Agricultural Science Commons^™

Opportunities And Roadblocks In Utilizing Forages And Small Grains For Liquid Fuels, Gautam Sarath, Robert B. Mitchell, S. E. Sattler, Deanna L. Funnell, Jeffrey F. Pedersen, Robert A. Graybosch, Kenneth P. Vogel

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

This review focuses on the potential advantages and disadvantages of forages such as switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and two small grains: sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and wheat (Triticum aesitvum), as feedstocks for biofuels. It highlights the synergy provided by applying what is known from forage digestibility and wheat and sorghum starch properties studies to the biofuels sector. Opportunities therefore, exist to improve biofuel qualities in these crops via genetics and agronomics. In contrast to cereal crops, switchgrass still retains tremendous exploitable genetic diversity, and can be specifically improved to Wt a particular agronomic, management, and conversion …

Sorghum Lager And Stout Beer: A Boost To The African Economy, Intsormil

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

For millennia, sorghum has been the basis of traditional African beers such as the clear beers of West Africa (dolo and pito) and the opaque beers of southern Africa. These beers are part of the African tradition and remain very popular but today Africans also enjoy lager and stout beers. These beers, of European origin, use barley as their major ingredient. This presents a major problem as barley is a temperate cereal and the African climate is unsuitable for cultivation. Thus, barley grain or barley malt must be imported which requires the use of valuable foreign exchange and increases the …

K-State Agronomists Help West African Farmers Increase Sorghum And Pearl Millet Production, Katie Starzec

INTSORMIL Impacts and Bulletins

Grain sorghum is an important crop not only to farmers in Kansas, but to farmers in many countries in Africa.

Some of the production challenges are the same, but many challenges are different or more severe in West African countries, said Vara Prasad, assistant professor of agronomy at K-State. West African farmers battle against drought, soil infertility and parasitic weeds.

INTSORMIL Regional Project Sites in Africa

The purpose of INTSORMIL is to find ways to improve production practices in those countries. West African farmers face serious problems of a localized and volatile market, the agronomists said.

My Biomass, Your Biomass, Our Solution, Wallace Wilhelm

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

The USA is pursuing an array of renewable energy sources to reduce reliance on imported fossil fuels and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Biomass energy and biomass ethanol are key components in this pursuit. Vast amounts of biomass feedstock will be needed to produce sufficient ethanol to meet any of the numerous target production goals. The Billion Ton Vision suggests one billion tons of biomass is needed annually to meet the ‘30x30’ goal (to replace 30% of 2004 levels of fossil transportation fuel use with ethanol by the year 2030). Great advances in technology will be required to produce this …

Small Pasture Management Guide, James Barnhill, Scott Mckendrick

All Archived Publications

As more people select rural settings for their homes, traditional farms are being divided into small acreage home lots. Many small acreage owners would like to have lush green pastures where they can raise horses, cattle, or sheep. The purpose of this booklet is to provide the educational guidance these owners need to successfully establish and maintain a healthy grazing system.

Wheat Invest. A Compelling Business Case For Investment In The Western Australian Wheat Industry, Department Of Agriculture And Food, Western Australia

Farm Systems and Economics published reports

Western Australia (WA) is an ideal location for wheat production. It has competitive advantages including:

• A proven track record in wheat production accounting for approximately 50 per cent of Australia's production. Based on a five year average from 2003/04 to 2007/08*, WA produces around 7.7 million tonnes of wheat per year.

• Over the past five years, the top 25 per cent of farmers averaged 10 per cent return on capital excluding changes in land value.

