Agriculture Commons^™

So You Want To Produce Your Own Eggs?, Jacquie Jacob, Anthony J. Pescatore

Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications

Backyard chicken flocks are becoming popular throughout the country in urban, suburban and rural communities. Preparation is essential for a successful backyard flock.

Population Genetics, Distributions And Phenology Of Bombus Latreille, 1802 And Xylocopa Latreille, 1802 (Hymenoptera: Apidae), Amber Dawn Tripodi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This work addresses multiple knowledge gaps in bee ecology, population health and phylogeography in order to provide insights into the changing distributions of native bees. A comparison of Arkansas bumble bee records mirrors range-wide surveys, with records of stable species (Bombus bimaculatus Cresson, 1863 and B. impatiens Cresson, 1863) increasing three-fold, and records of the declining B. pensylvanicus (DeGeer, 1773) dropping to 60% of historical levels. However, nationally-recommended conservation-genetics tools did not mirror these results on a regional level. Stable and declining species had equivalent genetic diversity in samples from Arkansas and Tennessee (H_S range: 0.46-0.63). Diploid males, …

Farming With An Amputation, Rhonda Miller Ph.D., Anne Reither

All Current Publications

No abstract provided.

Ecological, Physiological, And Molecular Characterization Of Annual Bluegrass (Poa Annua L.) Herbicide Resistance And Its Control On Golf Courses, Robert Cross

All Dissertations

Annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) is one of the most pervasive, adaptable, and variable plant species in the world and is the most problematic winter annual weed in managed turfgrass. Its prolific seedhead production regardless of mowing height, clumping growth habit, and lack of tolerance to stress reduces turfgrass aesthetic quality and playability on golf courses. Its ability to germinate almost year-round influences cultural practices and herbicide use. Herbicides are an integral part of a weed control program for all weeds that invade a desirable turfgrass stand. However, inappropriate use of herbicides results in herbicide resistance issues. In recent years, …

Invasive Insect Field Guide For Utah, Lori R. Spears, Ricardo A. Ramirez

All Current Publications

This publication provides information on Utah's top priority invasive insects that have been reported in the state as well as some invasive insects that are considered to be a threat to Utah's agriculture and natural resources, but have only been reported elsewhere in the U.S. and abroad. Included is a brief description of each invasive insect, its host(s) and current distribution, symptoms to watch out for, and graphs of its expected activity throughout the season.

European Consumers' Attitudes Towards Cisgenic Rice, Anne-Cécile Delwaide

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The enhancement of existing plant breeding techniques, such as cisgenesis, allows plant breeders to enhance an existing cultivar quicker and with little to no genetic drag. Cisgenesis is the genetic modification of a recipient plant with natural gene(s) from a sexually compatible plant. Unlike transgenesis, which is the genetic modification of a recipient plant with gene(s) from any non‐plant organism, or from a donor plant that is sexually incompatible with the recipient plant, the results of cisgenesis could occur naturally over time. Currently, both cisgenic and transgenic products are classified as genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and are labeled as such …

Functional Genomics And Microbiome Profiling Of The Asian Longhorned Beetle (Anoplophora Glabripennis) Reveal Insights Into The Digestive Physiology And Nutritional Ecology Of Wood Feeding Beetles, Erin D. Scully, Scott M. Geib, John E. Carlson, Ming Tien, Duane Mckenna, Kelli Hoover

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Wood-feeding beetles harbor an ecologically rich and taxonomically diverse assemblage of gut microbes that appear to promote survival in woody tissue, which is devoid of nitrogen and essential nutrients. Nevertheless, the contributions of these apparent symbionts to digestive physiology and nutritional ecology remain uncharacterized in most beetle lineages.

Results: Through parallel transcriptome profiling of beetle- and microbial- derived mRNAs, we demonstrate that the midgut microbiome of the Asian longhorned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis), a member of the beetle family Cerambycidae, is enriched in biosynthetic pathways for the synthesis of essential amino acids, vitamins, and sterols. Consequently, the midgut …

Groundwater Trend Analysis And Salinity Risk Assessment For The South-West Agricultural Region Of Western Australia, 2007–12, G Paul Raper, Russell Speed, John Andrew Simons, A L. Killen, Andrew Blake, A T. Ryder, Rosemary H. Smith, Grantley Stainer, L Bourke

Resource management technical reports

Dryland salinity is a hydrologically driven land degradation hazard in the south-west agricultural region of Western Australia (WA). Shallow-rooted annual crops and pastures transpire significantly less water than the native vegetation they replaced, leading to an increase in recharge, rising groundwater levels and the development of shallow watertables in areas where often none existed previously. Rising groundwater levels mobilise soluble salts, naturally stored at high concentrations in the regolith. These salts can be concentrated in the root zone of vegetation by evapotranspiration.

