Botany Commons^™

Hop Cone Drying For The Small Grower: Temperature And Airflow Considerations, Stacy A. Adams, David M. Mabie, Michael F. Kocher, David Jones

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Small hop growers without nearby processors for cone stripping and drying must attempt to do so on their own farm. Challenges exist for self-built drying systems, including drying capacity, processing speed, airflow direction, and maintaining quality during drying. Research-based recommendations are given for optimal temperature, sizing of drying vessel, maximum cone depth, and influences associated with airflow on processing uniformity and cone quality are presented.

Incorporating Sex-Diverse And Gender-Inclusive Perspectives In Higher Education Biology Courses, Breanne N. Harris, A Kelsey Lewis, Sam L. Sharpe, Teri J. Orr, Christopher T. Martine, Chloe C. Josefson

Faculty Journal Articles

Inclusive teaching is teaching in a way that reaches all students in the classroom; this is beneficial for everyone, particularly for those with minoritized identities. Instructors play a critical role in scaffolding how students are exposed to and learn science content in the classroom. In this manuscript, we discuss how biology instructors can make their classrooms more inclusive with regard to sex and gender diversity content. Many topics in biology are based on androcentric, heteronormative, and oppressive framing, even though those lenses are more reflective of our own history and culture than they are of the diversity we see in …

Disturbance-Prone Ozark Streams: Interactions Between Plants And The Stream Environment, Alexis Renea Reifsteck

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Ozark streams are extremely diverse ecosystems, despite frequent flood disturbance. Plant communities are frequently altered by bed-moving floods but are extremely resilient. We know that land-use, sediments, and nutrients can impact plant communities, but more can be divulged about how plants alter communities and how environmental variables influence plant community composition in disturbance-prone Ozark streams. To address this, I examined two key aspects of Ozark stream ecosystems: the role of American Water Willow, Justicia americana, in structuring aquatic habitats and the factors influencing gravel bar plant community composition. In the first chapter, I investigated how J. americana, a …

Monarch Butterfly (Danaus Plexippus) Oviposition Preferences And A Survey Of Fungal Pathogens On Native Milkweeds (Asclepias) Of The Northern Great Plains, Grace Damiano

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

North American monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) populations are experiencing significant declines due to habitat loss caused by land use changes. Much of the American Midwest where milkweed, the only host plant of the monarch butterfly, was once much more abundant has been converted to a predominantly agricultural landscape. There are nineteen species of milkweed native to the northern Great Plains region occupied by South Dakota, North Dakota, and Minnesota. Some of these milkweed species may be preferable to monarch butterflies for different reasons, including morphological factors such as stem length, species-level chemical factors, and temporal factors. As monarch …

Early Season Biomass And Weather Enable Robust Cereal Rye Cover Crop Biomass Predictions, Alexandra M. Huddell, Brian Needleman, Eugene P. Law, Victoria J. Ackroyd, Muthukumar V. Bagavathiannan, Kevin Bradley, Adam S. Davis, Jeffrey A. Evans, Wesley Jay Everman, Michael Flessner, Nicholas Jordan, Lauren M. Schwartz-Lazaro, Ramon G. Leon, John L. Lindquist, Jason K. Norsworthy, Lovreet S. Shergill, Mark Vangessel, Steven B. Mirsky

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Farmers need accurate estimates of winter cover crop biomass to make informed decisions on termination timing or to estimate potential release of nitrogen from cover crop residues to subsequent cash crops. Utilizing data from an extensive experiment across 11 states from 2016 to 2020, this study explores the most reliable predictors for determining cereal rye cover crop biomass at the time of termination. Our findings demonstrate a strong relationship between early-season and late-season cover crop biomass. Employing a random forest model, we predicted late-season cereal rye biomass with a margin of error of approximately 1,000 kg ha⁻¹ based on …

