Botany Commons^™

The Prairie Naturalist, Vol. 52, Issue 2, December 2020

The Prairie Naturalist

Comparing Native Bee Communities on Reconstructed and Remnant Prairie in Missouri • Joseph LaRose, Elisabeth B. Webb, and Deborah Finke

Patterns and Potential Causes of Changing Winter Bird Distributions in South Dakota • David L. Swanson, Reza Goljani Amipkhiz, and Mark D. Dixon

Greater prairie-chickens and sharp-tailed grouse have similarly high nest survival in the Nebraska Sandhills • Larkin A. Powell, Walter H. Schacht, Julia P. Ewalt, and Katie R. McCollum

Captive Ring-necked Pheasant Response to Very High Experimental Doses of Lead • Travis J. Runia and Alex J. Solem

Trends in a Greater Prairie Chicken Population Established by Translocation …

Genomic Selection Of Forage Agronomic Traits In Winter Wheat, Frank Maulana, Ki-Seung Kim, Joshua D. Anderson, Mark E. Sorrells, Twain J. Butler, Shuyu Liu, P. Stephen Baenziger, Patrick Byrne, Xue-Feng Ma

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Genomic selection (GS) can improve genetic gain of complex traits in plant breeding. Phenotyping agronomic traits of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) for dualpurpose use is expensive and time-consuming. In this study, we compared the prediction accuracies of four GS models (RR-BLUP, GBLUP, GAUSS, and BL) for forage yield (FY), plant height (PH) and heading date (HD) of the hard winter wheat diversity panel (n = 298) using random and stratified sampling methods. In addition, we determined the appropriate training population (TP) size and marker density for GS of the traits. Moderate to high prediction accuracies ranging from 0.66 …

Reducing Mowing Requirements In Home Lawn And Golf Course Turfgrass, Mark A. Keck

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

Turfgrass systems are routinely managed by frequent mowing to increase aesthetics and function. Mowing is resource intensive with a high labor and energy demand. Reducing the number of mowings events in a growing season will decrease the labor and energy but may reduce quality as well. Previous work has looked at reducing mowing by changing the frequency and by using a plant growth regulator (PGR). Limited information is available about how to reduce mowing while maintaining acceptable quality. We looked at two different management practices to reduce mowing and maintain quality. The first study evaluated seven different mowing frequencies at …

Evaluating The Impact Of Grafting On Local Tomato Production In Nebraska, Raihanah Hassim

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

Vegetable grafting has been known to improve plant production under both biotic and abiotic stresses. With an increase in interest among local growers towards grafting production, it is important to provide enough vegetable grafting information. Therefore, the objective of this study is to assess the impact of grafting, rootstock cultivar, and local conditions and management on the yield and quality of tomato across the diverse growing and environmental conditions, specifically in Nebraska. Three open-field and one limited growing condition study were conducted between 2018 and 2019 across Nebraska. In the open-field trial, two determinant fresh market tomatoes, ‘Nebraska Wedding’ and …

Fine-Scale Patterns Of Genetic Structure In The Host Plant Chamaecrista Fasciculata (Fabaceae) And Its Nodulating Rhizobia Symbionts, Mahboubeh Hosseinalizadeh Nobarinezhad, Lisa A. Wallace

Biological Sciences Faculty Publications

In natural plant populations, a fine-scale spatial genetic structure (SGS) can result from limited gene flow, selection pressures or spatial autocorrelation. However, limited gene flow is considered the predominant determinant in the establishment of SGS. With limited dispersal ability of bacterial cells in soil and host influence on their variety and abundance, spatial autocorrelation of bacterial communities associated with plants is expected. For this study, we collected genetic data from legume host plants, Chamaecrista fasciculata, their Bradyrhizobium symbionts and rhizosphere free-living bacteria at a small spatial scale to evaluate the extent to which symbiotic partners will have similar SGS …

Influence Of Burning And Grazing Management Practices On Subirrigated Sandhill Meadow Hay Production, Tara M. Harms

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

Subirrigated meadows are a valuable forage resource to Sandhills ranching operations being used for hay production, grazing, or a combination of both. Practices that sustain meadow productivity should be encouraged to ensure a consistent feed supply for cattle. The potential influence of prescribed burning or pre-freeze and post-freeze grazing on forage production and quality are not well understood on these meadows. In grasslands, including meadows, excess dead plant material can accumulate, causing a potential reduction in forage yield and quality. Results of our three-year field study suggest that burning meadows in the spring is a suitable management option to remove …

Fungicide Resistance: Surveillance, Risk Assessment And Evolution In Two Soil-Borne Pathogens, Nikita Gambhir

