Demand for ruminant-derived products high in beneficial fatty acids (FA) has led to a desire to maximize the alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and total FA (ΣFA) content of forage crops. Several management factors affect the ALA and ΣFA content of forages, including phenology, species, season, and nitrogen fertility. Yet, the influence of harvest management decisions that affect wilting time of conserved forages is under-studied. Similarly, the majority of published research regarding ALA and ΣFA content is of cool season (C3 photosynthetic) temperate perennial forage species, and not warm season (C4 photosynthetic) annual species. Sample preservation methodologies used in published research are often too expensive and time consuming for desired practicality, or unreliable. This dissertation aids in addressing these deficiencies. In the first study, forced hot air drying of forage samples was shown to be unreliable for accurate FA analysis, and an alternative methodology was established utilizing brief microwave pretreatment of small fresh weight samples prior to forced hot air drying, yielding results similar in accuracy to lyophilized samples. Oxidative losses of ground dried forage samples were also examined, again suggesting that microwave pretreatment prior to forced hot air drying is a fast, inexpensive and otherwise desirable choice for forage sample preservation in anticipation of later FA analysis. A second study investigated two warm season annual forage species (sorghum-sudangrass and pearl millet), showing that maturity-associated declines in whole plant ALA and ΣFA content are largely a product of an increasing ratio of ALA- and ΣFA-scarce pseudostem fractions, and only secondarily resultant of maturity associated declines within individual plant fractions. Lamina mass ratio was identified as a correlate with ALA and ΣFA content, at least as useful as two common correlates - crude protein and neutral detergent fiber content. A third study also showed the critical influence of crop maturity upon ALA and ΣFA content in two warm season annual forages (pearl millet and sudangrass), in addition to differences between species and those resultant from differing nitrogen fertility. Conserved forage harvest decisions were evaluated in the fourth study. No difference was found between wide and narrow swath treatments (70% and 40% of mower width, respectively) of AM and PM mown reed canarygrass, but there was evidence to suggest that AM mowing may allow for a higher content of ALA and ΣFA content relative to PM mowing. Ensiling was also found to decrease ALA content or proportion. In conclusion, management choices promoting grazing and/or harvesting of a higher laminae proportion, optimizing nitrogen fertility, and suitable choice of species for meeting these goals may be the best way to maximize the ALA and ΣFA content of forages grown for livestock. AM mowing may reduce ALA and ΣFA content losses otherwise caused by overnight wilting of forages mown for conservation, and microwave pretreatment prior to forced hot air drying is an advisable sample preservation methodology for researchers furthering the study of forage ALA and ΣFA content, when lyophilization is impractical or too expensive.

Covered smut is a fungus disease that has caused serious losses of wheat for centuries. Its origin is not known, but it was well known to early Romans as evidenced by the fact that they had a god, Robigus, whose special work was to watch over crops to "avert the mildew". It is often referred to as "bunt" or "stinking smut of wheat". Throughout this paper the term' "bunt" will be used to designate this disease in order to avoid confusing it with other smuts of wheat.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influences of American student teachers on a rural community in New South Wales, Australia. The study analyzed interviews with twelve participants of the American student teacher program in A Rural New South Wales community, Australia. Two researchers worked together to complete this study. Both researchers were student teachers with the New South Wales community for ten weeks and taught Agriculture in one the community‟s two high schools. After allowing one year to pass, researcher one returned to the community to interview twelve individuals involved with the program. The interviewed participants were questioned based on a predetermined protocol. The interviews were then transcribed, coded, and categorized into themes by researcher two. Using participatory action research and a modified grounded theory approach, the researchers were able to identify areas of influence suggested by the participants. The participants identified nine areas of influence within the school and community of the American student teachers: cultural awareness, stereotypes, language, classroom distractions, teaching methods awareness, cultural changes in community members, student performance, community unification, and impact of student teacher presence.

