Agriculture Commons^™

Disaster Plant Pathology: Smart Solutions For Threats To Global Plant Health From Natural And Human-Driven Disasters, Berea A. Etherton, Robin A. Choudhury, Ricardo I. Alcalá Briseño, Romaric A. Mouafo-Tchinda, Aaron I. Plex Sulá, Manoj Choudhury, Ashish Adhikari, Si Lin Lei, Nattapol Kraisitudomsook, Jacobo Robledo Buritica

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Disaster plant pathology addresses how natural and human-driven disasters impact plant diseases, and the requirements for smart management solutions. Local to global drivers of plant disease change in response to disasters, often creating environments more conducive to plant disease. Most disasters have indirect effects on plant health through factors such as disrupted supply chains and damaged infrastructure. There is also the potential for direct effects from disasters, such as pathogen or vector dispersal due to floods, hurricanes, and human migration driven by war. Pulse stressors such as hurricanes and war require rapid responses, while press stressors such as climate change …

Experimental Studies On The Operation Of Agricultural Crops Mowing Unit With Simultaneous Chopping And Incorporation Of Stubble Into The Soil, Volodymyr Nadykto, Sergey Kiurchev, Tatiana Chorna, Taras Hutsol, Szymon Głowacki, Anatoliy Rud, Alona Shevtsova, Igor Ryabov, Katarzyna Szwedziak

Sociology Faculty Publications and Presentations

For harvesting crops, one-phase and two-phase methods are most often used. When implementing the second one, mounted and trailed units are used. The latter is becoming less and less used due to the problems with movement stability in the horizontal plane because of the asymmetric layout. A stubble background, which is susceptible to solar and wind influences, is formed as a consequence of application of the mounted harvesting unit, As a result, the field’s soil in the inter-swath space intensively loses moisture. A harvesting unit based on a tractor with rear steerable wheels has been designed to eliminate this shortcoming. …

Self-Organization For Community Resilience In An Invisible Agricultural Community, Anna Erwin, Chelsea A. Silva, Zhao Ma

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

This study investigates how self-organizing efforts by residents of informal settlements, primarily migrant and informal farmworkers, shape community resilience in Majes, a water-scarce irrigation district in the Atacama Desert of Peru. We collected 45 semi-structured interviews with residents and authorities in Majes and analyzed findings through a framework of self-organizing. Analyses revealed that self-organizing by residents of informal settlements incorporated the three components of White’s theory of Community Agency and Community Resilience, which contends that marginalized communities increase resilience by fostering a commons praxis, practicing a prefigurative politics, and developing opportunities for economic autonomy. We also found …

Morphological Characterization Of Intraspecific Variation For Trichome Traits In Tomato (Solanum Lycopersicum), Satinderpal Kaur, Neetu Khanal, Robert K. Dearth, Rupesh R. Kariyat

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Trichomes, the hairlike protuberances in plants, have been well known to act as the first line of defense against herbivores, and abiotic stresses, along with other structural defenses such as spines, thorns, and waxes. We previously reported the tremendous variation in trichome traits among different wild and cultivated Solanum species and demonstrated that trichomes types and density are traditionally miscalculated and often misnamed. However, intraspecific variation in trichome traits is poorly understood, although this has implications for stress tolerance and resistance breeding programs in economically important crop species and can also mediate ecological interactions at multiple trophic levels in their …

Assessment Of Air Pollution Levels During Sugarcane Stubble Burning Event In La Feria, South Texas, Usa, Sai Deepak Pinakana, Edward Robles, Esmeralda Mendez, Amit U. Raysoni

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Agricultural stubble burning is the third largest source of air pollution after vehicular and industrial emissions. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and black carbon (BC) are some of the pollutants emitted during such burning events. The Lower Rio Grande Valley (RGV) region of South Texas is a major hub of agricultural activity, and sugarcane farming is one of them. Unfortunately, this activity results in episodic events of high air pollution in this low-resourced, Hispanic/Latino majority region of the U.S.–Mexico border. This study presents results from a sugarcane site in La Feria, …

Isomerization Of Galactose To Tagatose: Recent Advances In Non-Enzymatic Isomerization, Jikai Zhao, Zhuo Wang, Qing Jin, Danyi Feng, Juhee Lee

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The valorization of galactose derived from acid whey to low-calorie tagatose has gained increasing attention. Enzymatic isomerization is of great interest but faces several challenges, such as poor thermal stability of enzymes and a long processing time. In this work, non-enzymatic (supercritical fluids, triethylamine, arginine, boronate affinity, hydrotalcite, Sn-β zeolite, and calcium hydroxide) pathways for galactose to tagatose isomerization were critically discussed. Unfortunately, most of these chemicals showed poor tagatose yields (70%). The latter is able to form a tagatose–calcium hydroxide–water complex, which stimulates the equilibrium toward tagatose and prevents sugar degradation. Nevertheless, the excessive use of calcium hydroxide may …

