New evidence shows iron(II) oxidation is strongly coupled to nitrate reduction under anaerobic conditions in freshwater sediments and agricultural soils. However, the contribution of iron(II) oxidation to nitrate reduction is unknown. Furthermore, oxidation of manganese(II) by nitrate has been largely overlooked. This study investigated nitrate-dependent iron(II) and manganese(II) oxidation in an agricultural soil (Sadler silt loam) using stirred-batch kinetic techniques with native soil organic carbon (SOC) as the electron donor and included addition of amendments (hydrogen gas and wheat residue). In the presence of native SOC, nitrate-dependent Fe(II) and Mn(II) oxidation occurred at early stages of the reaction while organic carbon participated at longer times. Contributions of iron(II) and manganese(II) oxidation to nitrate reduction were 19% and 25%, respectively. This is significant in light of excess SOC relative to total Fe and Mn in the Sadler soil. Addition of hydrogen gas lowered the contribution of iron(II) oxidation to nitrate reduction to 10%, while addition of plant residue raised this value to approximately 55%. Manganese(II) oxidation contributed 50% to nitrate reduction under hydrogen amended conditions. These coupled processes involving Fe(II) and Mn(II) oxidation are an underappreciated aspect of the nitrogen cycle and merit consideration in future studies.

Grasslands comprise the greatest biome by land area, are sensitive to environmental factors affected by climate change, and can impact future climate change through their ability to store and release greenhouse gasses (GHGs). I performed two studies: 1) evaluated the effects of increased temperature and precipitation on slug herbivory/abundance and pasture forage production; 2) quantified different homeowner lawn system effects on soil-to-atmosphere GHG emissions. Climate change will likely affect pasture forage production, with implications for slug herbivory and abundance. I found little evidence that slugs have or will have significant effects on pasture production or plant community. Warming altered the abundance of slugs and modified seasonal trends, increasing slug abundance in spring/winter and reducing it in late-summer/fall, through both direct effects and changes in plant community and forage quality. Home lawns vary in levels of management, influencing the exchange of GHGs. I quantified the effects of three common home lawn systems of central Kentucky on GHG emissions, but found no significant differences in CO2, N2O, and NH3 fluxes. My research suggests that slug herbivory is not a dominant ecological process in Kentucky pastures and that common home lawn systems have similar soil-to-atmosphere GHG emissions.

Agricultural education, originally the province of land grant institutions, has recently entered the liberal arts curriculum. This represents a profound shift from the origins of agricultural education, when it was intended primarily as vocational training for future farmers, and has important implications for the future of the American food system. The first chapter of this thesis addresses the history of agricultural education: what was it originally like, and why did it come to be heavily criticized in the late twentieth century? Formal agricultural education changed significantly in response to these criticisms, making it more environmentally sustainable and bringing it into liberal arts institutions. The Pomona College Organic Farm is representative of a broader student farm movement that has gained momentum since the late 1990s, and offers the chance to evaluate agricultural education in the liberal arts. This thesis includes a curriculum in sustainable agriculture that was led as a group independent study at the Pomona College Organic Farm in fall 2013 and reflections on the process of curriculum design and implementation.