“Growing Up Green,” is a research based environmental education program that teaches children about recycling, energy conservation, and composting. This program was taught to fourth grade students at H.B. Williams Elementary School, in White House, Tennessee. The children were given a pre-test before the program and a post-test two weeks after the program. The pre and post-test was composed of three parts. The three parts tested their environmental attitudes, knowledge, and behaviors. The study found that most of the children already had positive attitudes toward the environment. While, their attitudes decreased minimally after the program, they still remained very positive. The children did well on the knowledge test. Their environmental knowledge increased after the “Growing Up Green,” program. While the program did not appear to have a substantive impact on their environmental behavior adoption, the children already participated in some behaviors like recycling and conserving energy before the program, and continued these behaviors after the program, too.

The efficacy of herbicide combination on burley and dark air-cured tobacco Nictotiana tabacum were tested in field research plots in the summer of 2000 at Western Kentucky University's Agricultural Research and Education Complex. The randomized complete block design contained six treatments replicated three times in each of the two experiments (burley and dark air-cured tobacco). Transplants (cv. 'TN 97' and cv. 'KY 160') were established on June 2, 2000 in a conventionally tilled Pembroke silt loam soil with a pH of 6.5 and organic matter content of 12 g/kg. Herbicide treatments were applied on June 1, 2000 with a CO2 backpack sprayer. Six treatments were applied to both burley and dark air-cured plots. Sulfentrazone was applied alone and in combination with either clomazone, pendimethalin, or napropamide. A sulfentrazone + clomazone combination followed by sethoxydim, as well as a clomazone + pendimethalin tank mix were also evaluated. Weeds targeted for control were: Ipomoea hederacea L. (ivyleaf morningglory), Amaranthus hybridus L. (smooth pigweed), and Eleusine indica L. (goosegrass). Sulfentrazone alone provided >69% control of smooth pigweed and >89 % control of ivyleaf morningglory in burley and dark-air cured tobacco. At 21 days after treatment (DAT) the combinations of sulfentrazone/pendimethalin, sulfentrazone/clomazone/sethoxydim, and clomazone/pendimethalin gave better control of smooth pigweed in burley tobacco than did sulfentrazone/clomazone, but there were no differences between treatments at later evaluation dates. In dark-air cured tobacco, at 21 DAT sulfentrazone and the sulfentrazone/napropamide combination provided better control of smooth pigweed than did sulfentrazone/sethoxydim, but there were no differences between treatments at later evaluation dates. With respect to ivyleaf morningglory control, addition of herbicide combinations did not provide an advantage to sulfentrazone alone. Goosegrass control in dark-air cured tobacco was > 85% at all DAT, and control was > 45% in the burley plot. Control of goosegrass in both types of tobacco was > 94% with the triple combination of sulfentrazone/clomazone and sethoxydim at all evaluation dates, yet all combinations provided >86% goosegrass control at all evaluation dates. Addition of herbicides to sulfentrazone, (with the exception of napropamide) provided an advantage to goosegrass control in burley tobacco.

Field experiments were established in 2001 at the Agricultural Research and Education Complex in Bowling Green, Kentucky to evaluate soil fertility values before and after poultry litter application to orchardgrass and sorghum-sudangrass hayfields. A randomized complete block design was utilized with each treatment being replicated four times. Orchardgrass plots consisted of sixteen 7.6 m rows, 91 m in length and separated by alleys 4.6 m in width. Sorghum-sudangrass plots consisted of sixteen 7.6 m rows, 60.96 m in length and separated by alleys 4.6 m in width. Four separate fertility treatments were utilized: inorganic fertilizer (I), poultry litter applied to meet nitrogen requirements (N), poultry litter applied to meet phosphorous requirements (P), and poultry litter applied to meet phosphorous requirements with a supplemental inorganic fertilizer (NP). In the poultry litter applications, plant available P was estimated to be 80% while N availability was estimated at 50% the first year. Fifteen soil samples were taken in a random, representative manner from each plot of orchardgrass and sorghum-sudangrass prior to litter application and after each harvest. Soil samples were analyzed for pH, N, P, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, and Zn levels, which were evaluated based upon fertilizer treatment differences Water pH has statistically remained the same thus far, indicating that it is currently not determining nutrient availability among treatments in orchardgrass and sorghum-sudangrass soils. Nitrate concentrations exhibited increases in treatments N and P for orchardgrass soils, while sorghum-sudangrass soils indicated all three treatments N, I, and P were different from each other. There were no differences among treatments for ammonium in orchardgrass soils; however, sorghum-sudangrass soils exhibited a higher concentration in treatments P and I. In both orchardgrass and sorghum-sudangrass soils, treatment N exhibited an increase in phosphate, copper, and zinc concentrations over all other treatments; magnesium and potassium concentrations were highest in treatment N in sorghum-sudangrass hayfield soils. Potassium concentrations were higher in treatments P and N in sorghum-sudangrass soils and the NP and I in orchardgrass soils. Sorghum-sudangrass soils indicated a higher K concentration in treatment N from all other treatments. While orchardgrass soils exhibited no differences in Mg, sorghumsudangrass soils indicated a higher amount in treatment N from all other treatments. Copper and zinc both exhibit a higher concentration in treatment N in comparison to all other treatments in both orchard and sorghum-sudangrass soils.

