Soil Science Commons^™

Western Hay Production Vs. Eastern Hay Production, Tom Keene

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

Early in the history of mankind, man was nomadic and moved from location to location in order to gather and find sustenance for themselves as well as their livestock. At some point in time, man decided that rather than keep moving, they would establish a community in one location, usually near running water (or fresh water of some kind), and would begin to sustain themselves with production agricultural practices.

Planting and harvesting soon took the place of packing up and moving every time the current resources had been depleted. Each year a new crop would be planted; livestock also became …

Why Is Intake Reduced When Cattle Are Fed Tall Fescue?, James L. Klotz

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

A major problem for the cattle producer that utilizes tall fescue forage is the unrealized or reduced gains in body weight in growing animals. This result has been reproduced across numerous studies evaluating cattle performance on tall fescue (Hoveland et al., 1983; Boling, 1985; Schmidt et al., 1986; Goetsch et al., 1987). Cattle have gained from 30 to 100% less consuming toxic endophyte-infected tall fescue compared to consumption of an endophyte-free tall fescue (Paterson et al., 1995). This effect of reduced gain is a consequence of a fungal endophyte present within the grass that produces toxins called ergot alkaloids. Fungal …

Understanding And Improving Fermentation In Alfalfa And Grass Baleage, Dennis Hancock

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The ancient Egyptian and Carthaginians are believed to be the first conserve forage by ensiling it in the absence of oxygen. Though the technique has been refined in the 3500 years since, the basic fermentation process has not changed. Populations of naturally-occurring bacteria on the plant surface can consume some of the readily available carbohydrates and produce organic acids. These organic acids lower the pH of the forage material and prevent fungal deterioration of the product. Fermentation has been used for millennia as a natural method for preserving food. Similar bacterial fermentation occurs when one makes yogurt, sour cream, or …

Hay Making Weather In Kentucky: How To Get Good Information, Matthew Dixon, Tom Priddy

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

The UK Agricultural Weather Center, housed within the Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, was developed in 1978. As part of the Cooperative Extension Service, the goal of the Ag Weather Center is to minimize weather and climate related surprise for Kentucky residents and their agricultural needs, ultimately for profitable and sustainable production. In doing so, numerous tools and models have been developed throughout the years to further help farmers and producers in management and production related decisions.

Foreword Of Kentucky Alfalfa And Stored Forages Conference [2017], S. Ray Smith, Krista Lea

Kentucky Alfalfa and Stored Forage Conference

This is the front matter of the proceedings.

Rapid Surface-Water Volume Estimations In Beaver Ponds, Daniel J. Karran, Cherie J. Westbrook, Joseph Michael Wheaton, Carol A. Johnston, Angela Bedard-Haughn

Watershed Sciences Faculty Publications

Beaver ponds are surface-water features that are transient through space and time. Such qualities complicate the inclusion of beaver ponds in local and regional water balances, and in hydrological models, as reliable estimates of surface-water storage are difficult to acquire without time- and labour-intensive topographic surveys. A simpler approach to overcome this challenge is needed, given the abundance of the beaver ponds in North America, Eurasia, and southern South America. We investigated whether simple morphometric characteristics derived from readily available aerial imagery or quickly measured field attributes of beaver ponds can be used to approximate surface-water storage among the range …

Effect Of Seed Position On Parental Plant On Proportion Of Seeds Produced With Nondeep And Intermediate Physiological Dormancy, Juan J. Lu, Dun Y. Tan, Carol C. Baskin, Jerry M. Baskin

Biology Faculty Publications

The position in which seeds develop on the parental plant can have an effect on dormancy-break and germination. We tested the hypothesis that the proportion of seeds with intermediate physiological dormancy (PD) produced in the proximal position on a raceme of Isatis violascens plants is higher than that produced in the distal position, and further that this difference is related to temperature during seed development. Plants were watered at 3-day intervals, and silicles and seeds from the proximal (early) and distal (late) positions of racemes on the same plants were collected separately and tested for germination. After 0 and 6 …

Ergot And Loline Alkaloid Concentrations In Endophyte-Infected Tall Fescue Tillers, Rebecca L. Mcculley

Forage Climate Change Experiment Research Data

Approximately 40 tall fescue tillers were randomly collected and frozen from each of the 20 treatment plots.

Tillers were cut at 7.6 cm above ground level and tested for the presence of the Epichloe endophyte using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Tillers from each plot were sorted into 'infected' vs 'uninfected' groups, lyophilized, and ground through a 1mm screen using a Cyclotec 1093 mill.

Ground material from the endophyte infected tillers was analyzed for ergot and loline alkaloids in the lab of Lowell Bush at the University of Kentucky, Plant and Soil Sciences Dept.

For details on alkaloid analyses see: McCulley …

High Prevalence Of Toxigenic Clostridium Difficile In Public Space Lawns In Western Australia, Peter Moono, Su Chen Lim, Thomas V. Riley

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Clostridium difficile is a well-established hospital pathogen. Recently, it has been detected increasingly in patients without hospital contact. Given this rise in community associated infections with C. difficile, we hypothesized that the environment could play an important role in transmission of spores outside the hospital. Lawn samples (311) collected in public spaces in the metropolitan area of Perth, Western Australia, from February to June 2016 were cultured for C. difficile. C. difficile was isolated from the samples by direct and enrichment culture, and characterized by standard molecular methods using toxin gene PCR and ribotyping. The overall prevalence of …

Basic Meteorological Data Derived 30-Year Normas (1981-2010) Of Actual Evapotranspiration Rates In Nebraska, Usa, Jozsef Szilagyi

