerning the internal response of the potato plant to these external conditions when they are applied, either singly or in combination with each other, and the resulting morphological response, especially with regard to the tuberization process. It has been the object of this investigation to determine the relation of the nitrogen supply to the processes of stolon and …