Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

South Dakota Farmers’ Usage Of Cover Crops, Tong Wang, Jim Ristau

South Dakota Farm Survey

Researchers at South Dakota State University (SDSU) conducted producer surveys in the eastern part of South Dakota in both 2018 and 2021. Producers could take the survey online or via mail and were asked questions about their farm, farming practices including usage of soil and water conservation practices, and their values. Using publicly available addresses from the Farm Service Agency, a random sample of 3,000 producers were sent the survey in 2018. 650 were ineligible, and 708 responded to the survey for a response rate of 30%. In 2021, the same producers who took the survey in 2018 were asked …

South Dakota Farmers’ Usage Of Diversified Crop Rotations, Tong Wang, Jim Ristau

South Dakota Farm Survey

Researchers at South Dakota State University (SDSU) conducted producer surveys in the eastern part of South Dakota in both 2018 and 2021. Producers could take the survey online or via mail and were asked questions about their farm, soil and water conservation practices, and their values. Using publicly available addresses from the Farm Service Agency, a random sample of 3,000 producers were sent the survey in 2018. 650 were ineligible, and 708 responded to the survey for a response rate of 30%. In 2021, the same producers who took the survey in 2018 were asked to take a follow up …

Assessing Freezing Effect On Kiwifruit Cultivars And Mapping Suitable Areas For Growing The Crop In Eastern Texas, Lais De Oliveira Machado

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Kiwifruit is a perennial vine originating from China where it has been grown for centuries. In the United States, green kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) is primarily produced commercially in California. They are fuzzy, green fleshed and well known in the marketplace. Kiwifruit plants require low to moderate soil pH, adequate winter chilling and adequate precipitation to guarantee plant development and good fructification. Actinidia chinesis or golden kiwifruit are smooth skinned, feature golden flesh and are a more recent introduction into the global market. Kiwifruit crops have attributes that favor production in east Texas, including low pest problems, current long …

Climatic Factors Affecting Maize Grain Yield In Different Growing Areas Of The Philippines, Lakshman Kumara, Tonette Laude, Jose Hernandez, Pearl Sanchez, Moises Dorado, Jose Nestor Garcia, Gerardo Gauna, Pompe C. Sta. Cruz

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Seasonal climate variation is one of the problems faced by Filipino maize farmers, due to varying climatic elements such as solar radiation, rainfall, relative humidity, and air temperature. This study determined the seasonal productivity of selected maize varieties in the major growing areas in the Philippines, and identified the yield-limiting climatic factors specific to location and growing season. Grain yield, covering two wet and dry seasons (2016-2018) from seven field trials (representing 3 climatic types) of the National Corn Testing (NCT) were used in the study. Climatic data (2016-2018) were gathered from the PAGASA weather station nearest to the trial …

Flowering Regulation Of Potted Bougainvillea Plants Under Five Water Treatments [Research Note], Kuan-Hung Lin, Jui-Mei Li, Chun-Wei Wu, Yu-Sen Chang

The Philippine Agricultural Scientist

Bougainvillea (Bougainvillea buttiana) is a very popular evergreen landscape plant in the tropical and subtropical areas. The objective of this study was to investigate the growth, flowering, and physiological performance of bougainvillea ‘Taipei Red’ cultivar in response to water-stress conditions that can potentially be used to maximize the economic efficiency and benefits in the development and ACC potential of bougainvillea plants grown in controlled environments. Potted plants were subjected to five different levels of soil VWC: 60% (control), 40%, 20%, 1/3 of leaves visually observed to be drooping (equivalent to 18% VWC), and 2/3 of leaves drooping (15% …

Cover Crop Effects On Near-Surface Soil Aggregate Stability In The Southern Mississippi Valley Loess (Mlra 134), Chandler M. Arel

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Honors Theses

Intensive agricultural cultivation within major land resource area (MLRA) 134, the Southern Mississippi Valley Loess, has led to soil erosion, soil compaction, and the overall destabilization of near-surface soil aggregates. The use of cover crops during the agricultural offseason has been shown to help alleviate soil compaction and provide stabilizing effects against soil erosion, which are particularly important as the silty soils of MLRA 134 have a large erosion potential. This study evaluated the effects of cover crop and no-cover crop treatment on silt-loam soils within MLRA 134. Treatments were implemented during Fall 2018 and Fall 2019 and consisted of …

