Other Plant Sciences Commons^™

Soil Depth And Geographic Distance Modulate Bacterial Β-Diversity In Deep Soil Profiles Throughout The U.S. Corn Belt, Lucas Dantas Lopes, Stephanie L. Futrell, Emily E. Wright, Gerasimos J. Danalatos, Michael J. Castellano, Tony J. Vyn, Sotirios V. Archontoulis, Daniel P. Schachtman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Understanding how microbial communities are shaped across spatial dimensions is of fundamental importance in microbial ecology. However, most studies on soil biogeography have focused on the topsoil microbiome, while the factors driving the subsoil microbiome distribution are largely unknown. Here we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to analyse the factors underlying the bacterial β-diversity along vertical (0–240 cm of soil depth) and horizontal spatial dimensions (~500,000 km²) in the U.S. Corn Belt. With these data we tested whether the horizontal or vertical spatial variation had stronger impacts on the taxonomic (Bray-Curtis) and phylogenetic (weighted Unifrac) β-diversity. Additionally, we …

Graph Convolutional Network Using Adaptive Neighborhood Laplacian Matrix For Hyperspectral Images With Application To Rice Seed Image Classification, Jairo Orozco, Vidya Manian, Estefania Alfaro, Harkamal Walia, Balpreet K. Dhatt

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Graph convolutional neural network architectures combine feature extraction and convolutional layers for hyperspectral image classification. An adaptive neighborhood aggregation method based on statistical variance integrating the spatial information along with the spectral signature of the pixels is proposed for improving graph convolutional network classification of hyperspectral images. The spatial-spectral information is integrated into the adjacency matrix and processed by a single-layer graph convolutional network. The algorithm employs an adaptive neighborhood selection criteria conditioned by the class it belongs to. Compared to fixed window-based feature extraction, this method proves effective in capturing the spectral and spatial features with variable pixel neighborhood …

Harvest Aids Did Not Advance Maturity Of Non-Shatter Pennycress, Julija A. Cubins, Samantha Wells, Russ W. Gesch, Gregg A. Johnson, Maninder K. Walia, Ratan Chopra, M. David Marks, Rebecca D. Swenson, Katherine Anna Frels

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Reliance on summer annual crops in the Upper Midwest results in fallow land from late fall through early spring, providing opportunities to integrate winter crops, such as pennycress (Thlapsi arvense L.), onto the landscape. Pennycress agronomics have primarily been studied using unimproved wild-type lines prone to seed shatter, resulting in significant yield loss if not harvested early. However, high plant and seed moisture complicates harvest and seed storage. A new breeding line with a reducedshatter mutation made it possible to use harvest aids to reduce plant moisture without the risk of seed loss. The objectives of this study were …

A Role For Heritable Transcriptomic Variation In Maize Adaptation To Temperate Environments, Guangchao Sun, Huihui Yu, Peng Wang, Martha Lopez‑Guerrero, Ravi V. Mural, Olivier N. Mizero, Marcin Grzybowski, Baoxing Song, Karin V. Van Dijk, Daniel P. Schachtman, Chi Zhang, James C. Schnable

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background: Transcription bridges genetic information and phenotypes. Here, we evaluated how changes in transcriptional regulation enable maize (Zea mays), a crop originally domesticated in the tropics, to adapt to temperate environments.

Result: We generated 572 unique RNA-seq datasets from the roots of 340 maize genotypes. Genes involved in core processes such as cell division, chromosome organization and cytoskeleton organization showed lower heritability of gene expression, while genes involved in anti-oxidation activity exhibited higher expression heritability. An expression genome-wide association study (eGWAS) identified 19,602 expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) associated with the expression of 11,444 genes. A …

Recombination Hotspots In Soybean [Glycine Max (L.) Merr.], Samantha Mcconaughy, Keenan L. Amundsen, Qijian Song, Vince Pantalone, D. Hyten

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Recombination allows for the exchange of genetic material between two parents, which plant breeders exploit to make improved cultivars. This recombination is not distributed evenly across the chromosome. Recombination mostly occurs in euchromatic regions of the genome and even then, recombination is focused into clusters of crossovers termed recombination hotspots. Understanding the distribution of these hotspots along with the sequence motifs associated with them may lead to methods that enable breeders to better exploit recombination in breeding. To map recombination hotspots and identify sequence motifs associated with hotspots in soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], two biparental recombinant inbred lines …

