Plant Biology Commons^™

Fungal Diversity In Lespedeza Cuneata Roots, Gwendolyn Happ, Sophia Mcdade, Anthony Yannarell

MICRO-CCS student projects

Background

• Plants form a relationship with fungi that can be beneficial or harmful
• Fungi may grow on the plant surface, within plant tissues, or around roots
• Plants release compounds that invite fungi to their roots and chemicals  that can diminish unwanted fungi

Why Lespedeza cuneata? 

• Invasive that competes with native plants and damages biodiversity within plant and animal communities
• Alters soil microbiome
• Expansive seed bank and deep root system
• Understanding its microbiome can help in understanding invasive species success and ecology

The Multifaceted Medicinal Properties Of Momordica Charantia: Insights Into Phytochemistry And Therapeutic Applications, Maham Ashfaq, Haroon Ur Rashid, Javaria Ashfaq, Shazia Ramzan, Fatma Hussain

Journal of Bioresource Management

Momordica charantia (bitter melon) is a significant medicinal plant, having been long used in traditional medicine in Asian, African and South American systems. M. charantia is more than a traditional medicine; by consolidating existing evidence, it is a promising source of drug discovery and can serve as a complementary in contemporary therapeutics. Over the last several decades, it has become the subject of contemporary biomedical studies due to its abundance of phytochemicals, such as saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, and polypeptides. These bioactive compounds present a wide range of pharmacological processes that M. charantia can be a natural solution to some of …

Impact On Energy Budgets In Grassland Production And Conservation Of Possible Production Of Energy From Biomass Crops, R J. Wilkins

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There is commonly a conflict between output/unit of area of land and output/unit of support-energy (SE) input. The possibil­ity of using a proportion of the total land area for biomass energy production suggests an approach for calculating grassland out­put/ha unconfounded with differences in SE input. Output can be calculated for an area of land that is devoted to grassland and biomass energy crops in proportions that result in a net demand for SE of zero. Outputs of utilized metabolizable energy (UME) are related to inputs of SE for (1) grazed grass with high application of nitrogen (N) fertilizer and (2) …

Efficiency Of Dairying Under Contrasting Feeding And Management Systems In North America, Israel, Europe, And New Zealand, J.D. J. Scott

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Four different systems of feeding and managing dairy cattle are seen in major milk-producing countries. These are (1) feeding purchased roughages and concentrates to zero-grazed, intensively penned cows; (2) home growing of roughages and most con­centrates for zero-grazed animals; (3) feeding concentrates with conserved pasture and other roughages in winter and reduced concentrates to grazed cattle in spring-summer; and (4) feeding cattle on grazed pasture and conserved pasture throughout the year. The following data on the four systems were obtained from examples in southern California, Wisconsin, England/Wales, and New Zealand. Average fat-corrected milk (FCM)/cow is approximately 7,140, 5,300, 4,670, and …

Potential Contribution Of White Clover To The Economics And Support-Energy Inputs Of Grass-Based Beef-Production Systems, T A. Stewart, R E. Haycock, A S. Laidlaw

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Biological output, gross margins, and efficiency of support-energy usage in an 18-month beef-production system on grass-white clover swards receiving either 50 kg N/ha stocked at 3.3 head/ha (low N) or 300 kg N/ha stocked 4.5 head/ha (high N) were compared. To date, two production cycles (1977-1979 and 1978-1980) at two sites have been completed. Mean live-weight and carcass gains/ha were, respectively, 17.5% and 14% higher from the high-N than from the low-N system. Gross margin/head was higher from the high-N system in the first production cycle but not in the second. In the low-N system as com· pared with the …

An Evaluation Of The Black Walnut- Tall Fescue Pasture-Management System, H E. Garrett, W B. Kurtz

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The economic and biological feasibility. of a black walnut-livestock-grazing multicropping-management regime bas been evaluated for comparison with a similar livestock-management regime conducted in the open. Pure tall fescue plots were established under open and black walnut-shade conditions. Forage yields on a dry-weight basis were estimated for a 3-year period. A concurrent grazing trial was co􀀌ducted on similar sites using 1.2-ha plots. Black walnut seedlings were planted within the plots on a 3 x 12-m spacing and protected from grazing animals by electric fencing. The economic analyses of the alternate grazing systems were based on their respective present net worth and …

