Agricultural Science Commons^™

Herbicide Injury From Dicamba And 2,4-D: How Much Is Too Much In Lettuce?, Xinzheng Chen, Amit J. Jhala, Stevan Z. Knezevic, Samuel E. Wortman

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

Off-target herbicide injury from dicamba and 2,4-D is an increasingly common problem for specialty crop growers in the Midwest United States. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is a common specialty crops grown in Nebraska, but proximity to corn and soybean production leaves growers vulnerable to crop injury and significant economic loss. The goal of this study was to quantify crop injury and yield loss in greenhouse grown lettuce after exposure to simulated sub-lethal drift rates of 2,4-D and dicamba. Sublethal doses were determined based on a percentage of the maximum labeled rate and ranged from 25% to 0.01%. Tested lettuce …

Spring Meadow Management Practices: What’S A Rancher To Do?, Tara M. Harms, Jerry D. Volesky, Mitchell B. Stephenson

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

Subirrigated meadows are a valuable forage resource to ranching operations in the Nebraska Sandhills, being used for both hay production and livestock grazing.

The water table of these meadows is within one meter of the soil surface during the growing season.

In some years, wet conditions hinder meadow utilization, resulting in a buildup of standing dead and litter plant material which can lower forage production.

Investigate if burning and mowing are effective strategies to remove dead plant material from meadows • Determine if burning or mowing interact with grazing to influence end of season forage production

Burning or mowing effectively …

Optimum Rates Of Surface-Applied Coal Char Decreased Soil Ammonia Volatilization Loss, Dinesh Panday, Maysoon M. Mikha, Harold P. Collins, Virginia L. Jin, Michael Kaiser, Jennifer Cooper, Arindam Malakar, Bijesh Maharjan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Fertilizer N losses from agricultural systems have economic and environmental implications. Soil amendment with high C materials, such as coal char, may mitigate N losses. Char, a coal combustion residue, obtained from a sugar factory in Scottsbluff, NE, contained 29% C by weight. A 30-d laboratory study was conducted to evaluate the effects of char addition on N losses via nitrous oxide (N₂O) emission, ammonia (NH₃) volatilization, and nitrate (NO₃–N) leaching from fertilized loam and sandy loam soils. Char was applied at five different rates (0, 6.7, 10.1, 13.4, and 26.8 Mg C ha …

Using Ndvi To Differentiate Wheat Genotypes Productivity Under Dryland And Irrigated Conditions, Mohammed A. Naser, Raj Khosla, Louis Longchamps, Subash Dahal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Crop breeders are looking for tools to facilitate the screening of genotypes in field trials. Remote sensing-based indices such as normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) are sensitive to biomass and nitrogen (N) variability in crop canopies. The objectives of this study were (i) to determine if proximal sensor-based NDVI readings can differentiate the yield of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) genotypes and (ii) to determine if NDVI readings can be used to classify wheat genotypes into grain yield productivity classes. This study was conducted in northeastern Colorado in 2010 and 2011. The NDVI readings were acquired weekly from March to …

Proceedings Of The 47th Annual Meeting, Southern Soybean Disease Workers (March 4-5, 2020, Pensacola Beach, Florida), Burton H. Bluhm, Carl Bradley, Tom W. Allen, Danise Beadle, Trey Price

Southern Soybean Disease Workers: Conference Proceedings

Contents

Southern United States soybean disease loss estimates for 2019. TW Allen, K Bissonnette, CA Bradley, JP Damicone, NS Dufault, TR Faske, T Isakeit, RC Kemerait, A Koehler, HL Mehl, JD Mueller, GB Padgett, PP Price, EJ Sikora, IM Small, L Thiessen, and H Young

Abstracts of presented papers

Fungicide efficacy on target spot in Tennessee soybean. Ty Smith, H Kelly, and Z Hansen

Temporal dynamics of Neohydatothrips variabilis, Frankliniella tritici, and Frankliniella fusca in South Central Wisconsin and the occurrence of Soybean vein necrosis virus. Cristina Zambrana-Echevarria, S Kaplan, RL Groves, and DL Smith