Large And Stable Genome Edits At The Sorghum Alpha Kafirin Locus Result In Changes In Chromatin Accessibility And Globally Increased Expression Of Genes Encoding Lysine Enrichment, J. Preston Hurst, Abou Yobi, Aixia Li, Shirley Sato, Thomas E. Clemente, Ruthie Angelovici

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Sorghum is a resilient and widely cultivated grain crop used for feed and food. However, it’s grain is deficient in lysine, an essential amino acid. This is due to the primary seed storage proteins, the alpha-kafirins, lacking lysine. It has been observed that reductions in alpha-kafirin protein results in rebalancing of the seed proteome and a corresponding increase in non-kafirin proteins which leads to an increased lysine content. However, the mechanisms underlying proteome rebalancing are unclear. This study characterizes a previously developed gene edited sorghum line, with deletions at the alpha kafirin locus.

Methods: A single consensus …

Large And Stable Genome Edits At The Sorghum Alpha Kafirin Locus Result In Changes In Chromatin Accessibility And Globally Increased Expression Of Genes Encoding Lysine Enrichment, J. Preston Hurst, Abou Yobi, Aixia Li, Shirley Sato, Thomas E. Clemente, Ruthie Angelovici, David R. Holding

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Introduction: Sorghum is a resilient and widely cultivated grain crop used for feed and food. However, it’s grain is deficient in lysine, an essential amino acid. This is due to the primary seed storage proteins, the alpha-kafirins, lacking lysine. It has been observed that reductions in alpha-kafirin protein results in rebalancing of the seed proteome and a corresponding increase in non-kafirin proteins which leads to an increased lysine content. However, the mechanisms underlying proteome rebalancing are unclear. This study characterizes a previously developed gene edited sorghum line, with deletions at the alpha kafirin locus.

Methods: A single consensus …

Increased Light Exposure Decreases Lichen Abundance On Linden Trees In The Prairie Grassland Biome Of West Central Minnesota, Cameron Berthiaume, Sanjana Kidambi, Madelyn Schoenberger

Scholarly Horizons: University of Minnesota, Morris Undergraduate Journal

Percent lichen cover on the four cardinal faces of linden trees on the University of Minnesota Morris campus was recorded in order to determine if lichen abundance is linked to the varying levels of sunlight each cardinal face receives.

Nebline, March/April 2023

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Youth-Led Photovoice Project Gives Refugees Opportunity to Explore Mental Health by Emily Gratopp

Upcoming Photovoice Exhibits

Recipe of the Month: Baharat (Middle East Spice Blend) by Emily Gratopp

Early Season Disease Control in the Home Orchard by Sarah Browning

Garden Guide: Things to Do This Month

2023 Chemigation Training

Farm Estate Planning Workshop, March 7

2023 Lincoln Early Childhood Conference, Saturday, March 25

Two Lancaster 4-H’ers Participated in National 4-H Congress

4-H Horse Judging Team at Nationals

Teen Council 4-H’ers Team Up to Lead Lock-In

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Trevor Kauer and Bethany Bettenhausen

4-H Club Gives Youth With …

Intensifying A Crop–Fallow System: Impacts On Soil Properties, Crop Yields, And Economics, S. J. Ruis, S. Stepanovic, Humberto Blanco-Canqui

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Intensifying crop–fallow systems could address increased weed control costs, increased land or rental costs, reduced crop diversity, and degraded soil properties in water-limited environments. One strategy to intensify such systems could be the insertion of a short-season crop during fallow. But, how this strategy affects soils, crop production, and farm economics needs further research. Thus, we studied the impacts of replacing fallow in a winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L)–corn (Zea mays L.)–fallow system with a short-season spring crop [field pea (Pisum sativum L.)] on crop yields and economics from 2015 to 2019 and 5-yr cumulative effects on …

