Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

The Biggest Grower: A Youth Gardening Competition For Growing Specialty Crops And Urban Farmers, Stacy A. Adams, Terri James

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Youth today have tendencies for unhealthy lifestyles, being sedentary, consuming high fat diets low in fruits and vegetables, all contributing to child obesity, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and precedence for life-long health concerns. For rural and economically disadvantaged urban households, poor diet is directly attributed to the inaccessibility of fresh produce, affordability and understanding of preparation of various specialty crops. Through a grant from the NE Specialty Crop Block Funding Program, The Biggest Grower Competition (BGC) was developed as a summer extension education program for youth in 8^th through 12^th grade. Project goals included; provide educational materials on …

Morphological And Genetic Analysis Of The Root System In Two American Grapevines (Vitis Species), Parinaz Mohtasebi

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

The North American grapes species Vitis rupestris Scheele and Vitis riparia Michx have been the pillars of rootstock breeding for many decades. Though a large body of viticultural knowledge has been accumulated on their impact on grafted scions, the genetic basis of their root system architecture (RSA) has received limited scientific attention. In this study, I generated and analyzed adventitious root systems from dormant cuttings of 22 V. riparia and 19 V. rupestris accessions, as well as 162 interspecific F1 hybrid progeny from a cross between V. rupestris (♀) and V. riparia (♂). I photographed the roots and then extracted …

Dpird Grains Research And Development (R&D) Stakeholder Update 2023, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Grain and other field crops published reports

The Grains R&D (Research and Development) Stakeholder Update was developed to showcase the industry-leading work delivered by the Grains Research and Industry Development team at the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) in Western Australia (WA).

Grains R&D is critical to the ongoing productivity and international competitiveness of our industry and the economic prosperity of WA. This newsletter highlights some of the vital research helping farmers grow the industry.

Improving The Utility Of Precision Agriculture Through Machine Learning And Climate-Smart Practices, Skye Brugler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Climate Smart Practices are management strategies that focus on increasing soil and crop productivity, utilize site-specific strategies to increase resiliency against the effects of climate change, and mitigate these negative effects by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Decision Support Systems (DSSs) using machine learning (ML) can adjust models based on new information and help farmers make climate smart decisions within their operation. The 4R nutrient management model of right source, rate, location, and time also demonstrates a framework that may be considered climate smart by improving soil and crop productivity. However, when initially conceptualized, the 4R model did not consider …

Effect Of Foliar And Preplant Sulfur Application On Soybean Nutrient Uptake, Yield, And Seed Protein And Oil Content, Gena Ram Mahato

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent years, Sulfur (S) deficiency has been observed in soybean producing regions in the US and different parts of the world. The major factors behind the frequent occurrence of S deficiency are reduced atmospheric S deposition due to strict regulations on emissions from fossil fuels, large S removal from high yielding crops, less use of fertilizers containing S, and intensive cultivation practices. To test S limitations, I conducted two independent studies from 2019 to 2021 at two locations in Eastern South Dakota to determine the effect of foliar and preplant S application on soybean. The objectives of this research …

Soil Profile Properties And Greenhouse Gas Emissions As Influenced By Long-Term Cattle Manure And Inorganic Fertilizer Applications Under Corn-Soybean-Spring Wheat Rotation In Eastern South Dakota, Anuoluwa Ojonoka Sangotayo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The application of manure and inorganic fertilizer in row crops may significantly influence soil and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Understanding the long-term influence of these management practices on soil pore characteristics, hydro-physical properties and greenhouse gas emission is essential in developing proper conservation practices. However, there is limited information on the impact of cattle manure and inorganic fertilizer application on soil hydro-physical properties, soil pore characteristics at lower depths and surface GHGs emissions. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to; (i) utilize X-ray computed tomography (XCT) technique to quantify the impact of manure and fertilizer amendments under a corn …

Transformation And Gene Editing In The Bioenergy Grass Miscanthus, Anthony Trieu, Mohammad B. Belaff, Pradeepa Hirannaiah, Shilpa Manjunatha, Rebekah Wood, Yokshitha Bathula, Rebecca L. Billingsley, Anjali Arpan, Erik J. Sacks, Thomas E. Clemente, Stephen P. Moose, Nancy A. Reichert, Kankshita Swaminathan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Miscanthus, a C4 member of Poaceae, is a promising perennial crop for bioenergy, renewable bioproducts, and carbon sequestration. Species of interest include nothospecies M. x giganteus and its parental species M. sacchariforus and M. sinensis. Use of biotechnology-based procedures to genetically improve Miscanthus, to date, have only included plant transformation procedures for introduction of exogenous genes into the host genome at random, non-targeted sites.

