Mapping croplands, cropping patterns, and crop types using MODIS time-series data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yaoliang; Lu, Dengsheng; Moran, Emilio; Batistella, Mateus; Dutra, Luciano Vieira; Sanches, Ieda Del'Arco; da Silva, Ramon Felipe Bicudo; Huang, Jingfeng; Luiz, Alfredo José Barreto; de Oliveira, Maria Antonia Falcão

2018-07-01

The importance of mapping regional and global cropland distribution in timely ways has been recognized, but separation of crop types and multiple cropping patterns is challenging due to their spectral similarity. This study developed a new approach to identify crop types (including soy, cotton and maize) and cropping patterns (Soy-Maize, Soy-Cotton, Soy-Pasture, Soy-Fallow, Fallow-Cotton and Single crop) in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil. The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series data for 2015 and 2016 and field survey data were used in this research. The major steps of this proposed approach include: (1) reconstructing NDVI time series data by removing the cloud-contaminated pixels using the temporal interpolation algorithm, (2) identifying the best periods and developing temporal indices and phenological parameters to distinguish croplands from other land cover types, and (3) developing crop temporal indices to extract cropping patterns using NDVI time-series data and group cropping patterns into crop types. Decision tree classifier was used to map cropping patterns based on these temporal indices. Croplands from Landsat imagery in 2016, cropping pattern samples from field survey in 2016, and the planted area of crop types in 2015 were used for accuracy assessment. Overall accuracies of approximately 90%, 73% and 86%, respectively were obtained for croplands, cropping patterns, and crop types. The adjusted coefficients of determination of total crop, soy, maize, and cotton areas with corresponding statistical areas were 0.94, 0.94, 0.88 and 0.88, respectively. This research indicates that the proposed approach is promising for mapping large-scale croplands, their cropping patterns and crop types.

Remote sensing of agricultural crops and soils

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, M. E. (Principal Investigator)

1983-01-01

Research in the correlative and noncorrelative approaches to image registration and the spectral estimation of corn canopy phytomass and water content is reported. Scene radiation research results discussed include: corn and soybean LANDSAT MSS classification performance as a function of scene characteristics; estimating crop development stages from MSS data; the interception of photosynthetically active radiation in corn and soybean canopies; costs of measuring leaf area index of corn; LANDSAT spectral inputs to crop models including the use of the greenness index to assess crop stress and the evaluation of MSS data for estimating corn and soybean development stages; field research experiment design data acquisition and preprocessing; and Sun-view angles studies of corn and soybean canopies in support of vegetation canopy reflection modeling.

Current, Short Term, Future and Star Wars Research Projects for Ornamental Crops

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA-ARS Greenhouse Production Research Group is involved in fundamental and developmental plant research aimed at developing tools for early stress detection and efficient agrochemical utilization for protected horticulture crops. The group conducts basic plant biology research with the goal o...

A crops and soils data base for scene radiation research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Biehl, L. L.; Bauer, M. E.; Robinson, B. F.; Daughtry, C. S. T.; Silva, L. F.; Pitts, D. E.

1982-01-01

Management and planning activities with respect to food production require accurate and timely information on crops and soils on a global basis. The needed information can be obtained with the aid of satellite-borne sensors, if the relations between the spectral properties and the important biological-physical parameters of crops and soils are known. In order to obtain this knowledge, the development of a crops and soils scene radiation research data base was initiated. Work related to the development of this data base is discussed, taking into account details regarding the conducted experiments, the performed measurements, the calibration of spectral data, questions of data base access, and the expansion of the crops and soils scene radiation data base for 1982.

Nutritionally Enhanced Food Crops; Progress and Perspectives

PubMed Central

Hefferon, Kathleen L.

2015-01-01

Great progress has been made over the past decade with respect to the application of biotechnology to generate nutritionally improved food crops. Biofortified staple crops such as rice, maize and wheat harboring essential micronutrients to benefit the world’s poor are under development as well as new varieties of crops which have the ability to combat chronic disease. This review discusses the improvement of the nutritional status of crops to make a positive impact on global human health. Several examples of nutritionally enhanced crops which have been developed using biotechnological approaches will be discussed. These range from biofortified crops to crops with novel abilities to fight disease. The review concludes with a discussion of hurdles faced with respect to public perception, as well as directions of future research and development for nutritionally enhanced food crops. PMID:25679450

Development, implementation and evaluation of satellite-aided agricultural monitoring systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cicone, R. C.; Crist, E. P.; Metzler, M.; Nuesch, D.

1982-01-01

Research activities in support of AgRISTARS Inventory Technology Development Project in the use of aerospace remote sensing for agricultural inventory described include: (1) corn and soybean crop spectral temporal signature characterization; (2) efficient area estimation techniques development; and (3) advanced satellite and sensor system definition. Studies include a statistical evaluation of the impact of cultural and environmental factors on crop spectral profiles, the development and evaluation of an automatic crop area estimation procedure, and the joint use of SEASAT-SAR and LANDSAT MSS for crop inventory.

Organic and conventional farmers differ in their perspective on cover crop use and breeding

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cover crops play an important role in agricultural sustainability. Unlike commodity cash crops, however, there has been relatively little cover crop germplasm research and development. We conducted an online survey to evaluate a) the perspectives of organic and conventional farmers in the United Sta...

The present state of research and exploitation of biotech (GM) crops in horticulture: results of research on plum cv. 'HoneySweet' resistant to plum pox virus (Sharka) and the deregulation of this cultivar in the CR & Europe

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Gentically modified (GM) crops were grown world-wide on 160 million ha in 2011. Only 114.57 ha of GM crops were grown in Europe, of that, 114.90 ha were Bt maize and 17 ha were potato for industrial starch production. Commercialization of Biotech crops started in 1995. Currently, developing count...

The dynamics of hydroponic crops for simulation studies of the CELSS initial reference configurations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler

1992-01-01

The goal of this research is to develop a progressive series of mathematical models for the CELSS hydroponic crops. These models will systematize the experimental findings from the crop researchers in the CELSS Program into a form useful to investigate system-level considerations, for example, dynamic studies of the CELSS Initial Reference Configurations. The crop models will organize data from different crops into a common modeling framework. This is the fifth semiannual report for this project. The following topics are discussed: (1) use of field crop models to explore phasic control of CELSS crops for optimizing yield; (2) seminar presented at Purdue CELSS NSCORT; and (3) paper submitted on analysis of bioprocessing of inedible plant materials.

Mapping Cropland and Crop-type Distribution Using Time Series MODIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, D.; Chen, Y.; Moran, E. F.; Batistella, M.; Luo, L.; Pokhrel, Y.; Deb, K.

2016-12-01

Mapping regional and global cropland distribution has attracted great attention in the past decade, but the separation of crop types is challenging due to the spectral confusion and cloud cover problems during the growing season in Brazil. The objective of this study is to develop a new approach to identify crop types (including soybean, cotton, maize) and planting patterns (soybean-maize, soybean-cotton, and single crop) in Mato Grosso, Goias and Tocantins States, Brazil. The time series moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) (MOD13Q1) in 2015/2016 were used in this research and field survey data were collected in May 2016. The major steps include: (1) reconstruct time series NDVI data contaminated by noise and clouds using the temporal interpolation algorithm; (2) identify the best periods and develop temporal indices and phenology parameters to distinguish cropland from other land cover types based on time series NDVI data; (3) develop a crop temporal difference index (CTDI) to extract crop types and patterns using time series NDVI data. This research shows that (1) the cropland occupied approximately 16.85% of total land in these three states; (2) soybean-maize and soybean-cotton were two major crop patterns which occupied 54.80% and 19.30% of total cropland area. This research indicates that the proposed approach is promising for accurately and rapidly mapping cropland and crop-type distribution in these three states of Brazil.

Modeling the growth dynamics of four candidate crops for Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, Tyler

1987-01-01

The production of food for human life support for advanced space missions will require the management of many different crops. The research to design these food production capabilities along with the waste management to recycle human metabolic wastes and inedible plant components are parts of Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS). Since complete operating CELSS were not yet built, a useful adjunct to the research developing the various pieces of a CELSS are system simulation models that can examine what is currently known about the possible assembly of subsystems into a full CELSS. The growth dynamics of four crops (wheat, soybeans, potatoes, and lettuce) are examined for their general similarities and differences within the context of their important effects upon the dynamics of the gases, liquids, and solids in the CELSS. Data for the four crops currently under active research in the CELSS program using high-production hydroponics are presented. Two differential equations are developed and applied to the general characteristics of each crop growth pattern. Model parameters are determined by closely approximating each crop's data.

The Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM) Initiative: Developing methods and best practices for global agricultural monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Champagne, C.; Jarvis, I.; Defourny, P.; Davidson, A.

2014-12-01

Agricultural systems differ significantly throughout the world, making a 'one size fits all' approach to remote sensing and monitoring of agricultural landscapes problematic. The Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM) was established in 2009 to bring together the global scientific community to work towards a set of best practices and recommendations for using earth observation data to map, monitor and report on agricultural productivity globally across an array of diverse agricultural systems. These methods form the research and development component of the Group on Earth Observation Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) initiative to harmonize global monitoring efforts and increase market transparency. The JECAM initiative brings together researchers from a large number of globally distributed, well monitored agricultural test sites that cover a range of crop types, cropping systems and climate regimes. Each test site works independently as well as together across multiple sites to test methods, sensors and field data collection techniques to derive key agricultural parameters, including crop type, crop condition, crop yield and soil moisture. The outcome of this project will be a set of best practices that cover the range of remote sensing monitoring and reporting needs, including satellite data acquisition, pre-processing techniques, information retrieval and ground data validation. These outcomes provide the research and development foundation for GEOGLAM and will help to inform the development of the GEOGLAM "system of systems" for global agricultural monitoring. The outcomes of the 2014 JECAM science meeting will be discussed as well as examples of methods being developed by JECAM scientists.

Cover Crop Chart: An Intuitive Educational Resource for Extension Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Liebig, Mark A.; Johnson, Holly; Archer, David; Hendrickson, John; Nichols, Kristine; Schmer, Marty; Tanaka, Don

2013-01-01

Interest in cover crops by agricultural producers has increased the need for information regarding the suitability of crops for addressing different production and natural resource goals. To help address this need, staff at the USDA-ARS Northern Great Plains Research Laboratory developed a decision aid called the Cover Crop Chart (CCC). Visually…

The crop growth research chamber

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagenbach, Kimberly

1993-01-01

The Crop Growth Research Chamber (CGRC) has been defined by CELSS principle investigators and science advisory panels as a necessary ground-based tool in the development of a regenerative life support system. The focus of CGRC research will be on the biomass production component of the CELSS system. The ground-based Crop Growth Research Chamber is for the study of plant growth and development under stringently controlled environments isolated from the external environment. The chamber has importance in three areas of CELSS activities: (1) crop research; (2) system control and integration, and (3) flight hardware design and experimentation. The laboratory size of the CGRC will be small enough to allow duplication of the unit, the conducting of controlled experiments, and replication of experiments, but large enough to provide information representative of larger plant communities. Experiments will focus on plant growth in a wide variety of environments and the effects of those environments on plant production of food, water, oxygen, toxins, and microbes. To study these effects in a closed system, tight control of the environment is necessary.

Overview of the AgRISTARS research program. I. [AGgriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Caudill, C. E.; Hatch, R. E.

1985-01-01

An account is given of the activities and accomplishments to date of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing (AgRISTARS) program, which is a cooperative venture with NASA and the Departments of the Interior and of Commerce. AgRISTARS research activities encompass early warning and crop condition assessment, inventory technology development for production forecasting, crop yield model development, soil moisture monitoring, domestic crops and land cover sensing, renewable resources inventory, and conservation and pollution assessment.

Yield Model Development (YMD) implementation plan for fiscal years 1981 and 1982

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambroziak, R. A. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

A plan is described for supporting USDA crop production forecasting and estimation by (1) testing, evaluating, and selecting crop yield models for application testing; (2) identifying areas of feasible research for improvement of models; and (3) conducting research to modify existing models and to develop new crop yield assessment methods. Tasks to be performed for each of these efforts are described as well as for project management and support. The responsibilities of USDA, USDC, USDI, and NASA are delineated as well as problem areas to be addressed.

