Crop Cultivation Articles
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Annual legumes for forage systems in the United States gulf coast region
Forage-livestock systems in the U.S. Gulf Coast are based on perennial C4 grasses. System productivity often is predicated on significant inputs of N fertilizer, but rapidly escalating fertilizer prices raise questions about the sustainability of these systems and provide impetus for legume research. There are few successful forage legumes in the region, suggesting that alternative species merit ...
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No-till corn after Bromegrass: Effect on soil carbon and soil aggregates
Grasslands in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the USA may be converted to grain crops for bioenergy. The effect of no-till conversion of a smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss) grassland to no-till corn (Zea mays L.) production on soil organic carbon (SOC) in the western Corn Belt was monitored for over 6 yr. A different 13C/12C isotope signature is imparted to SOC by C4 plants ...
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A regional analysis of the response of soybean yield to planting date
Planting date is a critical aspect of all soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] production systems, but the response of yield to planting date fluctuates widely among environments. A combined analysis of many planting date experiments will provide a better estimate of the average response. Data from 28 nonirrigated planting date experiments that were conducted for more than 1 yr with at least three ...
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Effect of fungicide on soybean growth and yield
In response to rising input costs and narrowing profit margins, soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] producers are continually looking for ways to increase soybean yield. One approach being promoted is the use of foliar fungicides, for both foliar pathogen control and nonfungicidal plant physiological effects. The objective of this field experiment was to evaluate a strobilurin and a triazole alone ...
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Improvement of yield and other traits of extra-early maize under stress and nonstress environments
Striga, drought, and low soil fertility constrain maize (Zea mays L.) productivity in West and Central Africa (WCA). Two Striga-resistant extra-early populations, TZEE-W Pop STR (white) and TZEE-Y Pop STR (yellow) were improved by four cycles of S1 recurrent selection, and the products were evaluated in field trials in Nigeria from 2005 to 2007. The objective was to assess progress in ...
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The role of natural purified humic acids in modifying Mercury accessibility in water and soil
Received for publication April 17, 2008. Contamination of soils with mercury can be a serious problem. It can be mobilized or stabilized by humic substances (HS) containing binding sites with reduced sulfur that can have different binding capacities for CH3Hg+ and for Hg2+. In this work we investigated the influence of different humic acids (HAs, extracted from lignite, compost, and forest soil) ...
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In-Furrow inoculation and selection for higher motility enhances the efficacy of bradyrhizobium japonicum nodulation
The issue of competition for nodulation has received much attention in studies on soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] crops because native soil rhizobia often preclude nodulation of inoculated high-quality strains. In this work, soil placement and enhanced motility of Bradyrhizobium japonicum were investigated as strategies to improve the competitiveness of soybean inoculants applied in the presence ...
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Characterizing and classifying variability in corn yield response to nitrogen fertilization on subfield and field scales
Marked spatial and temporal variability in yield response to N fertilizer observed in individual yield response trials creates a high degree of uncertainty when estimating economic optimum rates (EORs) of N for a group of trials and when extrapolating these rates from one location to another. A survey was conducted to characterize and classify variability in yield response to N on subfield and ...
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Long-term Polyacrylamide formulation effects on soil erosion, water infiltration, and yields of furrow-irrigated crops
Two formulations of water-soluble anionic polyacrylamide (WSPAM) are used in agriculture to reduce erosion and manage infiltration in furrow irrigations, although few if any reports have compared their effectiveness. A control and two WSPAMs, a granular form and the inverse emulsion, or oil-based liquid form, were applied to irrigation water supplied to furrows formed in a silt loam soil with ...
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Effect of urban waste compost application on soil near-saturated hydraulic conductivity
Received for publication February 22, 2008. Compost application tends to increase soil fertility and is likely to modify soil hydrodynamic properties by acting on soil structural porosity. Two composts, a municipal solid waste compost (MSW) and a co-compost of green wastes and sewage sludge (SGW), have been applied every other year for 6 yr to cultivated plots located on a silt loam soil in the ...