Markberedning är vanligt förekommande när återbeskogning skall ske efter en avverkning. Vilken metod som väljs styrs av olika faktorer som t ex markfuktighet, humuslagrets tjocklek och mineraljordlagrets djup. I detta arbete studeras ett försök vid SLU: s försökspark i Siljansfors, ca 20 km SV om Mora. Studien omfattar två olika försöksytor, Sf 284 och Sf 287, planterade med gran (Picea abies) år 2004 respektive 2007. Ståndorten är en moränmark, markfuktighetsklassen är frisk och vegetationstypen är blåbär- och lingontyp och är belägen cirka 210 m.ö.h.  Syftet med denna studie är att utvärdera och jämföra tre olika markberedningsmetoder med avseende på överlevnad och höjdtillväxt hos granplantor (Picea abies) under de första åren efter plantering. Vid plantering utan markberedning och utan kemiskt behandlade plantor är risken för en hög avgång på grund av skador orsakade av snytbagge (Hylobius abietis L.) stor de första åren. De markberedningsmetoder som jämfördes var högläggning, fläckmarkberedning och inversmetoden. Dessa tre metoder jämfördes inbördes samt mot att inte markbereda alls. I det totala samlade plantmaterialet var hälften kemiskt behandlat mot snytbagge. Fördelningen kemiskt behandlat och obehandlat plantmaterial var jämt fördelat i alla försök och upprepningar. I studien ingick också en utvärdering av den så kallade ”kanteffekten”, dvs. effekten av att plantorna sattes närmare än, respektive längre än 10 cm från kanten av den anlagda markberedningsytan. I juli 2009 mättes planthöjd och överlevnad på försöksytorna. Resultatet presenteras som medelvärden i form av stapeldiagram. Överlevnadsgraden höjdes med hjälp av markberedning, permetrinbehandling och val av planteringspunkt i förhållande till humuskant.  Det var framför allt högläggning och inversmarkberedning som gynnade plantornas höjdtillväxt. / Soil preparation is common when reforestation occurs after harvesting. Which method is chosen is governed by various factors such as soil moisture, humus layer thickness and depth of mineral soil. An experiment was made at SLU's experimental park in Siljansfors, about 20 km SW about Mora. The study comprises two different experimental areas, Sf 284 and Sf 287, where Picea abies was planted in 2004 and 2007 respectively. The soil is a moraine, the soil moisture class is fresh and the vegetation type is blueberry and lingonberry type. The site is located approximately 210 m above sea level. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare three different soil preparation methods regarding to survival and height growth of Picea abies during the first years after planting. In the case of planting without soil preparation and without chemically treated plants, the risk of a high mortality due to the damage caused by pine weevil (Hylobius abietis L.) is high during the first years. The soil preparation methods that were compared were mounding, patch scarification and the inverse method. These three methods were compared to each other as well as to no soil preparation at all. In the total aggregate plant material, half were chemically treated against pine weevil. The distribution of chemically treated and untreated plant material was evenly distributed throughout all trials and repeats. The study also included an evaluation of the so-called "edge effect", i.e. the effect of placing the plants closer than, respectively, longer than 10 cm from the edge of the scarified patch. In July 2009, plant height and survival were measured in the experimental areas. The result is presented as averages in the form of bar charts. The survival rate was increased by soil preparation, permetrin treatment and selection of planting point relative to humus edge. It was above all mounding and inverse soil preparation that favored the height of the plants.

Aquaponics, the integrated production of fish and hydroponic crops in a recirculating system, is an intensive cultivation method in which metabolic fish wastes fertilize plants. This study compares the effects of two aquafeeds on Red amaranth (Amaranthus tricolor) productivity and on water quality under cultivation of Blue tilapia (Oreochromis aureus), with three aquaponic units (n=3) per treatment over a 60-day trial. The fishmeal-based control feed contains higher crude protein (40%) and phosphorus (1.12%) than the plant-based alternative feed (32% and 0.40%). The alternative feed resulted in a significantly higher amaranth crop yield (p

As water demand increases it will become more imperative for golf course superintendents, landscape managers, and other industry professionals to improve water use efficiency in the management of recreational turfgrass. Scheduling irrigation according to actual turfgrass evapotranspiration rates (ETT) is an integral component of efficient irrigation practices. Impracticality of field derived ETT for industry use, however, directs the need of weather station derived reference (predicted) evapotranspiration (ET0). To accurately predict (estimate) ETT of turf and other crops, scientifically derived landscape (crop) coefficients (Kc values) are used in conjunction with mathematical models that incorporate local meteorological data. Research is limited, however, in identifying Kc values and subsequent ET0 for turfgrass species selected and maintained under high intensity recreational practices congruent of golf courses and sports fields in the cool-humid northeast climate. Therefore, objectives of this study were to (i) observe and record ETT of three commonly selected recreational turfgrass species; 'Exacta' Perennial ryegrass (Lollium perenne L.), 'Touchdown' Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.), and 'Memorial' Creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolinifera L.) maintained as golf and sports turf, (ii) analyze the impact various management practices (nitrogen fertility and height of cut) have on ETT, (iii) develop accurate Kc values appropriate for use with the recommended FAO 56 Penman-Monteith mathematical model for accurate ET0 of recreational turf maintained in the cool-humid northeast. Four heights of cut (HOC) and two nitrogen fertility rates (N) were evaluated to determine their impact on turfgrass growth and subsequent water use and ETT of three recreational turfgrass species. Golf turf (creeping bentgrass) maintained at a lower height of cut than sports turf exhibited a smaller leaf area component and a significantly lower (20%) ETT. N applied as slow release (82%) throughout the growing season increased ETT by 5%, particularly with perennial ryegrass sports turf. Taller HOC also increased ETT by 10% due to increased leaf area indices and subsequent decreased resistance to ET. Predicted ET0 according to FAO 56 for all three years of the study (79 observations) captured 71% of ETT. Yearly and monthly calculations suggest less variable (cloudy) weather yielded more accurate ET0. Crop coefficient (Kc) values established in conjunction with FAO 56 ET0 ranged from 0.90 to 1.00 for shorter golf course turf (creeping bentgrass), and 1.15 to 1.25 for taller sports turf (Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass). Results indicate shorter grass exhibits a lower ETT than taller grass due to various factors, and in the case of industry application, FAO 56 ET0 can accurately estimate ETT of recreational turf in the cool-humid northeast when fitted with appropriate Kc values.