Benthic And Epibenthic Invertebrate Assemblages Associated With Estuarine Submerged Aquatic Vegetation Differ Between Native And Invasive Plants, Marissa Hall, Kathryn O'Shaughnessy, Bethany Kiley, Ashley Mcdonald, Taber Faurie, Zoey Hendrickson, Anna Reimer, Samantha Smith, Charles Martin

Gulf and Caribbean Research

Estuarine submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) provides vital habitat for macroinvertebrate communities that support diverse food webs and subsequent ecosystem services. Invasive SAV, however, has the potential to alter estuarine food webs through competition with native SAV, resulting in different associated biological communities. In the Mobile-Tensaw Delta (Alabama, USA), the invasive Eurasian milfoil, Myriophyllum spicatum, is fast becoming the dominant SAV, out-competing native SAV such as wild celery, Vallisneria americana. This study investigated the above- and belowground macroinvertebrate assemblages associated with these SAV habitats. We found significantly different assemblages between the SAV, with V. americana supporting more even and …

Sweetening The Deal: Enhancing Flower Production And Quality For Native Pollinators In Urban Landscapes, Yaelle Esther Reeve

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Urban landscapes can support pollinator conservation, but traditional landscape designs lack the diverse mixtures of native plants needed to support native pollinators. Although native plants support pollinators and can survive with less water and fertilizer than non-native landscape plants, they do not always grow well under modified urban soil conditions and irrigation regimes. A better understanding of the factors influencing flower production and the quality of native plants is needed if we are to design landscapes that support pollinator conservation. This study focused on how flower production and quality in different native plants responded to compost and irrigation treatments. The …

Examining The Effects Of Artemisia Annua On Neuro2a Cells, Wesley Lim

Honors Undergraduate Theses

Artemisia annua L. is a well-known medicinal herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for many centuries and contains artemisinin, which exhibits antimalarial properties [1] and is a potential treatment for SARS-CoV-2 [2]. However, the neurological effect of A. annua and its compounds are poorly understood. We hypothesize that A. annua extracts and artemisinin will provide protection against oxidative stress in mouse neuronal Neuro2A cells. Superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) is an anti-oxidant enzyme that protects against oxidative damage [3]. Growth Arrest and DNA Damage-inducible 45 alpha (Gadd45a) is involved in DNA repair and is a common biomarker for DNA damage[4]. SOD1 …

Facilitative And Competitive Interactions Among Dune Grass Species In Monoculture And Polyculture Communities, Anne M. Sciolino

Theses and Dissertations

Coastal dunes are natural barriers between land and sea and are imperative to the protection and preservation of inland ecosystems and human infrastructure. However, due to global warming, seal level rise, and coastal development, coastal dunes are under constant threat of destruction. Restoration efforts have been implemented to rebuild the protective function of dunes through the planting of dune building grasses. Dune grasses build and maintain these vital sand dunes. However, little is known about facilitative and competitive relationships among the grasses. In order to maximize restoration efforts, research is needed to better understand the biotic interactions among restorative grass …

Reducing Food Scarcity: The Benefits Of Urban Farming, S.A. Claudell, Emilio Mejia

Journal of Nonprofit Innovation

Urban farming can enhance the lives of communities and help reduce food scarcity. This paper presents a conceptual prototype of an efficient urban farming community that can be scaled for a single apartment building or an entire community across all global geoeconomics regions, including densely populated cities and rural, developing towns and communities. When deployed in coordination with smart crop choices, local farm support, and efficient transportation then the result isn’t just sustainability, but also increasing fresh produce accessibility, optimizing nutritional value, eliminating the use of ‘forever chemicals’, reducing transportation costs, and fostering global environmental benefits.

