Other Plant Sciences Commons^™

Nebline, July 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Lancaster County Extension Board — Building Our Community Connection

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Pests & Wildlife

Horticulture

Early Childhood

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Antiviral Rna Silencing Suppression Activity Of Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Nss Protein, Tania Ocampo Ocampo, Sergio M. Gabriel Peralta, Nicole Bacheller, Stella Uiterwaal, Aaron Knapp, Alanna Hennen, Daniel Leobardo Ochoa-Martínez, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

In addition to regulating gene expression, RNA silencing is an essential antiviral defense system in plants. Triggered by double-stranded RNA, silencing results in degradation or translational repression of target transcripts. Viruses are inducers and targets of RNA silencing. To condition susceptibility, most plant viruses encode silencing suppressors that interfere with this process, such as the Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) NSs protein. The mechanism by which NSs suppresses RNA silencing and its role in viral infection and movement remain to be determined. We cloned NSs from the Hawaii isolate of TSWV and using two independent assays show for the first …

Description Of Mesocriconema Ericaceum N. Sp. (Nematoda: Criconematidae) And Notes On Other Nematode Species Discovered In An Ericaceous Heath Bald Community In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Usa, Thomas O. Powers, Peter Mullin, Rebecca Higgins, Timothy Harris, Kirsten S. Powers

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

A new species of Mesocriconema and a unique assemblage of plant-parasitic nematodes was discovered in a heath bald atop Brushy Mountain in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Mesocriconema ericaceum n. sp., a species with males, superficially resembles M. xenoplax. DNA barcoding with the mitochondrial COI gene provided evidence of the new species as a distinct lineage. SEM revealed significant variability in arrangement of labial submedian lobes, plates, and anterior and posterior annuli. Three other nematodes in the family Criconematidae were characterized from the heath bald. Ogma seymouri, when analyzed by statistical parsimony, established connections with isolates from north-eastern Atlantic …

Herbicide Resistantsorghum Mutants, Ismail M. Dweikat

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

This disclosure provides for four different sorghum mutants that exhibit resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides. This dis closure also provides for methods of using such Sorghum mutants that exhibit resistance to ALS-inhibiting herbicides in breeding methods to make Sorghum hybrids, varieties, or lines. The Sorghum hybrids, varieties, and lines provided in this disclosure can be used in methods of controlling weeds.

Long-Term Sandhills Prairie Responses To Precipitation, Temperature, And Cattle Stocking Rate, John A. Guretzky, Cheryl Dunn, Heidi L. Hillhouse

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Understanding of Sandhills prairie, the most expansive sand dune region stabilized by perennial grasses in the Western Hemisphere, is limited by lack of long-term vegetation data. We used a 26-year dataset to evaluate Sandhills prairie responses to yearto- year variation in precipitation, temperature, and cattle stocking rate. Basal cover, a measurement that is constant seasonally and used to detect long-term changes in bunchgrass vegetation, was measured in 38–40 permanent plots positioned along four transects spanning 769 ha from 1979 to 2007. Across this period, total basal cover averaged 2.4 % and was dominated by warm-season grasses (81.1 %). Schizachyrium scoparium …

Nebline, June 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: The Garden Grocery — Food Safety & Selection at Farmers’ Markets

Food & Health

Farm & Acreage

Pests & Wildlife

Horticulture

Early Childhood

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Regeneration: An Overlooked Aspect Of Trait-Based Plant Community Assembly Models, Julie Larson, Jennifer L. Funk

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

Despite the disproportionate influence that propagule production, dispersal, seed to seedling recruitment, and vegetative reproduction can have on plant population and community dynamics, progress has been slow in the directed collection of regeneration traits to inform community assembly outcomes.

While seed mass is globally available and linked to growth and reproductive output, there are limits to its explanatory ability. In this essay, we call for expanded efforts to integrate a more diverse set of regeneration traits into community assembly models.

First, we extend an existing community assembly framework to conceptualize regeneration as a series of transitional processes whose outcomes are …

Nebline, May 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Emerald Ash Borer is Getting Closer

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Microbe-Id: An Open Source Toolbox For Microbial Genotyping And Species Identification, Javier F. Tabima, Sydney E. Everhart, Meredith M. Larsen, Alexaandra J. Weisberg, Zhian N. Kamvar, Mathew A. Tancos, Christine D. Smart, Jeff H. Chang, Niklaus J. Grünwald

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Development of tools to identify species, genotypes, or novel strains of invasive organisms is critical for monitoring emergence and implementing rapid response measures. Molecular markers, although critical to identifying species or genotypes, require bioinformatic tools for analysis. However, user-friendly analytical tools for fast identification are not readily available. To address this need, we created a web-based set of applications called Microbe-ID that allow for customizing a toolbox for rapid species identification and strain genotyping using any genetic markers of choice. Two components of Microbe-ID, named Sequence-ID and Genotype-ID, implement species and genotype identification, respectively. Sequence-ID allows identification of species by …

Managing Drought Stress In California Agricultural Systems, Gregory D. Brittain Jr.