American Burying Beetle, Plant Richness, And Soil Property Responses To Collapse Of Juniperus Virginiana Woodlands With Fire, Alison K. Ludwig

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

Grasslands are declining in the Great Plains due to land use changes, woody plant encroachment, and loss of historic fire cycles. Prescribed burn associations have utilized prescribed fire to collapse invading woodlands and allow the restoration of grasslands. This fire is considered “extreme” because it is capable of changing the structure and function of an ecosystem. Our study site is the Loess Canyons Experimental Landscape, a long-term, ecoregion-scale experiment to apply prescribed fire across the region to restore grasslands. The Nebraska Natural Legacy Project established the Loess Canyons ecoregion as a Biologically-Unique Landscape in 2005 with the state’s wildlife action …

Livestock Grazing Impacts On Crop And Soil Responses For Two Cropping Systems, Alyssa Kuhn

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

Diversified crop, forage, and livestock systems are assumed to be more sustainable and economically competitive than traditional cropping systems. Objectives of this study were to determine effects of integrating grazing livestock into corn (Zea mays)-soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) (C-S) and corn-soybean-wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) (C-S-W) cropping systems on plant population, grain yield, soil nutrients and soil carbon dioxide (CO₂) flux following winter grazing corn residue (both systems) and an oat (Avena sativa) cover crop (C-S-W only) planted after wheat. For the 2019 and 2020 production seasons, neither corn nor soybean plant …

A Method For Visualizing Water Flow Through Modified Root Zones, Dallas M. Williams

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

As the number of impervious surfaces in urban environments increases, the ability of modified root zones to infiltrate water is becoming more important. Current methods of tracing water flow through soil profiles include excavating large pits in situ or analyzing soil cores in the laboratory with computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging. While useful, these methods may not be suitable for urban settings or practical in every laboratory. We propose a new method that is less invasive, does not require extensive technical equipment and can reliably trace water movement through the soil profile in order to calculate flow rate based …

Distillers' Grains: Past, Present, And Future Economic Analyses, Daniel E. Gertner

Department of Agricultural Economics: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This thesis is comprised of four chapters, each of which discusses or conducts economic research related to the distillers’ grains market. The first three chapters are meant to be standalone papers. Chapter four provides potential paths forward in distillers’ grains research based on the findings of the first three chapters and concludes the thesis.

The first chapter conducts a comprehensive literature review that categorizes and summarizes economic research on distillers’ grains products. This section shows how the physical market has moved beyond the current academic understanding of market products and structure. Existing research finds that traditional distillers’ grains products positively …

Economic Potash Fertilizer Rate Recommendations, Kimberly B. Oliver

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis is comprised of two studies that estimate profit-maximizing potassium (K) fertilizer application rates for various crops across different time periods. Estimation of profit-maximizing fertilizer-K rate (K*) for both studies considered the initial soil test level of K (STK) and yield response information, as traditional recommendations do, and added crop price and the cost of fertilizer. Profit maximum occurs where the marginal revenue from additional yield is equal to the marginal cost of applying an additional unit of fertilizer-K. The first study calculated K* for corn (Zea mays) and cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and compared results to previous studies on …

Effects Of Nitrogen Management And Cultivar On Strawberry Production Under Disease Pressure, Kamille A. Garcia-Brucher

Master's Theses

Effects of nitrogen management and cultivar on strawberry production under disease pressure

Kamille Garcia-Brucher

California strawberry growers face increasing regulatory pressures to manage nitrogen (N) applications in their production system. Standard practice in the California strawberry industry is to apply a synthetic pre-plant controlled release fertilizer (CRF) to ensure the crop has sufficient N during winter establishment. Some research from the UC Cooperative Extension suggests this practice is not efficient at delivering N to the crop since most of the N is released from CRF before strawberry crop N uptake is significant. Another concern for California strawberry growers is loss …

Comparing Organic And Conventional Yield Responses To Climate Variations, Joost Wilken Meyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis compares the responses of organic yields and conventional yields towards climate variations. To achieve this objective, weather variables such as growing season weather conditions (average temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, relative humidity, drought index), weather anomalies, the occurrence of severe or extreme droughts and excessive rainfalls, are combined with 23 data sets gathered from previous studies that compare organic and conventional yields from the same location and time periods. To narrow the scope, the thesis focuses on soybean, maize, and wheat production in Europe and North America. Study-level fixed-effects models are used to control for any time-invariant factors such …