• Export focussed due to WA's small population. 90 per cent of WA's wheat is exported

• Abundant land at competitive prices and …

Mullewa Research Annexe Spring Field Day Future Farming Systems For North-Eastern Districts 21 August 2008, Department Of Agriculture, Western Australia

Grain and other field crops research reports

Papers:

• Mullewa Research Annexe activities 2008

• Wheat for today and the future

• Consequences of strongly acidic and alkaline soils

• Break crop influence on low rainfall heavy soil

• Chemical fallow options for the north-east agricultural region

• Herbicide tolerance of new wheat varieties

• Lowrainfall oilseed crops for food and biofuel

• Utilising stock to reduce business risk in Binnu! A case study

Ethylene Production As An Indicator Of Stress Conditions In Hydroponically-Grown Strawberries, Justin Donald Hogan

Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

With the worldwide phaseout of methyl bromide, the use of hydroponic systems has increased as an economic alternative for the growth of many horticulturally-important crops, including strawberries. In this study, the effect of hydroponics on strawberry plant physiology was examined by first measuring ethylene levels, a plant hormone known to increase due to stressful conditions, and plant growth and yield. Using a gas chromatograph, ethylene was measured from plants which showed that light and temperature have minimal effects, but placement of plants could have an effect on plant growth and yield. Next, the mechanism of ethylene production was examined by …

Evaluation Of Different Insecticides And Fabric Types For Development Of Treated Targets For Stable Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Control, Jerome Hogsette, Alyce Nalli, Lane Foil

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

Stable fly, Stomoxys calcitrans (L.) (Diptera: Muscidae), once only a pest of pastured cattle, has become a serious pest of range cattle in the United States. Because of the difficulties associated with stable fly management under range conditions, a pesticide-impregnated cloth target is being developed as a management tool. We conducted studies to determine the influence of weather, time, fabric type, insecticide type, and insecticide concentration on the mortality of stable flies from a susceptible laboratory colony exposed for 30 s to treated cloth targets. We found that 100% of the flies exposed to trigger (Trigger-Royal Box, 65% polyester and …

Ultraviolet Light Traps: Design Affects Attraction And Capture, Jerome Hogsette

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

Traps that use ultraviolet light as an attractant for flies are widely used in urban situations. To determine the differences in trap efficacy from design and lighting, pairs of traps were compared under laboratory conditions. Comparisons were made between traps with open fronts and with traps with restricted open fronts, black light bulbs, and black light blue bulbs, and glue boards with and without z-9-tricosene pheromone. In a windowless laboratory, pairs of traps were placed approximately 90 cm above the floor and 3 m apart. Fifty mixed-sex, 3- to 5-day-old house flies (Musca domestica) were released and …

Effect Of Lures And Trap Placement On Sand Fly And Mosquito Traps, Ulrich R. Bernier, David F. Hoel, Jerome Hogsette, Hanafi A. Hanafi, Daniel Kline

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

Catches of mosquitoes and sand flies in CO₂ traps baited with three different lures and an unbaited control were compared. The lures examined were carbon dioxide, carbon dioxide plus l-octen-3-ol, and carbon dioxide plus human hair in ethanol. Studies using a 4 x 4 Latin square design, with 3 sets of 4 consecutive trap nights, were conducted between August 6 and September 10, 2007. The study site was the Bahrif Village, Aswan, Egypt. This location had high percentage of Phlebotomus papatasi in sand fly populations, and the low incidence of human cases of leishmaniasis. There were 2,152 sand flies …

Managing And Enhancing Switchgrass As A Bioenergy Feedstock, Robert B. Mitchell, Kenneth Vogel

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

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) has identified switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as a viable perennial herbaceous feedstock for cellulosic ethanol production. Although switchgrass bioenergy research was initiated by USDA-ARS, Lincoln, NE, USA in 1990, switchgrass research has been conducted at this location since the 1930s. Consequently, a significant amount of genetic and agronomic research on switchgrass has been conducted for the Corn Belt and Central Great Plains of the USA that is directly applicable to its use as a biomass energy crop. Similar research must be conducted in other major agroecoregions to verify or modify switchgrass management …

Effects Of Agricultural Conservation Practices On Fish And Wildlife Volume 2, Stuart R. Gagnon, Joseph R. Makuch, Cassandra Y. Harper

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

This bibliography, in two volumes, is part of a multi-volume set developed by the Water Quality Information Center at the National Agricultural Library in support of the United States Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes, e.g., water quality improvement, affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna.

