Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons^™

Contents, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Instructions For Authors, Discovery Editors

Discovery, The Student Journal of Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences

No abstract provided.

Origin, Rise And Development Of American Upland Cotton And Their Status At Present. Second Edition, Ed. By F.M. Bourland, J. O. Ware

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

American Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) is a Dixie product. Although the stocks of the species were brought from elsewhere, new types (through series of adaptational changes) formed this distinctive group—the final characteristics of which are a product of the Cotton Belt of the United States. These biological processes were considerably aided by man and the steps of development possibly were about as follows: (a) natural selection took place in the earlier introductions, (b) seed were saved from the more choice stocks, (c) series of subsequent introductions were obtained from the better sources, (d) these were acclimatized and the superior ones …

Development Of Genomic Resources And Group Specific Markers For Evaluation Of Genetic Diversity Of Pathogenic Rhizoctonia Species, Juanita Gil Bedoya

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Rhizoctonia is a complex genus in the phylum Basidiomycota comprised of several taxa distributed across different families in the order Cantharellales. Many species in the genus have been identified as plant pathogens, saprobes, or beneficial mycorrhizal symbionts of orchids. Rhizoctonia isolates are divided into binucleate and multinucleate and then classified into anastomosis groups (AGs) based on the ability of compatible hyphae to fuse. Binucleate Rhizoctonia species (Ceratobasidium spp.) are classified into 21 AGs identified with letters (AG-A to AG-U). Multinucleate Rhizoctonia species (Thanatephorus spp.) are identified with numbers and classified into 14 anastomosis groups (AG-1 to AG-13, and bridging group …

Assessing The Evaporation Method For Soil-Water Retention Curve Development And Comparison Of Soil-Water Characteristics Across Different Tillage Practices In A Furrow-Irrigated Corn (Zea Mays L.) System, Jeferson Prass Pimentel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The thesis comprises three studies. The first study in this thesis (Chapter I) focused on a six-year corn field experiment to assess the influence of conservation agricultural practices on soil properties and their long-term effects on water-use efficiency and yield. Non-tillage management did not significantly reduce soil bulk density compared to conventional tillage, as no differences were observed between non-tillage and tillage systems throughout the 6-year experiment. There was no difference in total water-use efficiency among soil management practices in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. Even though in one year of the study, a significant 24 kg ha-1 mm-1 improvement …

Cellular Control Of Proteostasis, Cytoskeleton Organization, And Polarity Remodeling During Infection-Related Development By The Rice Blast Fungus, Audra Rogers

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Understanding the intricate processes underlying fungal infection-related development is crucial for combating plant pathogens. In this study, we investigate the coordination of morphogenetic transitions during plant infection by Magnaporthe oryzae, the blast fungus. We focus on three key aspects: protein quality control, cytoplasmic microtubule organization, and cell-end marker proteins. M. oryzae forms a specialized infection cell known as an appressorium. The proper formation of this cell is crucial for the pathogen to infect a susceptible host. First, we investigate protein quality control mechanisms during infection-related development. Our findings demonstrate that aggregated proteins are sequestered into quality control compartments within conidia …

Environmental And Agronomic Evaluation Of Struvite In Rice Production Systems, Diego Della Lunga

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Furrow-irrigation constitutes an alternative water regime that has been increasingly adopted in Arkansas. Among the management of nutrients in furrow-irrigated systems, phosphorus (P) represents a substantial challenge. The environmental sustainability of rice (Oryza sativa) production systems needs to be evaluated across different water regimes and fertilizer-P sources. Therefore, the objectives of the following studies were to: i) evaluate season-long carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) emissions and global warming potential (GWP) under different tillage treatments [i.e., conventional tillage (CT) and no-tillage (NT)] and at different site positions (i.e., up-, mid-, down-slope) along the predominant slope of a production-scale, furrow-irrigated rice …

Evaluation Of Water Hardness And Ph On Soybean And Cotton Insecticide Efficacy, Taylor Davis

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Insecticide efficacy often varies by location and year. Many factors can influence an insecticide’s efficacy, but an often-overlooked factor is the quality of water in a carrier solution. Water quality includes many parameters, but two important ones are water hardness and pH. Research has shown that water hardness and pH can affect some pesticides. Multiple experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of water hardness and pH on insecticide efficacy. Experiments were conducted to evaluate the impact of water hardness and pH on the efficacy and residual control of chlorantraniliprole for the control of corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie). Leaf …