Precise Nitrogen Recommendations Improve Economic And Environmental Outcomes In Arkansas Rice Production, Cristin Roberts

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soil testing has become an increasingly important tool in making agronomically efficient production management decisions. N-STaR is a N test used in rice production and is unique in its ability to selectively quantify soil organic-N compounds which are readily mineralizable for plant N uptake and contribute to growth and yield. This study uses historical (2002–2018) adoption rates of N-STaR, which is funded through Rice Checkoff funds, to calculate the total cost savings from N-STaR adoption. These cost savings alone would be the “typical” benefits used in a benefit-cost ratio of a public ally funded research program like N-STaR. However, we …

Small Grain Cereal Cover Crops For Late Fall Or Early Spring Grazing, Kallie J. Calus

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

Beef cattle operations are confronted with early spring and late fall forage deficiencies. Producers in integrated crop and livestock systems can fill forage gaps using cover crops as a forage source in between cash crops.

A five-year study evaluating forage production, growing calf performance and economics of grazing an oats cover crop planted after corn silage (CS) and high moisture corn (HMC) corn harvests was conducted. The economic analysis accounted for costs of establishing and grazing the oats and the value of calf gain to determine fall grazing system profitability. Steers had greater average daily gain grazing oats after CS …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2020, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The 2020 Arkansas Soybean Research Studies includes research reports on topics pertaining to soybean across several disciplines from breeding to post-harvest processing. Research reports contained in this publication may represent preliminary or only data from a single year or limited results; therefore, these results should not be used as a basis for long-term recommendations. Several research reports in this publication will appear in other University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station publications. This duplication is the result of the overlap in research coverage between disciplines and our effort to inform Arkansas soybean producers of the research …

Impact Of Planting Arrangement And Drill Row Spacing For Direct-Seeded, Delayed Flood Rice, Mary Jane Lytle

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Direct-seeding is the most frequently utilized planting practice in Arkansas and Mid-South rice (Oryza sativa L.) production. Enhanced plant density and more rapid rice canopy formation may result from the implementation of innovative plant arrangements and spacings. Studies were initiated in 2019 and continued into 2020 to examine different cultural management practice experiments, including evaluating the impacts of planting arrangement, row spacing, and seeding rates on rice stand density, canopy coverage, grain yield, and milling yield. These small-plot trials were conducted at two locations, a silt loam site and a clay site, representative of soils produced to rice in eastern …

Seeding Rate Effects On Forage Mass And Vegetation Dynamics Of Cool-Season Grass Sod Interseeded With Sorghum-Sudangrass, John A. Guretzky, D. D. Redfearn

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Interseeding annual warm-season grasses into perennial cool-season grasses has the potential to increase summer forage mass and nutritive value. Knowledge of how seeding rate affects annual warm-season grass establishment, forage mass, and vegetation dynamics remains limited. From 2016–2017, we conducted a field experiment evaluating the effects of seeding rates on sorghum-sudangrass (Sorghum bicolor x S. bicolor var. sudanense) density and forage mass and on the frequency of occurrence of plant species in cool-season grass sod in Lincoln, NE. The experiment had a completely randomized design consisting of six replicates of four seeding rates [0, 14, 28, and 35 …

Impact Of Urbanization Trends On Production Of Key Staple Crops, José F. Andrade, Kenneth G. Cassman, Juan I. Rattalino Edreira, Fahmuddin Agus, Abdullahi Bala, Nanyan Deng, Patricio Grassini

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Urbanization has appropriated millions of hectares of cropland, and this trend will persist as cities continue to expand. We estimate the impact of this conversion as the amount of land needed elsewhere to give the same yield potential as determined by differences in climate and soil properties. Robust spatial upscaling techniques, well-validated crop simulation models, and soil, climate, and cropping system databases are employed with a focus on populous countries with high rates of land conversion. We find that converted cropland is 30–40% more productive than new cropland, which means that projection of food production potential must account for expected …

Diversity And Composition Of Plant Species In The Geita Gold Mining Catchment Area, Tanzania, Mariam G. Mgendi, Mkabwa Lawrence Manoko, William J.S. Mwegoha

Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences

A study on the diversity of plant species is of vital importance for the conservation of natural ecosystems that are increasingly being threatened by various anthropogenic activities. Greater diversity makes ecosystems healthier and resilient to stress, thus providing its services on which humans depend. This study aimed to assess the health of the ecosystem around the Geita Gold Mine (GGM) based on the diversity and composition of plant species. Two transects with a total of 14 sampling sites were established where the number of plant species were systematically recorded using nested quadrats. The diversity of species was determined using species …

Influence Of Surfactant-Humectant Adjuvants On Physical Properties, Droplet Size, And Efficacy Of Glufosinate Formulations, Estefania G. Polli, Guilherme S. Alves, Jesaelen Gizotti De Moraes, Greg Robert Kruger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Glufosinate efficacy is inconsistent among weed species and under environmental conditions that favor rapid droplet drying. Surfactant-humectant adjuvants could maximize glufosinate efficacy by increasing wetting and penetration into the leaf surface while decreasing evaporation rate (ER). However, there is a lack of information in the literature about the interaction of surfactant-humectants adjuvants with glufosinate. The objective of this study was to investigate the influence of surfactanthumectant adjuvants on the physical properties, droplet size, and efficacy of two glufosinate formulations. Laboratory, greenhouse, and field studies were conducted at the Pesticide Application Technology Laboratory of the University of Nebraska- Lincoln. Treatment design …

Prosopis Glandulosa Persistence Is Facilitated By Differential Protection Of Buds During Low- And High-Energy Fires, Heath D. Starns, Carissa L. Wonkka, Matthew B. Dickinson, Alexandra G. Lodge, Morgan L. Treadwell, Kathleen L. Kavanagh, Douglas R. Tolleson, Dirac L. Twidwell Jr, William E. Rogers

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Rangelands worldwide have experienced significant shifts from grass-dominated to woody-plant dominated states over the past century. In North America, these shifts are largely driven by overgrazing and landscape-scale fire suppression. Such shifts reduce productivity for livestock, can have broad-scale impacts to biodiversity, and are often difficult to reverse. Restoring grass dominance often involves restoring fire as an ecological process. However, many resprouting woody plants persist following disturbance, including fire, by resprouting from protected buds, rendering fire ineffective for reducing resprouting woody plant density. Recent research has shown that extreme fire (high-energy fires during periods of water stress) may reduce resprouting …

Making Agriculture Carbon Neutral Amid A Changing Climate: The Case Of South-Western Australia, Ross Kingwell

Climate Science Research Articles

Making Australian agriculture carbon neutral by 2050 is a goal espoused by several agricultural organisations in Australia. How costly might it be to attain that goal, especially when adverse climate change projections apply to agriculture in southern Australia? This study uses scenario analysis to examine agricultural emissions and their abatement via reforestation in south-western Australia under projected climate change. Most scenarios include the likelihood of agricultural emissions being reduced in the coming decades. However, the impact of projected adverse climate change on tree growth and tree survival means that the cost of achieving agricultural carbon neutrality via reforestation is forecast …

Genome-Wide Dna Polymorphism Analysis And Molecular Marker Development For The Setaria Italica Variety “Ssr41” And Positional Cloning Of The Setaria White Leaf Sheath Gene Siwls1, Hui Zhang, Sha Tang, James C. Schnable, Qiang He, Yuanzhu Gao, Mingzhao Luo, Guanqing Jia, Baili Feng, Hui Zhi, Xianmin Diao

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Genome-wide DNA polymorphism analysis and molecular marker development are important for forward genetics research and DNA marker-assisted breeding. As an ideal model system for Panicoideae grasses and an important minor crop in East Asia, foxtail millet (Setaria italica) has a high-quality reference genome as well as large mutant libraries based on the “Yugu1” variety. However, there is still a lack of genetic and mutation mapping tools available for forward genetics research on S. italica. Here, we screened another S. italica genotype, “SSR41”, which is morphologically similar to, and readily cross-pollinates with, “Yugu1”. High-throughput resequencing of “SSR41” …

A Chickpea Genetic Variation Map Based On The Sequencing Of 3,366 Genomes, Rajeev K. Varshney, Manish Roorkiwal, Shuai Sun, Prasad Bajaj, Annapurna Chitikineni, Mahendar Thudi, Narendra P. Singh, Xiao Du, Hari D. Upadhyaya, Diego Jarquin