Imagine Doris, who is …

Comparative Histological Study On The Algerian Thymus Ciliatus At Different Phenological Stages, Nina Sadou, Ratiba Seridi, Hamdi Bendif

Journal of Bioresource Management

The aim of the current study was to compare the histological observations of stems, leaves, and different secretory structures of Thymus ciliatus at three phenological stages. The anatomical observations of stems, leaves, and glandular trichomes were carried out by light microscopy. The results showed that phenological stages do not affect significantly the anatomical, whereas there was a significant increase in secretory trichomes. The glandular trichomes are distributed on the surface of the stems and the leaves. There are only two distinct types of secretory trichomes, Peltate consisting of a basal cell, a stalk cell, and an 8-celled head type, which …

Ethnobotanical Study Of Antihemorrhagic Plants In The Skikda Region (North East Of Algeria), Nabila Souilah, Hamdi Bendif, Abdelkrim Benaradj, Abdelouaheb Belaid, Scherazad Mekious

Journal of Bioresource Management

Our survey was carried out at the level of 17 Municipalities of the Province of Skikda. Questionnaire sheets were distributed to 55 herbalists and 350 locale population (informants). The processing of survey data with the local population shows us that women (52 %) have more knowledge of phytotherapy compared to men (48 %) with a fairly high level of education. For the herbalists, we found that most are men (85.45 %) aged between 31-40 years (29.09 %) and 41-50 years (25.45 %), and with level of university study (36.36 %). On the other hand, 52.73 % of herbalists said they …

Crop Dna Extraction With Lab-Made Magnetic Nanoparticles, Haichuan Wang, Xueqi Zhao, Li Tan, Junwei Zhu, David Hyten

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Molecular breeding methods, such as marker-assisted selection and genomic selection, require high-throughput and cost-effective methods for isolating genomic DNA from plants, specifically from crop tissue or seed with high polysaccharides, lipids, and proteins. A quick and inexpensive high-throughput method for isolating genomic DNA from seed and leaf tissue from multiple crops was tested with a DNA isolation method that combines CTAB extraction buffer and lab-made SA-coated magnetic nanoparticles. This method is capable of isolating quality genomic DNA from leaf tissue and seeds in less than 2 hours with fewer steps than a standard CTAB extraction method. The yield of the …

Habitat And Demography Of The Ozark Chinquapin (Castanea Ozarkensis) At Roaring River State Park In Barry County, Missouri, Danielle Evilsizor

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

The Ozark chinquapin, Castanea ozarkensis Ashe, is a chestnut tree with a range concentrated in the Interior Highlands of North America. Like other North American members of Castanea, it was reduced from an overstory tree to an understory shrub by the invasive chestnut blight fungus (Cryphonectria parasitica [Murrill] M.E. Barr) during the early 20^th century. However, relatively little is known about the habitat of this species or its health and reproductive capability post chestnut blight. Chapter one of this study analyzed the habitat of this species through a random forest species distribution model (SDM) to predict where …

Microbiome-Enabled Genomic Selection Improves Prediction Accuracy For Nitrogen-Related Traits In Maize, Zhikai Yang, Tianjing Zhao, Hao Cheng, Jinliang Yang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Root-associated microbiomes in the rhizosphere (rhizobiomes) are increasingly known to play an important role in nutrient acquisition, stress tolerance, and disease resistance of plants. However, it remains largely unclear to what extent these rhizobiomes contribute to trait variation for different genotypes and if their inclusion in the genomic selection protocol can enhance prediction accuracy. To address these questions, we developed a microbiome-enabled genomic selection method that incorporated host SNPs and amplicon sequence variants from plant rhizobiomes in a maize diversity panel under high and low nitrogen (N) field conditions. Our cross-validation results showed that the microbiome-enabled genomic selection model significantly …

Emerging Trends In Wheat (Triticum Spp.) Breeding: Implications For The Future, Mujahid Alam, P. Stephen Baenziger, Katherine Anna Frels

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Wheat (Triticum spp and, particularly, T. aestivum L.) is an essential cereal with increased human and animal nutritional demand. Therefore, there is a need to enhance wheat yield and genetic gain using modern breeding technologies alongside proven methods to achieve the necessary increases in productivity. These modern technologies will allow breeders to develop improved wheat cultivars more quickly and efficiently. This review aims to highlight the emerging technological trends used worldwide in wheat breeding, with a focus on enhancing wheat yield. The key technologies for introducing variation (hybridization among the species, synthetic wheat, and hybridization; genetically modified wheat; transgenic …