Results: We developed gene editing procedures for Miscanthus using CRISPR/Cas9 that enabled the mutation of a specific (targeted) endogenous gene to knock out its function. Classified as paleo-allopolyploids (duplicated ancient …

New Semi-Dwarfing Alleles With Increased Coleoptile Length By Gene Editing Of Gibberellin 3-Oxidase 1 Using Crispr-Cas9 In Barley (Hordeum Vulgare L.), Jingye Cheng, Camilla Hill, Yong Han, Tianhua He, Xingguo Ye, Sergey Shabala, Ganggang Guo, Meixue Zhou, Ke Wang, Chengdao Li

Grain and Other Field Crops Research Articles

The green revolution was based on genetic modification of the gibberellin (GA) hormone system with “dwarfing” gene mutations that reduces GA signals, conferring shorter stature, thus enabling plant adaptation to modern farming conditions. Strong GA-related mutants with shorter stature often have reduced coleoptile length, discounting yield gain due to their unsatisfactory seedling emergence under drought conditions. Here we present gibberellin (GA) 3-oxidase1 (GA3ox1) as an alternative semi-dwarfing gene in barley that combines an optimal reduction in plant height without restricting coleoptile and seedling growth. Using large-scale field trials with an extensive collection of barley accessions, we showed that a natural …

Yield Prediction Through Integration Of Genetic, Environment, And Management Data Through Deep Learning, Daniel R. Kick, Jason G. Wallace, James C. Schnable, Judith M. Kolkman, Barış Alaca, Timothy M. Beissinger, Jode Edwards, David Ertl, Sherry Flint-Garcia, Joseph L. Gage, Candice N. Hirsch, Joseph E. Knoll, Natalia De Leon, Dayane C. Lima, Danilo E. Moreta, Maninder P. Singh, Addie Thompson, Teclemariam Weldekidan, Jacob D. Washburn

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Accurate prediction of the phenotypic outcomes produced by different combinations of genotypes, environments, and management interventions remains a key goal in biology with direct applications to agriculture, research, and conservation. The past decades have seen an expansion of new methods applied toward this goal. Here we predict maize yield using deep neural networks, compare the efficacy of 2 model development methods, and contextualize model performance using conventional linear and machine learning models. We examine the usefulness of incorporating interactions between disparate data types. We find deep learning and best linear unbiased predictor (BLUP) models with interactions had the best overall …

Genetic Variation In Common Bunt Resistance In Synthetic Hexaploid Wheat, Amira M. I. Mourad, Alexey Morgounov, P. Stephen Baenziger, Samar M. Esmail

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Common bunt (caused by Tilletia caries and T. Foetida) is a major wheat disease. It occurs frequently in the USA and Turkey and damages grain yield and quality. Seed treatment with fungicides is an effective method to control this disease. However, using fungicides in organic and low-income fields is forbidden, and planting resistant cultivars are preferred. Due to the highly effective use of fungicides, little effort has been put into breeding resistant genotypes. In addition, the genetic diversity for this trait is low in modern wheat germplasm. Synthetic wheat genotypes were reported as an effective source to increase the …

Is There An Economic Advantage To Planting Diverse Summer Annual Forage Mixtures?, Kelly Mercier, Chris Teutsch, Ray Smith, Kenny Burdine, Edwin Ritchey, Eric Vanzant

Journal of Extension

This study examined economic implications of planting summer annual mixtures of grasses, legumes, and forbs at varying nitrogen rates. No differences in yield occurred between the three mixtures, indicating that mixtures with lowest seed cost will be most economical. Applying N resulted in yield increases of 12.26 lb DM per lb N applied. Although yield responses to N were positive, sensitivity analyses showed that applying N resulted in positive net returns only when hay prices were high and N prices were low. When utilization rates are accounted for, enterprise budgets determined grazing to be 18% cheaper to implement than haying.