Greenbug Feeding-Induced Resistance To Sugarcane Aphids In Sorghum, Heena Puri, Edith Ikuze, Jessica Ayala, Isabella Rodriguez, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Joe Louis, Sajjan Grover

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Plants are attacked by multiple insect pest species and insect herbivory can alter plant defense mechanisms. The plant defense responses to a specific herbivore may also contribute to the herbivore growth/survival on plants. Feeding by one insect species can modulate the plant defenses, which can either facilitate or hamper the colonization of subsequent incoming insects. However, little is known about the effect of sequential herbivory on sorghum plants. In this study, we demonstrate that a specialist aphid, sugarcane aphid (SCA; Melanaphis sacchari) grows faster on sorghum than a generalist aphid species, greenbug (GB; Schizaphis graminum). We also determined …

Effective Farm Management Promotes Native Amf And Benefit Organic Farming Systems, Pushpa Soti, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Alexis Racelis

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Highlights

• Agricultural practices have significant influence on the AMF community dynamics.

• Soil nutrients regulate AMF spore abundance and diversity.

• Using grass cover crops can promote native AMF in farms.

Abstract

Using soil inoculants containing naturally occurring beneficial microorganisms has become a popular practice in sustainable agriculture. However, an understanding of the environmental variables that affect plant-microbe interactions and the benefit of using commercial inoculum is relatively sparse. To address this, we examined the efficiency of three different methods to inoculate AMF (Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi) in organic vegetable farms in south Texas: cover cropping, application of farm-produced (indigenous) AMF inoculum, …

Production Of Distilled Spirits Using Grain Sorghum Through Liquid Fermentation, Thomas Weiss, Jikai Zhao, Ruijia Hu, Meicen Liu, Yonghui Li, Yi Zheng, Gordon Smith, Donghai Wang

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The objectives of this research were to investigate the fermentation performance of US sorghum varieties for the production of distilled spirits as well as their associated coproducts and to study the formation of volatile compounds that are related to the flavor quality of the spirits. Three US sorghum varieties (red, white, and waxy sorghums) and four yeast strains (DADY, Ethanol Red, GR-2, and 71B) were used for distilled spirit production. Both sorghum variety and type of yeast strains had effects on alcohol concentration and alcohol yield. The alcohol concentration varied from 10.26 to 11.34% (v/v) while alcohol yield varied from …

Where To Invest Project Efforts For Greater Benefit: A Framework Formanagement Performance Mapping With Examples For Potato Seed Health, C. E. Buddenhagen, Y. Xing, J. L. Andrade-Piedra, G. A. Forbes, P. Kromann, I. Navarrete, S. Thomas-Sharma, Robin A. Choudhury, K. F. Andersen Onofre, E. Schulte-Geldermann

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Policymakers and donors often need to identify the locations where technologies are most likely to have important effects, to increase the benefits from agricultural development or extension efforts. Higher-quality information may help to target the high-benefit locations, but often actions are needed with limited information. The value of information (VOI) in this context is formalized by evaluating the results of decision making guided by a set of specific information compared with the results of acting without considering that information. We present a framework for management performance mapping that includes evaluating the VOI for decision making about geographic priorities in regional …

Winners And Losers In Dryland Reforestation: Species Survival, Growth, And Recruitment Along A 33-Year Planting Chronosequence, Clifton Albrecht, Zarek Contreras, Kimberly Wahl-Villarreal, Mitch Sternberg, Bradley O. Christoffersen

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Reforestation in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of Texas began in the 1960s and to date over 6,475 ha of land has been reforested. However, there has been minimal assessment to understand differential species success, compositional trends, and the aboveground C sequestration potential of these developing forests. We coupled quantitative planting information of >50 native woody tree and shrub species with surveys of 5,223 stems of 4,606 individuals in a chronosequence of restored forests ranging in age from 1 to 33 years to estimate species-specific mortality rates, biomass accumulation and recruitment, as well as compositional trends in the herbaceous …

Identifying Available Resources And Agricultural Practices Useful In Soil Fertility Management To Support Orange-Fleshed Sweet Potato Cultivation On Smallholder Farms In Mozambique, Rafaela Feola Conz, Engil Isadora Pujol Pereira, Abdul Naico, Maria Isabel Andrade, Johan Six

School of Earth, Environmental, and Marine Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Orange-fleshed sweet potato is an important source of macro-and micronutrients for humans, particularly in resource-poor rural communities. However, sweet potato cultivation removes large amounts of nutrients from the soil. Hence, soil fertility replenishment is vital to secure long-term food production. The lack of access to fertilizers hinders the ability of farmers to supply and replenish soil nutrients, intensifying food insecurity. This study aimed at identifying locally available organic residues and agricultural practices with potential application in soil fertility management to prevent soil degradation in southern Mozambique. We conducted a survey to gather information on the farmers’ demographics and farming systems …