Abnormal Ear Development In Corn: Does Hybrid, Environment, And Seeding Rate Matter?, Osler A. Ortez, Anthony J. Mcmechan, Emily Robinson, Thomas C. Hoegemeyer, Reka Howard, Roger W. Elmore

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Corn (Zea mays L.) yields have increased in the United States since the 1930s and in other parts of the world since the 1950s and 1960s because of improvements in agricultural management and genotypes. Despite these increases, production concerns still exist. In July 2016, abnormal ear development (multi-ears per node, barbell-ears, and short-husks) was reported in cornfields that extended from the Texas Panhandle to eastern Colorado and east through Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Illinois. Surveys in Nebraska farmer fields revealed significant productivity losses due to the issues, but little was known about the underlying causes. A research study was …

Evaluating Metabolic And Genomic Data For Predicting Grain Traits Under High Night Temperature Stress In Rice, Ye Bi, Rafael Massahiro Yassue, Puneet Paul, Balpreet Kaur Dhatt, Jaspreet Sandhu, Phuc Thi Do, Harkamal Walia, Toshihiro Obata, Gota Morota

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The asymmetric increase in average nighttime temperatures relative to increase in average daytime temperatures due to climate change is decreasing grain yield and quality in rice. Therefore, a better genome-level understanding of the impact of higher night temperature stress on the weight of individual grains is essential for future development of more resilient rice. We investigated the utility of metabolites obtained from grains to classify high night temperature (HNT) conditions of genotypes, and metabolites and single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to predict grain length, width, and perimeter phenotypes using a rice diversity panel. We found that the metabolic profiles of rice genotypes …

Alfalfa In Rotation With Annual Crops Reduced Nitrate Leaching Potential, Arshdeep Singh, Tahseen Afzal, Bryan Woodbury, Charles Wortmann, Javed Iqbal

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Rotation of perennial alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) with annual crops has the potential to reduce nitrate-nitrogen (NO₃-N) in the vadose zone and increase soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term effects on SOC, NO₃-N, ammonium-N (NH₄-N), and soil water in the 7.2 m depth with an alfalfa rotation compared with continuous corn (Zea mays L.). Soils from six pairs of alfalfa rotation versus continuous corn observation points were sampled to 7.2 m depth in 0.3 m increments. The uppermost 0.3 m was divided into …

Soybean Seed Protein Concentration Is Limited By Nitrogen Supply In Tropical And Subtropical Environments In Brazil, E. H. Figueiredo Moura Da Silva, N. Cafaro La Menza, G. G. Munareto, A. J. Zanon, Santos Carvalho, F. R. Marin

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Soybean production contributes to ca. 60% of global plant-based protein used for food and feed. Brazil is the largest soybean producer and exporter, with 60% from tropical and 40% from subtropical environments. Nitrogen (N) can play an essential role in the storage of proteins in seeds; thus, it could be a key factor in increasing the quantity and quality of seeds in high-yielding soybean crops. Unlike in temperate environments, there is a gap of knowledge on whether soybean grown under tropical and subtropical climates are limited by N-fertilization to sustain the seed yield increase without detriments in seed protein concentration. …

Combining Corn N Recommendation Tools For An Improved Economical Optimal Nitrogen Rate Estimation, Curtis J. Ransom, Newell R. Kitchen, James J. Camberato, Paul R. Carter, Richard B. Ferguson, Fabián G. Fernández, David W. Franzen, Carrie A. M. Laboski, David Brenton Myers, Emerson D. Nafziger, John E. Sawyer, John F. Shanahan

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Improving corn (Zea mays L.) nitrogen (N) rate fertilizer recommendation tools can improve farmers’ profits and mitigate N pollution. Numerous approaches have been tested to improve these tools, but to date improvements for predicting economically optimum N rate (EONR) have been modest. This work’s objective was to use ensemble learning to improve our estimation of EONR (for a single at-planting and split N application timing) by combining multiple corn N recommendation tools. The evaluation was conducted using 49 corn N response trials from eight states in the US Corn Belt and three growing seasons (2014–2016). Elastic net and decision …

De Novo Assembly And Comparative Analyses Of Mitochondrial Genomes In Piperales, Runxian Yu, Xudong Chen, Lingjie Long, Matthias Jost, Ran Zhao, Lumei Liu, Jeffrey P. Mower, Claude W. Depamphilis, Stefan Wanke, Yuannian Jiao