Doctor of Plant Health Program: Dissertations and Student Research

California is currently facing a historic drought, and this has led many farmers in the state to severely cut back on irrigation. Optimal use of water for irrigation requires a comprehensive understanding of how plants respond physiologically to water stress (Chapter 1). By monitoring water requirements in crops and managing irrigation to meet those requirements, growers can significantly reduce water use (Chapter 2). This can be done through improving application efficiency of irrigation technology as well as increasing the water use efficiency of the crops themselves. Deficit irrigation practices can be used to manipulate the physiology of water use in …

A Comparative Study Of The Flora And Soils Of Great Duck And Little Duck Islands, Maine, Usa, Luka Negoita, Matthew Dickinson, Glen H. Mittlehauser, N. Rajakaruna

Biological Sciences

Strong environmental gradients and varied land-use practices have generated a mosaic of habitats harboring distinct plant communities on islands on the coast of Maine. Botanical studies of Maine’s islands, however, are generally limited in number and scope. Baseline studies of Maine’s islands are necessary for assessing vegetation dynamics and changes in habitat conditions in relation to environmental impacts imposed by climate change, rising sea levels, invasive species, pests and pathogens, introduced herbivores, and human disturbance. We conducted a survey of the vascular plants and soils of forest, field, and ocean-side communities of Great Duck and Little Duck Islands, ME. These …

Evaluating Pedestrial Compaction Variation & Soil Organic C Content, Gunner B. Decker

Scholars Week

Over time, playing fields are monitored by overall appearance. However, pedestrian compaction is not evenly distributed throughout the entire surface.

Evolutionary Responses Of Invasive Grass Species To Variation In Precipitation And Soil Nitrogen, Monica A. Nguyen, Amy E. Ortega, Quoc L. Nguyen, Sarah Kimball, Michael L. Goulden, Jennifer L. Funk

Biology, Chemistry, and Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles and Research

1.Global climate models suggest that many ecosystems will experience reduced precipitation over the next century and the consequences for invasive plant performance are largely unknown. Annual invasive species may be able to quickly evolve traits associated with drought escape or tolerance through rapid genetic changes.

2.We investigated the influence of five years of water and nitrogen manipulations on trait values in a southern California grassland system. Seeds from two annual grass species (Avena barbata, Bromus madritensis) were collected from experimental plots and grown in a common environment over two generations. We measured 14 physiological, morphological, phenological, and …

Nebline, April 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Climate Impacts on Cropping Systems in Eastern Nebraska

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Special Pullout Section: Weed Awareness

How Nebraska’S Eastern Saline Wetland Native Plant Species Grow In Response To Restoration Methods: Application Of Different Salinity Level Groundwater, Ellen Dolph, Keunyea Song, Amy Burgin, Trenton E. Franz

UCARE: Research Products

Nebraska’s Eastern Saline Wetlands are unique ecosystems endemic to the Salt and Rock Creek waters in Lancaster and Saunders County.

They provide an ecosystem services as well as habitat for endangered species such as the state endangered saltwort (Salicornia rubra) and federally endangered Salt Creek tiger beetle (Cicindela nevadica lincolniana).

Over 80 % of the saline wetlands are highly degraded and in recent years, the Saline Wetland Conservation Partnership has formed to conserve and restore the remaining saline wetland fragments, but there is limited information about inland saline wetland restoration. Purpose: Investigate techniques to better conserve …

Information Thermodynamics Of Cytosine Dna Methylation, Robersy Sanchez Rodriguez, Sally Ann Mackenzie

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Cytosine DNA methylation (CDM) is a stable epigenetic modification to the genome and a widespread regulatory process in living organisms that involves multicomponent molecular machines. Genome-wide cytosine methylation patterning participates in the epigenetic reprogramming of a cell, suggesting that the biological information contained within methylation positions may be amenable to decoding. Adaptation to a new cellular or organismal environment also implies the potential for genome-wide redistribution of CDM changes that will ensure the stability of DNA molecules. This raises the question of whether or not we would be able to sort out the regulatory methylation signals from the CDM background …

Nebline, March 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: It’s Easier Than Ever to Connect with Extension — Mobile Device and Social Media are Changing the Way People Learn

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Ws-2 Introgression In A Proportion Of Arabidopsis Thaliana Col-0 Stock Seed Produces Specific Phenotypes And Highlights The Importance Of Routine Genetic Verification, Mon-Ray Shao, Vikas Shedge, Hardik Kundariya, Fredric R. Lehle, Sally Ann Mackenzie