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

Fungicide-resistant pathogens are an increasing threat to fungicide efficacy and plant health. The goal of this dissertation was to advance the foundational knowledge required to prevent and detect fungicide resistance development in the seedling disease pathogen, Rhizoctonia zeae and the white-mold pathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Corn and soybean fields in 12 states (Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin) were surveyed for R. zeae. In vitro fungicide sensitivity was determined for 91 isolates to fludioxonil, sedaxane, and/or prothioconazole. Rhizoctonia zeae was sensitive to all fungicides (EC₅₀ < 3 µg/ml) except azoxystrobin (EC₅₀ > 100 µg/ml). In …

Evaluating The Untapped Potential Of U.S. Conservation Investments To Improve Soil And Environmental Health, Andrea Basche, Katherine Tully, Nora L. Alvarez-Berrios, Julian Reyes, Laura Lengnick, Tabitha Brown, Jennifer M. Moore, Rachel E. Schattman, Lana Koepke Johnson, Gabrielle Roesch-Mcnally

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

There is increasing enthusiasm around the concept of soil health, and as a result, new public and private initiatives are being developed to increase soil health-related practices on working lands in the United States. In addition, billions of U.S. public dollars are dedicated annually toward soil conservation programs, and yet, it is not well quantified how investment in conservation programs improve soil health and, more broadly, environmental health. The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) is one of the major U.S. public conservation programs administered on privately managed lands for which public data are available. In this research, we developed a …

False Cypress -- Hinoki, Grace Flynn

BIO 140 Arboretum Project

In this semester my class and I in Biology Lab 140 chose one tree to document. The tree that I chose was the False Cypress-Hinoki. This tree was located in front of Misto Gatehouse. Every week I would take pictures of my tree and document changes I had noticed. Throughout the class I was able to see the changes that occurred to my tree.

A Survey Of Leaf Venation In New Caledonian Syzygium (Myrtaceae), Jiawei Xu Montojo

Electronic Theses & Dissertations

New Caledonia is a globally recognized biodiversity ‘hotspot’ characterized by a rich flora and a large number of endemic species. Syzygium Gaertn., the largest genus of woody plants in the world, is common in New Caledonia with approximately 70 species. A comparative survey of leaf morphology and architectural traits among 27 species of New Caledonian Syzygium was conducted, focusing on leaf venation patterns. Separate and detailed descriptions of leaf morphology and leaf venation characters are provided for the species. In addition to morphological differences, this study found differences at the species level among characters such as the number of intramarginal …

Trilepisium (Moraceae): Four New Species From Madagascar, Shawn Kelley

Theses

Trilepisium is a genus of tree with two member species: T. madagascariense and T. gymnandrum. This genus shows diversity in habit and morphology greatly exceeding that expected of a genus with two member species. Concerted collection efforts since the last revision have suggested there are several unrecognized species within Trilepisium and a revision is needed. Chapter one of this thesis details the history of this taxanomically challenging genus and presents the results of our study of 600 Malagasy herbarium specimens. Trilepisium is more adequately circumscribed as containing 17 species, 11 of which are new to science. Chapter two contains …

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics Of Fungal Communities And Their Effects On Plants, Kel Cook

Biology ETDs

Fungi perform several critical functions in the environment. Spatiotemporal distributions of fungal communities will mediate when and where these functions happen and how they vary across the landscape. I first explored tropical tree canopy fungal community variation at small spatial scales and documented near total turnover of fungi across sub-meter distances and among adjacent substrates. The second chapter analyzed fungal turnover over the course of three years, where community stability was driven primarily by abundant fungi. In the third chapter, I tested effects of the environment, including host plant and habitat, on canopy fungal communities and found only small effects, …

Use Of An Active Canopy Sensor Mounted On An Unmanned Aerial Vehicle To Monitor The Growth And Nitrogen Status Of Winter Wheat, Jie Jiang, Zeyu Zhang, Qiang Cao, Yan Liang, Brian Krienke, Yongchao Tian, Yan Zhu, Weixing Cao, Xiaojun Liu

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Using remote sensing to rapidly acquire large-area crop growth information (e.g., shoot biomass, nitrogen status) is an urgent demand for modern crop production; unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) acts as an effective monitoring platform. In order to improve the practicability and efficiency of UAV based monitoring technique, four field experiments involving different nitrogen (N) rates (0–360 kg N ha⁻¹ ) and seven winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties were conducted at different eco-sites (Sihong, Rugao, and Xinghua) during 2015–2019. A multispectral active canopy sensor (RapidSCAN CS-45; Holland Scientific Inc., Lincoln, NE, USA) mounted on a multirotor UAV platform was used …