Population distributions and …

The State Of Sustainable Agriculture And Agroecology Research And Impacts: A Survey Of U.S. Scientists, Marcia Delonge, Tali Robbins, Andrea Basche, Lindsey Haynes-Maslow

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A growing body of research suggests that although sustainable agriculture, particularly agroecology, can address challenges such as those related to climate change, ecosystem services, food insecurity, and farmer livelihoods, the transition to such systems remains limited. To gain insight into the state of U.S. sustainable agriculture and agroecology, we developed a 28-question mixed-method survey that was administered to scientists in these fields. Respondents (N=168) represented diverse locations, institutions, and career stages. They offered varied definitions of sustainable agriculture, with 40% considering economic and social well-being to be core components. Respondents identified the amount and duration of public research funding as …

Growing Torula Yeast (Candida Utilis) For Food Grade Fatty Acids, Zachary Christman

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

The focus of this article is the cultivation of a food grade yeast for the production of fatty acids without the restrictions of climate or growing season. Torula yeast (Candida utilis) was selected since it can grow on a wide variety of culture media and has over 60 years of use in the food industry. The fatty acid composition of C. utilis grown on two different media are presented in this article; the first example using completely synthetic media and another using distiller’s vinasse. Also, the effect of different culturing conditions on the percentage of various fatty …

Restoring The Fire–Grazing Interaction Promotes Tree–Grass Coexistence By Controlling Woody Encroachment, Jane F. Capozzelli, James R. Miller, Diane M. Debinski, Walter H. Schacht

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Woody encroachment can convert grasslands and savannas to shrublands and woodlands, so understanding the processes which regulate woody encroachment is necessary to conserve or restore these ecosystems.We hypothesized that recreating the fire–grazing interaction would limit woody encroachment because focal grazing increases fuel accumulation on unburned areas and increases browsing on emergent woody plants in burned areas. This study was conducted in the Grand River Grasslands of Iowa and Missouri (USA) on 11 sites (15.4–35.0 ha). Each site was assigned to one treatment: patch-burn-graze (n = 4), with spatially discrete prescribed fires and free access by cattle (the fire–grazing interaction); graze-andburn …

Combination Of Biological And Chemical Soil Tests Best Predict Maize Nitrogen Response, M. D. Mcdaniel, Daniel T. Walters, L. G. Bundy, Xiaofei Li, Rhae A. Drijber, John E. Sawyer, Michael J. Castellano, C. A.M. Laboski, Peter C. Scharf

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soil tests can help optimize nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates, thereby improving farmer profitability and environmental performance. In US Midwest maize (Zea mays) production, however, most soil N tests have limited accuracy to predict N fertilizer requirements. Here we tested the individual and combined ability of 30 soil tests (12 rapid N extractions, seven biological carbon or N tests, six long-term incubation kinetic parameters, and five other routine soil tests), as well as environmental and management data, to predict maize response to N fertilizer across 56 site-years in the US Midwest. Out of 30 soil tests, and across all …

Soybean Response To Water: Trait Identification And Prediction, Shawn Jenkins

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

The rising demand for soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merrill] taken in consideration with current climatic trends accentuates the importance of improving soybean seed yield response per unit water (WP). To further our understanding of the quantitative WP trait, a multi-omic approach was implemented for improved trait identification and predictive modeling opportunities. Through the evaluation of two recombinant inbred line populations jointly totaling 439 lines subjected to contrasting irrigation treatments, informative agronomic, phenomic, and genomic associations were identified. Across both populations, relationships were identified between lodging at maturity (r = -0.58, H = 0.86), canopy to air temperature differential …

Enhancing Hybrid Prediction In Pearl Millet Using Genomic And/Or Multi- Environment Phenotypic Information Of Inbreds, Diego Jarquin, Reka Howard, Zhikai Liang, Shashi K. Gupta, James C. Schnable, Jose Crossa