Student Mindset Compared To Performance On The Nebraska State Accountability Test, Ann E. Dvorak

Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education, and Communication: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

Carol Dweck’s research on fixed vs. growth mindset has led to many opportunities for educational research. According to Dweck, a person with a fixed mindset believes that his or her qualities related to a certain task are unchangeable while an individual with a growth mindset believes that his or her qualities related to a certain task can be changed and improved (Dweck, 2006). A correlative study was conducted to identify relationships that exist between student mindset and scores from the Nebraska State Accountability Test (NeSA). For this study, students in the 7^th, 8^th, and 11^{th …}

Assessing Net Returns To Blueberry Production Using A Decision Support Tool, Sokha Sok

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the profitability of four highbush blueberry farming systems in the south: organic field production, conventional field production, organic high tunnel production and conventional high tunnel production. Four baseline budget scenarios, one for each system, are developed for a 15 year production period. The results suggest that under expected production and price conditions for Northwest Arkansas, while all four production systems generated positive present value of net returns, the conventional field production produced the highest present value of net returns across the 15 years. The breakeven years of production were 7 …

Effects Of Stocking Rate On Forage Nutrient Composition Of Nebraska Sandhills Upland Range When Grazed In Early Summer And The Effects Of Grazing On Nebraska Sandhills Meadow Forage Nutrient Composition, Jared Vern Judy

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

The objectives of this research were to 1) evaluate the effects of stocking rate on forage nutrient quality 2) quantify the relative proportions of current vs. previous year growth being consumed in early summer upland range pastures and 3) determine how grazing effects forage nutrient quality in subirrigated meadows in the Nebraska Sandhills. Experiment 1 was a two year study conducted on the experimental upland range paddocks at Gudmundsen Sandhills Laboratory. Twelve 2-hectare paddocks were assigned one of three treatments stocked at 0 (control), 0.57 (light), and 0.85 (heavy) AUM/ha. Ten 0.25 m² quadrats were clipped per paddock during …

Effect Of Abscisic Acid On The Growth And Development Of Lettuce (Lactuca Sativa 1.) Under Varied Irrigation Regimes, Mohamed Abdulla Al Muhairi

Theses

Economically important vegetable crop lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) of family Asteraceae was selected for the present investigation. It is being cultivated in UAE due to its commercial importance. In lettuce cultivation, major problem is the requirement of large quantity of irrigation water. The present study was aimed to reduce the water consumption of lettuce cultivation, for that, a varied irrigation regime was used with the application of abscisic acid (ABA). The parameters studied were growth, photosynthetic pigments, biochemical constituents, antioxidant potential and antioxidant enzymes activities in lettuce plants under drought stress and its response to ABA under stress. Drought stress …

Methane Production By A Packed-Bed Anaerobic Digester Fed Dairy Barn Flush Water, Sean Richard Thomson

Master's Theses

Packed-bed digesters are an alternative to covered lagoon digesters for methane production and anaerobic treatment of dilute wastewaters such as dairy barn flush water. The physical media of packed-beds retain biofilms, often allowing increased treatment rates. Previous studies have evaluated several types of media for digestion of dilute wastewaters, but cost and media fouling have setback commercial development. A major operational cost has been effluent recirculation pumping.