Utilizing The Genetic Potentials Of Traditional Rice Varieties And Conserving Rice Biodiversity With System Of Rice Intensification Management, Yheni Dwiningsih

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The genetic potentials of rice cultivars will need to be expressed to their fullest if global rice production is to be expanded enough by 2050 to meet the increased demand of the expanding population while the availability of land and water per capita dwindles. New and ‘improved’ rice varieties have contributed greatly to increased production over the past 50 years, but the rate of rice yield increase based on genetic changes has declined in recent decades compared with the early years of the Green Revolution. In fact, many rice consumers continue to prefer to consume ‘traditional’ rice varieties (referred to …

Evaluation Of Oxyfluorfen For Use In Roxy Rice, Casey Hunter Arnold

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Mid-southern U.S. rice (Oryza sativa L.) producers are challenged every year to control problematic barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) Beauv.] and weedy rice (Oryza sativa L.) because they have evolved resistance to most labeled herbicides. Oxyfluorfen is a Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC)/Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) Group 14 herbicide that inhibits protoporphyrinogen oxidase within the plant. Currently, there are no HRAC/WSSA Group 14 herbicides labeled for barnyardgrass or weedy rice control in midsouthern rice production. Therefore, oxyfluorfen is being evaluated for barnyardgrass and weedy rice control. Plant breeders at the University of California – Davis were able to breed …

Mapping Variability Of Soybean Leaf Potassium Concentrations To Develop A Sampling Protocol, Carrie C. Ortel, Trenton Roberts, Kyle A. Hoegenauer, Aurelie M. Poncet, Nathan A. Slaton, W. Jeremy Ross

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The spatial variability of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] leaf-K (potassium) concentrations must be considered when collecting samples to monitor crop K status. Five commercial soybean fields were sampled at a 0.4-ha grid resolution at two reproductive growth stages to quantify the trifoliolate tissue-K concentration. The objectives of this study were to identify the potential field variability of soybean leaf-K concentrations in typical Mid-south US soybean production fields, evaluate interpolation methods, and develop a sampling protocol for in-season soybean tissue monitoring. No consistent spatial dependencies were found in the leaf-K concentrations across the fields and sample times, indicating that …

Overexpression Of Acetyl Coa Carboxylase 1 And 3 (Accase1 And Accase3), And Cyp81a21 Were Related To Cyhalofop Resistance In A Barnyardgrass Accession From Arkansas, Fidel Gonzalez-Torralva, Jason K. Norsworthy

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.] is the most difficult-to-control weed species of rice production systems worldwide. It has evolved resistance to different herbicide sites of action, including the acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACCase)-inhibiting herbicides. Target-site mutations conferring resistance to ACCase-inhibiting herbicides are well documented; however, the role of the different ACCase genes in conferring resistance to cyhalofop-p-butyl (cyhalofop), an ACCase-inhibiting herbicide, remains poorly understood. This research assessed the contribution of gene amplification and expression of ACCase genes in a cyhalofop-resistant barnyardgrass accession. Additionally, the expression of glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs) and cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450s) genes as possible …

Uncertainty In Streamflow Measurements Significantly Impacts Estimates Of Downstream Nitrate Export, Shannon L. Speir, C. Nathan Jones, Arial J. Shogren, Carla L. Atkinson

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Across watershed science, two key variables emerge–streamflow and solute concentration–which serve as the basis for efforts ranging from basic watershed biogeochemistry research to policy decisions surrounding watershed management. However, we rarely account for how error in discharge (Q) impacts estimates of downstream nutrient loading. Here, we examined the impact of uncertainty in streamflow measurements on estimates of downstream nitrate export using publicly available data from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). We characterized how uncertainty in stage-discharge relationships impacts annual flux estimates across 70 USGS gages. Our results indicate the interquartile range of relative error in Q was 33% across these …

Winter-Time Cover Crop Identification: A Remote Sensing-Based Methodological Framework For New And Rapid Data Generation, Zobaer Ahmed, Lawton L. Nalley, Kristofor R. Brye, V. Steven Green, Michael P. Popp, Aaron Michael Shew, Lawson Connor