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Genomic selection (GS) is an emerging methodology that helps select superior lines among experimental cultivars in plant breeding programs. It offers the opportunity to increase the productivity of cultivars by delivering increased genetic gains and reducing the breeding cycles. This methodology requires inexpensive and sufficiently dense marker information to be successful, and with whole genome sequencing, it has become an important tool in many crops. The recent assembly of the pearl millet genome has made it possible to employ GS models to improve the selection procedure in pearl millet breeding programs. Here, three GS models were implemented and compared using …

Long-Term Ecological Research In Southern Brazil Grasslands: Effects Of Grazing Exclusion And Deferred Grazing On Plant And Arthropod Communities, Pedro M.A. Ferreira, Bianca O. Andrade, Luciana R. Podgaiski, Amanda C. Dias, Valerio D. Pillar, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Milton De S. Mendonca Jr., Ilsi I. Boldrini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Grazing exclusion may lead to biodiversity loss and homogenization of naturally heterogeneous and species-rich grassland ecosystems, and these effects may cascade to higher trophic levels and ecosystem properties. Although grazing exclusion has been studied elsewhere, the consequences of alleviating the disturbance regime in grassland ecosystems remain unclear. In this paper, we present results of the first five years of an experiment in native grasslands of southern Brazil. Using a randomized block experimental design, we examined the effects of three grazing treatments on plant and arthropod communities: (i) deferred grazing (i.e., intermittent grazing), (ii) grazing exclusion and (iii) a control under …

Editorial: New Insights Into Mechanisms Of Epigenetic Modifiers In Plant Growth And Development, Ming Luo, Gabino Ríos, Tomasz Jacek Sarnowski, Shoudong Zhang, Nitin Mantri, Jean-Benoit Charron, Marc Libault

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In eukaryotic cells, chromatin, a highly dynamic nucleoprotein complex, plays a critical role in controlling gene expression notably by regulating the interaction between transcription factors and regulatory elements. The structure of the chromatin is determined by epigenetic mechanisms, including DNA methylation, histone modifications, and chromatin remodeling. A growing body of evidence indicates that epigenetic regulations are involved in plant adaptation to environmental stresses, and in plant development, including flowering control, fruit and root development, as well as seed maturation and germination. Furthermore, epigenetic mechanisms have the potential to stabilize cell identity and maintain tissue organization. Hence, epigenetic diversity is now …

Yield And Quality In Purple-Grained Wheat Isogenic Lines, Alexey Morgounov, Yasar Karaduman, Beyhan Akin, Sinan Aydogan, Peter Stephen Baenziger, Madhav Bhatta, Vladimir Chudinov, Susanne Dreisigacker, Velu Govindan, Safure Güler, Carlos Guzman, Ajit Nehe, Rachana Poudel, Devin J. Rose, Elena Gordeeva, Vladimir Shamanin, Kemal Subasi, Yuriy Zelenskiy, Elena Khlestkina

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Breeding programs for purple wheat are underway in many countries but there is a lack of information on the effects of Pp (purple pericarp) genes on agronomic and quality traits in variable environments and along the product chain (grain-flour-bread). This study was based on unique material: two pairs of isogenic lines in a spring wheat cv. Saratovskaya-29 (S29) background differing only in Pp genes and grain color. In 2017, seven experiments were conducted in Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkey with a focus on genotype and environment interaction and, in 2018, one experiment in Turkey with a focus on grain, flour, and …

The Land Variational Ensemble Data Assimilation Framework: Lavendar V1.0.0, Ewan Pinnington, Tristan Quaife, Amos Lawless, Karina Williams, Tim Arkebauer, David Scoby

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The Land Variational Ensemble Data Assimilation Framework (LAVENDAR) implements the method of fourdimensional ensemble variational (4D-En-Var) data assimilation (DA) for land surface models. Four-dimensional ensemble variational data assimilation negates the often costly calculation of a model adjoint required by traditional variational techniques (such as 4D-Var) for optimizing parameters or state variables over a time window of observations. In this paper we present the first application of LAVENDAR, implementing the framework with the Joint UK Land Environment Simulator (JULES) land surface model. We show that the system can recover seven parameters controlling crop behaviour in a set of twin experiments. We …