Field and lab experiments were conducted to determine the efficacy of sudangrass (Sorghum X drumondii (Nees ex Steud.) Millsp. & Chase) cover crop management techniques and soil solarization on important agricultural weeds and pathogens in organic strawberry production in Central California. Lab experiments assessed the time needed to kill weed seeds at temperatures typically achieved during soil solarization (40°C, 45°C, 50°C, 55°C, and 60°C) in California. Seeds tested included little mallow, redstem filaree, bristly oxtongue, annual sowthistle, common purslane, nettleleaf goosefoot, and redroot pigweed. Efficacy of simulated solarization temperatures differed between different species. Cool-season annuals annual sowthistle and bristly oxtongue were more susceptible to heat treatments than warm-season annuals common purslane, redroot pigweed and nettleleaf goosefoot. Hard seeded weed species little mallow and redstem filaree were the least susceptible to heat treatments. Annual sowthistle, bristly oxtongue and nettleleaf goosefoot were affected at all temperatures. Redroot pigweed and little mallow were not affected by temperatures below 40°C. Common purslane was not affected by temperature below 45°C and redstem filaree was not affect by any temperatures tested. Hours of exposure and percent mortality of weed seeds were used to create thermal death models for weed seeds. Field experiments were conducted at the Cal Poly Organic Farm in San Luis Obispo, CA testing the effects of soil solarization and sudangrass residues on weeds, Verticillium dahliae populations, plant health, and yields in organic strawberry production. Using a split plot design, sudangrass was grown, mowed and then developed into two treatments: surface mulch or incorporated into the soil. The sudangrass treatments and a control were tested with and without soil solarization (n=4). Maximum soil temperatures in solarized treatments were 53°C at a soil depth of 5 cm and 42°C at a soil depth of 15 cm. Solarization reduced weed biomass between 49.8 and 95.2% during the first 3.5 months after tarp removal (p=0.03), reduced Verticillium dahliae populations by 80.7% (p=0.01), reduced plant mortality by 54.9% (pV. dahliae populations (p=0.33) or yields (p=0.25). However, mulched treatments reduced weed biomass between 45.0 and 61.3% (p=0.03) compared to other sudangrass treatments. Results indicate solarization can be used in central coast organic strawberry production to reduce hand-weeding, disease incidence, and increase yields.