Early warning and crop condition assessment research

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boatwright, G. O.; Whitehead, V. S.

1986-01-01

The Early Warning Crop Condition Assessment Project of AgRISTARS was a multiagency and multidisciplinary effort. Its mission and objectives were centered around development and testing of remote-sensing techniques that enhance operational methodologies for global crop-condition assessments. The project developed crop stress indicators models that provide data filter and alert capabilities for monitoring global agricultural conditions. The project developed a technique for using NOAA-n satellite advanced very-high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) data for operational crop-condition assessments. This technology was transferred to the Foreign Agricultural Service of the USDA. The project developed a U.S. Great Plains data base that contains various meteorological parameters and vegetative index numbers (VIN) derived from AVHRR satellite data. It developed cloud screening techniques and scan angle correction models for AVHRR data. It also developed technology for using remotely acquired thermal data for crop water stress indicator modeling. The project provided basic technology including spectral characteristics of soils, water, stressed and nonstressed crop and range vegetation, solar zenith angle, and atmospheric and canopy structure effects.

Beyond the plot: technology extrapolation domains for scaling out agronomic science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rattalino Edreira, Juan I.; Cassman, Kenneth G.; Hochman, Zvi; van Ittersum, Martin K.; van Bussel, Lenny; Claessens, Lieven; Grassini, Patricio

2018-05-01

Ensuring an adequate food supply in systems that protect environmental quality and conserve natural resources requires productive and resource-efficient cropping systems on existing farmland. Meeting this challenge will be difficult without a robust spatial framework that facilitates rapid evaluation and scaling-out of currently available and emerging technologies. Here we develop a global spatial framework to delineate ‘technology extrapolation domains’ based on key climate and soil factors that govern crop yields and yield stability in rainfed crop production. The proposed framework adequately represents the spatial pattern of crop yields and stability when evaluated over the data-rich US Corn Belt. It also facilitates evaluation of cropping system performance across continents, which can improve efficiency of agricultural research that seeks to intensify production on existing farmland. Populating this biophysical spatial framework with appropriate socio-economic attributes provides the potential to amplify the return on investments in agricultural research and development by improving the effectiveness of research prioritization and impact assessment.

Microgravity as a research tool to improve US agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bula, R. J.; Stankovic, Bratislav

2000-01-01

Crop production and utilization are undergoing significant modifications and improvements that emanate from adaptation of recently developed plant biotechnologies. Several innovative technologies will impact US agriculture in the next century. One of these is the transfer of desirable genes from organisms to economically important crop species in a way that cannot be accomplished with traditional plant breeding techniques. Such plant genetic engineering offers opportunities to improve crop species for a number of characteristics as well as use as source materials for specific medical and industrial applications. Although plant genetic engineering is having an impact on development of new crop cultivars, several major constraints limit the application of this technology to selected crop species and genotypes. Consequently, gene transfer systems that overcome these constraints would greatly enhance development of new crop materials. If results of a recent gene transfer experiment conducted in microgravity during a Space Shuttle mission are confirmed, and with the availability of the International Space Station as a permanent space facility, commercial plant transformation activity in microgravity could become a new research tool to improve US agriculture. .

Crop Characteristics Research: Growth and Reflectance Analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badhwar, G. D. (Principal Investigator)

1985-01-01

Much of the early research in remote sensing follows along developing spectral signatures of cover types. It was found, however, that a signature from an unknown cover class could not always be matched to a catalog value of known cover class. This approach was abandoned and supervised classification schemes followed. These were not efficient and required extensive training. It was obvious that data acquired at a single time could not separate cover types. A large portion of the proposed research has concentrated on modeling the temporal behavior of agricultural crops and on removing the need for any training data in remote sensing surveys; the key to which is the solution of the so-called 'signature extension' problem. A clear need to develop spectral estimaters of crop ontogenic stages and yield has existed even though various correlations have been developed. Considerable effort in developing techniques to estimate these variables was devoted to this work. The need to accurately evaluate existing canopy reflectance model(s), improve these models, use them to understand the crop signatures, and estimate leaf area index was the third objective of the proposed work. A synopsis of this research effort is discussed.

Temporal expansion of annual crop classification layers for the CONUS using the C5 decision tree classifier

USGS Publications Warehouse

Friesz, Aaron M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Howard, Daniel M.

2017-01-01

Crop cover maps have become widely used in a range of research applications. Multiple crop cover maps have been developed to suite particular research interests. The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cropland Data Layers (CDL) are a series of commonly used crop cover maps for the conterminous United States (CONUS) that span from 2008 to 2013. In this investigation, we sought to contribute to the availability of consistent CONUS crop cover maps by extending temporal coverage of the NASS CDL archive back eight additional years to 2000 by creating annual NASS CDL-like crop cover maps derived from a classification tree model algorithm. We used over 11 million records to train a classification tree algorithm and develop a crop classification model (CCM). The model was used to create crop cover maps for the CONUS for years 2000–2013 at 250 m spatial resolution. The CCM and the maps for years 2008–2013 were assessed for accuracy relative to resampled NASS CDLs. The CCM performed well against a withheld test data set with a model prediction accuracy of over 90%. The assessment of the crop cover maps indicated that the model performed well spatially, placing crop cover pixels within their known domains; however, the model did show a bias towards the ‘Other’ crop cover class, which caused frequent misclassifications of pixels around the periphery of large crop cover patch clusters and of pixels that form small, sparsely dispersed crop cover patches.

Barriers and paths to market for genetically engineered crops.

PubMed

Rommens, Caius M

2010-02-01

Each year, billions of dollars are invested in efforts to improve crops through genetic engineering (GE). These activities have resulted in a surge of publications and patents on technologies and genes: a momentum in basic research that, unfortunately, is not sustained throughout the subsequent phases of product development. After more than two decades of intensive research, the market for transgenic crops is still dominated by applications of just a handful of methods and genes. This discrepancy between research and development reflects difficulties in understanding and overcoming seven main barriers-to-entry: (1) trait efficacy in the field, (2) critical product concepts, (3) freedom-to-operate, (4) industry support, (5) identity preservation and stewardship, (6) regulatory approval and (7) retail and consumer acceptance. In this review, I describe the various roadblocks to market for transgenic crops and also discuss methods and approaches on how to overcome these, especially in the United States.

Emerging crops in the USDA arid lands germplasm collection

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The USDA National Plant Germplasm System maintains collections of several emerging crops for arid lands at the National Arid Land Plant Genetic Resources Unit in Parlier, CA (NALPGRU). The guayule, jojoba, and prickly pear collections are most active in terms of current research and crop development...

Roots Withstanding their Environment: Exploiting Root System Architecture Responses to Abiotic Stress to Improve Crop Tolerance

PubMed Central

Koevoets, Iko T.; Venema, Jan Henk; Elzenga, J. Theo. M.; Testerink, Christa

2016-01-01

To face future challenges in crop production dictated by global climate changes, breeders and plant researchers collaborate to develop productive crops that are able to withstand a wide range of biotic and abiotic stresses. However, crop selection is often focused on shoot performance alone, as observation of root properties is more complex and asks for artificial and extensive phenotyping platforms. In addition, most root research focuses on development, while a direct link to the functionality of plasticity in root development for tolerance is often lacking. In this paper we review the currently known root system architecture (RSA) responses in Arabidopsis and a number of crop species to a range of abiotic stresses, including nutrient limitation, drought, salinity, flooding, and extreme temperatures. For each of these stresses, the key molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the RSA response are highlighted. To explore the relevance for crop selection, we especially review and discuss studies linking root architectural responses to stress tolerance. This will provide a first step toward understanding the relevance of adaptive root development for a plant’s response to its environment. We suggest that functional evidence on the role of root plasticity will support breeders in their efforts to include root properties in their current selection pipeline for abiotic stress tolerance, aimed to improve the robustness of crops. PMID:27630659

Developing Global Leaders for Research, Regulation, and Stewardship of Crop Protection Chemistry in the 21st Century

EPA Science Inventory

To provide sufficient food and fiber to the increasing global population, the technologies associated with crop protection are growing ever more sophisticated but, at the same time, societal expectations for the safe use of crop protection chemistry tools are also increasing. The...

Use of computational modeling combined with advanced visualization to develop strategies for the design of crop ideotypes to address food security

DOE PAGES

Christensen, A. J.; Srinivasan, V.; Hart, J. C.; ...

2018-03-17

Sustainable crop production is a contributing factor to current and future food security. Innovative technologies are needed to design strategies that will achieve higher crop yields on less land and with fewer resources. Computational modeling coupled with advanced scientific visualization enables researchers to explore and interact with complex agriculture, nutrition, and climate data to predict how crops will respond to untested environments. These virtual observations and predictions can direct the development of crop ideotypes designed to meet future yield and nutritional demands. This review surveys modeling strategies for the development of crop ideotypes and scientific visualization technologies that have ledmore » to discoveries in “big data” analysis. Combined modeling and visualization approaches have been used to realistically simulate crops and to guide selection that immediately enhances crop quantity and quality under challenging environmental conditions. Lastly, this survey of current and developing technologies indicates that integrative modeling and advanced scientific visualization may help overcome challenges in agriculture and nutrition data as large-scale and multidimensional data become available in these fields.« less

Use of computational modeling combined with advanced visualization to develop strategies for the design of crop ideotypes to address food security

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, A. J.; Srinivasan, V.; Hart, J. C.

Sustainable crop production is a contributing factor to current and future food security. Innovative technologies are needed to design strategies that will achieve higher crop yields on less land and with fewer resources. Computational modeling coupled with advanced scientific visualization enables researchers to explore and interact with complex agriculture, nutrition, and climate data to predict how crops will respond to untested environments. These virtual observations and predictions can direct the development of crop ideotypes designed to meet future yield and nutritional demands. This review surveys modeling strategies for the development of crop ideotypes and scientific visualization technologies that have ledmore » to discoveries in “big data” analysis. Combined modeling and visualization approaches have been used to realistically simulate crops and to guide selection that immediately enhances crop quantity and quality under challenging environmental conditions. Lastly, this survey of current and developing technologies indicates that integrative modeling and advanced scientific visualization may help overcome challenges in agriculture and nutrition data as large-scale and multidimensional data become available in these fields.« less

Use of computational modeling combined with advanced visualization to develop strategies for the design of crop ideotypes to address food security.

PubMed

Christensen, A J; Srinivasan, Venkatraman; Hart, John C; Marshall-Colon, Amy

2018-05-01

Sustainable crop production is a contributing factor to current and future food security. Innovative technologies are needed to design strategies that will achieve higher crop yields on less land and with fewer resources. Computational modeling coupled with advanced scientific visualization enables researchers to explore and interact with complex agriculture, nutrition, and climate data to predict how crops will respond to untested environments. These virtual observations and predictions can direct the development of crop ideotypes designed to meet future yield and nutritional demands. This review surveys modeling strategies for the development of crop ideotypes and scientific visualization technologies that have led to discoveries in "big data" analysis. Combined modeling and visualization approaches have been used to realistically simulate crops and to guide selection that immediately enhances crop quantity and quality under challenging environmental conditions. This survey of current and developing technologies indicates that integrative modeling and advanced scientific visualization may help overcome challenges in agriculture and nutrition data as large-scale and multidimensional data become available in these fields.