Adaptive Capacity In Ecosystems, David G. Angeler, Hannah Fried-Petersen, Craig R. Allen, Ahjond Garmestani, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr, H.E. Birgé, W. Chuang, V. M. Donovan, T. Eason, C.P. Roberts, S.M. Sundstrom, C.L. Wonkka

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Understanding the adaptive capacity of ecosystems to cope with change is crucial to management. However, unclear and often confusing definitions of adaptive capacity make application of this concept difficult. In this paper, we revisit definitions of adaptive capacity and operationalize the concept. We define adaptive capacity as the latent potential of an ecosystem to alter resilience in response to change. We present testable hypotheses to evaluate complementary attributes of adaptive capacity that may help further clarify the components and relevance of the concept. Adaptive sampling, inference and modeling can reduce key uncertainties incrementally over time and increase learning about adaptive …

Characterization Of The Transcriptional Divergence Between The Subspecies Of Cultivated Rice (Oryza Sativa), Malachy T. Campbell, Qian Du, Kan Li, Sandeep Sharma, Chi Zhang, Harkamal Walia

Agronomy & Horticulture -- Faculty Publications

Background: Cultivated rice consists of two subspecies, Indica and Japonica, that exhibit well-characterized differences at the morphological and genetic levels. However, the differences between these subspecies at the transcriptome level remains largely unexamined. Here, we provide a comprehensive characterization of transcriptome divergence and cis-regulatory variation within rice using transcriptome data from 91 accessions from a rice diversity panel (RDP1).

Results: The transcriptomes of the two subspecies of rice are highly divergent. Japonica have significantly lower expression and genetic diversity relative to Indica, which is likely a consequence of a population bottleneck during Japonica domestication. We leveraged high-density genotypic data and …

Dicamba Retention In Commercial Sprayers Following Triple Rinse Cleanout Procedures, And Soybean Response To Contamination Concentrations, Frances B. Browne, Xiao Li, Katilyn J. Price, Jianping Wang, Yi Wang, Greg R. Kruger, Jeff Golus, Gabrielle De Castro Macedo, Bruno C. Vieira, Tyler Sandlin

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The commercial launch of dicamba‐tolerant (DT) crops has resulted in increased dicamba usage and a high number of dicamba off‐target movement complaints on sensitive soybeans (Glycine max L.). Dicamba is a synthetic auxin and low dosages as 0.028 g ae ha−1 can induce injury on sensitive soybean. Tank contamination has been identified as one of the sources for unintended sensitive crop exposure. The labels of new dicamba formulations require a triple rinse cleanout procedure following applications. Cleanout efficacy might vary based on the sprayer type and procedure followed. This study was performed to quantify dicamba retention in commercial sprayers and …

Improving On Modis Mcd64a1 Burned Area Estimates In Grassland Systems: A Case Study In Kansas Flint Hills Tall Grass Prairie, Rheinhardt Scholtz, Jayson Prentice, Yao Tang, Dirac Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Uncertainty in satellite-derived burned area estimates are especially high in grassland systems, which are some of the most frequently burned ecosystems in the world. In this study, we compare differences in predicted burned area estimates for a region with the highest fire activity in North America, the Flint Hills of Kansas, USA, using the moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) MCD64A1 burned area product and a customization of the MODIS MCD64A1 product using a major ground-truthing effort by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE-MODIS customization). Local-scale ground-truthing and the KDHE-MODIS product suggests MODIS burned area estimates under predicted fire …

Benchmarking The Agronomic Performance Of Biodegradable Mulches Against Polyethylene Mulch Film: A Meta‐Analysis, Mauro B.D. Tofanelli, Samuel E. Wortman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Growers are interested in biodegradable alternatives to petroleum‐based polyethylene mulch film (PEM). However, many growers cite limited knowledge about biodegradable mulch films (BDMs) as a significant barrier to adoption. Agronomic field tests of BDMs are often limited temporally or spatially, and the variability of performance results relative to PEM may be contributing to this perceived knowledge gap. Our objective was to use data available in the scientific literature to provide the first quantitative performance benchmark of BDMs against PEM. We extracted data from 66 articles for meta‐analysis. Response ratios were calculated for comparison of BDMs relative to black PEM, and …