The Floral Thermal Environment: Physical, Morphological, And Environmental Determinants, And Their Impact On Plant-Pollinator Interactions, Jennifer Apland

All Theses

Anthropogenic climate change is driving major shifts in global temperatures and increases in extreme temperature events that contribute to reduced survival and species loss. To counteract extreme temperatures, many organisms can undergo geographic range shifts or engage in behavioral thermoregulation (e.g., movement to suitable microhabitats). While plants are sessile and thus subject to highly variable ambient temperatures, they have evolved mechanisms to regulate internal floral temperature. Floral thermoregulation may mitigate thermal stress on pollen and ovules and impact plant-pollinator interactions. These mechanisms for thermoregulation are often highly dependent on ambient temperature and solar radiation as most plants are not endothermic. …

Vulnerabilities Of Greater Prairie Chicken And Tier 1 At-Risk Species In Nebraska Caused By Grassland Transition To Woody Dominance, Robert Peterson

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

Woody plant encroachment is a global threat and has been transitioning grasslands to woody dominance at a biome scale. This threat is present in the Great Plains grassland biome which is currently experiencing grassland biome collapse as the alternative woody biome advances northwest. Nebraska, which contains the most intact temperate grassland in the world, is currently at the front lines of this large-scale transition making this state’s management decisions vital for the remaining grasslands and the species which rely on these ecosystems. In this study, we assess the vulnerability of Greater Prairie Chicken and Tier 1 at-risk species in Nebraska …

2020-2021 Field Seasons Of Maize Gxe Project Within The Genomes To Fields Initiative, Dayane Cristina Lima, Alejandro Castro Aviles, Ryan Timothy Alpers, Alden Perkins, Dylan L. Schoemaker, Martin Costa, Kathryn J. Michel, Shawn Kaeppler, David Ertl, Maria Cinta Romay, Joseph L. Gage, James Holland, Timothy Beissinger, Martin Bohn, Edward Buckler, Jode Edwards, Sherry Flint-Garcia, Michael A. Gore, Candice N. Hirsch, Joseph E. Knoll, John Mckay, Richard Minyo, Seth C. Murray, James Schnable, Rajandeep S. Sekhon, Maninder P. Singh, Erin E. Sparks, Peter Thomison, Addie Thompson, Mitchell Tuinstra, Jason Wallace, Jacob D. Washburn, Teclemariam Weldekidan, Wenwei Xu, Natalia De Leon

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Objectives: This release note describes the Maize GxE project datasets within the Genomes to Fields (G2F) Initiative. The Maize GxE project aims to understand genotype by environment (GxE) interactions and use the information collected to improve resource allocation efficiency and increase genotype predictability and stability, particularly in scenarios of variable environmental patterns. Hybrids and inbreds are evaluated across multiple environments and phenotypic, genotypic, environmental, and metadata information are made publicly available. Data description: The datasets include phenotypic data of the hybrids and inbreds evaluated in 30 locations across the US and one location in Germany in 2020 and 2021, soil …

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) …

A Global Faostat Reference Database Of Cropland Nutrient Budgets And Nutrient Use Efficiency (1961–2020): Nitrogen, Phosphorus And Potassium, Cameron I. Ludemann, Nathan Wanner, Pauline Chivenge, Achim Dobermann, Rasmus Einarsson, Patricio Grassini, Armelle Gruere, Kevin Jackson, Luis Lassaletta, Federico Maggi, Griffiths Obli-Laryea, Martin K. Van Ittersum, Srishti Vishwakarma, Xin Zhang, Francesco N. Tubiello