Use of computational modeling combined with advanced visualization to develop strategies for the design of crop ideotypes to address food security

PubMed Central

Christensen, A J; Srinivasan, Venkatraman; Hart, John C; Marshall-Colon, Amy

2018-01-01

Abstract Sustainable crop production is a contributing factor to current and future food security. Innovative technologies are needed to design strategies that will achieve higher crop yields on less land and with fewer resources. Computational modeling coupled with advanced scientific visualization enables researchers to explore and interact with complex agriculture, nutrition, and climate data to predict how crops will respond to untested environments. These virtual observations and predictions can direct the development of crop ideotypes designed to meet future yield and nutritional demands. This review surveys modeling strategies for the development of crop ideotypes and scientific visualization technologies that have led to discoveries in “big data” analysis. Combined modeling and visualization approaches have been used to realistically simulate crops and to guide selection that immediately enhances crop quantity and quality under challenging environmental conditions. This survey of current and developing technologies indicates that integrative modeling and advanced scientific visualization may help overcome challenges in agriculture and nutrition data as large-scale and multidimensional data become available in these fields. PMID:29562368

Development and application of modern agricultural biotechnology in Botswana: The potentials, opportunities and challenges

PubMed Central

Batlang, Utlwang; Tsurupe, Gorata; Segwagwe, Amogelang; Obopile, Motshwari

2014-01-01

In Botswana, approximately 40% of the population live in rural areas and derive most of their livelihood from agriculture by keeping livestock and practising arable farming. Due to the nature of their farming practises livestock and crops are exposed to diseases and environmental stresses. These challenges offer opportunities for application of biotechnology to develop adaptable materials to the country's environment. On the other hand, the perceived risk of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has dimmed the promise of the technology for its application in agriculture. This calls for a holistic approach to the application of biotechnology to address issues of biosafety of GMOs. We have therefore assessed the potentials, challenges and opportunities to apply biotechnology with specific emphasis on agriculture, taking cognisance of requirement for its research, development and application in research and teaching institutions. In order to achieve this, resource availability, infrastructure, human and laboratory requirements were analyzed. The analysis revealed that the country has the capacity to carry out research in biotechnology in the development and production of genetically modified crops for food and fodder crops. These will include gene discovery, genetic transformation and development of systems to comply with the world regulatory framework on biosafety. In view of the challenges facing the country in agriculture, first generation biotech crops could be released for production. Novel GM products for development may include disease diagnosis kits, animal disease vaccines, and nutrient use efficiency, drought, and pest and disease resistant food and fodder crops. PMID:25437237

Development and application of modern agricultural biotechnology in Botswana: the potentials, opportunities and challenges.

PubMed

Batlang, Utlwang; Tsurupe, Gorata; Segwagwe, Amogelang; Obopile, Motshwari

2014-07-03

In Botswana, approximately 40% of the population live in rural areas and derive most of their livelihood from agriculture by keeping livestock and practising arable farming. Due to the nature of their farming practises livestock and crops are exposed to diseases and environmental stresses. These challenges offer opportunities for application of biotechnology to develop adaptable materials to the country's environment. On the other hand, the perceived risk of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) has dimmed the promise of the technology for its application in agriculture. This calls for a holistic approach to the application of biotechnology to address issues of biosafety of GMOs. We have therefore assessed the potentials, challenges and opportunities to apply biotechnology with specific emphasis on agriculture, taking cognisance of requirement for its research, development and application in research and teaching institutions. In order to achieve this, resource availability, infrastructure, human and laboratory requirements were analyzed. The analysis revealed that the country has the capacity to carry out research in biotechnology in the development and production of genetically modified crops for food and fodder crops. These will include gene discovery, genetic transformation and development of systems to comply with the world regulatory framework on biosafety. In view of the challenges facing the country in agriculture, first generation biotech crops could be released for production. Novel GM products for development may include disease diagnosis kits, animal disease vaccines, and nutrient use efficiency, drought, and pest and disease resistant food and fodder crops.

Unique technical innovations for short rotation woody crops research and development

Treesearch

Adam H. Wiese; Ronald S., Jr. Zalesny

2006-01-01

Often technology that is available to conduct short rotation woody crops (SRWC) research is too expensive, difficult to operate, cumbersome, and/or impractical for meeting sample size requirements. Thus, we have designed, constructed, and tested technical innovations that have allowed us to meet our specific experimental needs.

How agro-ecological research helps to address food security issues under new IPM and pesticide reduction policies for global crop production systems.

PubMed

E Birch, A Nicholas; Begg, Graham S; Squire, Geoffrey R

2011-06-01

Drivers behind food security and crop protection issues are discussed in relation to food losses caused by pests. Pests globally consume food estimated to feed an additional one billion people. Key drivers include rapid human population increase, climate change, loss of beneficial on-farm biodiversity, reduction in per capita cropped land, water shortages, and EU pesticide withdrawals under policies relating to 91/414 EEC. IPM (Integrated Pest Management) will be compulsory for all EU agriculture by 2014 and is also being widely adopted globally. IPM offers a 'toolbox' of complementary crop- and region-specific crop protection solutions to address these rising pressures. IPM aims for more sustainable solutions by using complementary technologies. The applied research challenge now is to reduce selection pressure on single solution strategies, by creating additive/synergistic interactions between IPM components. IPM is compatible with organic, conventional, and GM cropping systems and is flexible, allowing regional fine-tuning. It reduces pests below economic thresholds utilizing key 'ecological services', particularly biocontrol. A recent global review demonstrates that IPM can reduce pesticide use and increase yields of most of the major crops studied. Landscape scale 'ecological engineering', together with genetic improvement of new crop varieties, will enhance the durability of pest-resistant cultivars (conventional and GM). IPM will also promote compatibility with semiochemicals, biopesticides, precision pest monitoring tools, and rapid diagnostics. These combined strategies are urgently needed and are best achieved via multi-disciplinary research, including complex spatio-temporal modelling at farm and landscape scales. Integrative and synergistic use of existing and new IPM technologies will help meet future food production needs more sustainably in developed and developing countries, in an era of reduced pesticide availability. Current IPM research gaps are identified and discussed.

An overview of the last 10 years of genetically engineered crop safety research.

PubMed

Nicolia, Alessandro; Manzo, Alberto; Veronesi, Fabio; Rosellini, Daniele

2014-03-01

The technology to produce genetically engineered (GE) plants is celebrating its 30th anniversary and one of the major achievements has been the development of GE crops. The safety of GE crops is crucial for their adoption and has been the object of intense research work often ignored in the public debate. We have reviewed the scientific literature on GE crop safety during the last 10 years, built a classified and manageable list of scientific papers, and analyzed the distribution and composition of the published literature. We selected original research papers, reviews, relevant opinions and reports addressing all the major issues that emerged in the debate on GE crops, trying to catch the scientific consensus that has matured since GE plants became widely cultivated worldwide. The scientific research conducted so far has not detected any significant hazards directly connected with the use of GE crops; however, the debate is still intense. An improvement in the efficacy of scientific communication could have a significant impact on the future of agricultural GE. Our collection of scientific records is available to researchers, communicators and teachers at all levels to help create an informed, balanced public perception on the important issue of GE use in agriculture.

GEOGLAM Crop Monitor Assessment Tool: Developing Monthly Crop Condition Assessments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McGaughey, K.; Becker Reshef, I.; Barker, B.; Humber, M. L.; Nordling, J.; Justice, C. O.; Deshayes, M.

2014-12-01

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) developed the Global Agricultural Monitoring initiative (GEOGLAM) to improve existing agricultural information through a network of international partnerships, data sharing, and operational research. This presentation will discuss the Crop Monitor component of GEOGLAM, which provides the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) with an international, multi-source, and transparent consensus assessment of crop growing conditions, status, and agro-climatic conditions likely to impact global production. This activity covers the four primary crop types (wheat, maize, rice, and soybean) within the main agricultural producing regions of the AMIS countries. These assessments have been produced operationally since September 2013 and are published in the AMIS Market Monitor Bulletin. The Crop Monitor reports provide cartographic and textual summaries of crop conditions as of the 28th of each month, according to crop type. This presentation will focus on the building of international networks, data collection, and data dissemination.

The Emerging Oilseed Crop Sesamum indicum Enters the "Omics" Era.

PubMed

Dossa, Komivi; Diouf, Diaga; Wang, Linhai; Wei, Xin; Zhang, Yanxin; Niang, Mareme; Fonceka, Daniel; Yu, Jingyin; Mmadi, Marie A; Yehouessi, Louis W; Liao, Boshou; Zhang, Xiurong; Cisse, Ndiaga

2017-01-01

Sesame ( Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the oldest oilseed crops widely grown in Africa and Asia for its high-quality nutritional seeds. It is well adapted to harsh environments and constitutes an alternative cash crop for smallholders in developing countries. Despite its economic and nutritional importance, sesame is considered as an orphan crop because it has received very little attention from science. As a consequence, it lags behind the other major oil crops as far as genetic improvement is concerned. In recent years, the scenario has considerably changed with the decoding of the sesame nuclear genome leading to the development of various genomic resources including molecular markers, comprehensive genetic maps, high-quality transcriptome assemblies, web-based functional databases and diverse daft genome sequences. The availability of these tools in association with the discovery of candidate genes and quantitative trait locis for key agronomic traits including high oil content and quality, waterlogging and drought tolerance, disease resistance, cytoplasmic male sterility, high yield, pave the way to the development of some new strategies for sesame genetic improvement. As a result, sesame has graduated from an "orphan crop" to a "genomic resource-rich crop." With the limited research teams working on sesame worldwide, more synergic efforts are needed to integrate these resources in sesame breeding for productivity upsurge, ensuring food security and improved livelihood in developing countries. This review retraces the evolution of sesame research by highlighting the recent advances in the "Omics" area and also critically discusses the future prospects for a further genetic improvement and a better expansion of this crop.

Monitoring the agricultural landscape for insect resistance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Casas, Joseph; Glaser, J. A.; Copenhaver, Ken

Farmers in 25 countries on six continents are using plant biotechnology to solve difficult crop production challenges and conserve the environment. In fact, 13.3 million farmers, which include 90 percent of the farming in developing countries, choose to plant biotech crops. Over the past decade, farmers increased area planted in genetically modified (GM) crops by more than 10 percent each year, thus increasing their farm income by more than 44 billion US dollars (1996-2007), and achieved economic, environmental and social benefits in crops such as soybeans, canola, corn and cotton. To date, total acres of biotech crops harvested exceed more than 2 billion with a proven 13-year history of safe use. Over the next decade, expanded adoption combined with current research on 57 crops in 63 countries will broaden the advantages of genetically modified foods for growers, consumers and the environment. Genetically modified (GM) crops with the ability to produce toxins lethal to specific insect pests are covering a larger percentage of the agricultural landscape every year. The United States department of Agriculture (USDA) estimated that 63 percent of corn and 65 percent of cotton contained these specific genetic traits in 2009. The toxins could protect billions of dollars of loss from insect damage for crops valued at greater than 165 billion US dollars in 2008. The stable and efficient production of these crops has taken on even more importance in recent years with their use, not only as a food source, but now also a source of fuel. It is in the best interest of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to ensure the continued efficacy of toxin producing GM crops as their use reduces pesticides harmful to humans and animals. However, population genetics models have indicated the risk of insect pests developing resistance to these toxins if a high percentage of acreage is grown in these crops. The USEPA is developing methods to monitor the agricultural landscape to ensure resistance is not developing. USEPA is teaming with NASA to perform this monitoring using models and NASA earth observation imagery from airborne and satellite platforms. Using multiple spatial, temporal and spectral resolutions, the project is monitoring the entire Midwestern "Corn Belt". By applying these methods, the project has successfully delineated insect infestations in genetically modified corn fields. Insect resistance development is expected to present itself as infestations thus indicating potential identification of resistance if it develops in genetically modified crops. The USEPA and NASA are currently considering the development of plans to potentially extend this aircraft research to other crops and develop a micro-satellite application.

Sharing Malaysian experience with the development of biotechnology-derived food crops.

PubMed

Abu Bakar, Umi K; Pillai, Vilasini; Hashim, Marzukhi; Daud, Hassan Mat

2005-12-01

Biotechnology-derived food crops are currently being developed in Malaysia mainly for disease resistance and improved post harvest quality. The modern biotechnology approach is adopted because of its potential to overcome constraints faced by conventional breeding techniques. Research on the development of biotechnology-derived papaya, pineapple, chili, passion fruit, and citrus is currently under way. Biotechnology-derived papaya developed for resistance to papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) and improved postharvest qualities is at the field evaluation stage. Pineapple developed for resistance to fruit black heart disorder is also being evaluated for proof-of-concept. Other biotechnology-derived food crops are at early stages of gene cloning and transformation. Activities and products involving biotechnology-derived crops will be fully regulated in the near future under the Malaysian Biosafety Law. At present they are governed only by guidelines formulated by the Genetic Modification Advisory Committee (GMAC), Malaysia. Commercialization of biotechnology-derived crops involves steps that require GMAC approval for all field evaluations and food-safety assessments before the products are placed on the market. Public acceptance of the biotechnology product is another important factor for successful commercialization. Understanding of biotechnology is generally low among Malaysians, which may lead to low acceptance of biotechnology-derived products. Initiatives are being taken by local organizations to improve public awareness and acceptance of biotechnology. Future research on plant biotechnology will focus on the development of nutritionally enhanced biotechnology-derived food crops that can provide more benefits to consumers.

