Master of Science / Department of Agronomy / Johanna A. Dille / Corn yield potential is limited by water deficit stress and limited soil nitrogen. Field and greenhouse experiments were conducted near Manhattan, KS in 2005 and 2006. The field experiment evaluated the influence of nitrogen (N) rate and increasing Palmer amaranth (PA) density grown alone and in competition with corn in two moisture environments. In 2006 the dryland environment was very drought stressed, while 2005 had more intermediate conditions. Weed-free corn yields were approximately half in dryland environments compared to the irrigated environment across years. Increasing PA density increased corn yield loss similarly in both 2005 environments and in 2006 dryland environment across all N rates. In the 2006 irrigated environment corn yield loss was increased by decreasing N rate and increasing PA density. Maximum predicted yield loss at high PA densities in both 2005 environments was 20-54% while in 2006 dryland environment, maximum yield loss was 95% and in the irrigated environment was 62%. In general, soil moisture environment was more critical than N rate or PA density when determining potential corn yield. In the greenhouse study a factorial arrangement of two irrigation methods and five crop-weed combinations (corn, PA, GF, corn/PA, and corn/GF) was established with two replications and three runs conducted. Two plants were grown in 25.4 cm diameter PVC pipe cut into 91.5 cm lengths. Irrigation application method included a surface and subsurface application. Plants were harvested at the V10 corn growth stage. No differences were detected between irrigation methods with respect to above- or below ground biomass production. Corn aboveground biomass was decreased by the presence of corn or PA but not GF. Below ground biomass information was presented as column totals because species could not be separated. There was no impact on root to shoot ratio, total below ground biomass, rooting depth, or root area across the crop-weed combinations except for the GF monoculture columns which were lower than all other crop-weed combinations. Future research needs to examine the light interception of corn and PA when grown at different N rates along with examining the influence of surface and subsurface irrigation practices on crop weed interactions and weed seed germination in a field setting.

Herbicide combinations are common in corn production in the United States to control broadleaf and grass weed species. Studies were conducted in 1995 and 1996 to: (1) investigate the interactions of 2,4-D and dicamba with halosulfuron-methyl on common lambsquarters and common ragweed control in corn, (2) determine the effect of 2,4-D on the foliar absorption, translocation, and metabolism of 14C halosulfuron-methyl in common lambsquarters, (3) examine the interactions of 2,4-D, dicamba, and ALS-inhibitor herbicides with rimsulfuron plus thifensulfuron-methyl (RT) and with sethoxydim on giant foxtail, common ragweed, and common lambsquarters control in corn. Combinations of halosulfuron-methyl with 2,4-D or dicamba were generally additive in their effects on common lambsquarters and common ragweed control, and were occasionally synergistic on common lambsquarters. Synergistic herbicide interactions in the greenhouse were observed with 2,4-D (17 g/ha ) and halosulfuron-methyl (18 g/ha) and 2,4-D (70 g/ha ) in combination with halosulfuron-methyl at 4.5 and 36 g/ha, respectively. Absorption and translocation of 14C-halosulfuron-methyl were not influenced by the addition of 2,4-D, with absorption increasing with time. Three unknown halosulfuron-methyl metabolites (M1, M2, and M3) with Rf values of 0.0, 0.97, and 0.94, respectively, were isolated. The addition of 2,4-D increased the level of M3 at the 18 g/ha halosulfuron-methyl rate, which may contribute to common lambsquarters phytotoxicity. Antagonism on giant foxtail control was observed with all combinations of RT and 2,4-D. Tank mixtures of RT with flumetsulam plus clopyralid plus 2,4-D, atrazine, 2,4-D, and dicamba plus atrazine controlled giant foxtail £ 78% 65 (DAT). RT mixed with flumetsulam plus clopyralid plus 2,4-D injured corn 26%, and yields were reduced 34% when compared to RT alone. Giant foxtail control from sethoxydim tank-mixed with bentazon plus atrazine with urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), or with ALS-inhibiting herbicides except halosulfuron-methyl in combination with 2,4-D was 24% lower when averaged over treatments. Yields of sethoxydim-resistant (SR) corn treated with sethoxydim mixed with combinations of sulfonylurea herbicides plus 2,4-D were low, with the exception of the combination halosulfuron-methyl with sethoxydim and 2,4-D. These studies indicate that thoroughly understanding postemergence (POST) corn herbicide tank mixtures is crucial for effective weed management. / Ph. D.

Starting from the overall Revitalizing Small Millets in South Asia (RESMISA) project objective and question, how to increase millet production and consumption, I will use the same to enter Chintaguda and understand how that can be accomplished in the village. As millets do not occupy a significant aspect of the lives of people in Chintaguda, I essentially sought to understand the general decision-making logics that operate therein. This objective will help me understand which factors and their interactions influence activities around socio-ecological engagements. I aim to devise a framework to comprehend these logics and the complexities found in Chintaguda by using social theories. These will help me stitch together a narrative for Chintaguda that will contextualize the people’s relationship to millets. This study will show the various ways people can and do relate to millets. / February 2016

Despite an abundance of archaeological material recovered from sites in Island Southeast Asia, the timing and route by which cultigens first arrived in Wallacea remains unclear. Many of the staple crops now grown on these islands were domesticated in mainland Asia, and were deliberately introduced by humans at an unknown point during the Holocene, through several possible routes. In this study, the δ 13C, δ15N and δ18O values of subfossil bones and teeth attributed to Sus celebensis and Sus scrofa are analyzed. These materials, which span the last 5160 years at Liang Bua, Flores, Indonesia are used to determine if and when there was a shift towards agricultural intensification, and whether this intensification included the integration of domesticated C4 crops. The δ13C and δ15N values of the bone and dentin collagen samples indicate an abrupt shift towards enrichment in 13C and depletion in 15N at some time between 5160 and 2750 yBP. This hints at changes in human subsistence patterns that may have included the clearing of forests, and the integration of nonendemic C4 cultigens such as foxtail millet (Setaria italica) onto the island. No statistically significant variation in the δ 18O values of the enamel carbonate samples over time is observed, suggesting that once they appeared on Flores, semidomesticated pigs became an important part of the island ecosystem, and were bred and raised on Flores instead of being continuously imported from elsewhere.

Biotopes associated with railway corridor in valley of the river Tichá Orlice (Eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic) ABSTRACT Expansion, invasion or decline of plant species caused by environmental changes belong to the most important phenomenons associated with vegetation cover development. In spite of their often initiation by human activities the above mentioned processes continue then spontaneously and uncontrollably. This study is concentrated to the effect of these mechanisms on the biotope structure along the Tichá Orlice River (Eastern Bohemia, Czech Republic) - in its lowland landscape segment of the canyon character where the second axis of the valley (river flow is the first one) is created by railway line more than 150 years of local history. The case study has the general aim: to treat the present and/or future impact of described trends to plant biota and the degree of its influencing. My diploma thesis investigates functional impact and mutual interaction of the two main migration pathways of exotic species - the T.Orlice river and the railway corridor. It presents qualitative and quantitative changes in plant components of local (semi)natural biotopes by mean of interrelationships among selected ecological groups of species (neophytes, expansive species, and ephemeroids). At the same time, this...