Environmental Dynamics Faculty Publications and Presentations

Accurately identifying and systematically mapping winter-time cover crops and their phenological characteristics offer significant benefits to agricultural producers and policymakers, as cover crops are one of several potential solutions to climate change mitigation. We present a methodological framework for identifying and mapping the presence of winter-time cover crops at the field level and aggregated to county scales from 2013 to 2019 by using the Google Earth Engine (GEE), a random forest classifier with time series data from Landsat 8, and yearly cover crop training data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). The methodology was …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2022, 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 2022 when compared to the other soybean-producing states in the U.S. The state represented 3.04% of the total U.S. soybean production and 3.64% of the total acres planted in soybean in 2022. The 2022 state soybean average yield was 52.0 bushels per acre, tying the previous state yield record of 52 bushels per acre set in 2021. The top five soybean-producing counties in 2022 were Mississippi, Crittenden, Phillips, Poinsett, and Arkansas (Table 1). These five counties accounted for over 35.7% of the …

Economic Analysis Of Sod-Seeded Summer Annuals For Forage And Grazing, Ivanelle Meyer

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Forage and pasture trials were conducted over the summers of 2021 and 2022 to assess how forage production and nutritive value of sorghum sudangrass, cowpea, and sorghum sudangrass-cowpea mixtures, sod-seeded to bermudagrass pasture would impact stocker cattle performance. The forage trials compared forage production and quality when poultry litter was surface or sub-surface applied biennially in comparison to a no poultry litter control. Poultry litter is a nutrient dense fertilizer utilized on pastures in the mid-southern United States to increase forage nutritive value and yield. Broadcasting poultry litter results in more nutrient losses due to runoff and nitrogen volatilization compared …

Corn And Grain Sorghum Performance Tests 2023, J. F. Carlin, R. B. Mulloy, R. D. Bond, J. C. Mccoy

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Corn and grain sorghum performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The tests provide information to companies marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating recommendations for producers.

The 2023 corn performance tests contained 46 hybrids and were conducted at the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center (NERREC) at Harrisburg, the Northeast Rice Research and Extension Center (NEREC) at Keiser, the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station (LMCRS) near Marianna, the Rohwer Research Station (RRS) near Rohwer, and the Rice Research and Extension Center (RREC) …

Management Zone Delineation For Variable-Rate Seeding In Production Soybeans, Ujjwal Sigdel

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Soybean seeding rate (SR) is selected according to planting date, maturity group, soil properties, and yield goal. Even though one SR is applied in most fields, site-specific adjustments with variable-rate seeding (VRS) technology can help optimize production. The project goal was to determine if VRS could be beneficial to soybean producers in Arkansas. The project objectives were to i) assess planter performance and soybean yield response to five seeding rate treatments, ii) characterize the drivers of yield variability, and iii) create a-posteriori prescription maps for VRS. Five SR treatments (185,000, 247,000, 309,000, 370,000 and 432,000 seeds ha-1) were applied using …

Effect Of Cultural Strategies And Application Technologies On Weed Control In Flooded And Furrow-Irrigated Rice, Noah Hunter Reed

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Weed control is a major problem that rice (Oryza sativa L.) producers face in the Mid-south every growing season. Restricted use of some rice herbicides has also highlighted the need for more research to be conducted on cultural weed control strategies and application technologies in rice. The aim of these studies was to evaluate rice weed control using various rice row widths, bed widths (irrigation-furrow spacing), rice cultivar selection, and nozzle type selection. Three field experiments were conducted in 2021 and 2022 across four sites at Lonoke, AR, Pine Tree, AR, Rohwer, AR, and Stoneville, MS. In experiment one, as …

Evaluation Of Weed Control Efficacy And Crop Tolerance To Florpyrauxifen-Benzyl Coated Onto Urea, Bodie Lyn Cotter

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Frequent off-target movement occurrences to soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], rice (Oryza sativa L.) injury, and a lack of barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.] control followed the commercial launch of florpyrauxifen-benzyl in 2018. Florpyrauxifen-benzyl is a synthetic auxin, Herbicide Resistance Action Committee (HRAC)/Weed Science Society of America (WSSA) Group 4 herbicide used for postemergence weed control in rice and labeled for application at 30 g ae ha-1. Previous research documented that soybean was susceptible to injury following spray applications of florpyrauxifen-benzyl at less-than-labeled rates, and certain varieties of rice are less tolerant to spray-applied florpyrauxifen-benzyl at 30 g ae …