The Generation Challenge Programme Platform: Semantic Standards and Workbench for Crop Science

PubMed Central

Bruskiewich, Richard; Senger, Martin; Davenport, Guy; Ruiz, Manuel; Rouard, Mathieu; Hazekamp, Tom; Takeya, Masaru; Doi, Koji; Satoh, Kouji; Costa, Marcos; Simon, Reinhard; Balaji, Jayashree; Akintunde, Akinnola; Mauleon, Ramil; Wanchana, Samart; Shah, Trushar; Anacleto, Mylah; Portugal, Arllet; Ulat, Victor Jun; Thongjuea, Supat; Braak, Kyle; Ritter, Sebastian; Dereeper, Alexis; Skofic, Milko; Rojas, Edwin; Martins, Natalia; Pappas, Georgios; Alamban, Ryan; Almodiel, Roque; Barboza, Lord Hendrix; Detras, Jeffrey; Manansala, Kevin; Mendoza, Michael Jonathan; Morales, Jeffrey; Peralta, Barry; Valerio, Rowena; Zhang, Yi; Gregorio, Sergio; Hermocilla, Joseph; Echavez, Michael; Yap, Jan Michael; Farmer, Andrew; Schiltz, Gary; Lee, Jennifer; Casstevens, Terry; Jaiswal, Pankaj; Meintjes, Ayton; Wilkinson, Mark; Good, Benjamin; Wagner, James; Morris, Jane; Marshall, David; Collins, Anthony; Kikuchi, Shoshi; Metz, Thomas; McLaren, Graham; van Hintum, Theo

2008-01-01

The Generation Challenge programme (GCP) is a global crop research consortium directed toward crop improvement through the application of comparative biology and genetic resources characterization to plant breeding. A key consortium research activity is the development of a GCP crop bioinformatics platform to support GCP research. This platform includes the following: (i) shared, public platform-independent domain models, ontology, and data formats to enable interoperability of data and analysis flows within the platform; (ii) web service and registry technologies to identify, share, and integrate information across diverse, globally dispersed data sources, as well as to access high-performance computational (HPC) facilities for computationally intensive, high-throughput analyses of project data; (iii) platform-specific middleware reference implementations of the domain model integrating a suite of public (largely open-access/-source) databases and software tools into a workbench to facilitate biodiversity analysis, comparative analysis of crop genomic data, and plant breeding decision making. PMID:18483570

[Review of research and development and significant effect of Hippophae rhamnoides].

PubMed

Liu, Yong; Lian, Yong-Shan; Wang, Ying-Li; Li, Min-Hui; Xiao, Pei-Gen

2014-05-01

Hippophae rhamnoides is one of the most representative economy crops for its wide uses of biological diversity and abundance of resource. As the key healthy food development and ecology protection, H. rhamnoides has been developed widely. Meanwhile, the development of H. rhamnoides has obtained great achievements. Nowadays, H. rhamnoides is still a necessary economy crop, while it has great influence on ecology protection. This paper discussed the phytochemistry, pharmacology, clinical application and product development, and propounded some suggestions for future research and economy development to get comprehensive benefit of H. rhamnoides and to serve for well-off society.

The Combined Application of the Caco-2 Cell Bioassay Coupled with In Vivo (Gallus gallus) Feeding Trial Represents an Effective Approach to Predicting Fe Bioavailability in Humans

PubMed Central

Tako, Elad; Bar, Haim; Glahn, Raymond P.

2016-01-01

Research methods that predict Fe bioavailability for humans can be extremely useful in evaluating food fortification strategies, developing Fe-biofortified enhanced staple food crops and assessing the Fe bioavailability of meal plans that include such crops. In this review, research from four recent poultry (Gallus gallus) feeding trials coupled with in vitro analyses of Fe-biofortified crops will be compared to the parallel human efficacy studies which used the same varieties and harvests of the Fe-biofortified crops. Similar to the human studies, these trials were aimed to assess the potential effects of regular consumption of these enhanced staple crops on maintenance or improvement of iron status. The results demonstrate a strong agreement between the in vitro/in vivo screening approach and the parallel human studies. These observations therefore indicate that the in vitro/Caco-2 cell and Gallus gallus models can be integral tools to develop varieties of staple food crops and predict their effect on iron status in humans. The cost-effectiveness of this approach also means that it can be used to monitor the nutritional stability of the Fe-biofortified crop once a variety has released and integrated into the food system. These screening tools therefore represent a significant advancement to the field for crop development and can be applied to ensure the sustainability of the biofortification approach. PMID:27869705

Testing an Irrigation Decision Support Tool for California Specialty Crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, L.; Cahn, M.; Benzen, S.; Zaragoza, I.; Murphy, L.; Melton, F. S.; Martin, F.; Quackenbush, A.; Lockhart, T.

2015-12-01

Estimation of crop evapotranspiration supports efficiency of irrigation water management, which in turn can mitigate nitrate leaching, groundwater depletion, and provide energy savings. Past research in California and elsewhere has revealed strong relationships between photosynthetically active vegetation fraction (Fc) and crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Additional research has shown the potential of monitoring Fc by satellite remote sensing. The U.C. Cooperative Extension developed and operates CropManage (CM) as on-line database irrigation (and nitrogen) scheduling tool. CM accounts for the rapid growth and typically brief cycle of cool-season vegetables, where Fc and fraction of reference ET can change daily during canopy development. The model automates crop water requirement calculations based on reference ET data collected by California Dept. Water Resources. Empirically-derived equations are used to estimate daily Fc time-series for a given crop type primarily as a function of planting date and expected harvest date. An application programming interface (API) is under development to provide a check on modeled Fc of current crops and facilitate CM expansion to new crops. The API will enable CM to extract field scale Fc observations from NASA's Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS). SIMS is mainly Landsat based and currently monitors Fc over about 8 million irrigation acres statewide, with potential for adding data from ESA/Sentinel for improved temporal resolution. In the current study, a replicated irrigation trial was performed on romaine lettuce at the USDA Agricultural Research Station in Salinas, CA. CropManage recommendations were used to guide water treatments by drip irrigation at 50%, 75%, 100% ETc replacement levels, with an added treatment at 150% ET representing grower standard practice. Experimental results indicate that yields from the 100% and 150% treatments were not significantly different and were in-line with industry average, while yields from the 75% and 50% treatments were significantly lower. Additional results will be presented with respect to a subsequent cabbage trial harvested October 2015.

Rice scene radiation research plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Heilman, J.

1982-01-01

Data requirements, tasks to be accomplished, and the technical approaches to be used in identifying the characteristics of rice for crop inventories are listed as well as methods for estimating crop development and assessing its conditions.

Assessment of future crop yield and agricultural sustainable water use in north china plain using multiple crop models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, G.

2016-12-01

Currently, studying crop-water response mechanism has become an important part in the development of new irrigation technology and optimal water allocation in water-scarce regions, which is of great significance to crop growth guidance, sustainable utilization of agricultural water, as well as the sustainable development of regional agriculture. Using multiple crop models(AquaCrop,SWAP,DNDC), this paper presents the results of simulating crop growth and agricultural water consumption of the winter-wheat and maize cropping system in north china plain. These areas are short of water resources, but generates about 23% of grain production for China. By analyzing the crop yields and the water consumption of the traditional flooding irrigation, the paper demonstrates quantitative evaluation of the potential amount of water use that can be reduced by using high-efficient irrigation approaches, such as drip irrigation. To maintain food supply and conserve water resources, the research concludes sustainable irrigation methods for the three provinces for sustainable utilization of agricultural water.

Is genetically modified crop the answer for the next green revolution?

PubMed

Basu, Saikat Kumar; Dutta, Madhuleema; Goyal, Aakash; Bhowmik, Pankaj Kumar; Kumar, Jitendra; Nandy, Sanjib; Scagliusi, Sandra Mansun; Prasad, Rajib

2010-01-01

Post-green revolution advances made in biotechnology paved the way of cultivating the high-yielding, stress and disease resistant genetically modified (GM) varieties of wheat, rice, maize cotton and several other crops. The recent rapid commercialization of the genetically modified crops in Asia, Americas and Australia indicates the potentiality of this new technology. GM crops give higher yields and are rich in nutritional values containing vitamins and minerals and can thus can help to alleviate hunger and malnutrition of the growing population in the under developed and developing countries. It could also be possible to develop more biotic and abiotic stress resistant genotypes in these crops where it was difficult to develop due to the unavailability of genes of resistance in the crossing germplasms. However, further research and investigations are needed to popularize the cultivation of these crops in different parts of the world. This review provides an insight of the impact of GM crops on contemporary agriculture across the past few decades, traces its' history across time, highlights new achievements and breakthroughs and discusses the future implication of this powerful technology in the coming few decades.

An Intelligent Crop Planning Tool for Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Whitaker, Laura O.; Leon, Jorge

1996-01-01

This paper describes a crop planning tool developed for the Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) project which is in the research phases at various NASA facilities. The Crop Planning Tool was developed to assist in the understanding of the long term applications of a CELSS environment. The tool consists of a crop schedule generator as well as a crop schedule simulator. The importance of crop planning tools such as the one developed is discussed. The simulator is outlined in detail while the schedule generator is touched upon briefly. The simulator consists of data inputs, plant and human models, and various other CELSS activity models such as food consumption and waste regeneration. The program inputs such as crew data and crop states are discussed. References are included for all nominal parameters used. Activities including harvesting, planting, plant respiration, and human respiration are discussed using mathematical models. Plans provided to the simulator by the plan generator are evaluated for their 'fitness' to the CELSS environment with an objective function based upon daily reservoir levels. Sample runs of the Crop Planning Tool and future needs for the tool are detailed.

In the Weeds: Idaho’s Invasive Species Laws and Biofuel Research and Development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pope, April Lea

Federal laws, policies, and programs that incentivize and mandate the development of biofuels have local effects on both Idaho’s environment and on research supporting biofuels. The passage of a new energy crop rule in Idaho, effective as of March 20, 2014, follows an increased interest in growing, possessing, and transporting energy crops comprised of invasive plant species that are regulated under Idaho’s Invasive Species Act. Idaho’s new energy crop rule is an example of how a state can take measures to protect against unintended consequences of federal laws, policies, and programs while also taking advantage of the benefits of suchmore » policies and programs.« less

In the Weeds: Idaho’s Invasive Species Laws and Biofuel Research and Development

DOE PAGES

Pope, April Lea

2015-05-01

Federal laws, policies, and programs that incentivize and mandate the development of biofuels have local effects on both Idaho’s environment and on research supporting biofuels. The passage of a new energy crop rule in Idaho, effective as of March 20, 2014, follows an increased interest in growing, possessing, and transporting energy crops comprised of invasive plant species that are regulated under Idaho’s Invasive Species Act. Idaho’s new energy crop rule is an example of how a state can take measures to protect against unintended consequences of federal laws, policies, and programs while also taking advantage of the benefits of suchmore » policies and programs.« less

Field research on the spectral properties of crops and soils, volume 1. [Purdue Agronomy Farm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bauer, M. E. (Principal Investigator); Biehl, L. L.; Robinson, B. F.

1980-01-01

The experiment design, data acquisition and preprocessing, data base management, analysis results and development of instrumentation for the AgRISTARS Supporting Research Project, Field Research task are described. Results of several investigations on the spectral reflectance of corn and soybean canopies as influenced by cultural practices, development stage and nitrogen nutrition are reported as well as results of analyses of the spectral properties of crop canopies as a function of canopy geometry, row orientation, sensor view angle and solar illumination angle are presented. The objectives, experiment designs and data acquired in 1980 for field research experiments are described. The development and performance characteristics of a prototype multiband radiometer, data logger, and aerial tower for field research are discussed.