Economics Of Renovating Mountain Hay Meadows, J J. Jacobs

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

There are approximately 0.5 million hectares (ha) of irrigated native grass hay in the mountain and intermountain regions of California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Often these lands are not producing at their full physical or economic potential. The objectives of this study were to identify alternative improvement procedures to increase hay production and to determine the economic feasibility of those alternatives. The principal means of identifying alternative mountain hay-meadow improvement practices and their costs was personal in­terviews with ranchers. The ranchers interviewed were owners and/or operators of mountain ranches in Wyoming who were us­ing or had …

Pasture Demonstration Program For Beef: Economic Considerations, P R. Hasbargen, R H. Craven, N P. Martin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

This study made an economic evaluation of several alternative pasture improvement programs on beef farms in northern Minnesota. Three questions were addressed relative to several pasture improvement systems. These were (1) Will it pay? (2) Is there a cheaper way? and (3) Is there a more profitable system for a particular farm resource situation? Partial budgeting and computerized linear programming techniques were used to analyze pasture cost and return data obtained from several ranches in northern Minnesota. Study results show that rented pastures, when available, provided the cheapest source of additional summer feed, and that legume pastures provide cheaper sources …

Pennsylvania's Alfalfa Growers Program: Four Years Of Success, J E. Baylor, L E. Lanyon, W K. Waters

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) is the most important perennial forage legume grown in Pennsylvania. However, yields currently reported by farmers are considerably below what might be expected when all production inputs are utilized. Therefore, a pro­gram was developed (1) to measure how much alfalfa hay, protein, and energy can be pro􀀗uced on 1 ha of Pennsylvania land under nonirrigated conditions, (2) to determine the mineral content and uptake by high-yielding alfalfa crops, and (3) to obtain more realistic on-farm estimates of alfalfa production costs. To achieve the program goals, hay production for each harvest from 2.02-ha farm fields was …

Estimation Of Digestibility Of Legume Forages By Means Of Morphological Parameters, W Kuhbauch

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Forage quality is normally evaluated by time-consuming and costly laboratory analyses. It appears promising to use mor­phological parameters to evaluate forage quality in alfalfa and red clover. During progressive growth of white clover, red clover, and alfalfa, the leaf and stem portion was separated to determine the fiber fraction according to the Van Soest method and to

estimate digestibility by the procedure of Tilley and Terry. Stem : leaf ratio and stand height as a measure of stem length were used as morphological parameters. Leaves of the three legumes vary only slightly in concentration of cell-wall material and in digestibility …

Income, Costs, And Profits Associated With Feeding Selected Forages To Dairy Cows, D D. Dornfeld, D A. Rohweder, W T. Howard

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Over the last i0 years, dairy-farm enterprises have g:ro-wn in size, with an apparent increase in use of improved scientific feeding and management techniques. There in growing emphasis on automated feeding and milking and on management stcategies in an attempt to reduce labor needs and allow more cows/worker. The average herd size in the sample population was 76.8 cows. There was difficulty finding herds over 100 and under 40 head. It appears that the trend toward increasing growth will continue, as much as sufficient capital, management ability, and debt service capacity eJi:ist to permit the growth to occur. Forage management …

Economic Analysis Of The Impact Of Management Decisions On Production And Use Of Silage For A Dairy Enterprise, A J. Corrall, H D. St. C Neal, I M. Wilkinson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The aim of this work was to examine the influence of variations in grass management and methods of ensiling on the economics of milk production for autumn-calving cows. A simulation model was developed to combine knowledge of plant and animal responses and their interactions in order to calculate the effects of management options on economic balances. Input data were compiled for herbage production from cut­ting strategies that gave herbage at four digestibilities, at two levels of applied nitrogen, and in three climates. Experimental evidence was also collated to construct matrices of loss of dry matter and changes in digestibility and …

Role And Effectiveness Of U.S. Universities In Training Professionals For Work In International Agriculture, D F. Fienup

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Problems of hunger, malnutrition, and world food security became a major world concern in the 1970s. Two U.S. presiden­tial reports have emphasized the seriousness of the situation and the need to expand food production and distribution, par­ticularly in the less-developed countries (LDCs) where hunger is most severe. The LDCs need to strengthen agricultural teaching, research, and extension in order to develop and disseminate the ap­propriate technology farmers need to increase food production. The most limiting factor is often the lack of trained scientists to provide local leadership and expertise. Here U.S. and other developed-country universities are needed to train LDC …