Quizalofop Resistance In Weedy Rice (Oryza Sativa L.) Is Mainly Conferred By An Ile1781leu Mutation, Fidel Gonzalez-Torralva, Jason K. Norsworthy

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Weedy rice (Oryza sativa L.) is an economically important weed species in rice (Oryza sativa L.) cropping systems. Two weedy rice samples (acc7 and acc8) suspected to be resistant to quizalofop-ethyl (quizalofop) were collected in Arkansas. In this research, susceptibility to quizalofop and resistance mechanisms have been explored. Dose-response assays displayed a resistance index of 42- and 58-fold for the acc7 and acc8, respectively. Experiments with metabolism inhibitors demonstrated that NBD-Cl (4-chloro-7-nitrobenzofurazan) increased quizalofop efficacy slightly in acc8, whereas malathion did not improve effectiveness in resistant samples. Sequencing of the ACCase gene displayed an Ile1781Leu substitution in the …

Using Post-Season Tissue Nitrogen Concentrations To Predict Adequacy Of In-Season Nitrogen Management, Kyle Hoegenauer, Trenton Roberts, Carrie Ortel, Jarrod Hardke, Mike Richardson, Mike Daniels

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

High-yielding mechanized rice production requires large amounts of nitrogen (N) fertilizer, which can be particularly costly to producers when applied in excess. The development of a tissue test to detect overapplication of N to rice is needed. Nitrogen response trials arranged in a randomized complete block design were established to identify a critical concentration threshold for a tissue test to detect excess N availability. Rice stalk samples were collected from 0 to 20 cm above the soil within 5 days of harvest and analyzed for NO₃ −-N concentration. Two models were fit to the data to represent rice grain …

Qtls And Candidate Loci Associated With Drought Tolerance Traits Of Kaybonnet X Zhe733 Recombinant Inbred Lines Rice Population, Yheni Dwiningsih, Julie Thomas, Anuj Kumar, Chirag Gupta, Navdeep Gill, Charles Ruiz, Jawaher Alkahtani, Niranjan Baisakh, Andy Pereira

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Rice is the most important staple crop for the sustenance of the world’s population, and drought is a major factor limiting rice production. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis of drought-resistance-related traits was conducted on a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population derived from the self-fed progeny of a cross between the drought-resistant tropical japonica U.S. adapted cultivar Kaybonnet and the drought-sensitive indica cultivar ZHE733. K/Z RIL population of 198 lines was screened in the field at Fayetteville (AR) for three consecutive years under controlled drought stress (DS) and well-watered (WW) treatment during the reproductive stage. The effects of DS were quantified …

Genetic Architecture Of Soybean Tolerance To Off-Target Dicamba, Caio Canella Vieira, Jing Zhou, Diego Jarquin, Jiangfeng Zhou, Brian Diers, Dean E. Riechers, Henry T. Nguyen, Grover Shannon

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

The adoption of dicamba-tolerant (DT) soybean in the United States resulted in extensive off-target dicamba damage to non-DT vegetation across soybean-producing states. Although soybeans are highly sensitive to dicamba, the intensity of observed symptoms and yield losses are affected by the genetic background of genotypes. Thus, the objective of this study was to detect novel marker-trait associations and expand on previously identified genomic regions related to soybean response to off-target dicamba. A total of 551 non-DT advanced breeding lines derived from 232 unique bi-parental populations were phenotyped for off-target dicamba across nine environments for three years. Breeding lines were genotyped …

Temperate Silvopastures Provide Greater Ecosystem Services Than Conventional Pasture Systems, Helen C.S. Amorim, Amanda Ashworth, Peter L. O'Brien, Andrew L. Thomas, Benjamin R. Runkle, Dirk Philipp

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Management and design affect systems’ ability to deliver ecosystem services and meet sustainable intensification needs for a growing population. Soil–plant–animal health evaluations at the systems level for conventional and silvopastoral environments are lacking and challenge adoption across temperate regions. Impacts of silvopasture on soil quality, microclimate, cattle heat stress, forage quality and yield, and cattle weight gain were compared to a conventional pasture in the mid-southern US. Here, we illustrate silvopastures have greater soil organic carbon, water content, and overall quality, with lower temperatures (soil and cattle) than conventional pastures. Forage production and cattle weight gains were similar across systems; …