Inheritance Of 2,4‑Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid (2,4‑D) Resistance In Amaranthus Palmeri, Chandrima Shyam, Dallas E. Peterson, Amit J. Jhala, Mithila Jugulam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

In this study, the inheritance of 2,4-D resistance in a multiple herbicide-resistant Palmer amaranth (KCTR) was investigated. Direct and reciprocal crosses were performed using 2,4-D-resistant KCTR and susceptible KSS plants to generate F₁ progenies. 2,4-D dose–response assays were conducted to evaluate the response of progenies from each F₁ family along with KCTR and KSS plants in controlled environmental growth chambers. Additionally, 2,4-D-resistant male and female plants from each of the F₁ families were used in pairwise crosses to generate pseudo-F₂ families. Segregation (resistance or susceptibility) of progenies from the F₂ families in response to a …

A Stealth Health Approach To Dietary Fibre, P. Stephen Baenziger, Katherine Anna Frels, Steve Greenspan, Julie Jones, Alison Lovegrove, Devin J. Rose, Peter Shewry, Rod Wallace

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Average dietary fibre intakes have increased little in the past twenty years in many countries, including the USA¹ . Multi-million-dollar campaigns promoting fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other foods high in fibre have delivered only small changes in diets² , and consumers have not changed from traditional staples to whole-grain options³ . UK millers report that consumption of whole-wheat bread has actually declined over the past decade (P. Shewry, personal communication). In the US, white flour, which is lower in fibre than whole-wheat flour, accounts for nearly 40% of the fibre intake⁴ . We believe that …

Aspectos De La Investigación Del Cacao En Municipios De La Zona Del Tequendama, Jenny Paola Moreno Lopez, Laguandio Del Cristo Banda Sánchez, Arlette Ivone Gil Clavijo, Diego Orlando Méndez Pineda, Fabián Giovanny Marquez Niño

Ciencias Agropecuarias

El mejoramiento del manejo fitosanitario en producciones de cacao (Theobrorna cacao L) involucra el uso de alternativas amigables como los productos a base de plantas con actividad antimicrobiana tal es el caso del género Piper. Esta investigación buscó cuantificar las enfermedades presentes en plantaciones de cacao en municipios de la región del Tequendama Cundinamarca-Colombia y evaluar aspectos eco fisiológicos de Piper SP. Se trabajó en seis fincas de la Asociación de Cacaoteros del Bajo Tequendama en Viotá, Anapoima y Tocaima. Se evaluó la incidencia y severidad de las enfermedades y se generaron mapas de calor. Se tomaron muestras vegetales sintomáticas …

Genetic Variations Of Narcissus Tazetta And Selected Narcissus Cultivars Based On The Sequence Analysis Of Nrits And TrnL‑Is‑TrnF Regions, Seo Young Park, Mi Jin Jeon, Young Hee Joung, Keenan L. Amundsen, Gianluca Burchi, Angelo Porcelli, Mark S. Roh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Narcissus tazetta var. chinensis (N. taz. var. chi.) accessions collected from the coastal areas of China, Korea, and Japan were compared with accessions of lower ranks of Narcissus tazetta (N. taz.) from Italy to study the genetic variations and with several morphologically similar cultivars available in the trade. Sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrITS) dendrogram and the chloroplast trnL-IS-trnF intergeneric spacer-gene (cpIS) were analyzed by maximum likelihood (ML) and posterior probability using STRUCTURE program. All single fower form of N. taz. var. chi. collected from China, Korea, and …

Biological Remediation Of Fragipan, Corey Hale

Honors College Theses

The fragipan layer in the soil is a naturally occurring subsurface layer that restricts water percolation as well as inhibits root growth. A fragipan layer can be found almost ubiquitously across Southwestern Kentucky. This limits how agriculturalists manage soils in this area. It has been recently discovered by the University of Kentucky that Annual Ryegrass roots produce 3,4 dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid (DHPPA) that reacts with this hardpan to weaken the layer. Certain bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, Lactobacilli, and Bifidobacteria can also synthesize DHPPA through a breakdown process of chlorogenic acid. This reaction typically happens in the human digestive tract. …

Demonstration Farm Provides Educational Opportunity For Ipm, Nick Volesky, Mair Murray

Outcomes and Impact Quarterly

The mission of USU Extension’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program is to increase the use of sustainable pest management practices within urban and rural landscapes to provide economic, human, and environmental health in Utah. In the spring of 2022, the IPM program established a vegetable farm to test and demonstrate IPM practices. The farm served as an experiential learning classroom for almost 50 farmers and home gardeners.