Innovations In Academic Curricula For International Education, D D. Dwyer

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

A major contribution of U.S. AID to developing countries has been to support the education of host-country nationals. This form of assistance has not been without its problems, as both AID and the universities themselves have been less than totally ef­fective in meeting the challenge of providing an education that best serves the student and the home country. In most developing countries, the B.S. degree serves as an adequate scientific foundation for staffing agricultural programs. This is not to argue against higher levels of education but to state that faster progress could be made by spreading the educational efforts among …

Effective Training For International Students, G W. Thomas

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The observations made in this paper are based upon contacts with international students, both in the U.S. and in many other countries. Two of the most serious problems in increasing world food production in the developing world are (1) lack of trained people, and (2) technology transfer. A third constraint, inadequate research, is also critical but not of the magnitude of the other two, since there is a great amount of research information available that is not being adequately ut:ilized. Training needs fall into two general categories in which deficiencies are obvious: (1) graduate-level programs, particularly in the applied fields …

West Virginia University Allegheny Highlands Project: A Ten-Year Experiment In Technology Transfer, B S. Baker, P E. Lewis, E K. Inskeep, R H. Maxwell

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

West Virginia's livestock industry is characterized by relatively small units located predominantly on rough terrain not suited to highly mechanized or intensive agriculture. As a result of changes in West Virginia agriculture during the last 40 years, there has been a reduction in support from agribusiness, marketing alternatives, and profitability. Some agriculturalists contend that if present technology were adopted, beef and sheep farms in mountainous regions could be profitable and could contribute to the local economy. The objective of the Allegheny Highlands Project (AHP) was to test the effectiveness of a method for delivering technological information to farmers to promote …

Legume Renovation Of Grass-Dominant Swards: A Data-Based Educational Program That Led To Adoption Of Practices By Kentucky Farmers, J K. Evans, G D. Lacefield, W C. Thompson

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Kentucky has about 2.83 million ha of forage crops, most of which are on land with moderate to severe erosion hazards. By the early 1950s, one cultivar (Kentucky 31) of tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) had been seeded on a relatively large area. Legumes grown with grasses had been showri to improve quality of forage markedly. Legumes were lost from many Kentucky grass fields during the relatively dry summers of 1953 and 1954. Research on legume establishment was expanded at the University of Kentucky in 1955. By 1959 sufficient data had been accumulated to formulate recommendations and begin educational programs …

Alternative Forage-Production Patterns For Dairy Cattle Under Conditions Of Limited Water Supply In Northern Mexico, R A. Martinez, M Quiroga, N Thomas, K F. Byerly

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

In the desert climate of northern Mexico ground-water resources are being exploited in forage production for the dairy in• dustry. As rest-water levels are currently falling by 1. 75 m annually, there is urgent need to examine the water-management effi­ciency index (WEI) of present forage cropping patterns and to replace the less efficiently managed species without decreasing the overall regional mean milk production of 141/cow/day. The present study describes the approach taken to achieve this goal and the implications of the approach for increased water-management efficiency in this region. Data are drawn from (1) on-farm surveys of 68 forage and …

Adoption Of Leucaena For Cattle Grazing In Australia, J H. Wildin

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

The tree legume Leucaena leucocephala is a high-quality cattle forage in many tropical countries. For the past 30 years, cat­tlemen have not planted leucaena despite conclusive evidence from small grazing experiments that it improved beef production and was suited to a large area of northern Australia. Seed of four cultivars was available in the 1960s. In 1968 cv. Peru, an ex­ cellent forage type, was planted in a 24-ha block specifically for seed production. But little of this seed was used in Australia. There were sev.eral probable reasons for the nonadoption of leucaena. Adverse publicity on the extreme effects of …

Grassland Societies In Manitoba, G Bonnefoy

IGC Proceedings (1977-2023)

Farmers with forage and livestock problems were organized into grassland societies and cooperated with extension staff sup­plied by 􀀇anitoba Agriculture. The purpose of the grassland societies is to improve by demonstration the traditional manage­ment practices used by livestock producers for pastures and forage production for beef and dairy herds. Results over 5 years were clearly positive. Significant improvements were noted in both field and animal husbandry practices. The experience confirmed the principles of the diffusion-adoption process and its application to adult extension education.