The removal of terminal buds (topping) and sucker control are two practices that have an impact on yield and quality of dark tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.). Topping breaks apical dominance and encourages the growth of axillary buds (suckers). Following topping, growth regulator chemicals known as suckercides are commonly used to prevent axillary bud growth. Research has demonstrated that topping time, height, and sucker control method influence the quality and yield of the final product. Delaying topping past a critical developmental stage has been shown to reduce leaf yield. Topping height varies among geographical regions with most dark tobacco producers topping to a height of 12 to 16 leaves. Previous studies indicate that plants topped to 16 leaves had higher leaf yields than those topped to 12 leaves if late-season soil moisture was adequate. The opposite effect was observed when late-season soil moisture was below average because the small upper leaves on plants topped to 16 leaves did not receive the moisture needed for proper development. The moisture they did receive could have been diverted to improve the yield and quality of the larger, more valuable leaves if the smaller ones had been removed. Several options exist for chemical control of tobacco axillary buds ranging from contact to systemic materials. Performance of these materials is influenced by several factors including environmental conditions prior to and following application. Research plots were established at Western Kentucky University's Agricultural Research and Education Complex in Bowling Green, Kentucky to evaluate the efficacy of various sucker control methods and evaluate the effect of topping height on axillary bud growth. Data collection was completed in the summer of 2000. Three sucker control methods and three topping heights were investigated. The first sucker control method was a single application of a local systemic suckercide at topping. The second method was a sequential application using a contact suckercide at topping followed by a local systemic applied seven days later. The third method, which served as the control, was topping the plants but not applying any suckercides. The experiment utilized a split-plot design with 9 treatments and 4 replications. The plots consisted of two 7 m rows per plot, with 102 cm row spacing and 89 cm in-row spacing. Data collected include number of suckers per plant and kilograms of sucker biomass per plant. Statistical analysis indicated no sucker control method by topping height interaction; thus sucker control and height data are discussed separately. Suckers per plant and sucker biomass per plant did not differ among those plots receiving a suckercide application. Topping height did not influence sucker number or biomass.

This research project that was conducted to provide evidence that composted organic waste materials do provide comparable nitrogen absorption efficiency in relation to an organic slow release fertilizer. Western's compost facility supplied the two different organic wastes, which had been composted for 1 year. The materials used were composted urban leaf litter, sawdust/manure mixture at a 50/50 ratio by volume and an organic fertilizer IBDU. These materials were applied to one cultivars of (Agrostis capillaries) and three cultivars of (A. palustris) at the rate of .S^/IOOO**2 in the months of April, June, and September. The plots were sampled one month after application to evaluate the nitrogen concentration of the leaf and thatch material. The nitrogen concentration was measured by using a Leco 2000 CHN provided in the Dept. of Chemistry. In comparison of N recovery in leaves, "Exeter" had lower N concentration than the other cultivars in October and no difference in May and July of the first year. The leaf concentration for the second year showed that Penncross and L-93 were lower in May and were the same for the other two sample dates. There was no difference found in the N concentration of thatch among the fertilizer sources for both years. IBDU showed better N recovery in all but the last sample date where all treatments were the same.