Interannual Variability In Carbon Dioxide Fluxes And Flux–Climate Relationships On Grazed And Ungrazed Northern Mixed-Grass Prairie, H. Wayne Polley, Albert B. Frank, Joaquin Sanabria, Rebecca L. Phillips

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

The annual carbon (C) budget of grasslands is highly dynamic, dependent on grazing history and on effects of interannual variability (IAV) in climate on carbon dioxide (CO₂) fluxes. Variability in climatic drivers may directly affect fluxes, but also may indirectly affect fluxes by altering the response of the biota to the environment, an effect termed ‘functional change’.

Effects Of Agricultural Conservation Practices On Fish And Wildlife, Stuart R. Gagnon, Joseph R. Makuch, Cassandra Y. Harper

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

This bibliography, in two volumes, is part of a multi-volume set developed by the Water Quality Information Center at the National Agricultural Library in support of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP). The bibliography is a guide to recent scientific literature covering effects of agricultural conservation practices on fish and wildlife. The citations listed here provide information on how conservation programs and practices designed to improve fish and wildlife habitat, as well as those intended for other purposes, e.g., water quality improvement, affect various aquatic and terrestrial fauna.

Environmental Management Of Grazing Lands Final Report, Kevin Wagner, Larry Redmon, Terry Gentry, Darren Harmel, Allan Jones

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

Bacteria levels are the number one cause of water quality impairment in Texas. Several recent Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) in Texas, such as those implemented in the Peach Creek and Leon River watersheds, have identified grazing cattle as a contributor to bacterial water quality impairments in those watersheds through both direct deposition and runoff of their fecal matter to streams. To address this issue, the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board (TSSWCB) and the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) funded this project to assist with development and delivery of technical information and support to ranchers on protection and …

Tillage Effects On Soil Quality Indicators And Nematode Abundance In Loessial Soil Under Long- Term No-Till Production, R. B. Mendoza, T. G. Franti, John W. Doran, Thomas O. Powers, C. W. Zanner

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

Soil quality indicators and nematode abundance were characterized in a loessial soil under long-term conservation tillage to evaluate the effects of no-till, double-disk, chisel, and moldboard plow treatments. Indicators included soil electrical conductivity (EC), soil texture, soil organic matter (SOM), and total particulate organic matter (tPOM). Nematode abundance was positively correlated with EC, silt content, and total POM and negatively correlated with clay content. Clay content was the main source of variation among soil quality indicators and was negatively correlated with nematode abundance and most indicators. The gain in SOM in the no-till system amounted to 10887 kg over the …

Characterization Of Biological Types Of Cattle: Indicator Traits Offertility In Beef Cows, R. A. Cushman, M. F. Allan, L. A. Kuehn

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

Genetic diversity among breeds of cattle allows producers to select animals for specific environments or market conditions. Reproductive efficiency is a multi-component trait that is largely influenced by environmental influences such as health and nutritional status; however, there are clearly genetic components to reproductive efficiency, and breed differences in a number of indicator traits associated with fertility and cow productivity have been identified. Historical indicators of fertility include scrotal circumference, age at puberty, and postpartum interval. Both age at puberty and postpartum interval are laborious traits to collect in heifers and cows because they require many days of detection of …

Yield And Agronomic Traits Of Waxy Proso In The Central Great Plains, R. F. Heyduck, D. D. Baltensperger, Lenis Alton Nelson, Robert A. Graybosch

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

Proso (Panicum miliaceum L.) is a summer annual grass capable of producing seed in 60 to 90 d. This characteristic, and its efficient use of water, makes it well suited to the short, and often hot and dry, growing season in the high plains of the central Great Plains. The introduction of novel end-use characteristics such as waxy starch can stimulate an increased market for proso. We evaluated 18 experimental F₅ waxy lines derived from a cross of ‘Huntsman’ and PI436626 across seven locations. Genotype × environment variation in waxy proso was mostly a matter of changes in …