A Sugarcane G-Protein-Coupled Receptor, Shgpcr1, Confers Tolerance To Multiple Abiotic Stresses, Manikandan Ramasamy, Mona B. Damaj, Carol Vargas-Bautista, Victoria Mora, Jiaxing Liu, Carmen S. Padilla, Sonia Irigoyen, Tripti Saini, Nirakar Sahoo, Jorge A. Dasilva, Kranthi K. Mandadi

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is a prominent source of sugar and serves as bioenergy/biomass feedstock globally. Multiple biotic and abiotic stresses, including drought, salinity, and cold, adversely affect sugarcane yield. G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are components of G-protein-mediated signaling affecting plant growth, development, and stress responses. Here, we identified a GPCR-like protein (ShGPCR1) from sugarcane and energy cane (Saccharum spp. hybrids) and characterized its function in conferring tolerance to multiple abiotic stresses. ShGPCR1 protein sequence contained nine predicted transmembrane (TM) domains connected by four extracellular and four intracellular loops, which could interact with various ligands and heterotrimeric G …

Civic Agriculture In Review: Then, Now, And Future Directions, Allison Kaika, Alexis Racelis

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

"Civic agriculture," a term first coined by rural sociologist Thomas Lyson, refers to forms of agriculture that occur on a local level, from production to consumption, and are linked to a community's social and economic development. Sixteen years since its original articulation, the term "civic agriculture" has taken on greater significance in research, political activism, and community organizing. Grown from the roots of civic community theory, civic agriculture functions as a new branch of civic community theory that is ripe for theorization. In revisiting the foundations of the term, this review paper seeks to consolidate current and future research in …

Weeds As Hosts Of Plant Parasitic Nematodes In Subtropical Agriculture Systems, Habraham F. Lopez, Pushpa Soti, Ganpati B. Jagdale, Parwinder Grewal, Alexis Racelis

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

With a nearly year-round growing season, tropical and subtropical regions are plagued with a myriad of agro-nomic challenges, including near-continuous weeds and invertebrate pests including plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs). A poor understanding of the presence and geographical distributions of these pests complicate their man-agement, especially in organic farming systems. This work attempts to document the interaction of PPNs with the major weeds in the semi-arid region of south Texas. Five organically managed farms were surveyed for four weeds of regional agronomic importance including silverleaf nightshade (Solanum elaeagnifolium), common sunflower (Helianthus annuus), false ragweed (Parthenium hysterophorus), and London rocket (Sisymbrium irio). Soil …

Impact Of Cover Crops On Insect Community Dynamics In Organic Farming, Lili Martinez, Pushpa Soti, Jasleen Kaur, Alexis Racelis, Rupesh R. Kariyat

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Manipulating cover crops as an integrated pest management strategy has recently gained popularity in both traditional and organic agroecosystems. However, little information is available for producers to make informed decisions about cover crop selection, management, and their potential use as a pest management tool. To address this, we conducted a two-year, four-season field experiment on the potential of various cover crops during the summer seasons of both years, followed by monocultures of cash crops during winters. We hypothesized that the cover crop treatments would attract beneficial insects and repel damaging herbivores in a species-specific manner, and the insect community dynamics …

Polyphenol-Rich Purple Corn Pericarp Extract Adversely Impacts Herbivore Growth And Development, Mandeep Tayal, Pavel Somavat, Isabella Rodriguez, Tina Thomas, Bradley O. Christoffersen, Rupesh R. Kariyat

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

Plant secondary metabolites such as terpenes, phenolics, glycosides, and alkaloids play various functional roles including pigmentation, foliar and floral volatile synthesis, hormonal regulation, and direct and indirect defenses. Among these, phenolic compounds are commonly found in plants, but vary in the distribution of their specific compounds among plant families. Polyphenols, including anthocyanins and tannins, are widely distributed and have been well documented for their roles- primarily in plant pigmentation and also in plant defenses. However, commercialization of such compounds for use in insect pest management is severely hampered by expensive, inefficient, and time-consuming extraction protocols. Using a recently developed inexpensive …

Review Of Major Crop And Animal Arthropod Pests Of South Texas, Holly N. Davis, John A. Goolsby, Donald B. Thomas, Ismael Badillo, Rupesh R. Kariyat, Christopher Vitek, Danielle Sekula

Biology Faculty Publications and Presentations

The Lower Rio Grande Valley is an area in Texas that consists of the four southern-most counties. This area contains a diverse range of agriculture and land-use including vegetable, row-crop and livestock production. The year-around cool to hot subtropical climate means that green vegetation is continually present, including many crops. Geographically, it shares an international border, making it a region vulnerable to new invasive species and the re-introduction of pests that have been previously eliminated in the United States. These combined factors lead to an array of arthropod pests that may have serious impacts on the crops, animals, and people …