Using dual-purpose crops in sheep-grazing systems.

PubMed

Dove, Hugh; Kirkegaard, John

2014-05-01

The utilisation of dual-purpose crops, especially wheat and canola grown for forage and grain production in sheep-grazing systems, is reviewed. When sown early and grazed in winter before stem elongation, later-maturing wheat and canola crops can be grazed with little impact on grain yield. Recent research has sought to develop crop- and grazing-management strategies for dual-purpose crops. Aspects examined have been grazing effects on crop growth, recovery and yield development along with an understanding of the grazing value of the crop fodder, its implications for animal nutrition and grazing management to maximise live-weight gain. By alleviating the winter 'feed gap', the increase in winter stocking rate afforded by grazing crops allows crop and livestock production to be increased simultaneously on the same farm. Integration of dual-purpose wheat with canola on mixed farms provides further systems advantages related to widened operational windows, weed and disease control and risk management. Dual-purpose crops are an innovation that has potential to assist in addressing the global food-security challenge. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Transgenic Wheat, Barley and Oats: Production and Characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzeri, Paul A.; Jones, Huw D.

Ever since the first developments in plant transformation technology using model plant species in the early 1980s, there has been a body of plant science research devoted to adapting these techniques to the transformation of crop plants. For some crop species progress was relatively rapid, but in other crop groups such as the small grain cereals, which were not readily amenable to culture in vitro and were not natural hosts to Agrobacterium, it has taken nearly two decades to develop reliable and robust transformation methods.

Overview and highlights of Early Warning and Crop Condition Assessment project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boatwright, G. O.; Whitehead, V. S.

1985-01-01

Work of the Early Warning and Crop Condition Assessment (EW/CCA) project, one of eight projects in the Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing (AgRISTARS), is reviewed. Its mission, to develop and test remote sensing techniques that enhance operational methodologies for crop condition assessment, was in response to initiatives issued by the Secretary of Agriculture. Meteorologically driven crop stress indicator models have been developed or modified for wheat, maize, grain sorghum, and soybeans. These models provide early warning alerts of potential or actual crop stresses due to water deficits, adverse temperatures, and water excess that could delay planting or harvesting operations. Recommendations are given for future research involving vegetative index numbers and the NOAA and Landsat satellites.

Crop resources. [18 papers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seigler, D.S.

Eighteen papers originally presented as a symposium on Crop Resources at the 17th annual meeting of the Society for Economic Botany in Urbana, Illinois, June 13 to 17, 1976 comprise this book. The papers are: Potential Wealth in New Crops: Research and Development, L. H. Princen; Plant Introductions--A Source of New Crops, George A. White; Nonfood Uses for Commercial Vegetable Oil Crops, E. H. Pryde; New Industrial Potentials for Carbohydrates, F. H. Otey; The Current Importance of Plants as a Source of Drugs, Norman R. Farnsworth; Potentials for Development of Wild Plants as Row Crops for Use by Man, Arnoldmore » Krochmal and Connie Krochmal; Recent Evidence in Support of the Tropical Origin of New World Crops, C. Earle Smith, Jr.; Requirements for a Green Revolution, G. F. Sprague; How Green Can a Revolution Be, Jack R. Harlan; Increasing Cereal Yields: Evolution under Domestication, J. M. J. de Wet; Hevea Rubber: Past and Future, Ernest P. Imle; Horseradish--Problems and Research in Illinois, A. M. Rhodes; Dioscorea--The Pill Crop, Norman Applezweig; Plant Derivatives for Insect Control, Robert L. Metcalf; Evolutionary Dynamics of Sorghum Domestication, J. M. J. de Wet and Y. Shecter; The Origin and Future of Wheat, E. R. Sears; Current Thoughts on Origins, Present Status, and Future of Soybeans, T. Hymowitz and C. A. Newell; and The Origin of Corn--Studies of the Last Hundred Years, Garrison Wilkes. (MCW)« less

The Emerging Oilseed Crop Sesamum indicum Enters the “Omics” Era

PubMed Central

Dossa, Komivi; Diouf, Diaga; Wang, Linhai; Wei, Xin; Zhang, Yanxin; Niang, Mareme; Fonceka, Daniel; Yu, Jingyin; Mmadi, Marie A.; Yehouessi, Louis W.; Liao, Boshou; Zhang, Xiurong; Cisse, Ndiaga

2017-01-01

Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the oldest oilseed crops widely grown in Africa and Asia for its high-quality nutritional seeds. It is well adapted to harsh environments and constitutes an alternative cash crop for smallholders in developing countries. Despite its economic and nutritional importance, sesame is considered as an orphan crop because it has received very little attention from science. As a consequence, it lags behind the other major oil crops as far as genetic improvement is concerned. In recent years, the scenario has considerably changed with the decoding of the sesame nuclear genome leading to the development of various genomic resources including molecular markers, comprehensive genetic maps, high-quality transcriptome assemblies, web-based functional databases and diverse daft genome sequences. The availability of these tools in association with the discovery of candidate genes and quantitative trait locis for key agronomic traits including high oil content and quality, waterlogging and drought tolerance, disease resistance, cytoplasmic male sterility, high yield, pave the way to the development of some new strategies for sesame genetic improvement. As a result, sesame has graduated from an “orphan crop” to a “genomic resource-rich crop.” With the limited research teams working on sesame worldwide, more synergic efforts are needed to integrate these resources in sesame breeding for productivity upsurge, ensuring food security and improved livelihood in developing countries. This review retraces the evolution of sesame research by highlighting the recent advances in the “Omics” area and also critically discusses the future prospects for a further genetic improvement and a better expansion of this crop. PMID:28713412

Research and Technology Development for Genetic Improvement of Switchgrass

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kausch, Albert; Rhodes, Richard

This research adds to the understanding of switchgrass genetics and the increasing of biomass relevant to production of bioenergy. Switchgrass, Panicum virgatum L., and its related species are well known as potential bioenergy crops since the early 1990s. There are global economic, political, US national security and environmental pressures to increase renewable biofuel production and utilization to offset gasoline and diesel fuel use and climate change, especially in the liquid fuel transportation sector. To realize the potential of bioenergy crops, rapid genetic improvement of the most promising perennial grass feedstocks, such as switchgrass, are anticipated by current genomics, association genetics,more » marker assisted breeding, hybrid plant development, advanced tissue culture, conventional genetics and other approaches to increase yield, processability, and regional adaptation. The technical effectiveness and economic feasibility of the methods or techniques investigated are demonstrated by several publications, presentations and patents produced as an outcome and deliverable of this research. This project is of a broad benefit to the public not only through the dissemination of this information but also to the development of new methods which will be applied to future bioenergy crop improvement as well as other crops.« less

Evaluation of AIS Data for Agronomic and Rangeland Vegetation: Preliminary Results for August 1984 Flight over Nebraska Sandhills Agricultural Laboratory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blad, B. L.; Starks, P. J.; Hays, C.; Gardner, B. R.

1985-01-01

Since 1978 scientists from the Center for Agricultural Meteorology and Climatology at the University of Nebraska have been conducting research at the Sandhills Agricultural Laboratory on the effects of water stress on crop growth, development and yield using remote sensing techniques. We have been working to develop techniques, both remote and ground-based, to monitor water stress, phenological development, leaf area, phytomass production and grain yields of corn, soybeans and sorghum. Because of the sandy soils and relatively low rainfall at the site it is an excellent location to study water stress without the necessity of installing expensive rainout shelters. The primary objectives of research with the airborne imaging spectrometer (AIS) data collected during an August 1984 flight over the Sandhills Agricultural Laboratory are to evaluate the potential of using AIS to: (1) discriminate crop type; (2) to detect subtle architectural differences that exist among different cultivars or hybrids of agronomic crops; (3) to detect and quantify, if possible, the level of water stress imposed on the crops; and (4) to evaluate leaf area and biomass differences for different crops.

Preliminary evaluation of the Environmental Research Institute of Michigan crop calendar shift algorithm for estimation of spring wheat development stage. [North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, and Minnesota

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Phinney, D. E. (Principal Investigator)

1980-01-01

An algorithm for estimating spectral crop calendar shifts of spring small grains was applied to 1978 spring wheat fields. The algorithm provides estimates of the date of peak spectral response by maximizing the cross correlation between a reference profile and the observed multitemporal pattern of Kauth-Thomas greenness for a field. A methodology was developed for estimation of crop development stage from the date of peak spectral response. Evaluation studies showed that the algorithm provided stable estimates with no geographical bias. Crop development stage estimates had a root mean square error near 10 days. The algorithm was recommended for comparative testing against other models which are candidates for use in AgRISTARS experiments.

A numerical study of the effect of irrigation on land-atmosphere interactions in a spring wheat cropland in India using a coupled atmosphere-crop growth dynamics model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumari, S.; Sharma, P.; Srivastava, A.; Rastogi, D.; Sehgal, V. K.; Dhakar, R.; Roy, S. B.

2017-12-01

Vegetation dynamics and surface meteorology are tightly coupled through the exchange of momentum, moisture and heat between the land surface and the atmosphere. In this study, we use a recently developed coupled atmosphere-crop growth dynamics model to study these exchanges and their effects in a spring wheat cropland in northern India. In particular, we investigate the role of irrigation in controlling crop growth rates, surface meteorology, and sensible and latent heat fluxes. The model is developed by implementing a crop growth module based on the Simple and Universal Crop growth Simulator (SUCROS) model in the Weather Research Forecasting (WRF) mesoscale atmospheric model. The crop module calculates photosynthesis rates, carbon assimilation, and biomass partitioning as a function of environmental factors and crop development stage. The leaf area index (LAI) and root depth calculated by the crop module is then fed to the Noah-MP land module of WRF to calculate land-atmosphere fluxes. The crop model is calibrated using data from an experimental spring wheat crop site in the Indian Agriculture Research Institute. The coupled model is capable of simulating the observed spring wheat phenology. Irrigation is simulated by changing the soil moisture levels from 50% - 100% of field capacity. Results show that the yield first increases with increasing soil moisture and then starts decreasing as we further increase the soil moisture. Yield attains its maximum value with soil moisture at the level of 60% water of FC. At this level, high LAI values lead to a decrease in the Bowen Ratio because more energy is transferred to the atmosphere as latent heat rather than sensible heat resulting in a cooling effect on near-surface air temperatures. Apart from improving simulation of land-atmosphere interactions, this coupled modeling approach can form the basis for the seamless crop yield and seasonal scale weather outlook prediction system.

Sugarcane crop residue and bagasse allelopathic impact on oat (Avena sative L.), tall morningglory (Ipomoea purpurea L. Roth), and redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) germination

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Allelopathy, the chemical interaction between plants, may result in the inhibition of plant growth and development, and can include compounds released from a crop that adversely impact crop or weed species. The objective of this research was to determine the allelopathic impact of sugarcane (Sacchar...

Using a Decision Support System to Optimize Production of Agricultural Crop Residue Biofeedstock

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Reed L. Hoskinson; Ronald C. Rope; Raymond K. Fink

2007-04-01

For several years the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been developing a Decision Support System for Agriculture (DSS4Ag) which determines the economically optimum recipe of various fertilizers to apply at each site in a field to produce a crop, based on the existing soil fertility at each site, as well as historic production information and current prices of fertilizers and the forecast market price of the crop at harvest, for growing a crop such as wheat, potatoes, corn, or cotton. In support of the growing interest in agricultural crop residues as a bioenergy feedstock, we have extended the capability ofmore » the DSS4Ag to develop a variable-rate fertilizer recipe for the simultaneous economically optimum production of both grain and straw, and have been conducting field research to test this new DSS4Ag. In this paper we report the results of two years of field research testing and enhancing the DSS4Ag’s ability to economically optimize the fertilization for the simultaneous production of both grain and its straw, where the straw is an agricultural crop residue that can be used as a biofeedstock.« less

a Weather Monitoring System for Application to Apple and Corn Production

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stirm, Walter Leroy

Many crop management decisions are based on weather -crop development relationships. Daily weather data is currently used in most crop development research and applied models. Present weather and computer technology now makes possible monitoring of crop development on a realtime basis. This research tests a method of computing crop sensitive temperatures for corn and apple using standard hourly meteorological data. The method also makes use of detailed plant physiological stage measurements to determine timing of vital cultural operations tied to the observed weather conditions. The sensitive temperature method incorporates very short term weather variability accounting for changes in the cloud cover, radiation rates, evaporative cooling and other factors involved in the plant's energy balance. The relationship of plant and weather measurements are also used to determine corn emergence, corn grain drydown rate and fruit harvest duration. The monitoring system also incorporates a crop growth unit forecast technique employing short and medium range temperature forecasts of the National Weather Service. The projections of growth units are made for five and ten days into the future. Predicted growth unit accumulations are compared to historical growth unit accumulations to determine the forecast stage. The sensitive temperature crop monitoring system removes some of the error involved in evaluation of growth units by average daily temperature. Carry over maximum and minimums, extended duration of warm or cool periods within the day and disruption of diurnal temperature curve by passage of fronts are eliminated.