Chapter 8. The Importance And Role Of Watersheds In The Transport Of Nitrogen, T. J. Sauer, R. B. Alexander, J. V. Brahana, R. A. Smith

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

A recent report to Congress concerning water quality in the United States indicated that 35%, 45%,and 44'% of the assessed rivers and streams, lakes, and estuaries, respectively, were impaired by one or more pollutants (US Environmental Protection Agency, 1999). Nutrients, primarily nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P), contributed to the impairment of 30% or 135,000 km of the nation's impaired rivers and streams. 44% of the impaired lakes, and 23% of the impaired estuaries. Excessive nutrient loads are implicated in the eutrophication of lakes and reservoirs in the United States and coastal ecosystems where N is most limiting to primary productivity …

Chapter 2. Transformation And Transport Processes Of Nitrogen In Agricultural Systems, Ronald Follett

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

This chapter discusses the transformation and transport processes of nitrogen (N) in agricultural systems and provides information on overall reservoir sizes for N. Nitrogen is ubiquitous in the environment and is required for the survival of all living things. It is also one of the most important essential nutrients and is central to the production of all crop plants. The most abundant form of N in the environment is elemental dinitrogen (N₂) gas that accounts for 78% of the atmosphere. N₂ gas is inert and is not directly available for plant uptake and metabolism. The atmospheric reservoir …

Chapter 7. Nitrogen In Groundwater Associated With Agricultural Systems, M. R. Burkartaus D, J. D. Stoner

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

Nitrogen, particularly in the form of nitrate, is the most common contaminant in aquifer systems (Freeze and Cherry, 1979). Hallberg (1989) points to agriculture as the most substantial anthropogenic source of nitrate, and Keeney (1986) suggests that this is caused by the intensive and extensive land-use activities associated with crops and animal production. The discussion of the occurrence of nitrogen in groundwater beneath agricultural systems is presented by examining the factors influencing aquifer vulnerability to nitrogen contamination, and by characterizing the geographic distribution of groundwater contamination by nitrogen. Factors that influence aquifer vulnerability are presented in the context of exposure …

Auditing And Assessing Air Quality In Concentrated Feeding Operations, N. A. Cole, R. Todd, B. Auvermann, D. B. Parker

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

The potential adverse effects of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) on the environment are a growing concern. The air quality issues of most concern to CAFO vary but generally include ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, greenhouse gases, and odors. Air pollutants may be regulated by federal and state laws or by nuisance complaints. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, and poultry, swine, and dairy industries recently agreed to the National Air Emissions Monitoring System to fund research on atmospheric emissions from production farms in the United States. Air quality regulations may be based on actual emissions, atmospheric …

Chapter 1. The Nitrogen Cycle, Historical Perspective, And Current And Potential Future Concerns, D. R. Keeney, J. L. Hatfield

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

Nitrogen (N) along with carbon and oxygen is the most complex and crucial of the elements essential for life. Supplementing grain and grass forage crops with organic and inorganic N fertilizers has long been recognized as a key to improving crop yields and economic returns. Globally. N fertilizer is largely used for cereal grain production and accounts for an estimated 40(1r of the increase in per capita food production in the past 50 years (Mosier et al.. 200 I). Smil (200 I) estimates that N fertilizer supplies up to 40% of the world's dietary protein and dependence on N from …

Nitrogen Capture By Grapevine Roots And Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi From Legume Cover-Crop Residues Under Low Rates Of Mineral Fertilization, Xiaomei Cheng, Amy Euliss, Kendra Baumgartner