Poisson Hurdle Model-Based Method For Clustering Microbiome Features, Zhili Qiao, Elle Barnes, Susannah Tringe, Daniel P. Schachtman, Peng Liu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Motivation: High-throughput sequencing technologies have greatly facilitated microbiome research and have generated a large volume of microbiome data with the potential to answer key questions regarding microbiome assembly, structure and function. Cluster analysis aims to group features that behave similarly across treatments, and such grouping helps to highlight the functional relationships among features and may provide biological insights into microbiome networks. However, clustering microbiome data are challenging due to the sparsity and high dimensionality.

Results: We propose a model-based clustering method based on Poisson hurdle models for sparse microbiome count data. We describe an expectation–maximization algorithm and a …

Successful Creation Of Seedless (Sterile) Leucaena Germplasm Developed From Interspecific Hybridisation For Use As Forage, Daniel Real, Clinton K. Revell Dr, Yong Han, Chengdao Li, Marieclaire Castello, C. D. Bailey

Grain and Other Field Crops Research Articles

Context: The legume shrub/tree leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit.) is highly regarded as a cattle fodder, although it is considered an environmental weed in many parts of Australia.

Aims: We investigated the feasibility of developing a forage variety of triploid leucaena through interspecific hybridisation that is sterile (without seeds) as a strategy to mitigate its weed risk.

Methods: A conventional breeding strategy was used to create triploid hybrids from hand-crosses between tetraploid and diploid species of leucaena. Molecular markers were developed to confirm successful crosses and flow cytometry was used to confirm the ploidy level. The plants are being …

A Glass Bead Semi-Hydroponic System For Intact Maize Root Exudate Analysis And Phenotyping, Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero, Peng Wang, Felicia Phares, Daniel P. Schachtman, Sophie Alvarez, Karin V. Van Dijk

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Although there have been numerous studies describing plant growth systems for root exudate collection, a common limitation is that these systems require disruption of the plant root system to facilitate exudate collection. Here, we present a newly designed semi-hydroponic system that uses glass beads as solid support to simulate soil impedance, which combined with drip irrigation, facilitates growth of healthy maize plants, collection and analysis of root exudates, and phenotyping of the roots with minimal growth disturbance or root damage. Results: This system was used to collect root exudates from seven maize genotypes using water or 1 mM CaCl2, …

Insights On The Behavior Of Nano-Copper In The Agroecosystem: Mycorrhizal Associations With Spearmint (Mentha Spicata), Suzanne Annette Apodaca

Open Access Theses & Dissertations

Nanotechnology offers significant potential benefits to our society, including the agriculture sector. With the advancement of nano-enabled agrochemicals towards sustainable and efficient agricultural practices, it is essential to address environmental issues associated with the use of nanoscale materials. The same properties that give promise to applications of nanotechnology in modern agriculture could have unintended consequences on ecosystem dynamics. A point of concern for risk management is the impact of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) to beneficial microbial communities, which support a variety of ecosystem services.

Use of copper (Cu) products in agriculture are based on their abundance, role as a micronutrient, and …

Evaluation Of Triticale Lines Compared To Wheat Cultivars In Terms Of Agronomic Traits Using Supervised Learning Methods And Multivariate Statistics, Sara Farokhzadeh, Hossein Shahsavand Hassani

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

The first man-made cereal grain triticale merges the yield and quality potential of wheat with tolerance of rye against environmental stresses. To find the traits with the greatest impact on the superiority of triticale over wheat, four promising triticale lines and six bread wheat varieties were evaluated in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications in the field of the Agricultural Research Station of Shiraz University, Iran. Attribute weighting algorithms revealed main leaf width (MLW), grain number per spike (GN/S), spikelet number per spike (SN/S), 1000-grain weight (TGW), plant height (PHT), main leaf length (MLL), and grain yield …

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

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

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

Addressing Challenges Of Dryland Production Of Sunflowers And Corn In The Semi-Arid High Plains Of Nebraska, Zhan Orazov

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

Corn and sunflower are value crops for America. Cultivation of corn and sunflower often vary depending on growing environment. Selecting appropriate planting dates, hybrids and plant density frequently concerns farmers. This concern is understandable because the decision made directly impacts final income. The objectives were to evaluate interaction of corn and sunflower planting dates and hybrid maturity and evaluate interaction of corn flex hybrids and plant density under conditions of western Nebraska. Nine corn hybrids with relative maturity ranging from 86 to 105 days were sown between early May and late June in first and between late April and early …

Deciphering The Genetic Architecture Of Key Female Floral Traits For Hybrid Wheat Seed Production, Juan David Jimenez