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The mitochondrial genome of Liriodendron tulipifera exhibits many ancestral angiosperm features and a remarkably slow evolutionary rate, while mitochondrial genomes of other magnoliids remain yet to be characterized. We assembled nine new mitochondrial genomes, representing all genera of perianth-bearing Piperales, as well as for a member of the sister clade: three complete or nearly complete mitochondrial genomes from Aristolochiaceae and six additional draft assemblies including Thottea, Asaraceae, Lactoridaceae, and Hydnoraceae. For comparative purpose, a complete mitochondrial genome was assembled for Saururus, a member of the perianth-less Piperales. The average number of short repeats (50–99 bp) was much larger …

An Innovative Approach To Improve Oil Production And Quality Of Mustard (Brassica Juncea L.) With Multi-Nutrient-Rich Polyhalite, Biswajit Pramanick, B.S. Mahapatra, Debarati Datta, Prithwiraj Dey, S.P. Singh, Ajay Kumar, Bappa Paramanik, Neeraj Awasthi

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Polyhalite popularly known as POLY4 is a multi-nutrient fertiliser containing K, S, Mg, Ca, and micronutrients. POLY4 has a low carbon footprint, is certified for organic agriculture, and has the potential to improve crop productivity and quality attributes Indian mustard which often faces challenges due to imbalanced nutrition supplied in the current fertilisation schedule. The hypothesis of the study was that the multi-nutrient fartiliser POLY4 can ensure balanced nutrition for Indian mustard. Considering this, a field experiment was conducted during the winter seasons of 2017–18 and 2018–19 to evaluate the effect of POLY4 on Indian mustard (Brassica juncea L.) …

Pearl Millet Response To Drought: A Review, Nikee Shrestha, Hao Hu, Kumar Shrestha, Andrew N. Doust

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The C4 grass pearl millet is one of the most drought tolerant cereals and is primarily grown in marginal areas where annual rainfall is low and intermittent. It was domesticated in sub-Saharan Africa, and several studies have found that it uses a combination of morphological and physiological traits to successfully resist drought. This review explores the short term and long-term responses of pearl millet that enables it to either tolerate, avoid, escape, or recover from drought stress. The response to short term drought reveals fine tuning of osmotic adjustment, stomatal conductance, and ROS scavenging ability, along with ABA and ethylene …

Expression Of Malic Enzyme Reveals Subcellular Carbon Partitioning For Storage Reserve Production In Soybeans, Usda Agricultural Research Service, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Thomas E. Clemente, Hanh T. Nguyen

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

• Central metabolism produces amino and fatty acids for protein and lipids that establish seed value. Biosynthesis of storage reserves occurs in multiple organelles that exchange central intermediates including two essential metabolites, malate, and pyruvate that are linked by malic enzyme. Malic enzyme can be active in multiple subcellular compartments, partitioning carbon and reducing equivalents for anabolic and catabolic requirements. Prior studies based on isotopic labeling and steady-state metabolic flux analyses indicated malic enzyme provides carbon for fatty acid biosynthesis in plants, though genetic evidence confirming this role is lacking. We hypothesized that increasing malic enzyme flux would alter carbon partitioning …

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Screening Spring Wheat Genotypes For Tadreb-B1 And Fehw3 Genes Under Severe Drought Stress At The Germination Stage Using Kasp Technology, Elsayed A. Mohamed, Asmaa A. M. Ahmed, Matías Schierenbeck, Mohamed Y. Hussein, P. Stephen Baenziger, Andreas Börner, Ahmed Sallam

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Drought stress is a major yield-limiting factor throughout the world in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), causing losses of up to 80% of the total yield. The identification of factors affecting drought stress tolerance in the seedling stage is especially important to increase adaptation and accelerate the grain yield potential. In the current study, 41 spring wheat genotypes were tested for their tolerance to drought at the germination stage under two different polyethylene glycol concentrations (PEG) of 25% and 30%. For this purpose, twenty seedlings from each genotype were evaluated in triplicate with a randomized complete block design (RCBD) in …