In the present effort, a novel approach to anaerobic digestion of flush dairy water was developed at pilot-scale: broken walnut shells were used as a low-cost packed-bed medium and effluent recirculation was replaced …

Studies To Characterize Heavy Metal Content And Migration From Recycled Polyethyleneterephthalate, Michael John-Ross Whitt

Master's Theses

Packaging Materials account for 31% of the world’s municipal solid waste. Agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) are pushing for the increased use of recycled thermoplastic materials. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a commonly recycled thermoplastic which is used to package ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables. Most recycled polyethylene terephthalate (RPET) packaging materials contain heavy metal catalysts, the most common being antimony. The recent increased use of recycled plastic materials has been suspected as the source of increased human heavy metal exposure. In this study, cadmium, chromium, nickel, lead and antimony …

Studies On The Initial Stage Of Lipid Oxidation In Bulk Oils, Elizabeth Budilarto

Dissertations

During the oxidation of bulk oils, oxidation products (i.e. peroxide values, conjugated dienes and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) are formed gradually and increased sharply at the end of the induction period. Tocopherols were consumed, some water was formed, and micelles increased in size during the induction period of vegetable oils oxidized in bulk. The evidence that the evolution of micellar size was in parallel with the end of induction period corroborates the recognition that micelles are the active site of oxidation. The interactions of α-tocopherol and three synergists: ascorbyl palmitate, phosphatidylcholine and L-lysine were studied in cod liver oil, to …

Energy Value Of De-Oiled Distillers’ Grains Plus Solubles In Beef Cattle Diets, Meredith L. Bremer

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

Ethanol plants are centrifuging off oil from the thin stillage stream as it has added market value currently. The impact of oil removal on cattle performance has been minimally researched. Thus four trials, one growing, one digestion, and two feedlot, were designed to determine the energy and feeding value of de-oiled distillers grains in beef cattle diets.

In growing cattle diets, diet concentration of modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS) impacted cattle performance more than oil content. Ending BW, ADG, and G:F did not differ between cattle fed de-oiled or full fat MDGS, however cattle fed de-oiled MDGS had lower …

Spatial Distribution And Genetic Variability Of Reniform And Lance Nematodes In Cotton Agroecosystems, Claudia Holguin

All Dissertations

Rotylenchulus reniformis (reniform nematode) and Hoplolaimus columbus (Columbia lance nematode) are two of the main plant-pathogenic nematode species affecting cotton production in the United States. For the selection and implementation of effective management practices it is important to understand distribution patterns and population genetic structure of these two nematodes in cotton agroecosystems. In a three-year field study, the spatial distribution of reniform nematode was characterized in two commercial fields in South Carolina to determine the effects of relations with soil texture and crop rotation on reniform nematode distribution (Chapter 1). Results of this project suggest that population densities of reniform …

Consumer Acceptance And Willingness To Pay For Genetically Modified Rice In China: A Double Bounded Dichotomous Choic Contingent Valuation Survey Calibrated By Cheap Talk, Jing Jin

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Considering population growth, limitations on land and water resources, and contamination to the ecosystem due to agricultural activities, current rice production in China is facing pressure to fulfill national demand. Self-sufficiency of rice has been a long-held political objective of the Chinese government and it is national goal to maintain the equilibrium between the national production and consumption or even achieve a supply surplus in rice. With the developing bio-technology of genetic modification (GM), scientists believe that using genetically modified cultivars may ease the pressure mentioned above. However, both the government and the people are very cautious about large-scale cultivation …

The Economic Viability Of Cocoa Crop Insurance In Ghana, Justin D. Mckinley

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study was motivated by the fact that Ghanaian cocoa producers face lower yields than other main cocoa producing counties which in turn increases food insecurity for smallholder producers. In addition, low yields experienced by Ghanaian producers is a driving factor for forest degradation and deforestation as cocoa producers encroach further into previously undisturbed forests in efforts to increase their incomes. There are currently production methods to achieve higher yields readily available in Ghana; however, many producers choose not to adopt these methods because they are seen as too risky, or simply cannot adopt them due to financial/credit constraints. A …

Price Discovery And Futures Spreads For U.S. And Chinese Rice Futures Market, Wei Yang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rice, the primary staple food for more than half the world's population, is the second world's most consumed food grain. In recent years, world rice price has increased and become more volatile especially in the period 2007-2010. Rice price volatility has a huge impact on Asian countries, especially countries in Southeast Asia where rice is a staple food for millions of households. Private market tools to manage price risk and discover price such as futures markets have been analyzed and assessed as possible solutions to coping with rice price volatility issue. Two primary functions of agricultural commodities futures markets are …

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 25, 2014, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for November 25, 2014 (11/25/14) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Mt. Hood Winery Scrapbook, Don Bickford, Steve Bickford, John Stehlik

Mt. Hood Winery Scrapbook

This is a digitally created scrapbook featuring vineyard planting and construction of the Mt. Hood Winery hospitality venue. The planting of the vineyard began in 2002, with the hospitality venue opening in July 2009. Members of the Bickford and Stehlik families are featured throughout in the photographs. Mt. Hood Winery, the vineyard, and the hospitality venue are all located in Hood River, Oregon.