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

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a staple cereal that provides 20% of the calories and proteins in human intake (Ray et al., 2013). Global population is projected to increase to 9.7 billion by 2050. Food production must increase by 70% to feed this future population. Wheat production is in crisis due to political and environmental challenges and is projected to decline by 0.8% in 2022 (FAO, 2022). To ensure food security yield genetic gain must increase by around 1.4% annually. Taking advantage of heterosis, hybrid wheat has the potential to boost grain yield. However, hybrid wheat seed production systems …

Comparative Genomics Of Five Valsa Species Gives Insights On Their Pathogenicity Evolution, Guangchao Sun, Shichang Xie, Lin Tang, Chao Zhao, Mian Zhang, Lili Huang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Valsa is a genus of ascomycetes within the Valsaceae family. This family includes many wood destructive pathogens such as the well known Valsa mali and Valsa pyri which cause canker diseases in fruit trees and threaten the global fruit production. Lack of genomic information of this family is impeding our understandings about their evolution and genetic basis of their pathogenicity divergence. Here, we report genome assemblies of Valsa malicola, Valsa persoonii, and Valsa sordida which represent close relatives of Valsa mali and Valsa pyri with different host preferences. Comparative genomics analysis revealed that segmental rearrangements, inversions, and translocations …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2021, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Arkansas is the leading soybean-producing state in the mid-southern United States. Arkansas ranked 11th in soybean production in 2021 compared to the other soybean-producing states in the U.S. The state represented 3.49% of the total U.S. soybean production and 3.49% of the total acres planted in soybean in 2021. The 2021 state soybean average yield was 52.0 bushels per acre, setting a new state record and surpassing the previous yield record of 51.5 bushels per acre set in 2020. The top five soybean-producing counties in 2021 were Mississippi, Phillips, Crittenden, Poinsett, and Arkansas (Table 1). These five counties accounted for …

Comparative Genome Analysis Of Plant Ascomycete Fungal Pathogens With Different Lifestyles Reveals Distinctive Virulence Strategies, Yansu Wang, Jie Wu, Jiacheng Yan, Ming Guo, Lei Xu, Liping Hou, Quan Zou

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Pathogens have evolved diverse lifestyles and adopted pivotal new roles in both natural ecosystems and human environments. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying their adaptation to new lifestyles are obscure. Comparative genomics was adopted to determine distinct strategies of plant ascomycete fungal pathogens with different lifestyles and to elucidate their distinctive virulence strategies. Results: We found that plant ascomycete biotrophs exhibited lower gene gain and loss events and loss of CAZyme-encoding genes involved in plant cell wall degradation and biosynthesis gene clusters for the production of secondary metabolites in the genome. Comparison with the candidate effectome detected distinctive variations between …

Biobased Sprayable Mulch Films Suppressed Annual Weeds In Vegetable Crops, Eliott Gloeb, Sibel Irmak, Loren Isom, John L. Lindquist, Samuel E. Wortman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Biobased sprayable mulch (BSM) films are a potential alternative to herbicides, polyethylene plastic mulch film, and hand weeding for specialty crops. We developed a series of BSM films using locally available biomaterials [including corn (Zea mays) starch, glycerol, keratin hydrolysate, corn gluten meal, corn zein, eggshells, and isolated soy (Glycine max) protein] and tested their effects on weeds and crop yield during a total of seven greenhouse or field trials between 2017 and 2019 in Nebraska, USA. Application rates of BSM films applied in pots (greenhouse), planting holes in plastic film (field), or bed tops (field) …

A Non-Destructive Approach For Measuring Rice Panicle-Level Photosynthetic Responses Using 3d-Image Reconstruction, Jaspinder Singh Dharni, Balpreet Kaur Dhatt, Puneet Paul, Tian Gao, Tala Awada, Harel Bacher4, Zvi Peleg, Paul E. Staswick, Jason Hupp, Hongfeng Yu, Harkamal Walia

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Our understanding of the physiological responses of rice inflorescence (panicle) to environmental stresses is limited by the challenge of accurately determining panicle photosynthetic parameters and their impact on grain yield. This is primarily due to the lack of a suitable gas exchange methodology for panicles and non-destructive methods to accurately determine panicle surface area.

Results: To address these challenges, we have developed a custom panicle gas exchange cylinder compatible with the LiCor 6800 Infra-red Gas Analyzer. Accurate surface area measurements were determined using 3D panicle imaging to normalize the panicle-level photosynthetic measurements. We observed differential responses in …