Analysis of scanner data for crop inventories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horvath, R. (Principal Investigator); Cicone, R.; Crist, E.; Kauth, R. J.; Pont, W.

1980-01-01

Classification and technology development for area estimation of corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and sunflowers are outlined. Supporting research for corn and soybean foreign commodity production forecasting is highlighted. Graphs profiling the greenness and brightness of the crops are presented.

Rapid Crop Cover Mapping for the Conterminous United States.

PubMed

Dahal, Devendra; Wylie, Bruce; Howard, Danny

2018-06-05

Timely crop cover maps with sufficient resolution are important components to various environmental planning and research applications. Through the modification and use of a previously developed crop classification model (CCM), which was originally developed to generate historical annual crop cover maps, we hypothesized that such crop cover maps could be generated rapidly during the growing season. Through a process of incrementally removing weekly and monthly independent variables from the CCM and implementing a 'two model mapping' approach, we found it viable to generate conterminous United States-wide rapid crop cover maps at a resolution of 250 m for the current year by the month of September. In this approach, we divided the CCM model into one 'crop type model' to handle the classification of nine specific crops and a second, binary model to classify the presence or absence of 'other' crops. Under the two model mapping approach, the training errors were 0.8% and 1.5% for the crop type and binary model, respectively, while test errors were 5.5% and 6.4%, respectively. With spatial mapping accuracies for annual maps reaching upwards of 70%, this approach demonstrated a strong potential for generating rapid crop cover maps by the 1 st of September.

The combined application of the Caco-2 cell bioassay coupled with in vivo (Gallus gallus) feeding trial represents an effective approach to predicting Fe bioavailability in humans

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research methods that predict Fe bioavailability for humans can be extremely useful in evaluating food fortification strategies, developing Fe-biofortified enhanced staple food crops and assessing the Fe bioavailability of meal plans that include such crops. In this review, research from four recent...

Approaches of Integrated Watershed Management Project: Experiences of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mula, Rosana P.; Wani, Suhas P.; Dar, William D.

2008-01-01

The process of innovation-development to scaling is varied and complex. Various actors are involved in every stage of the process. In scaling the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)-led integrated watershed management projects in India and South Asia, three drivers were identified--islanding approach,…

Registration of DGE-3, a durum wheat disomic substitution line 1E(1B) involving a wheatgrass chromosome

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L., 2n = 4x = 28; AABB genomes) alien disomic substitution 1E(1B) line DGE-3 (PI 665473) was developed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service, Northern Crop Science Lab, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Fargo, ND and released in 2012. It was ...

Farm-scale costs and returns for second generation bioenergy cropping systems in the US Corn Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Manatt, Robert K.; Hallam, Arne; Schulte, Lisa A.; Heaton, Emily A.; Gunther, Theo; Hall, Richard B.; Moore, Ken J.

2013-09-01

While grain crops are meeting much of the initial need for biofuels in the US, cellulosic or second generation (2G) materials are mandated to provide a growing portion of biofuel feedstocks. We sought to inform development of a 2G crop portfolio by assessing the profitability of novel cropping systems that potentially mitigate the negative effects of grain-based biofuel crops on food supply and environmental quality. We analyzed farm-gate costs and returns of five systems from an ongoing experiment in central Iowa, USA. The continuous corn cropping system was most profitable under current market conditions, followed by a corn-soybean rotation that incorporated triticale as a 2G cover crop every third year, and a corn-switchgrass system. A novel triticale-hybrid aspen intercropping system had the highest yields over the long term, but could only surpass the profitability of the continuous corn system when biomass prices exceeded foreseeable market values. A triticale/sorghum double cropping system was deemed unviable. We perceive three ways 2G crops could become more cost competitive with grain crops: by (1) boosting yields through substantially greater investment in research and development, (2) increasing demand through substantially greater and sustained investment in new markets, and (3) developing new schemes to compensate farmers for environmental benefits associated with 2G crops.

AgMIP Training in Multiple Crop Models and Tools

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Boote, Kenneth J.; Porter, Cheryl H.; Hargreaves, John; Hoogenboom, Gerrit; Thornburn, Peter; Mutter, Carolyn

2015-01-01

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) has the goal of using multiple crop models to evaluate climate impacts on agricultural production and food security in developed and developing countries. There are several major limitations that must be overcome to achieve this goal, including the need to train AgMIP regional research team (RRT) crop modelers to use models other than the ones they are currently familiar with, plus the need to harmonize and interconvert the disparate input file formats used for the various models. Two activities were followed to address these shortcomings among AgMIP RRTs to enable them to use multiple models to evaluate climate impacts on crop production and food security. We designed and conducted courses in which participants trained on two different sets of crop models, with emphasis on the model of least experience. In a second activity, the AgMIP IT group created templates for inputting data on soils, management, weather, and crops into AgMIP harmonized databases, and developed translation tools for converting the harmonized data into files that are ready for multiple crop model simulations. The strategies for creating and conducting the multi-model course and developing entry and translation tools are reviewed in this chapter.

Postharvest technology for developing countries: challenges and opportunities in research, outreach and advocacy.

PubMed

Kitinoja, Lisa; Saran, Sunil; Roy, Susanta K; Kader, Adel A

2011-03-15

This article discusses the needs and challenges of developing good, science-based, simple methods for postharvest handling that can be made available in developing countries. Some of the traditional challenges have been successfully met (i.e. identifying causes and sources of losses for key crops, identifying many potential postharvest technologies of practical use for reducing losses), but many challenges remain. These include the characterization of indigenous crops in terms of their unique postharvest physiology (e.g. respiration rate, susceptibility to water loss, chilling sensitivity, ethylene sensitivity), ascertaining the differences between handling recommendations made for well-known varieties and the needs of local varieties of crops, and determining cost effectiveness of scale-appropriate postharvest technologies in each locale and for each crop. Key issues include building capacity at the local level in postharvest science, university teaching and extension, and continued adaptive research efforts to match emerging postharvest technologies to local needs as these continue to change over time. Development of appropriate postharvest technology relies upon many disciplines that are relevant to the overall success of horticulture, i.e. plant biology, engineering, agricultural economics, food processing, nutrition, food safety, and environmental conservation. The expanding pool of new information derived from postharvest research and outreach efforts in these areas can lead in many directions which are likely to have an impact on relieving poverty in developing countries. Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.

An overview of genetically modified crop governance, issues and challenges in Malaysia.

PubMed

Andrew, Johnny; Ismail, Normaz Wana; Djama, Marcel

2018-01-01

The application of agricultural biotechnology attracts the interest of many stakeholders. Genetically modified (GM) crops, for example, have been rapidly increasing in production for the last 20 years. Despite their known benefits, GM crops also pose many concerns not only to human and animal health but also to the environment. Malaysia, in general, allows the use of GM technology applications but it has to come with precautionary and safety measures consistent with the international obligations and domestic legal frameworks. This paper provides an overview of GM crop technology from international and national context and explores the governance and issues surrounding this technology application in Malaysia. Basically, GM research activities in Malaysia are still at an early stage of research and development and most of the GM crops approved for release are limited for food, feed and processing purposes. Even though Malaysia has not planted any GM crops commercially, actions toward such a direction seem promising. Several issues concerning GM crops as discussed in this paper will become more complex as the number of GM crops and varieties commercialised globally increase and Malaysia starts to plant GM crops. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comparing second year growth of American sycamore, black willow, and eastern cottonwood with and without fertilization

Treesearch

Jamie L. Schuler

2012-01-01

Interest in developing domestically produced bio-based fuel systems has been responsible for a large increase in short rotation woody crop (SRWC) research. Much of this work has been used in developing regional production estimates for woody crops like cottonwood (Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh.) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus spp...

Agricultural biotechnology and smallholder farmers in developing countries.

PubMed

Anthony, Vivienne M; Ferroni, Marco

2012-04-01

Agricultural biotechnology holds much potential to contribute towards crop productivity gains and crop improvement for smallholder farmers in developing countries. Over 14 million smallholder farmers are already benefiting from biotech crops such as cotton and maize in China, India and other Asian, African and Central/South American countries. Molecular breeding can accelerate crop improvement timescales and enable greater use of diversity of gene sources. Little impact has been realized to date with fruits and vegetables because of development timescales for molecular breeding and development and regulatory costs and political considerations facing biotech crops in many countries. Constraints to the development and adoption of technology-based solutions to reduce yield gaps need to be overcome. Full integration with broader commercial considerations such as farmer access to seed distribution systems that facilitate dissemination of improved varieties and functioning markets for produce are critical for the benefits of agricultural biotechnology to be fully realized by smallholders. Public-private partnerships offer opportunities to catalyze new approaches and investment while accelerating integrated research and development and commercial supply chain-based solutions. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Ecosystem services of woody crop production systems

Treesearch

Ronald S. Zalesny Jr.; John A. Stanturf; Emile S. Gardiner; James H. Perdue; Timothy M. Young; David R. Coyle; William L. Headlee; Gary S. Ba??uelos; Amir Hass

2016-01-01

Short-rotation woody crops are an integral component of regional and national energy portfolios, as well as providing essential ecosystem services such as biomass supplies, carbon sinks, clean water, and healthy soils. We review recent USDA Forest Service Research and Development efforts from the USDA Biomass Research Centers on the provisioning of these ecosystem...

Research and development of LANDSAT-based crop inventory techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horvath, R.; Cicone, R. C.; Malila, W. A. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

A wide spectrum of technology pertaining to the inventory of crops using LANDSAT without in situ training data is addressed. Methods considered include Bayesian based through-the-season methods, estimation technology based on analytical profile fitting methods, and expert-based computer aided methods. Although the research was conducted using U.S. data, the adaptation of the technology to the Southern Hemisphere, especially Argentina was considered.

A survey of automated remote sensing for agriculture

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hall, F. G.; Macdonald, R. B.

1983-01-01

The state-of-the-art of the technology available to make remote sensing crop production estimates is reviewed with reference to several past and present research projects. In particular, attention is given to Landsat data acquisition, registration and preprocessing, data transformation, data modeling, proportion estimation, and labeling. Development stage models and crop condition models are briefly characterized, and areas where further research is needed are identified.

Three-Dimension Visualization for Primary Wheat Diseases Based on Simulation Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shijuan, Li; Yeping, Zhu

Crop simulation model has been becoming the core of agricultural production management and resource optimization management. Displaying crop growth process makes user observe the crop growth and development intuitionisticly. On the basis of understanding and grasping the occurrence condition, popularity season, key impact factors for main wheat diseases of stripe rust, leaf rust, stem rust, head blight and powdery mildew from research material and literature, we designed 3D visualization model for wheat growth and diseases occurrence. The model system will help farmer, technician and decision-maker to use crop growth simulation model better and provide decision-making support. Now 3D visualization model for wheat growth on the basis of simulation model has been developed, and the visualization model for primary wheat diseases is in the process of development.

Improving the Yield and Nutritional Quality of Forage Crops

PubMed Central

Capstaff, Nicola M.; Miller, Anthony J.

2018-01-01

Despite being some of the most important crops globally, there has been limited research on forages when compared with cereals, fruits, and vegetables. This review summarizes the literature highlighting the significance of forage crops, the current improvements and some of future directions for improving yield and nutritional quality. We make the point that the knowledge obtained from model plant and grain crops can be applied to forage crops. The timely development of genomics and bioinformatics together with genome editing techniques offer great scope to improve forage crops. Given the social, environmental and economic importance of forage across the globe and especially in poorer countries, this opportunity has enormous potential to improve food security and political stability. PMID:29740468

Development of a European Ensemble System for Seasonal Prediction: Application to crop yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terres, J. M.; Cantelaube, P.