Conservation and Survey Division: Faculty and Staff Publications

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Litter On Seedling Emergence And Seed Persistence Of Three Common Species On The Loess Plateau In Northwestern China, Rui Zhang, Xiaowen Hu, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Yanrong Wang

Biology Faculty Publications

Litter accumulation resulting from land use change (enclosure) is one of the key variables influencing seedling recruitment and consequently the regeneration of plant populations and seed persistence in the soil seed bank. A better understanding of the effects of litter on seed germination and seedling emergence is crucial for developing a new set of indicators for grassland ecosystem health and for grassland management policy. We investigated the effects of seed position in litter and amount of litter covering the seed on seedling emergence and seed persistence of three common species on the Loess Plateau in northwestern China. Seed position beneath …

Cover Crops And Tillage Management For Enhanced Sustainability In Corn/Soybean Production In The Mississippi Delta Region Of Arkansas, David Scott Patton

Student Theses and Dissertations

A field experiment was established during 2014 in Northeast Arkansas to evaluate the benefits of cover crop and tillage management for enhanced yield and soil quality. Cover crop management included cereal rye, wheat and crimson clover, and a winter fallow. Tillage management included tillage and no-tillage. In the 2015 and 2016 seasons yield was not significantly changed by different tillage treatments. Cover crop out yielded no cover crop at the A-State site in the 2016 season. Organic matter and active carbon were significantly influenced by tillage treatments. Physical and biological properties were significantly increased with cover crops compared with no …

Seed Dormancy-Breaking In A Cold Desert Shrub In Relation To Sand Temperature And Moisture, Huiliang Liu, Buhailiqiemu Abudureheman, Lingwei Zhang, Jerry M. Baskin, Carol C. Baskin, Daoyuan Zhang

Biology Faculty Publications

Seasonal periodicity of seed germination and its relationship to seasonal changes in temperature and soil moisture have been well studied in seeds of species with physiological dormancy. However, relatively little information is available on the role of these environmental factors in controlling germination of seeds with physical dormancy (PY). Our primary aim was to determine if seeds of the cold desert sand dune semi-shrub Eremosparton songoricum exhibits seasonal periodicity of seed germination and the relationship between seed dormancy break and soil temperature and moisture. In the laboratory, seeds incubated on dry, wet, wet-dry and dry-wet sand were exposed to a …

Microbial Interactions In The Phyllosphere Increase Plant Performance Under Herbivore Biotic Stress, Muhammad Saleem, Nicole Meckes, Zahida H. Pervaiz, Milton B. Traw

Plant and Soil Sciences Faculty Publications

The phyllosphere supports a tremendous diversity of microbes and other organisms. However, little is known about the colonization and survival of pathogenic and beneficial bacteria alone or together in the phyllosphere across the whole plant life-cycle under herbivory, which hinders our ability to understand the role of phyllosphere bacteria on plant performance. We addressed these questions in experiments using four genetically and biogeographically diverse accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana, three ecologically important bacterial strains (Pseudomonas syringae DC3000, Xanthomonas campestris, both pathogens, and Bacillus cereus, plant beneficial) under common garden conditions that included fungus gnats (Bradysia spp.). …

Moderator Biographies, Heart Of America Grazing Conference

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Grazing Panel, Jeff Beasley, Trevor Toland, Ted Krauskopf

Kentucky Grazing Conference

No abstract provided.

Cover Crops/Annuals And Grazing, Roger Staff

Kentucky Grazing Conference

The use of annual forages (cover crops), both summer and winter, have been utilized for several years. When cover crops first were used to extend the grazing season, it began with one to three species in a mixture. That was before the soil health benefits were being observed and discussed as they are now. There have been a wide variety of planting methods used: airplanes, helicopters, conventional and No-till drills. Some seeding methods is simply broadcast on the soils surface and lightly tilled in or just rained in depending upon the weather. Then we discovered the herbicides and amounts used …

Mitigating The Challenges Of Grazing Lush, Spring Forages, W. Travis Meteer

Kentucky Grazing Conference

During the winter season most cattle are supplemented with dry forages, grains, and co-products. This ration is balanced and delivered to cattle. Then spring comes along and cattle are put out to grass. While green grass solves a lot of problems associated with winter feeding (manure, pen maintenance, calf health, and labor demands), it can pose nutritional challenges. Lush, spring forage has three major challenges when it comes to meeting cattle nutrition requirements.

Seedhead Suppression In Tall Fescue With Chaparral Herbicide, E. S. Flynn, P. B. Burch

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Tall Fescue (Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.)) is cool-season perennial grass found in pastures throughout the Eastern US, most commonly in the transition zone. It’s tolerance to extreme temperatures, drought, poor soil fertility, heavy grazing, and pests have made it a reliable forage base for livestock pastures. Released in 1943, ‘KY-31’ tall fescue was quickly adopted by cattle producers and now inhabits an estimated 40 million acres in the US.

Soon after its adoption, cattle producers began to notice a reduction in animal performance and signs that animals were heat stressed following tall fescue consumption. These symptoms were an indication of an …

Fescue Tolerance Testing, Monty Kerley

Kentucky Grazing Conference

Fescue toxicosis is characterized by clinical symptoms such as vasoconstriction, immunosuppression, and poor thermoregulation. Fescue toxins bind to membrane receptors of cells that control constriction of blood through capillaries responsible for heat dissipation. When cattle consume toxic tall fescue, they lose ability to move blood to their skin where heat can be lost to the environment. As they lose this ability they become more prone to heat stress. In the winter, this lack of blood flow leads to other clinical symptoms, such as fescue foot and loss of tail switch, that occur from restricted blood flow.