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Nutrient budgets help to identify the excess or insufficient use of fertilizers and other nutrient sources in agriculture. They allow for the calculation of indicators, such as the nutrient balance (surplus if positive or deficit if negative) and nutrient use efficiency, that help to monitor agricultural productivity and sustainability across the world. We present a global database of country-level budget estimates for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) on cropland. The database, disseminated in FAOSTAT, is meant to provide a global reference, synthesizing and continuously updating the state of the art on this topic. The database covers 205 countries …

Do Organic Farming Practices Improve Soil Physical Properties?, Humberto Blanco-Canqui, Sabrina J. Ruis, Charles A. Francis

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Organic farming (OF) is a reemerging system that could address food security and adverse environmental footprints of conventional farming (CF). However, how OF affects the soil physical environment, an essential pillar for soil ecosystem service delivery, is not well understood. This paper (1) reviews published global literature up to 13 July 2023 regarding the impacts of OF on soil physical properties compared with CF and (2) underlines research needs. Literature indicates OF improves some soil physical properties relative to CF although studies on some properties were few. Specifically, OF increased wet aggregate stability, saturated hydraulic conductivity, and plant available water …

The Impact Of Environmental Factors And Management On The Fitness Of Carlina Acaulis Subsp. Caulescens (Lam.) Schübl. Et G. Martens In Mountain Mesic Meadows, Daniel Pruchniewicz, Ȃngela Lomba, Ludwik Żołnierz, Agnieszka Dradrach, João Pradinho Honrado

Turkish Journal of Botany

The stemless carline thistle (Carlina acaulis subsp. caulescens) is a plant species commonly found at lower altitudes in the Central European mountains. Although it is still relatively frequent in the area, there has been a decrease in its numbers in the last decades. This research aims to determine the impact of the management of mountain mesic meadows and habitat factors on the morphometric variability of C. acaulis and species composition patterns of accompanying vegetation. The study was carried out in the central part of the Sudetes Mountains (SW Poland) on a network of 42 plots randomly established within mesic grasslands. …

Influence Of Rootstock Age And Gibberellin On The Survival Rate Of Clove (Syzygium Aromaticum L. Merr. & Perr.) Grafting, Ireng Darwati, Rudi Suryadi, Nurliani Bermawie, Octivia Trisilawati, Devi Rusmin, Sri Wahyuni, Siswanto Siswanto, R Vitri Garvita

Turkish Journal of Botany

Clove (Syzygium aromaticum) is a cross-pollinated crop with significant genetic variation in planting materials derived from seeds. Vegetative propagation through grafting is a valuable strategy to achieve genetically identical characteristics in progeny. This study investigates the influence of rootstock age and hormone (gibberellin) treatments on the grafting union and survival rate of top clove grafting under greenhouse conditions. The experiments followed a randomized block design with three replications, each containing 10 samples, and involving two factors: rootstock age (4, 6, and 8 weeks old) and gibberellin (GA3 ) concentrations (0 and 1 mg L–1). The variables observed include success percentage, …

Genome-Wide Identification Of Qtls Associated With Iron Deficiency Tolerance In Soybean Reveals Gata12 As The Integrator Of Iron Signaling In Roots, Amir Maqbool, Ahmet Şahi̇n, Allah Bakhsh, Emre Aksoy

Turkish Journal of Botany

Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient required for plant growth and development. However, its deficiency causes substantial yield losses, particularly in alkaline soils. Soybean (Glycine max) serves as an ideal model to study Fe deficiency chlorosis (IDC) due to its inefficient Fe uptake from the soil. Although the quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with IDC tolerance were determined in soybean, the specific genes within these QTL regions remain unidentified. In this study, it was aimed to identify and analyze the expression levels of genes present in IDC-responsive soybean QTL under Fe deficiency. Through this investigation, 6593 genes were identified within …

Ethnobotany Of Medicinal Plants Used In Dermatology In Türkiye: A Review, Serpi̇l Demi̇rci̇ Kayiran, Meryem Parlak, Di̇dem Yilmaz Oral

