Soil Science Articles & Analysis
30 articles found
Turf quality (TQ) decline due to drought is a major concern in cool-season turfgrass management. The study was conducted to examine whether selected Texas (TBG) x Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) hybrids (HBGs) (Poa arachnifera Torr. x P. pratensis L.) exhibit improved drought stress tolerance and recuperative ability in comparison to commonly-used KBG (P. pratensis) genotypes. Plant material included ...
Different irrigation methods in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) result in different water and nutrient use efficiencies and, ultimately, plant growth. A field experiment was conducted during the 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 crop cycles to investigate the effects of furrow irrigated raised bed planting and the effects of flood irrigated conventional planting on growth and productivity in winter wheat. In ...
Epidermal conductance (g.min) is a measurement of water loss through the cuticle and stomata when stomatal conductance is minimal. Two pot experiments were conducted to evaluate genotypic variation in gmin for 10 to 12 rice cultivars (Oryza spp.) grown under flooded conditions. Epidermal conductance was estimated by measuring loss of water from the excised topmost fully-expanded leaves. ...
Maximum diurnal accumulation of soluble carbohydrates in warm-season grasses is an economic way of increasing hay quality; however, in the humid East, haymaking is difficult. This study evaluated gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides L.), topdressed with either 56 (LO) or 168 (HI) kg N ha–1, direct baled after mowing in the afternoon (PM/LO and PM/HI) or morning (AM/LO and AM/HI), wrapped with plastic ...
Received for publication November 3, 2008. Although land application of swine (Sus scrofa) manure lagoon effluent is a common and effective method of disposal, the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, both pathogenic and commensal can complicate already understood issues associated with its safe disposal. The aim of this study was to assess antibiotic resistance in swine lagoon bacteria ...
Coffee (Coffea spp.) is one of the world's most valuable agricultural export commodities produced by small-scale farmers. Its germplasm, which holds useful traits for crop improvement, has traditionally been conserved in field genebanks, which presents many challenges for conservation. New techniques of in vitro and cryopreservation have been developed to improve the long-term conservation of ...
Brown patch disease, caused by Rhizoctonia solani Kühn, is one of the most devastating fungal pathogens that occur on tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) Darbysh. = Schedonorus arundinaceus (Schreb.) Dumort]. The development of genetic resistance to brown patch would provide the most effective long term control to this disease; however, the genetic mechanism of brown patch resistance in ...
Zoysiagrasses (Zoysia spp.) are widely adapted and highly variable; however, information is lacking regarding the heritability and potential for improvement of numerous performance characteristics. Three individual replicated field studies, which included 90 very fine, 108 fine, and 126 coarse-textured zoysiagrass genotypes, respectively, were conducted near Gainesville, FL, to determine the ...
Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is commonly grown on residual moisture after rice (Oryza sativa L.) in inland valley swamps (IVS), but not much work has been done to select genotypes that could bulk early, and have high storage root yield in the IVS. Earlier improvement work focused on development of varieties adapted to upland conditions (12-mo cycle), but recently farmers are requesting ...
Tan spot (caused by Pyrenophora tritici-repentis) and Stagonospora nodorum blotch (SNB), (caused by Phaeosphaeria nodorum) are destructive diseases of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). The majority of currently grown wheat varieties are susceptible to both diseases, presumably because of high pathogenic variability occurring in these fungi or narrow genetic background for resistance in wheat ...
Heterosis in maize (Zea mays L.) confers stress tolerance. To better understand the physiological mechanisms underlying the differential response of a maize hybrid (CG60 x MBS1236) and its parental inbred lines to shading stress, studies were conducted in a field hydroponic system in Ontario, Canada, from 2004 to 2006. Shading stress consisted of a 55% reduction in incident solar radiation and ...
The presence of biologically active substances (BAS) in biosolids may enhance plant stress tolerance and growth, but the underlying mechanisms are not well understood. This greenhouse study investigated the effects of untreated biosolids, containing 2.1 µg indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) g–1, and tryptophan-treated biosolids, containing 15.4 µg IAA g–1, on tall fescue [Lolium arundinaceum (Schreb.) ...
Water-use efficiency (WUE) may be a useful trait for improving productivity of cotton (Gossypium spp.) under certain water-limited conditions, but it is difficult to measure in the field or in large controlled-environment screening studies. Recently, an easily measured trait, the epidermal conductance of dark-adapted leaves (gdark), was shown to be predictive of whole-plant WUE in soybean ...
Soybean mosaic virus (SMV) is the causal agent of a commonly occurring disease of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] that can be effectively controlled through the deployment of single, dominant genes known as Rsv genes, which confer resistance to different strains of SMV. The Rsv1-n allele in PI 507389 conditions a lethal necrosis (LN) reaction on inoculation with specific SMV strains, including ...
Purple kernel streaking (PKS) in white food corn (Zea mays L.) is characterized by the accumulation of purple-pigmented streaks (anthocyanins) in an otherwise colorless pericarp. This paper is the first published report documenting PKS, the prevalence of the trait in commercial white food corn germplasm, and the genetics underlying it. Entries from the Early White Food Corn Performance Trials ...
The impact of genotype, environment, and rotation on the variability of important bioactive compounds (protein and β-glucan) was evaluated in the grains of seven naked and two husked oat (Avena sativa L.) genotypes, grown in a set of trials in 2001–2002 and 2002–2003 in two Italian locations in winter seeding. Each trial was composed of two experiments, corresponding to different rotation ...
A humic substance was separated into carboxyl and phenolic fractions by affinity chromatography using a weak-base amine resin. The humic extract and its fractions were analyzed for physical and chemical characteristics. Their biological effects were compared, at concentrations of 1 and 5 mg C L–1, on the growth of callus of Pinus nigra J.F. Arnold. A higher molecular weight and a greater degree ...
Received for publication October 29, 2007. The naturally occurring hormones, such as 17-β-estradiol, 17-{alpha}-estradiol, and estrone, present in livestock manure may have detrimental environmental effects if released into surface waters. In areas where manure application is intensive, estrogens have been found in surface waters in concentrations known to affect the endocrine system of fish ...
Received for publication February 11, 2008. The Wildcat Creek in north-central Indiana is an impaired stream with historically high fecal coliform counts. This study evaluated the presence of both fecal coliforms and Escherichia coli O157:H7 at five sites in rural and urban areas in the eastern part of the Wildcat Creek watershed. Escherichia coli O157:H7 was isolated by immunomagnetic ...
Ice encasement and impermeable winter protective covers can induce anaerobic conditions on golf greens. We assessed plant survival and biochemical changes of annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) and creeping bentgrass [Agrostis stoloniferous L. var. palustris (Huds.)] exposed to combinations of O2 and CO2 concentrations at low temperatures (1°C or –2°C). Results indicate that lack of O2 (anoxia) ...