Donald Davidson has often been called stubborn because of his refusal to let go of the Southern past and in his insistence that his writings be based on and in the regional concerns that he saw as fundamental to all Southern literature. In many ways, Davidson's loyalty to the Agrarian and Fugitive causes, which are best defined in these groups interest in keeping the South's history alive and maintaining an agrarian lifestyle, is his greatest contribution to the Southern and American literary canon. Despite this fact, though, Davidson is now, as he was during his lifetime, ignored because of the Regionalistic concerns that critics see in his writing. In the course of my thesis, I have striven to prove that Davidson is one of the most prophetic, prophetic in the biblical sense, since I believe that he can be compared to Hebraic prophets who spoke of doom and destruction that the people would face if they did not please God, of the Fugitive writers. His prophecies, I argue, are against industrialization of the South and warn the degenerate Southerner against forgetting the past, especially the Civil War. In the process of defining Davidson as a Southern writer and in defending his place in the Southern literary canon, I compare his "Lee in the Mountains" to Robert Penn Warren's Brother to Dragons, emphasizing the importance of secular original sin in the lives of two historical legends, Robert E. Lee and Thomas Jefferson, a fact that brings universal appeal to Davidson's greatest achievement. Turning away from topics of national, historical importance, I emphasize Davidson's attempt to define and defend Regionalism as an art form and necessary tool in the teaching of history. Here, I speak of Davidson's nonflction writings, including Still Rebels. Still Yankees, and Other Essays, of his only novel, The Big Ballad Jamboree, and "Lee in the Mountains" and argue that the importance of these works lies in the fact that he is waging a war against critics who see Regionalism as a catchphrase for Southern red necks, who refuse to let go of the past. After discussing Regionalism, I acknowledge the modern characteristics in Davidson's poetry, mainly angst, isolation, and silence, by tying them into Davidson's continual discussion of the past, which begins in "The Tall Men," where he speaks of his Tennessee Frontiersmen ancestors, "Lee in the Mountains," a poem in which Davidson turns to the most infamous, yet disenfranchised Civil War veteran, and The Long Street, which are a group of poems where Davidson speaks of the angst and loneliness that the modern Southerner feels in the modern world, where industrialization and shame have silenced the Southern man, who should be proud of his national heritage. As I looked to Davidson's writings to find why he is excluded from both the modern Southern literary canon and from the American canon, I found that we are slowly losing a national treasure. He may not be the writer that the other Fugitives were. He may not have been enjoyed the literary or financial successful that the other Fugitives and Agrarians enjoyed, but his writings are fundamental to understanding the Fugitive and Agrarian movements, since they were based on a yearning for an understanding of the past and because they fought for an Agrarian lifestyle. He may not have moved on, as Robert Penn Warren, John Crowe Ransom, and Allen Tate did, but I argue that his refusal to forget the past and give up the fight for the "cause" makes his writing great and is the reason that he should be returned to the Southern and American literary canons.

Isolates of Citrus Tristeza Virus (CTV) in Belize may be causing inverse stem pitting, stunting, and slow decline on sweet and sour orange rootstock combination on field trees. One isolate on Cleopatra mandarin rootstock expressed no field symptoms but may be a possible source of a detrimental isolate to more susceptible citrus rootstock combinations. Field plants and field source inoculated indicator plants were used in this study. The first objective was to determine whether field trees of sweet Valencia orange trees that expressed symptoms of CTV would test positive to a polyclonal (mild and severe symptoms) and a monoclonal (severe decline) antibody. Of the 81 trees tested, 56% tested positive to a polyclonal antibody G-604. None of the trees tested positive to the monoclonal antibody MCA-13. The second objective was to determine the biological and serological reactivity on host indicator plants of some of the most symptomatic trees having highest optical density value readings from the ELISA test. Mexican lime showed mild to moderate vein clearing on three of the isolates tested, while sweet orange showed mild to moderate translucent veins on two of the isolates tested. Four isolates from the indicator host plants tested positive to polyclonal antibody G-604 but none tested positive to MCA-13. The third objective was to determine if there were any differences among the nucleotide sequences of three CTV isolates. The CTV coat protein gene (CPG) of isolates which reacted to a polyclonal antibody G-604 but not to monoclonal antibody (MCA-13) was selectively amplified by polymerase chain reaction from infected tissue extracts and sequenced using negative sense CN 407 primer. All three isolates revealed between ninety-eight and ninety percent significant identities to known CTV isolates previously characterized from citrus growing regions around the world.