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

The influence of mineral fertilization on root uptake and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi-mediated ¹⁵N capture from labeled legume (Medicago polymorpha) residue was examined in winegrapes (Vitis vinifera) in the greenhouse, to evaluate compatibility of fertilization with incorporation of cover-crop residue in winegrape production. Plants grown in marginal vineyard soil were either fertilized with 0.25× Hoagland’s solution or not. This low fertilization rate represents the deficit management approach typical of winegrape production. Access to residue in a separate compartment was controlled to allow mycorrhizal roots (roots + hyphae), hyphae (hyphae-intact), or neither (hyphae-rotated) to proliferate in the …

The First Five Years Of The Conservation Effects Assessment Project, Lisa F. Duriancik, Dale Bucks, James P. Dobrowolski, Tom Drewes, S. Diane Eckles, Leonard Jolley, Robert L. Kellogg, Daryl Lund, Joseph R. Makuch, Michael P. O’Neill, Charles A. Rewa, Mark R. Walbridge, Roberta Parry, Mark A. Weltz

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

The Conservation Effects Assessment Project (CEAP) was initiated by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) in response to a general call for better accountability of how society would benefit from the 2002 farm bill’s substantial increase in conservation program funding (Mausbach and Dedrick 2004). The original goals of CEAP were to establish the scientific understanding of the effects of conservation practices at the watershed scale and to estimate conservation impacts and benefits for reporting at the national and regional levels. Other federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations …

Endocrine Responses Of Fast- And Slow-Growing Families Of Channel Catfish, Brian C. Peterson, Brian C. Small, Geoffrey C. Waldbieser, Brian G. Bosworth

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

Sixty-eight families of USDA303 channel catfish Ictalurus punctatus were evaluated for growth performance for 30 d. The fastest- and slowest-growing catfish families were further evaluated to examine the hypothesis that genes or gene products associated with the growth regulatory and stress axes can be used to describe differences in growth performance. Research examined mRNA levels of genes involved in the growth hormone–insulin-like growth factor (GH–IGF) network in fast- (family A) and slow-growing (family H) USDA303 catfish. Fish (59.0 ± 2.4 g) were fed for 7 weeks, weighed, and had tissues for RNA extraction. The remaining fish were subjected to an …

Epic Evaluation Of The Impact Of Poultry Litter Application Timing On Nutrient Losses, H. Allen Torbert, Thomas J. Gerik, Wyatte L. Harman, Jimmy R. Williams, Melanie Magre

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

Recently, changes in the utilization practices of animal manures for fertilization have been encouraged to reduce the potential of nonpoint pollution of lakes and streams from agricultural land. However, the potential impact of changing some of these practices has not been fully studied. The objective of this study was to examine the potential impact of limiting poultry litter application times on nutrient movement important to water quality. The WinEPIC model was used to simulate poultry litter applications during the winter months and chemical fertilizer application, with both cool season and warm season grass pastures on the major soil regions of …

History And Ecological Basis For Areawide Pest Management, Norman C. Elliott, David W. Onstad, Michael J. Brewer

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

The traditional approach to pest management is to treat the crop or commodity in a particular management unit before an economically significant infestation of the pest has developed. Determining the need to take corrective action is based on the economic threshold concept, which forms the basis of most integrated pest management programmes (Metcalf and Luckman, 1975). Areawide pest management (AWPM) can be contrasted with traditional pest management in that pest management tactics are used over a broad spatial area, often treating the whole area simultaneously to maintain the pest below economic levels or, in some cases, completely eradicate it. A …

Salt Cedar Areawide Pest Management In The Western Usa, Raymond I. Carruthers, C. Jack Deloach, John C. Herr, Gerald L. Anderson, Allen E. Knutson

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

Salt cedar (Tamarix spp. (Tamaricaceae: Tamaricales)) is a group of exotic shrubs to small trees that have invaded many riparian areas and lake shores across western North America. Of the 54 species known worldwide (Baum, 1967, 1968), ten species of salt cedars have been introduced into the USA (Crins, 1989), primarily from their countries of origin across Europe and Central Asia. They are also native in Africa and the Indian subcontinent of Asia. No species from the entire family Tamaricaceae are native to North America, and only a restricted group of six species of more distantly related …