Other Plant Sciences Commons^™

Sweet Sorghum Genotypes Tolerant And Sensitive To Nitrogen Stress Select Distinct Root Endosphere And Rhizosphere Bacterial Communities, Lucas Dantas Lopes, Yen Ning Chai, Ellen L. Marsh, John F. Rajewski, Ismail Dweikat, Daniel P. Schachtman

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

The belowground microbiomes have many beneficial functions that assist plant growth, including nutrient cycling, acquisition and transport, as well as alleviation of stresses caused by nutrient limitations such as nitrogen (N). Here we analyzed the root endosphere, rhizosphere and soil bacterial communities of seven sweet sorghum genotypes differing in sensitivity to N-stress. Sorghum genotypes were grown in fields with no (low-N) or sufficient (high-N) N. The dry shoot weight ratio (low-N/high-N) was used to determine N-stress sensitivity. Our hypothesis was that genotypes tolerant and sensitive to N-stress select distinct bacterial communities. The endosphere and rhizosphere bacterial community structure were significantly …

Meta-Analysis Identifies Pleiotropic Loci Controlling Phenotypic Trade-Offs In Sorghum, Ravi V. Mural, Marcin Grzybowski, Miao Chenyong, Alyssa Damke, Sirjan Sapkota, Richard E. Boyles, Maria G. Salas Fernandez, Patrick S. Schnable, Brandi Sigmon, Stephen Kresovich, James C. Schnable

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Community association populations are composed of phenotypically and genetically diverse accessions. Once these populations are genotyped, the resulting marker data can be reused by different groups investigating the genetic basis of different traits. Because the same genotypes are observed and scored for a wide range of traits in different environments, these populations represent a unique resource to investigate pleiotropy. Here, we assembled a set of 234 separate trait datasets for the Sorghum Association Panel, a group of 406 sorghum genotypes widely employed by the sorghum genetics community. Comparison of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) conducted with two independently generated marker sets …

Nebline, June 2021

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Choosing Quality Child Care: Guidance For Parents

Eastern Carpenter Bees

Eating for Brain Health

Recipe of the Month

Naturally Occurring Contaminants, Part 4 of a Series — Arsenic

Efficiency Is Key To Profit On Stocker Cattle

Common Grub Control Questions

Garden Guide: Things to do This Month

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Jen & Jesse Metcalf

4th Graders Learn About “Farm to Fork” During Virtual Ag Festival

Statewide 4-H Companion Animal Challenge Results

Extension News

Extension Calendar

STEM Zoom Workshops in June

Seeking Lancaster County Fair Historic Memorabilia and Stories

Rhizosphere Microbiomes In A Historical Maize-Soybean Rotation System Respond To Host Species And Nitrogen Fertilization At The Genus And Subgenus Levels, Michael A. Meier, Martha G. Lopez-Guerrero, Ming Guo, Marty Schmer, Josh Herr, James Schnable, James R. Alfano, Jinliang Yang

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Root-associated microbes are key players in plant health, disease resistance, and nitrogen (N) use efficiency. It remains largely unclear how the interplay of biological and environmental factors affects rhizobiome dynamics in agricultural systems. In this study, we quantified the composition of rhizosphere and bulk soil microbial communities associated with maize (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) in a long-term crop rotation study under conventional fertilization and low-N regimes. Over two growing seasons, we evaluated the effects of environmental conditions and several treatment factors on the abundance of rhizosphere- and soil-colonizing microbial taxa. Time of sampling, host plant species, …

Morphophysiological And Molecular Characterization Of Millet (Panicum Miliaceum L.) Varieties For Crop Improvement In Western Europe, Massimo Vischi, Nicola Zorzin, Maria Bernhart, Johanna Winkler, Dipak Santra, Carla Pappalardo, Stefano Marchetti

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Background

Global warming and issues in favour of a more sustainable agriculture suggest a reconsideration of minor cereals in European agrosystems. Compared to other summer crops, proso millet has a remarkable drought resistance and could be used to improve crop rotation and biodiversity. Proso millet is also increasingly sought by industry to produce novel foods such as those designed for celiac patients. In this study, a thorough characterization of 11, commercially available, proso millet (Panicum milliaceum L.) varieties was carried out as a preliminary step for crop reintroduction and breeding in Western Europe.