2003-04-01

Western European agriculture is highly intensive and the weather is the main source of uncertainty for crop yield assessment and for crop management. In the current system, at the time when a crop yield forecast is issued, the weather conditions leading up to harvest time are unknown and are therefore a major source of uncertainty. The use of seasonal weather forecast would bring additional information for the remaining crop season and has valuable benefit for improving the management of agricultural markets and environmentally sustainable farm practices. An innovative method for supplying seasonal forecast information to crop simulation models has been developed in the frame of the EU funded research project DEMETER. It consists in running a crop model on each individual member of the seasonal hindcasts to derive a probability distribution of crop yield. Preliminary results of cumulative probability function of wheat yield provides information on both the yield anomaly and the reliability of the forecast. Based on the spread of the probability distribution, the end-user can directly quantify the benefits and risks of taking weather-sensitive decisions.

Irrigation Trials for ET Estimation and Water Management in California Specialty Crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, L.; Cahn, M.; Martin, F.; Lund, C.; Melton, F. S.

2012-12-01

Accurate estimation of crop evapotranspiration (ETc) can support efficient irrigation water management, which in turn brings benefits including surface water conservation, mitigation of groundwater depletion/degradation, energy savings, and crop quality assurance. Past research in California has revealed strong relationships between canopy fractional cover (Fc) and ETc of certain specialty crops, while additional research has shown the potential of monitoring Fc by satellite remote sensing. California's Central Coast is the leading region of cool season vegetable production in the U.S. Monterey County alone produces more than 80,000 ha of lettuce and broccoli (about half of U.S. production), valued at $1.5 billion in 2009. Under this study, we are conducting ongoing irrigation trials on these crops at the USDA Agricultural Research Station (Salinas) to compare irrigation scheduling via plant-based ETc approaches, by way of Fc, with current industry standard-practice. The following two monitoring approaches are being evaluated - 1) a remote sensing model employed by NASA's prototype Satellite Irrigation Management System, and 2) an online irrigation scheduling tool, CropManage, recently developed by U.C. Cooperative Extension. Both approaches utilize daily grass-reference ETo data as provided by the California Irrigation Management Irrigation System (CIMIS). A sensor network is deployed to monitor applied irrigation, volumetric soil water content, soil water potential, deep drainage, and standard meteorologic variables in order to derive ETc by a water balance approach. Evaluations of crop yield and crop quality are performed by the research team and by commercial growers. Initial results to-date indicate that applied water reductions based on Fc measurements are possible with little-to-no impact on yield of crisphead lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Additional results for both lettuce and broccoli trials, conducted during summer-fall 2012, are presented with respect to nutrient management and crop viability.

Genetically modified (GM) crops: milestones and new advances in crop improvement.

PubMed

Kamthan, Ayushi; Chaudhuri, Abira; Kamthan, Mohan; Datta, Asis

2016-09-01

New advances in crop genetic engineering can significantly pace up the development of genetically improved varieties with enhanced yield, nutrition and tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses. Genetically modified (GM) crops can act as powerful complement to the crops produced by laborious and time consuming conventional breeding methods to meet the worldwide demand for quality foods. GM crops can help fight malnutrition due to enhanced yield, nutritional quality and increased resistance to various biotic and abiotic stresses. However, several biosafety issues and public concerns are associated with cultivation of GM crops developed by transgenesis, i.e., introduction of genes from distantly related organism. To meet these concerns, researchers have developed alternative concepts of cisgenesis and intragenesis which involve transformation of plants with genetic material derived from the species itself or from closely related species capable of sexual hybridization, respectively. Recombinase technology aimed at site-specific integration of transgene can help to overcome limitations of traditional genetic engineering methods based on random integration of multiple copy of transgene into plant genome leading to gene silencing and unpredictable expression pattern. Besides, recently developed technology of genome editing using engineered nucleases, permit the modification or mutation of genes of interest without involving foreign DNA, and as a result, plants developed with this technology might be considered as non-transgenic genetically altered plants. This would open the doors for the development and commercialization of transgenic plants with superior phenotypes even in countries where GM crops are poorly accepted. This review is an attempt to summarize various past achievements of GM technology in crop improvement, recent progress and new advances in the field to develop improved varieties aimed for better consumer acceptance.

Improving rapeseed production practices in the southeastern United States

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thomas, D.L.; Breve, M.A.; Raymer, P.L.

1990-04-01

Oilseed rape or rapeseed is a crop which offers a potential for double-cropping in the southeastern United States. This final project report describes the results from a three year study aimed at evaluating the effect of different planting and harvesting practices on establishment and yield of three rape cultivars, and the double cropping potential of rapeseed in the southeastern United States. The project was conducted on two yield sites in Tifton, Georgia during 1986--87, 1987--88 and 1988--89. The general objective of this research is to improve the seed and biomass yield of winter rapeseed in the southeastern United States bymore » developing appropriate agronomic practices for the region. The primary constraint is to grow rapeseed within the allowable period for double cropping with an economically desirable crop, such as peanut or soybean. Planting and harvesting are the most critical steps in this process. Therefore, the specific objectives of this research were: evaluate and improve the emergence of rapeseed by developing planting techniques that enhance the soil, water and seed regimes for winter rapeseed in the southeast, and evaluate and improve the yields of harvested rapeseed by developing techniques for determining the optimum timing of harvest and efficient methods for harvesting winter rapeseed in the southeast. 6 refs., 12 figs., 9 tabs.« less

AgRISTARS: Agriculture and resources inventory surveys through aerospace remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1982-01-01

The rationale, objectives, participants, and approach of the AgRISTARS program are described. Progress is reported in activities related to early warning and crop condition assessment; inventory technology development (formerly foreign commodity production forecasting); yield model development; supporting research; soil moisture; renewable resources inventory; domestic crops and land cover; and conservation and pollution. Emphasis is on technological highlights.

Rapid crop cover mapping for the conterminous United States

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dahal, Devendra; Wylie, Bruce K.; Howard, Daniel

2018-01-01

Timely crop cover maps with sufficient resolution are important components to various environmental planning and research applications. Through the modification and use of a previously developed crop classification model (CCM), which was originally developed to generate historical annual crop cover maps, we hypothesized that such crop cover maps could be generated rapidly during the growing season. Through a process of incrementally removing weekly and monthly independent variables from the CCM and implementing a ‘two model mapping’ approach, we found it viable to generate conterminous United States-wide rapid crop cover maps at a resolution of 250 m for the current year by the month of September. In this approach, we divided the CCM model into one ‘crop type model’ to handle the classification of nine specific crops and a second, binary model to classify the presence or absence of ‘other’ crops. Under the two model mapping approach, the training errors were 0.8% and 1.5% for the crop type and binary model, respectively, while test errors were 5.5% and 6.4%, respectively. With spatial mapping accuracies for annual maps reaching upwards of 70%, this approach demonstrated a strong potential for generating rapid crop cover maps by the 1st of September.

Embracing Complexity of Crop Phytobiomes with a Multidisciplinary Roadmap for Phytobiomes Research and an Industry-Academic Research Alliance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eversole, K.

2016-12-01

To meet the demands of a global human population expected to exceed 9.6 billion by 2055, crop productivity in sustainable agricultural systems must improve considerably in the face of a steadily changing climate and increased biotic and abiotic stressors. Traditional agricultural sciences have relied mostly on research within individual disciplines and linear, reductionist approaches for crop improvement. While significant advancements have been made in developing and characterizing genetic and genomic resources for crops, we still have a very limited understanding of genotype by environment x management (GxExM) interactions that determine productivity, sustainability, quality, and the ability to withstand biotic and abiotic stressors. Embracing complexity and the non-linear organization and regulation of biological systems would enable a paradigm shift in breeding and crop production by allowing us to move towards a holistic, systems level approach that integrates a wide range of disciplines (e.g., geophysics, biology, agronomy, physiology, genomics, genetics, breeding, physics, pattern recognition, feedback loops, modeling, and engineering) and knowledge about crop phytobiomes (i.e., plants, their associated macro- and micro-organisms, and the geophysical environment of distinct geographical sites). By focusing on the phytobiome, we will be able to elucidate, quantify, model, predict, act, manipulate, and prevent and ultimately prescribe the cropping systems, methods, and management practices most suited for a particular farm, grassland, or forest. The recently released, multidisciplinary roadmap entitled Phytobiomes: A Roadmap for Research and Translation and the new International Alliance for Phytobiomes Research, an industry-academic consortium, will be presented.

Rice Research to Break Yield Barriers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Verma, Vivek; Ramamoorthy, Rengasamy; Kohli, Ajay; Kumar, Prakash P.

2015-10-01

The world’s population continues to expand and it is expected to cross 9 billion by 2050. This would significantly amplify the demand for food, which will pose serious threats to global food security. Additional challenges are being imposed due to a gradual decrease in the total arable land and global environmental changes. Hence, it is of utmost importance to review and revise the existing food production strategies by incorporating novel biotechnological approaches that can help to break the crop yield barriers in the near future. In this review, we highlight some of the concerns hampering crop yield enhancements. The review also focuses on modern breeding techniques based on genomics as well as proven biotechnological approaches that enable identification and utilization of candidate genes. Another aspect of discussion is the important area of research, namely hormonal regulation of plant development, which is likely to yield valuable regulatory genes for such crop improvement efforts in the future. These strategies can serve as potential tools for developing elite crop varieties for feeding the growing billions.

Developmental Pathways Are Blueprints for Designing Successful Crops

PubMed Central

Trevaskis, Ben

2018-01-01

Genes controlling plant development have been studied in multiple plant systems. This has provided deep insights into conserved genetic pathways controlling core developmental processes including meristem identity, phase transitions, determinacy, stem elongation, and branching. These pathways control plant growth patterns and are fundamentally important to crop biology and agriculture. This review describes the conserved pathways that control plant development, using Arabidopsis as a model. Historical examples of how plant development has been altered through selection to improve crop performance are then presented. These examples, drawn from diverse crops, show how the genetic pathways controlling development have been modified to increase yield or tailor growth patterns to suit local growing environments or specialized crop management practices. Strategies to apply current progress in genomics and developmental biology to future crop improvement are then discussed within the broader context of emerging trends in plant breeding. The ways that knowledge of developmental processes and understanding of gene function can contribute to crop improvement, beyond what can be achieved by selection alone, are emphasized. These include using genome re-sequencing, mutagenesis, and gene editing to identify or generate novel variation in developmental genes. The expanding scope for comparative genomics, the possibility to engineer new developmental traits and new approaches to resolve gene–gene or gene–environment interactions are also discussed. Finally, opportunities to integrate fundamental research and crop breeding are highlighted. PMID:29922318

Developmental Pathways Are Blueprints for Designing Successful Crops.

PubMed

Trevaskis, Ben

2018-01-01

Genes controlling plant development have been studied in multiple plant systems. This has provided deep insights into conserved genetic pathways controlling core developmental processes including meristem identity, phase transitions, determinacy, stem elongation, and branching. These pathways control plant growth patterns and are fundamentally important to crop biology and agriculture. This review describes the conserved pathways that control plant development, using Arabidopsis as a model. Historical examples of how plant development has been altered through selection to improve crop performance are then presented. These examples, drawn from diverse crops, show how the genetic pathways controlling development have been modified to increase yield or tailor growth patterns to suit local growing environments or specialized crop management practices. Strategies to apply current progress in genomics and developmental biology to future crop improvement are then discussed within the broader context of emerging trends in plant breeding. The ways that knowledge of developmental processes and understanding of gene function can contribute to crop improvement, beyond what can be achieved by selection alone, are emphasized. These include using genome re-sequencing, mutagenesis, and gene editing to identify or generate novel variation in developmental genes. The expanding scope for comparative genomics, the possibility to engineer new developmental traits and new approaches to resolve gene-gene or gene-environment interactions are also discussed. Finally, opportunities to integrate fundamental research and crop breeding are highlighted.