Turkish Journal of Botany

Medicinal plants are increasingly used to treat skin diseases and as cosmetics. Türkiye has a rich diversity of medicinal flora, and patients have a choice of ethnomedicines to manage various dermatology problems. This comprehensive review aims to summarize the primary information available on the dermatological properties of medicinal plants in Türkiye and provide a baseline for the detection of new plant species having efficacy against skin conditions. In this review, clinical and experimental data were researched using relevant search terms in scientific literature databases like PubMed, Web of Science, Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, EBSCO, ProQuest, Cochrane Library, and HighWire Press. …

Pollen Morphology Of Scabiosa L. And Lomelosia Raf. (Caprifoliaceae) Taxa In Türkiye, Ahmet Aksoy, Bayram Atasagun

Turkish Journal of Botany

Pollen morphology of 34 taxa belonging to genera Scabiosa and Lomelosia were investigated using a light microscope (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Pollen grains of Scabiosa and Lomelosia taxa are tricolpate and triporate, respectively. Pollen shapes vary from oblate to prolate. The exine surface ornamentation can be divided into five types, namely echinate, echinatemicroechinate, echinate-gemmate, echinate-microechinate/gemmate and microechinate-gemmate. Pollen grain sizes were classified as very large in three species of Lomelosia and large in the rest. Statistical analyses revealed some quantitative morphological features, such as equatorial axes, L (polar view amb), and t (apocolpium) as the primary characters for …

Trichoderma Indica: A New Species In The Longibrachiatum Clade From Western Ghats, India, Ajay Lagashetti, Sanjay Singh, Paras Nath Singh

Turkish Journal of Botany

Trichoderma is a hyperdiverse genus that comprises species showing a wide range of applications. In this study, we have found an isolate of the genus Trichoderma from a soil sample collected from Vetal Hill, Pune, Maharashtra State, India. The isolate was found to be morphologically distinct compared to other isolates of the Longibrachiatum clade showing longer phialides and shorter conidia. Moreover, a phylogenetic analysis based on combined sequence data of the second-largest nuclear RNA polymerase subunit (rpb2), and the translation elongation factor 1-α (tef1-α) confirmed the uniqueness of the present isolate, showing an independent branch supported by strong bootstrap values …

A Comprehensive Ethnobotanical Survey Of Medicinal Plants For 80 Villages In Trabzon (Türkiye), Sila Ozlem Sener, Kami̇l Çoşkunçelebi̇, Sali̇h Terzi̇oğlu, Aleyna Nalçaoğlu, Tuğçe Peli̇n Gençkaya, Ufuk Özgen, Merve Yüzbaşioğlu Baran

Turkish Journal of Botany

The current study targeted to perform qualitative and quantitative analysis of medicinal plant taxa used in folk medicine in Trabzon. Due to its historical significance, diversity of plant species, and hosting a wide range of cultures, the Turkish city of Trabzon has significant ethnobotanical potential. Ethnobotanical data including family name, scientific name, local name, used parts, therapeutic uses, preparation methods, administration routes, and cited locations were gathered by face-to-face interviews with 645 participants mostly over 50 years old. The quantitative analyses were executed by the determination of frequency values of citation (FC), use value (UV), fidelity level (FL), and informant …

Biochar Influences On Phytochemical Composition And Expression Genes Of Curly Kale At Different Treatment Times, Joyce Dedei Anteh, Esraa Almugrabi, Antonina Mostyakova, Olga Timofeeva

Turkish Journal of Botany

his study examined the effect of biochar application to the soil at different times on the phytochemical composition (phenolic compounds, carotenoids, vitamin C, sugars, proteins, MDA, and antioxidant activity) and expression of HCT, F3’H and CHS genes (which are involved in the accumulation of phenolic compounds) in cabbage kale (Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala). Biochar was prepared from chicken manure, using the method of rapid pyrolysis at a temperature of 400 °C. The retention time at the maximum temperature was 4 h, and the heating rate was 10 °C min–1. The biochar fertilizer was applied to 5–7 day-old kale seedlings …