Methods

The cultivars under evaluation were …

Evaluation Of Masculinization Treatments To Produce Feminized Hemp Seed (Cannabis Sativa L.), Ted Fitzgerald, J. Wyatt Brown

Master's Theses

Cannabis sativa L. (hemp) develops plants with either male or female flowers, and growers of hemp greatly prefer female flowers which bear the glandular trichomes that contain cannabinoids. Feminized (all female) seeds are highly desired, which are produced by crossing a female plant with a masculinized female plant. Masculinization is achieved through the inhibition of ethylene and/or addition of gibberellins before flower initiation in female plants. The hemp industry uses silver thiosulfate (STS) to masculinize hemp, but spraying silver poses environmental concerns. This study compared STS to three other ethylene-inhibiting agents: aminoethoxyvinylglycine (AVG), cobalt nitrate (CBN), and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP). Treatments …

Improved Taste And Texture In Novel Popcorn Varieties Compared To Conventional Lines, Leandra Parsons, Oscar Rodriguez, David R. Holding

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Abstract Quality Protein Popcorn (QPP) varieties were bred out of a unique germplasm pool derived from Quality Protein dent Maize and conventional popcorn lines. To identify and compare distinctive characteristics within this population, a new sensory method was employed that coupled hedonic numeric rankings of common sensory traits appearance, aroma, texture, and taste with an “overall likability” score while requiring the selection of specific descriptors for taste and texture. Participants tasted six popcorn cultivars, rated each sample based on sensory factors, and offered specific descriptors for taste and texture. This sensory method identified two QPP hybrids with higher overall likability …

Coleoptile Length Comparison Of Three Winter Small Grain Cereals Adapted To The Great Plains, M. Alam, M. Kashif, Amanda Easterly, F. Wang, J. D. Boehm Jr., P. Stephen Baenziger

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

Successful crop stand establishment is critical to realize high yield potential, which is dependent on depth of seed placement to access soil moisture. The coleoptile determines sowing depth by its length and ability to emerge from depth. This study was conducted to assess coleoptile length among three sets of three Great Plains winter small grain cereals—wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) and triticale (X triticosecale Wittm.)—and to evaluate the effect of the Rht-B1b dwarfing allele on coleoptile length in wheat and triticale. Fifty seeds of each genotype were sown in wet germination paper in two …

Samphires (Tecticornia Species) For Dryland Salinity Management In Western Australia, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Samphire is the common name for native plants from the genus Tecticornia (synonym Halosarcia). Although slower growing than saltbush and bluebush species, samphires have higher tolerance to saline conditions and waterlogging, and are common in waterlogged saline areas of south-west Western Australia.

Samphire is not a desirable grazing species.

Estimation Of Household Smoke-Exposure Risk Using Demographic And Health Survey (Dhs) Data, Mazbahul G. Ahamad, Fahian Tanin

Department of Agronomy and Horticulture: Faculty Publications

We introduce Stata and R codes to estimate the household smoke-exposure risk (SER) variable using cooking fuel- and cooking place-related information obtained from country-level demographic and health survey (DHS) data. Two categories of cooking fuels (smoke-producing and non-smoke producing fuels) and two categories of cooking places (indoor and outdoor) are used to estimate the household SER. Finally, household SER is classified into four levels of risk: high (cooking indoor using smoke-producing fuels), medium (cooking outdoor using smoke-producing fuels), low (cooking indoor using non-smoke-producing fuels), and very low (cooking outdoor using non-smoke-producing fuels). An example of a household SER calculation using …

Techniques To Improve The Volume, Texture And Nutritional Quality Of Gluten-Free Bread, Zachary Christman

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

This article highlights the use of soy flour to improve the protein and fiber of gluten free bread. Also, the use of an extrusion process on soybean and corn flour blends improves the volume and texture of the bread. A full listing of the ingredients and method for production of higher quality gluten free bread is included.

Pasture Legumes And Grasses For Saline Land In Western Australia, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

The productivity of saline and waterlogged land can be markedly increased by using salt tolerant legumes and grasses, in mixtures. The mix is particularly important for increasing the productivity and profitability of saltbush-based pastures. The information is relevant to the south-west agricultural region of Western Australia.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development provides this information on the tolerance and establishment of salt tolerant legumes and grasses to improve the productivity and profitability of saline land.

Saltbushes For Dryland Salinity Management In Western Australia, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Saltland pastures always have a range of plant species, even in dense saltbush plantations. Saltbush will often change the watertable and surface soil characteristics enough for other plants to colonise. The understorey plants are often the most productive component of saltbush pastures.

This page provides information about each of the saltbushes that can be used in these mixed salt-tolerant pastures.

The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development recommends that saltland management is part of a whole farm – or preferable whole catchment – plan.

Tall Wheatgrass (Thinopyrum Ponticum) For Dryland Salinity Management, Department Of Primary Industries And Regional Development, Western Australia

Natural resources factsheets

Tall wheatgrass (Thinopyrum ponticum) has been widely planted in Western Australia on saline land in the southern agricultural areas, on land that shows signs of salt and is not permanently waterlogged.