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Arabidopsis thaliana is an important model organism with a robust network of resources that has been of enormous value to the plant science research community. The use of isogenic material as a reference point or control is critical for many types of experiments in plant molecular biology and genetics. Recently, we noticed that some seed from a common source of the widely used Columbia-0 (Col-0) strain gave rise to plants showing features atypical for this strain. Whole-genome DNA-sequencing and allelespecific PCR assays confirmed that the abnormal individuals contain multiple introgressions from the ecotype Wassilewskija-2 (Ws-2), as described below. This …

Student-Conducted Farmer Video Interviews, Jenn K. Simons, Justin Van Wart, Charles Francis, Kristyn Harms

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

High school agricultural education teachers have expressed concern about the lack of easily accessible educational materials dealing with contemporary topics in sustainable agriculture. There are numerous textbooks and monographs available for farmers and students at the college level, including the highly practical resources available from the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) book series on soil fertility (Magdoff and van Es, 2010), cover crops (Bowman et al., 2007) and building a farm business (DiGiacomo et al., 2003), among others. Although these are full of color photos and easily accessible graphs and tables, they are still in the print media category. …

First Report Of Pythium Ultimum, P. Irregulare, Rhizoctonia Solani Ag4, And Fusarium Proliferatum From Arrowleaf Clover (Trifolium Vesiculosum): A Disease Complex, I. J. Pemberton, G. R. Smith, G. L. Philley, F. M. Rouquette, G. Y. Yuen

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Poor stand establishment, failure to recover after grazing, and premature plant death have reduced the utilization of arrowleaf clover (Trifolium vesiculosum Savi) as a forage crop in the southeastern United States in recent years. Clover plants collected from poor stands in east Texas pastures during the 1995 to 1996 and 1996 to 1997 seasons first exhibited root disease symptoms as young seedlings in the fall. Symptoms consisted of one or more of the following: tan discoloration of lateral roots and taproot; root pruning; and small, tan, sunken lesions on the taproot and crown. Many Rhizobium nodules were brown and …

Comparative Evaluation Of The Effect Of Methyl Bromide Fumigation And Phytosanitary Irradiation On The Quality Of Fresh Strawberries, Tamar Serapian, Anuradha Prakash

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

Fresh strawberries are highly perishable and have a short shelf-life especially when the cold chain is not maintained. Strawberries exported to Asia are currently fumigated with methyl bromide for phytosanitary purposes, which exposes strawberries to warm temperatures for several hours and air freight without temperature control, resulting in a shelf life of just a few days in the destination country. Irradiation offers an efficacious alternative to fumigation and can be performed on cold fruit. This study was conducted to compare the quality of strawberries subject to methyl bromide fumigation or irradiation followed by simulated commercial air freight shipment of strawberries …

Nebline, February 2016

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Feature: Tips to Keep Your Heart Healthy — February is Heart Health Month

Food & Health

Family Living

Farm & Acreage

Horticulture

Pests & Wildlife

4-H & Youth

Extension Calendar

and other extension news and events

Effect Of Green Tea On Interaction Of Lipid Oxidation Products With Sarcoplasmic And Myofibrillar Protein Homogenates Extracted From Bovine Top Round Muscle, Nahathai Stapornkul, Tatiana Prytkova, Lilian Were

Food Science Faculty Articles and Research

The interaction between lipid oxidation products and bovine sarcoplasmic (SP) and myofibrillar protein (MP) homogenates in the presence of green tea was investigated. To monitor the effect of green tea on lipid oxidation, aldehydes were measured while effect on protein was monitored via changes in myoglobin, thiols, and tryptophan fluorescence over nine days of refrigerated storage. The presence of SP and MP decreased free aldehydes in the buffers. The SP bound more aldehydes than MP. The tea compounds exhibited more favorable binding energies than aldehydes near histidine 64 close to the heme moiety of myoglobin. Addition of tea lowered tryptophan …

Differential Toxicity Of Bare And Hybrid Zno Nanoparticles In Green Pea (Pisum Sativum L.): A Life Cycle Study, Amab Mukherjee, Youping Sun, Erving Morelius, Carlos Tamez, Susmita Bandyopadhyay, Genhua Niu, Jason C. White, Jose R. Peralta-Videa, Jorge L. Gardea-Torresdey

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The effect of surface or lattice modification of nanoparticles (NPs) on terrestrial plants is poorly understood. We investigated the impact of different zinc oxide (ZnO) NPs on green pea (Pisum sativum L.), one of the highest consumed legumes globally. Pea plants were grown for 65 d in soil amended with commercially available bare ZnO NPs (10 nm), 2 wt% alumina doped (Al2O3@ZnO NPs, 15 nm), or 1 wt% aminopropyltriethoxysilane coated NPs (KH550@ZnO NP, 20 nm) at 250 and 1000 mg NP/kg soil inside a greenhouse. Bulk (ZnO) and ionic Zn (zinc chloride) were included as controls. Plant fresh and dry …