Genome-Wide Association Study And Genomic Prediction Of Fusarium Wilt Resistance In Common Bean Core Collection, Kenani Chiwina, Haizheng Xiong, Gehendra Bhattarai, Ryan Dickson, Theresa Makawa Phiri, Yilin Chen, Ibtisam Alatawi, Derek Dean, Neelendra K. Joshi, Yuyan Chen, Awais Riaz, Paul Gepts, Mark Brick, Patrick Byrne, Howard Schwartz, James B. Ogg, Kristen Otto, Amy Fall, Jeremy Gilbert, Ainong Shi

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

The common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is a globally cultivated leguminous crop. Fusarium wilt (FW), caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli (Fop), is a significant disease leading to substantial yield loss in common beans. Disease-resistant cultivars are recommended to counteract this. The objective of this investigation was to identify single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers associated with FW resistance and to pinpoint potential resistant common bean accessions within a core collection, utilizing a panel of 157 accessions through the Genome-wide association study (GWAS) approach with TASSEL 5 and GAPIT 3. Phenotypes for Fop race 1 and race …

Arkansas Wheat Performance Tests 2022-2023, J. F. Carlin, R. B. Mulloy, R. D. Bond

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

Wheat variety performance tests are conducted each year in Arkansas by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Crop Variety Improvement Program.

The tests provide information to companies developing cultivars and marketing seed within the state and aid the Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service in formulating variety recommendations for small-grain producers. The tests were conducted at the Northeast Research and Extension Center at Keiser, the Vegetable Substation near Kibler, the Lon Mann Cotton Research Station near Marianna, the Pine Tree Research Station near Colt, and the Rohwer Research Station near Rohwer. Specific location and cultural practice information accompany each …

Maize Leaf Angle Genetic Gain Is Slowing Down In The Last Decades, Elvis F. Elli, Jode Edwards, Jianming Yu, Slobodan Trifunovic, Douglas M. Eudy, Kevin R. Kosola, Patrick S. Schnable, Kendall R. Lamkey, Sotirios V. Archontoulis

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Quantifying historical changes in maize leaf angle and factors affecting it can enhance our understanding of canopy architecture and light capture, and hence crop productivity. Our objectives were to (1) quantify leaf angle genetic gain per canopy position in Bayer's legacy maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids; (2) dissect the contribution of breeding from plant density on historical changes in leaf angle; and (3) synthesize our findings with literature to determine leaf angle changes over a century of breeding. We measured leaf angle in 78 maize hybrids released between 1980 and 2020 across eight environments in the US Corn Belt. …

Long-Term Impacts Of Conservation Pasture Management In Manuresheds On System-Level Microbiome And Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Mitiku Mihiret Seyoum, Amanda Ashworth, Kristina M. Feye, Steven C. Ricke, Phillip R. Owens, Philip A. Moore Jr., Mary Savin

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences Faculty Publications and Presentations

Animal manure improves soil fertility and organic carbon, but long-term deposition may contribute to antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) entering the soil-water environment. Additionally, long-term impacts of applying animal manure to soil on the soil-water microbiome, a crucial factor in soil health and fertility, are not well understood. The aim of this study is to assess: (1) impacts of long-term conservation practices on the distribution of ARGs and microbial dynamics in soil, and runoff; and (2) associations between bacterial taxa, heavy metals, soil health indicators, and ARGs in manures, soils, and surface runoff in a study following 15 years of continuous …

Determining Cardinal Temperatures For Eight Cover Crop Species, Mila V. Pessotto, Trenton Roberts, Matthew B. Bertucci, Caio Dos Santos, Jeremy Ross, Mary C. Savin

Horticulture Faculty Publications and Presentations

Growing degree days (GDD) is a tool to predict plant growth and can be adapted for use in any plant species, including cover crops. A limitation of the GDD calculation is accurate temperature parameters used to predict plant development. For most cover crop species, the cardinal temperatures are not well defined in the literature, leading to a less accurate calculation of GDD. The objective of this study was to determine the cardinal temperatures of eight cover crop species, including Austrian winter pea (Pisum sativum), balansa clover (Trifolium michelianum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), black-seeded oats ( …