Growth And Development, From: Forages: The Science Of Grassland Agriculture, Volume Ii, Robert B. Mitchell, Daren Redfearn, Kenneth J. Moore

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The growth and development of forage plants is an amazing process. In some annual grasses such as cereal rye, plants can go from the late vegetative stage to fully-flowered in less than two weeks. Conversely, some perennial grasses like indiangrass can go from the vegetative stage to the elongation stage, then enter a quiescent phase for several weeks until adequate moisture is available which then moves plants into the flowering stages to complete the seed production process. Understanding the developmental morphology of forage plants is important for making good management decisions. Many such decisions involve timing the initiation or termination …

Land-Use Type As A Driver Of Large Wildfire Occurrence In The U.S. Great Plains, Victoria M. Donovan, Carissa L. Wonkka, David A. Wedin, Dirac Twidwell

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Wildfire activity has surged in North America’s temperate grassland biome. Like many biomes, this system has undergone drastic land-use change over the last century; however, how various land-use types contribute to wildfire patterns in grassland systems is unclear. We determine if certain land-use types have a greater propensity for large wildfire in the U.S. Great Plains and how this changes given the percentage of land covered by a given land-use type. Almost 90% of the area burned in the Great Plains occurred in woody and grassland land-use types. Although grassland comprised the greatest area burned by large wildfires, woody vegetation …

A Justification For Continued Management Of Turfgrass During Economic Contraction, James T. Brosnan, Ambika Chandra, Roch E. Gaussoin, Alec Kowalewski, Bernd Leinauer, Frank S. Rossi, Douglas J. Soldat, John C. Stier, J. Bryan Unruh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A novel coronavirus, termed COVID-19, spread worldwide and become a global pandemic in 2020. Forecasts show that COVID-19 will cause substantial economic contraction affecting almost every industry. Managed turfgrass, particularly in urban settings, has many positive societal and environmental benefits. In a contracted economy, will resources be available to manage turfgrass to achieve these benefits? In this paper, we outline the benefits of managed turfgrass on golf courses, playing fields, recreational parks, and urban landscapes to assist decision makers with resource allocation in the COVID-19 era.

Training Future Agriculture Professionals In Landowner–Tenant Conservation Decision-Making, Andrea Basche, Angie Carter

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The landowner–tenant relationship is important to the implementation of conser- vation on agricultural lands. Women own or co-own a significant portion of U.S. farmland yet are underrepresented in conservation research. The next generation of agriculture professionals can benefit from first-hand experience in assisting women landowners and their tenants in navigating the complexities of conser- vation decision-making. This article analyzes undergraduate student perceptions of landowner–tenant relationships in conservation management through their engagement in case studies with women landowner–tenant pairs in the Western Corn Belt. Student groups were asked to complete a management improvement plan that both incorporated the agronomic and conservation …

Winter Cover Crop Root Biomass Yield In Corn And Soybean Systems, Sabrina J. Ruis, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Katja Koehler-Cole, Paul J. Jasa, G. Slater, Roger W. Elmore, Richard B. Ferguson

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cover crop (CC) roots are critical for soil ecosystem service delivery including soil stabilization, C and nutrient cycling, soil health improvement, and others. However, most CC studies only evaluate CC aboveground biomass yield, neglecting the belowground portion of the plant. The objectives of this study were to quantify the impacts of (a) CC planting (pre- and post-harvest) dates and (b) early (2–4 wk before main crop planting) and late (at main crop planting) CC termination with and without corn (Zea mays L.) residue removal on root biomass yield. We assessed the effects of CC planting or termination dates on root …

Evaluating The Impact Of Grafting On Local Tomato Production In Nebraska, Raihanah Hassim, Samuel E. Wortman, Ashley A. Thompson, Stacy A. Adams