Corn Era Hybrid Response To Nitrogen Fertilization, Krishna P. Woli, Matthew J. Boyer, Roger Wesley Elmore, John E. Sawyer, Lori J. Abendroth, Daniel W. Barker

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Corn (Zea mays L.) N use is of continued interest due to agronomic performance and environmental issues. This 2-yr study evaluated era hybrid response to fertilizer nitrogen (FN) rate in a factorial arrangement of one popular hybrid per five decades (1960–2000 eras) and five N rates (0–224 kg N ha^–1). An additional hybrid per era was grown at 168 kg N ha^–1. Hybrid productivity and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) increased across the eras, but not between the 1980 and 1990 eras. Grain yield (GY) increased 65% and total plant biomass 43%, however, total plant nitrogen …

Dry Edible Bean Disease Diagnostic Series, Samuel G. Markell, Robert M. Harveson, Julie Pasche

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Root Diseases

Fusarium root rot...................................PP1820-1

Pythium diseases..................................PP1820-2

Rhizoctonia root rot...............................PP1820-3

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN).............PP1820-4

Soybean cyst nematode sampling.........PP1820-5

Stem and Wilt Diseases

Bacterial wilt..........................................PP1820-6

Fusarium yellows (wilt)..........................PP1820-7

Stem rot.................................................PP1820-8

White mold.............................................PP1820-9

Foliar Diseases

Anthracnose........................................PP1820-10

Bacterial brown spot............................PP1820-11

Bean common mosaic virus................PP1820-12

Common bean rust..............................PP1820-13

Common bacterial blight .....................PP1820-14

Halo blight............................................PP1820-15

Fungicide Application Timing With Effects On Grey Leaf Spot And Southern Rust In Nebraska Field Corn, 2015, J. D. Harbour, T. A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The objective of the trial was to compare foliar fungicides applied to three growth stages of corn for grey leaf spot (GLS) and southern rust (SR) efficacy. Irrigated corn was grown based on Nebraska Extension irrigation recommendations at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Soils were a silt loam with 6.7 pH and 1.8% OM and the previous crop was soybean. Reduced tillage was performed to the field prior to planting. Corn (DKC 65-79 RIB, tolerant to gray leaf spot) was planted at approximately 34,000 seed/A on 26 May. Eight treatments were arranged in a randomized complete …

Diseases Caused By Parasitic Nematodes, T. A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Some plant-parasitic nematodes occur in every [sunflower] production field. Nematode populations likely include multiple species, although not all species cause notable disease. Symptoms depend on the species, the population density, and the crop's interaction with environmental factors. Several nematode species are known to cause disease in sunflower, although little research has focused on their impact or management in the crop. The highest population densities of plant-parasitic nematodes often occur in isolated areas that are randomly distributed in fields, as do the most severe plant symptoms. Symptoms are not necessarily diagnostic for nematodes, and the problem may be misdiagnosed. The most …

Response Of Sweet Sorghum Lines To Stalk Pathogens Fusarium Thapsinum And Nacrophomina Phaseolina, Deanna L. Funnell-Harris, Patrick M. O'Neill, Scott E. Sattler, Melinda K. Yerka

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] has potential for bioenergy. Itis adapted to a variety of U.S. locations and the extracted juice can be directly fermented into ethanol. However, little research on fungal stalk rots, diseases that pose serious constraints for yield and quality of juice and biomass, has been reported. A greenhouse bioassay was designed to assess charcoal rot (Macrophomina phaseolina) and Fusarium stalk rot (Fusarium thapsinum) in plants at maturity, the developmental stage at which these diseases are manifested. Multiple plantings of a susceptible grain line, RTx430, were used as a control for variation …

Foliar Fungicide Comparison For Southern Rust Management, Stay Green On Specific Leaves, And Yield In Nebraska, 2015, J. D. Harbour, T. A. Jackson-Ziems

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The objective of the trial was to compare foliar fungicides for southern rust (SR) efficacy. Irrigated corn was grown based on Nebraska Extension irrigation recommendations at the South Central Ag Lab near Clay Center, NE. Soils were a silt loam with 6.7 pH and 1.8 % OM and the previous crop was soybean. Reduced tillage was performed to the field prior to planting. Corn (DKC 65-79 RIB, tolerant to gray leaf spot (GLS)) was planted at approximately 34,000 seed/A on 26 May. Five treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with six replications. . . . Phytotoxicity was …