The information provided here assumes that tall wheatgrass is being grazed effectively by livestock.

Responses Of The Carnivorous Pink Spoonleaf Sundew (Drosera Capillaris) To Nitrogen Addition, Phosphorus Addition, And Simulated Fire, Karina Rodriguez Castillo

Honors Theses

This study investigated how the carnivorous plant, Drosera capillaris(pink sundew), responded to changes in the resources of its habitat, the fire-prone, nutrient-poor wet savannas. It is of interest to determine what soil nutrient(s), nitrogen or phosphorus, limits the survival and growth of pink sundew, and to what extent, if any, does fire affect the survival and growth of this carnivorous plant. My field experiments had twenty plots with two replicate groups consisting of four pink sundews in each plot. From the fall of 2017 to the fall of 2019, only half of the plots were clipped annually, and there …

Nebline, May 2021

NEBLINE Newsletter Archive from Nebraska Extension in Lancaster County

Building Health Equity in Lincoln: Extension Launches Health Equity Coalition

Recipe of the Month

Intensive Gardening Techniques

Garden Guide Things to Do This Month

Naturally Occurring Elements in Groundwater--Part 3 of a Series — Fluoride

Cash Rent Survey

Preparing for the Inevitable: Japanese Beetles

Challenge Accepted! Children Thrive Outside

Heart of 4-H Volunteer Award: Rusty & Heidi Hanley

4-H Announcements for 4-H'ers and Volunteers

Clover College: June 15–18, 2021

EXTENSION CALENDAR

4-H’ers Qualify for State Speech & PSA Contest

4-H Horse Stampede Results

Interactive Effects Of Soil And Browsing On Big Sagebrush: Implications For Restoration Success, Kyle Nehring

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Heterogeneity in landscape conditions (e.g., soil types) precludes a “one size fits all” management strategy across large landscapes. New management approaches that explicitly account for heterogeneous landscapes (and the variable conditions therein) will be required to maintain habitat quality. In particular, we require an improved mechanistic understanding of how the outcomes of conservation and restoration actions are contingent upon a) contextual abiotic factors (e.g., moisture availability mediated by soils and precipitation) and b) their interactions with biotic factors (e.g., browsing wildlife).

We propose to answer fundamental questions about how big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata), the foundational species for sagebrush …

Factors Affecting Irrigation Water Use In Southwest Missouri And Soil Microbial Response To Irrigation And Crop Residue, Shirley M. Dobbs

Graduate Theses/Dissertations

Sustainable use of water resources in Southwest Missouri requires a better understanding of factors that influence groundwater use by crop producers. The objective of this study was to assess the influence of weather patterns and edaphic factors on water used for agricultural irrigation. Groundwater withdrawal data from 14 high-use agricultural irrigation wells were monitored between 2009 and 2016 as part of the Southwest Missouri Irrigation Project. Stepwise and linear regression was used to assess the relationship of weather and edaphic factors in response to annual water use from each well. Precipitation volume, number of precipitation events, average maximum and minimum …

Origin Of Agricultural Plant Pathogens: Diversity And Pathogenicity Of Rhizoctonia Fungi Associated With Native Prairie Grasses In The Sandhills Of Nebraska, Srikanth Kodati, Anthony O. Adesemoye, Gary Y. Yuen, Jerry Volesky, Sydney E. Everhart

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

The Sandhills of Nebraska is a complex ecosystem, covering 50,000 km² in central and western Nebraska and predominantly of virgin grassland. Grasslands are the most widespread vegetation in the U.S. and once dominated regions are currently cultivated croplands, so it stands to reason that some of the current plant pathogens of cultivated crops originated from grasslands, particularly soilborne plant pathogens. The anamorphic genus Rhizoctonia includes genetically diverse organisms that are known to be necrotrophic fungal pathogens, saprophytes, mycorrhiza of orchids, and biocontrol agents. This study aimed to evaluate the diversity of Rhizoctonia spp. on four native grasses in the …

Changes In Subcellular Localization Of Host Proteins Induced By Plant Viruses, Rosalba Rodriguez-Pena, Kaoutar El Mounadi, Hernan Garcia-Ruiz

Department of Plant Pathology: Faculty Publications

Viruses are dependent on host factors at all parts of the infection cycle, such as translation, genome replication, encapsidation, and cell-to-cell and systemic movement. RNA viruses replicate their genome in compartments associated with the endoplasmic reticulum, chloroplasts, and mitochondria or peroxisome membranes. In contrast, DNA viruses replicate in the nucleus. Viral infection causes changes in plant gene expression and in the subcellular localization of some host proteins. These changes may support or inhibit virus accumulation and spread. Here, we review host proteins that change their subcellular localization in the presence of a plant virus. The most frequent change is the …