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

Grafting has been successfully used in vegetable production for tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cucumbers, and watermelon. Besides its usefulness for managing soil-borne diseases, grafting can improve nutrient uptake and yield. However, few studies have assessed the effects of grafting and soil fertility management on yield of open field-grown tomatoes in the Midwest. Therefore, the objective of this two-year research was to better document the effects of grafting heirloom and hybrid tomato cultivar onto hybrid tomato rootstocks on tomato yield and quality. The field experiments were located at the University of Nebraska Lincoln - East Campus in Lincoln, West Central Research and …

The Lateral Root Density Gene Regulates Root Growth During Water Stress In Wheat, Dante F. Placido, Jaspreet Sandhu, Shirley Sato, Natalya Nersesian, Truyen Quach, Thomas E. Clemente, Paul E. Staswick, Harkamal Walia

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Drought stress is the major limiting factor in agriculture. Wheat, which is the most widely grown crop in the world, is predominantly cultivated in drought-prone rainfed environments. Since roots play a critical role in water uptake, root response to water limitations is an important component for enhancing wheat adaptation. In an effort to discover novel genetic sources for improving wheat adaptation, we characterized a wheat translocation line with a chromosomal segment from Agropyron elongatum, a wild relative of wheat, which unlike common wheat maintains root growth under limited-water conditions. By exploring the root transcriptome data, we found that reduced …

Rhizosphere Microbiome Of Arid Land Medicinal Plants And Extra Cellular Enzymes Contribute To Their Abundance, Abdul Latif Khan, Sajjad Asaf, Raeid M. M. Abed, Yen Ning Chai, Ahmed N. Al-Rawahi, Tupan Kumar Mohanta, Ahmed Al-Rawahi, Daniel P. Schachtman, Ahmed Al-Harrasi

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Revealing the unexplored rhizosphere microbiome of plants in arid environments can help in understanding their interactions between microbial communities and plants during harsh growth conditions. Here, we report the first investigation of rhizospheric fungal and bacterial communities of Adenium obesum, Aloe dhufarensis and Cleome austroarabica using next-generation sequencing approaches. A. obesum and A. dhufarensis grows in dry tropical and C. austroarabica in arid conditions of Arabian Peninsula. The results indicated the presence of 121 fungal and 3662 bacterial operational taxonomic units (OTUs) whilst microbial diversity was significantly high in the rhizosphere of A. obesum and A. dhufarensis and low …

Wheat Growth Monitoring And Yield Estimation Based On Multi-Rotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, Zhaopeng Fu, Jie Jang, Yang Gao, Brian Krienke, Meng Wang, Kaitai Zhong, Qiang Cao, Yongchao Tian, Yan Zhu, Weixing Cao, Xiaojun Liu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Leaf area index (LAI) and leaf dry matter (LDM) are important indices of crop growth. Real-time, nondestructive monitoring of crop growth is instructive for the diagnosis of crop growth and prediction of grain yield. Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)-based remote sensing is widely used in precision agriculture due to its unique advantages in flexibility and resolution. This study was carried out on wheat trials treated with different nitrogen levels and seeding densities in three regions of Jiangsu Province in 2018–2019. Canopy spectral images were collected by the UAV equipped with a multi-spectral camera during key wheat growth stages. To verify the …

The State Of Sustainable Agriculture And Agroecology Research And Impacts: A Survey Of U.S. Scientists, Marcia Delonge, Tali Robbins, Andrea D. Basche, Lindsey Haynes-Maslow

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

A growing body of research suggests that although sustainable agriculture, particularly agroecology, can address challenges such as those related to climate change, ecosystem services, food insecurity, and farmer livelihoods, the transition to such systems remains limited. To gain insight into the state of U.S. sustainable agriculture and agroecology, we developed a 28-question mixed-method survey that was administered to scientists in these fields. Respondents (N=168) represented diverse locations, institutions, and career stages. They offered varied definitions of sustainable agriculture, with 40% considering economic and social well-being to be core components. Respondents identified the amount and duration of public research …