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Zero hunger and good health could be realized by 2030 through effective conservation, characterization and utilization of germplasm resources1 . So far, few chickpea (Cicerarietinum) germplasm accessions have been characterized at the genome sequence level2 . Here we present a detailed map of variation in 3,171 cultivated and 195 wild accessions to provide publicly available resources for chickpea genomics research and breeding. We constructed a chickpea pan-genome to describe genomic diversity across cultivated chickpea and its wild progenitor accessions. A divergence tree using genes present in around 80% of individuals in one species allowed us to estimate the divergence of …

Using Uav Technology Paired With Multispectral Cameras To Assess Crown Rust Epidemics In Oats, Turner A. Graham

LSU Master's Theses

Crown rust, caused by Puccinia cornonata f. sp. avenae, is a common disease of oats (Avena sativa) found virtually everywhere oats are cultivated. This disease has caused yield losses of 10 to 40% worldwide. Early detection is important for effective management. A more recently utilized technology in agriculture is unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). UAVs, or drones, equipped with cameras are now being used as a resource to take images of fields to identify pests and other issues that may be occurring. Normalized differentiated vegetative index (NDVI) is a numerical indicator used to determine the vegetative health of …

Economic Contribution Of Agriculture And Food To Arkansas’ Gross Domestic Product 1997-2020, Leah English, Jennie Popp, Wayne Miller

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

Agricultural production, processing, and retail industries are major contributors to Arkansas’ GDP. Agriculture contributes to the state economy through direct agricultural production, value-added processing, and agricultural retail activities. The Agriculture and Food Sector, which is comprised of agricultural production, processing, and retail industries, promotes economic strength through various interactions with other industries. The use of non-agricultural goods and services as inputs into the agricultural sector promotes diversified growth in Arkansas’ economy and thus plays a vital role in maintaining economic stability throughout the state. This report 1) compares the relative size of the Agriculture and Food Sector in Arkansas with …

University Research On Winter Growing Of Container-Grown Strawberries Translates To Grower's Farm Trial, Stacy A. Adams, Ellen T. Paparozzi, Ryan Pekarek, Dave P. Lambe, George Meyer, M. Elizabeth Conley, Paul Read

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Strawberries are only seasonally available in Nebraska (NE). If an affordable heated structure can be designed, then opportunity exists to increase on-farm income by producing strawberries off-season during high-value market periods. A series of university greenhouse trials were conducted from 2010 to 2012. The varieties Evie-2 and Seascape were identified as being most productive under a low technology growing scheme. A new research project, which ran from fall to late spring (2013–2014), was designed to determine if this production scheme would translate to a commercial grower. Varieties Seascape and Evie-2 (each at two grades indicated by +) and San Andreas …

Growing Faba Beans On The South Coast Of Western Australia, Sarah Belli, Carla Milazzo, Emma Pearse, King Yin Lui, Grace Williams, Jeremy Lemon

Grain and other field crops published reports

Editors: Megan Abrahams, Andrew Blake and Vanessa Stewart (DPIRD)

Foreword

Thirty-three years ago I started work in Esperance on broadleaf crops. One of the best things my boss set up for me was arranging visits with several lupin farmers so I could follow their crops from seeding, through the growing season, to harvest. It was a great way to quickly get an idea of the choices farmers make and the reasons why.

With today’s busy lives, most farmers would be hard pressed to have the luxury of visiting many other farmers multiple times to learn how to grow a crop. …

Control Of Acetolactate Synthase Inhibitor/Glyphosate-Resistant Palmer Amaranth (Amaranthus Palmeri) In Isoxaflutole/Glufosinate/Glyphosate-Resistant Soybean, Jasmine Mausbach, Suat Irmak, Debalin Sarangi, John L. Lindquist, Amit J. Jhala

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Palmer amaranth is the most problematic and troublesome weed in agronomic cropping systems in the United States. Acetolactate synthase (ALS) inhibitor and glyphosate-resistant (GR) Palmer amaranth has been confirmed in Nebraska and it is widespread in several counties. Soybean resistant to isoxaflutole/glufosinate/glyphosate has been developed that provides additional herbicide site of action for control of herbicide-resistant weeds. The objectives of this study were to evaluate herbicide programs for control of ALS inhibitor/GR Palmer amaranth and their effect on Palmer amaranth density and biomass, as well as soybean injury and yield in isoxaflutole/glufosinate/glyphosate-resistant soybean. Field experiments were conducted in a grower's …