Due to environmental concerns and to the limited amount of fossil fuel in the world theinterest in using renewable material has been and will continue to be on the rise. With theincreasing demand for renewable materials such as bio-based fibers, the research aroundnatural fibers is intensifying. Abaca (Musa Texitilis Nee) is a plant endemic to the Philippineswhich is claimed to contain the strongest natural fiber in the world 1. However, no thoroughresearch on performing tensile strength test on single abaca fibers/cells has been found. Byperforming tensile strength test on the single abaca fibers and relate this will provide freshdata about the single abaca fiber strength that can be compared with other natural fibers.This can later be a reference tool in order to find the optimal fiber for the product to be made. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology for performing tensile strength testson single abaca fibers with the major objective to relate the tensile strength and E-modulusof the fibers with their microfibrillar angle (MFA). The research was done by using Abaca(grade S2) from Camarines Sur (Philippines) that was chemically disintegrated in order toobtain single fibers. The single fibers were mounted to a custom made paper frame for thetensile strength test performed by an Instron 5944. The MFA of each fiber was also retrievedusing an optical microscope with a polarized filter. The research showed an indication of aninversely proportional relation between MFA and tensile strength of the fibers. According tothe results, the E-modulus of the single abaca fiber was almost constant, independently onthe MFA of the fiber. / The purpose of this study is to do a broad map out of the abaca industry in the Philippines. Furthermore, the study aims to provide an overview of the abaca industry as a tool for finding ways to optimize the fiber production and to find suggestions on how to make a bigger share of the profit from the abaca products to stay by the farmers in the Philippines. The objectives are therefore also focused on describing the way the abaca plant is cultivated, harvested, processed, and further distributed from the farms. Also, the objectives are to describe the abaca supply and demand situation along with identifying challenges for abaca production. Today the outmoded abaca production in the Philippines is experiencing a productivity loss which makes the farmers' incomes unnecessarily low. Important factors that, by this study, have been identified affecting the low productivity and profit are lack of proper farming management, distribution and unoptimized usage of the fibers. A big share of the abaca fibers produced is also being exported. This means that the raw fibers are being made into high-value products abroad and hence the profit to be made is dislocated further from the farmers with low means of improving their standard of living. The study has been performed by doing a literature study complemented with interviews and visits to abaca farmers and other stakeholders within the abaca industry.

Many agricultural communities have developed in Utah since the first settlement, but many no longer exist today. Some of these early communities experienced a "boom and bust," while others struggled for several years and were eventually abandoned. Johns Valley is a good example of these historic communities, as it experienced rapid growth and times of success and prosperity, yet it struggled and was eventually abandoned. The situation in Johns Valley, from its early settlement to its demise, demonstrates the hope of the people who settled there and their efforts to make Johns Valley a productive and successful area. History also shows the growth of the area and the development of communities, with schools, churches, businesses, and other institutions - as was the case with most historic agricultural communities of Utah. Despite the hope and hard work, these agricultural communities could not overcome the environment, or other factors that led to their demise. Dry farming was the main source of economic activity in Johns Valley and farmers had to rely upon adequate precipitation for crop growth. Dry farming is a technique often practiced in drier climates where irrigation is not readily available. Such areas do not have adequate precipitation in a single year, but in consecutive years there is often sufficient moisture for crop production. The main objective in dry farming is to maintain the soil in such a way that the soil will absorb and retain as much water as possible. The primary technique of dry farming is to allow the soil to remain fallow every other year. This practice allows the soil to store up water for two years so that there will be sufficient water for one year of crops. Regardless of the hope and efforts of the farmers in Johns Valley, they too could not overcome the environment. Annual precipitation was often insufficient for dry farming in Johns Valley. Also, the erratic nature of the precipitation added to the downfall of farming activity in the valley, as adequate precipitation could not be relied upon from year to year or from month to month. Additionally, with Johns Valley being located 7,500 feet above mean sea level, the growing season was often too short to adequately allow crops to mature and produce a good yield. Other factors perhaps added to the discouragement of the people of Johns Valley, but the insufficient and erratic nature of the precipitation, coupled with the short growing season, were major factors in the abandonment of the area. The people of the valley voted to leave the area and sell their land and farms to the federal government.

Sclerotinia homoeocarpa (F.T. Bennett) is one of the most economically important pathogens on high amenity cool-season turfgrasses where it causes dollar spot. Due to decades of over-reliance and repeated chemical treatments, S. homoeocarpa has developed resistance and insensitivity to multiple classes of fungicides. To understand the genetic mechanisms of fungicide resistance, the whole genomes of two strains with varying resistance levels to fungicides, were sequenced. In unpublished data (Sang et al.), a RNA-sequencing analysis revealed three CYP450s that were validated to play a functional role in S. homoeocarpa’s resistance against different fungicide classes. We also identified CYP450 metabolic action on the multi-site mode of action fungicide chlorothalonil. Chlorothalonil is an extensively used contact fungicide and has been known to be persistent in soils. Yet, S. homoeocarpa resistance to chlorothalonil has not been reported in the field. High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) indicated faster rates of chlorothalonil biotransformation by CYP450 overexpression strains when compared to the wild-type. We show by GC-MS that the primary transformation intermediate found in soils, 4-hydroxy-2,5,6 trichloroisophthalonitrile is produced by CYP450s’ metabolism.