Perspectives On Low Temperature Tolerance And Vernalization Sensitivity In Barley: Prospects For Facultative Growth Habit, Maria Munoz-Amatriain, Javier Hernandez, Dustin Herb, P Stephen Baenziger, Anne Marie Bochard, Flavio Capettini, Ana Casas, Alfonso Cuesta-Marcos, Claus Einfeldt, Scott Fisk, Amelie Genty, Laura Helgerson, Markus Herz, Gongshe Hu, Ernesto Igartua, Ildiko Karsai, Toshiki Nakamura, Kazuhiro Sato, Kevin Smith, Eric Stockinger, William Thomas, Patrick Hayes

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

One option to achieving greater resiliency for barley production in the face of climate change is to explore the potential of winter and facultative growth habits: for both types, low temperature tolerance (LTT) and vernalization sensitivity are key traits. Sensitivity to short-day photoperiod is a desirable attribute for facultative types. In order to broaden our understanding of the genetics of these phenotypes, we mapped quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and identified candidate genes using a genome-wide association studies (GWAS) panel composed of 882 barley accessions that was genotyped with the Illumina 9K single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip. Fifteen loci including 5 known …

Distribution Of Antibiotic-Resistant Enterobacteriaceae Pathogens In Potable Spring Water Of Eastern Indian Himalayas: Emphasis On Virulence Gene And Antibiotic Resistance Genes In Escherichia Coli, Ashish Kumar Singh, Saurav Das, Santosh Kumar, Varsha Rani Gajamer, Ishfaq Nabi Najar, Yanchen D. Lepcha, Hare Krishna Tiwari, Samer Singh

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Every year millions of people die due to fatal waterborne diseases around the world especially in developing countries like India. Sikkim, a northeastern state of India, greatly depends on natural water sources. About 80% of the population of Sikkim depends on natural spring water for domestic as well as agricultural use. Recent waterborne disease outbreaks in the state raises a concerning question on water quality. In this study, we analyzed water quality especially for the detection of Enterobacteriaceae members from four districts of the state. Isolation with selective culture media techniques and taxonomic characterization of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria with 16S rRNA …

The Benefits Of The Arkansas Rice Check-Off Program, B. Peterson-Wilhelm, L. L. Nalley, A. Durand-Morat, A. Shew, R. Parajuli, G. Thoma

AAES Research Reports and Research Bulletins

As margins are reducing for agricultural producers there is a concerted effort to analyze all costs. One such cost for rice producers in Arkansas is their contribution to the Rice Check-off Program. This study analyzes the cost-benefit ratio of funds contributed by Arkansas rice producers and the holistic (both economic and environmental) benefits they receive. This study analyzes just five of the many programs the Rice Check-off Program invests in through the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture (UASDA) and suggests that every dollar invested generated an average return of $28.49 between 2002–2018 ($70.45 when ecosystem benefits are included). …

Critical Period Of Palmer Amaranth Removal And Effects Of Late Season Herbicide Applications On Palmer Amaranth Seed Production, José Henrique Scarparo De Sanctis

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

Palmer amaranth is the most troublesome weed in agronomic crops in United States. Therefore, an integrated weed management approach is necessary to successfully manage this weed. The use of residual pre-emergence (PRE) herbicide applied at planting can delays the is one of the critical time of Palmer amaranth removal (CTPAR) giving farmers more time to prepare the weed control tactics and to preventing an unacceptable yield loss in soybean due to Palmer amaranth competition. Field experiments were conducted in 2018 and 2019 in a grower’s field infested with GR Palmer amaranth near Carleton, Nebraska, to determine the CTPAR in soybean …

Arkansas Soybean Research Studies 2019, Jeremy Ross

Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series

The 2019 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 a data set 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 …

Analysis Of The Variables Affecting Plant Species Richness In Deserts, Eli R. Kallison, Ellen Thompson, Maddison Keen, Rusty Newman

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

There are many hypotheses that attempt to explain patterns of species diversity in different environments. Deserts are a great place to study changes in species richness because they are relatively nutrient bare and exhibit low precipitation. This barebones environment means that slight shifts in climate and geography may lead to clear changes in species richness. We investigate how temperature, precipitation, water and light availability, latitude, elevation and other variables affect plant species richness in 20 deserts.

Influence Of Pinus Contorta And Arctostaphylos Uva-Ursi On The Presence Of Cladonia Portentosa Subspecies Pacifica Within Protected Dune Ecosystems In Arcata, California, Courtney Michelle Harris, Kacia Layman, Jamie Wautlet, Grace Rhoades, Chris Belko

IdeaFest: Interdisciplinary Journal of Creative Works and Research from Cal Poly Humboldt

No abstract provided.