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Removal of Phosphorus from livestock effluents
Received for publication December 12, 2007. For removal of phosphorus (P) from swine liquid manure before land application, we developed a treatment process that produces low P effluents and a valuable P by-product with minimal chemical addition and ammonia losses. The new wastewater process included two sequential steps: (i) biological nitrification and (ii) increasing the pH of the nitrified ...
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Evaluation of Phosphorus source coefficients as predictors of runoff Phosphorus concentrations
Received for publication December 27, 2007. Many states have adopted a P site index (PSI) as a risk assessment tool to determine when P-based nutrient management is required for a given agricultural field. Some PSIs use a weighting factor, the phosphorus source coefficient (PSC), to account for differences in P solubility between organic P sources. Information relating to appropriate values of ...
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Co-composting of poultry manure with low quantities of carbon-rich materials
To study the feasibility of co-composting poultry manure with low quantities of high-value, carbon-rich materials experiments to characterize three pilot-scale piles were carried out. The piles comprised poultry manure (pile 1), poultry manure and straw (pile 2) and poultry manure and sawdust (pile 3), using wood chips as bulking agent. Pile 1 presented the highest losses of organic matter and ...
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Dryland crop yields and soil organic matter as influenced by long-term tillage and cropping sequence
Novel management practices are needed to improve the declining dryland crop yields and soil organic matter contents using conventional farming practices in the northern Great Plains. We evaluated the 21-yr effect of tillage and cropping sequence on dryland grain and biomass (stems + leaves) yields of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), and pea (Pisum sativum L.) and ...
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Predicting outcrossing in maize hybrid seed production
Controlling pollination of the female inbred is critical to achieve maximum kernel set and high levels of genetic purity in maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid seed production. Although kernel set associated with inbred flowering dynamics is fairly predictable, it has not been possible to predict the level of outcrossing resulting from adventitious pollen entering the seed field. Our objective was to ...
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Cotton yield responses to fertilizer Nitrogen rates in a cotton-corn rotation
The amount of N fertilizer needed for optimal cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield in cotton-corn (Zea mays L.) rotations should be established to enhance the agronomic, economic, and environmental sustainability of crop rotations in the mid-southern United States. Nitrogen rates were evaluated in field studies from 1996 through 2001 on Commerce silt loam (SL) (fine-silty, mixed, nonacid, thermic ...
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Grazing schedule effect on forage production and nutritive value of diverse forage mixtures
The use of complex mixtures (mixtures of more than three species) may increase yield of pastures; however, we know little about how grazing management affects the productivity of mixtures. A grazing experiment was performed during 2005 and 2006 near State College, PA, to compare mixtures of grasses, legumes, and chicory (Cichorium intybus L.) for their botanical composition, nutritive value, and ...
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Implementing case studies in a plant pathology Course: Impact on student
Case studies have been used in undergraduate science education as a way to develop students' critical thinking and problem-solving skills. However, little empirical evidence exists on whether this teaching method is having the desired impact on students in plant pathology courses. This study evaluated the influence of the case teaching method on students' problem-solving and critical thinking ...
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Effectiveness of recovered Magnesium Phosphates as fertilizers in neutral and slightly Alkaline soils
Magnesium phosphates such as struvite (MgNH4PO4 · 6H2O) can be recovered from municipal, industrial, and agricultural wastewaters. However, limited information is available on the beneficial reuse of these recovered products; research has focused on low pH soils. This study determined whether recovered struvite and dittmarite (MgNH4PO4 · H2O) were effective P fertilizers in neutral to slightly ...
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Fertilization and blending alternatives for irrigation with desalinated water
Received for publication April 29, 2008. In arid-zone agriculture where available irrigation water is saline, desalination is becoming an attractive method for increasing yields and reducing negative environmental consequences. However, irrigation with desalinated water can be problematic if essential nutrients, including Ca, Mg, and S, removed during reverse osmosis, are not reintroduced. We ...
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