Fearless Friday: Sean Pethybridge, Christina L. Bassler

SURGE

Talking with Sean Pethybridge ’15, one could easily assume his interest in agriculture and food justice developed at a very young age. Sean confesses that he had very limited knowledge prior to attending Gettysburg. “My grandpa had a garden and the most experience I had with that was picking green beans during the summer time when I was younger,” he jokes. [excerpt]

Agricultural Classification Of Multi-Temporal Modis Imagery In Northwest Argentina Using Kansas Crop Phenologies, Jarrett Alexander Keifer

Dissertations and Theses

Subtropical deforestation in Latin America is thought to be driven by demand for agricultural land, particularly to grow soybeans. However, existing remote sensing methods that can differentiate crop types to verify this hypothesis require high spatial or spectral resolution data, or extensive ground truth information to develop training sites, none of which are freely available for much of the world. I developed a new method of crop classification based on the phenological signatures of crops extracted from multi-temporal MODIS vegetation indices. I tested and refined this method using the USDA Cropland Data Layer from Kansas, USA as a reference. I …

Sustainable Mountain Tourism: An Analysis Of Bosnia- Herzegovina’S Wine Tourism And Its Future, John Hudelson

All Faculty Scholarship for the College of the Sciences

Bosnia-Herzegovina (B-H) remains one of the most underdeveloped countries on the European Continent yet it holds great potential as a tourist destination for outdoor adventurers, history enthusiasts, and now, wine connoisseurs. The southern part of this merged nation has always been an area of wine production, but the industry has been slow to develop into a net exporter of its wines. The author and many of the industry’s supporters believe that it would be more lucrative to follow in the footsteps of its western neighbor, Croatia, and develop the wine industry through wine tourism. Utilizing historical data, interviews, analysis of …

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 18, 2014, Eric Luebehusen

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for November 18, 2014 (11/18/14) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Performance Of A Temperate-Zone Channel Catfish Biofloc Technology Production System During Winter, Bartholomew W. Green

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service / University of Nebraska-Lincoln: Faculty Publications

Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) have been grown successfully in an outdoor biofloc technology production system. Outdoor biofloc production systems in the tropic sare operated year-round, whereas the channel catfish studies were conducted only during the growing season and biofloc production tanks were harvested and idled for the winter. If an outdoor biofloc production system is to be adopted by farmers at temperate latitudes, then data gaps related to system and fish performance over the winter must be addressed. The present study was conducted to address these data gaps for channel catfish culture. Waters from a recently completed biofloc …

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 11, 2014, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for November 11, 2014 (11/11/14) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

U.S. Drought Monitor, November 4, 2014, Matthew Rosencrans

United States Agricultural Commodities in Drought Archive

Drought map of U.S. for November 4, 2014 (11/4/14) plus: U.S. crop areas experiencing drought (map), Approximate percentage of crop located in drought, by state (bar graph), Percent of crop area located in drought, past 52 weeks (line graph) for: Corn, Soybeans, Hay, Cattle, Winter wheat.

Comprehensive Characterization And Rna-Seq Profiling Of The Hd-Zip Transcription Factor Family In Soybean (Glycine Max) During Dehydration And Salt Stress, Vikas Belamkar, Nathan T. Weeks, Arvind K. Bharti, Andrew Farmer, Michelle A. Graham, Steven B. Cannon

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background:

The homeodomain leucine zipper (HD-Zip) transcription factor family is one of the largest plant specific superfamilies, and includes genes with roles in modulation of plant growth and response to environmental stresses. Many HD-Zip genes are characterized in Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), and members of the family are being investigated for abiotic stress responses in rice (Oryza sativa), maize (Zea mays), poplar (Populus trichocarpa) and cucumber (Cucmis sativus). Findings in these species suggest HD-Zip genes as high priority candidates for crop improvement.

Results:

In this study we have identified members of …