LACIE--An Application of Meteorology for United States and Foreign Wheat Assessment.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hill, Jerry D.; Strommen, Norton D.; Sakamoto, Clarence M.; Leduc, Sharon K.

1980-01-01

The development of a critical world food situation during the early 1970's was the background leading to the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). The need was to develop a capability for timely monitoring of crops on a global scale. Three U.S. Government agencies, NASA, NOAA and USDA, undertook the task of developing technology to extract the crop-related information available from the global weather-reporting network and the Landsat satellite. This paper describes the overall LACIE technical approach to make a quasi-operational application of existing research results and the accomplishments of this cooperative experiment in utilizing the weather information.Using available agrometeorological data, techniques were implemented to estimate crop development, assess relative crop vigor and estimate yield for wheat, the crop of principal interest to the experiment. Global weather data were utilized in preparing timely yield estimates for selected areas of the U.S. Great Plains, the U.S.S.R. and Canada. Additionally, wheat yield models were developed and pilot tested for Brazil, Australia, India and Argentina. The results of the work show that heading dates for wheat in North America can be predicted with an average absolute error of about 5 days for winter wheat and 4 days for spring wheat. Independent tests of wheat yield models over a 10-year period for the U.S. Great Plains produced a root-mean-square error of 1.12 quintals per hectare (q ha1) while similar tests in the U.S.S.R. produced an error of 1.31 q ha1. Research designed to improve the initial capability is described as is the rationale for further evolution of a capability to monitor global climate and assess its impact on world food supplies.

The Development of a Remote Sensor System and Decision Support Systems Architecture to Monitor Resistance Development in Transgenic Crops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Cacas, Joseph; Glaser, John; Copenhaver, Kenneth; May, George; Stephens, Karen

2008-01-01

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has declared that "significant benefits accrue to growers, the public, and the environment" from the use of transgenic pesticidal crops due to reductions in pesticide usage for crop pest management. Large increases in the global use of transgenic pesticidal crops has reduced the amounts of broad spectrum pesticides used to manage pest populations, improved yield and reduced the environmental impact of crop management. A significant threat to the continued use of this technology is the evolution of resistance in insect pest populations to the insecticidal Bt toxins expressed by the plants. Management of transgenic pesticidal crops with an emphasis on conservation of Bt toxicity in field populations of insect pests is important to the future of sustainable agriculture. A vital component of this transgenic pesticidal crop management is establishing the proof of concept basic understanding, situational awareness, and monitoring and decision support system tools for more than 133650 square kilometers (33 million acres) of bio-engineered corn and cotton for development of insect resistance . Early and recent joint NASA, US EPA and ITD remote imagery flights and ground based field experiments have provided very promising research results that will potentially address future requirements for crop management capabilities.

Integrated genomics and molecular breeding approaches for dissecting the complex quantitative traits in crop plants.

PubMed

Kujur, Alice; Saxena, Maneesha S; Bajaj, Deepak; Laxmi; Parida, Swarup K

2013-12-01

The enormous population growth, climate change and global warming are now considered major threats to agriculture and world's food security. To improve the productivity and sustainability of agriculture, the development of highyielding and durable abiotic and biotic stress-tolerant cultivars and/climate resilient crops is essential. Henceforth, understanding the molecular mechanism and dissection of complex quantitative yield and stress tolerance traits is the prime objective in current agricultural biotechnology research. In recent years, tremendous progress has been made in plant genomics and molecular breeding research pertaining to conventional and next-generation whole genome, transcriptome and epigenome sequencing efforts, generation of huge genomic, transcriptomic and epigenomic resources and development of modern genomics-assisted breeding approaches in diverse crop genotypes with contrasting yield and abiotic stress tolerance traits. Unfortunately, the detailed molecular mechanism and gene regulatory networks controlling such complex quantitative traits is not yet well understood in crop plants. Therefore, we propose an integrated strategies involving available enormous and diverse traditional and modern -omics (structural, functional, comparative and epigenomics) approaches/resources and genomics-assisted breeding methods which agricultural biotechnologist can adopt/utilize to dissect and decode the molecular and gene regulatory networks involved in the complex quantitative yield and stress tolerance traits in crop plants. This would provide clues and much needed inputs for rapid selection of novel functionally relevant molecular tags regulating such complex traits to expedite traditional and modern marker-assisted genetic enhancement studies in target crop species for developing high-yielding stress-tolerant varieties.

Attitudes of Agricultural Experts Toward Genetically Modified Crops: A Case Study in Southwest Iran.

PubMed

Ghanian, Mansour; Ghoochani, Omid M; Kitterlin, Miranda; Jahangiry, Sheida; Zarafshani, Kiumars; Van Passel, Steven; Azadi, Hossein

2016-04-01

The production of genetically modified (GM) crops is growing around the world, and with it possible opportunities to combat food insecurity and hunger, as well as solutions to current problems facing conventional agriculture. In this regard the use of GMOs in food and agricultural applications has increased greatly over the past decade. However, the development of GM crops has been a matter of considerable interest and worldwide public controversy. This, in addition to skepticism, has stifled the use of this practice on a large scale in many areas, including Iran. It stands to reason that a greater understanding of this practice could be formed after a review of the existing expert opinions surrounding GM crops. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the predictors that influence agricultural experts' attitudes toward the development of and policies related to GM crops. Using a descriptive correlational research method, questionnaire data was collected from 65 experts from the Agricultural Organization in the Gotvand district in Southwest Iran. Results indicated that agricultural experts were aware of the environmental benefits and possible risks associated with GM crops. The majority of participants agreed that GM crops could improve food security and accelerate rural development, and were proponents of labeling practices for GM crops. Finally, there was a positive correlation between the perception of benefits and attitudes towards GM crops.

Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research into the origins of food plants has led to the recognition that specific geographic regions around the world have been of particular importance to the development of agricultural crops. Yet the relative contributions of these different regions in the context of current food systems have not...

Crop Damage by Primates: Quantifying the Key Parameters of Crop-Raiding Events

PubMed Central

Wallace, Graham E.; Hill, Catherine M.

2012-01-01

Human-wildlife conflict often arises from crop-raiding, and insights regarding which aspects of raiding events determine crop loss are essential when developing and evaluating deterrents. However, because accounts of crop-raiding behaviour are frequently indirect, these parameters are rarely quantified or explicitly linked to crop damage. Using systematic observations of the behaviour of non-human primates on farms in western Uganda, this research identifies number of individuals raiding and duration of raid as the primary parameters determining crop loss. Secondary factors include distance travelled onto farm, age composition of the raiding group, and whether raids are in series. Regression models accounted for greater proportions of variation in crop loss when increasingly crop and species specific. Parameter values varied across primate species, probably reflecting differences in raiding tactics or perceptions of risk, and thereby providing indices of how comfortable primates are on-farm. Median raiding-group sizes were markedly smaller than the typical sizes of social groups. The research suggests that key parameters of raiding events can be used to measure the behavioural impacts of deterrents to raiding. Furthermore, farmers will benefit most from methods that discourage raiding by multiple individuals, reduce the size of raiding groups, or decrease the amount of time primates are on-farm. This study demonstrates the importance of directly relating crop loss to the parameters of raiding events, using systematic observations of the behaviour of multiple primate species. PMID:23056378

From Concept to Commerce: Developing a Successful Fungal Endophyte Inoculant for Agricultural Crops.

PubMed

Murphy, Brian R; Doohan, Fiona M; Hodkinson, Trevor R

2018-02-11

The development of endophyte inoculants for agricultural crops has been bedevilled by the twin problems of a lack of reliability and consistency, with a consequent lack of belief among end users in the efficacy of such treatments. We have developed a successful research pipeline for the production of a reliable, consistent and environmentally targeted fungal endophyte seed-delivered inoculant for barley cultivars. Our approach was developed de novo from an initial concept to source candidate endophyte inoculants from a wild relative of barley, Hordeum murinum (wall barley). A careful screening and selection procedure and extensive controlled environment testing of fungal endophyte strains, followed by multi-year field trials has resulted in the validation of an endophyte consortium suitable for barley crops grown on relatively dry sites. Our approach can be adapted for any crop or environment, provided that the set of first principles we have developed is followed. Here, we report how we developed the successful pipeline for the production of an economically viable fungal endophyte inoculant for barley cultivars.

Future Food Production System Development Pulling From Space Biology Crop Growth Testing in Veggie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, Gioia; Romeyn, Matt; Fritsche, Ralph

2017-01-01

Preliminary crop testing using Veggie indicates the environmental conditions provided by the ISS are generally suitable for food crop production. When plant samples were returned to Earth for analysis, their levels of nutrients were comparable to Earth-grown ground controls. Veggie-grown produce food safety microbiology analysis indicated that space-grown crops are safe to consume. Produce sanitizing wipes were used on-orbit to further reduce risk of foodborne illness. Validation growth tests indicated abiotic challenges of insufficient or excess fluid delivery, potentially reduced air flow leading to excess water, elevated CO2 leading to physiological responses, and microorganisms that became opportunistic pathogens. As NASA works to develop future space food production, several areas of research to define these systems pull from the Veggie technology validation tests. Research into effective, reusable water delivery and water recovery methods for future food production systems arises from abiotic challenges observed. Additionally, impacts of elevated CO2 and refinement of fertilizer and light recipes for crops needs to be assessed. Biotic pulls include methods or technologies to effectively sanitize produce with few consumables and low inputs; work to understand the phytomicrobiome and potentially use it to protect crops or enhance growth; selection of crops with high harvest index and desirable flavors for supplemental nutrition; crops that provide psychosocial benefits, and custom space crop development. Planning for future food production in a deep space gateway or a deep space transit vehicle requires methods of handling and storing seeds, and ensuring space seeds are free of contaminants and long-lived. Space food production systems may require mechanization and autonomous operation, with preliminary testing initiated to identify operations and capabilities that are candidates for automation. Food production design is also pulling from Veggie logistics lessons, as we learn about growing at different scales and move toward developing systems that require less launch mass. Veggie will be used as a test bed for novel food production technologies. Veggie is a relatively simple precursor food production system but the knowledge gained from space biology validation tests in Veggie will have far reaching repercussions on future exploration food production. This work is supported by NASA.

Future Food Production System Development Pulling from Space Biology Crop Growth Testing in Veggie

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, G. D.; Romeyn, M. W.; Fritsche, R. F.

2017-01-01

Preliminary crop testing using Veggie indicates the environmental conditions provided by the ISS are generally suitable for food crop production. When plant samples were returned to Earth for analysis, their levels of nutrients were comparable to Earth-grown ground controls. Veggie-grown produce food safety microbiology analysis indicated that space-grown crops are safe to consume. Produce sanitizing wipes were used on-orbit to further reduce risk of foodborne illness. Validation growth tests indicated abiotic challenges of insufficient or excess fluid delivery, potentially reduced air flow leading to excess water, elevated CO2 leading to physiological responses, and microorganisms that became opportunistic pathogens. As NASA works to develop future space food production, several areas of research to define these systems pull from the Veggie technology validation tests. Research into effective, reusable water delivery and water recovery methods for future food production systems arises from abiotic challenges observed. Additionally, impacts of elevated CO2 and refinement of fertilizer and light recipes for crops needs to be assessed. Biotic pulls include methods or technologies to effectively sanitize produce with few consumables and low inputs; work to understand the phytomicrobiome and potentially use it to protect crops or enhance growth; selection of crops with high harvest index and desirable flavors for supplemental nutrition; crops that provide psychosocial benefits, and custom space crop development. Planning for future food production in a deep space gateway or a deep space transit vehicle requires methods of handling and storing seeds, and ensuring space seeds are free of contaminants and long-lived. Space food production systems may require mechanization and autonomous operation, with preliminary testing initiated to identify operations and capabilities that are candidates for automation. Food production design is also pulling from Veggie logistics lessons, as we learn about growing at different scales and move toward developing systems that require less launch mass. Veggie will be used as a test bed for novel food production technologies. Veggie is a relatively simple precursor food production system but the knowledge gained from space biology validation tests in Veggie will have far reaching repercussions on future exploration food production.

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Progress and Preliminary Results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenzweig, C.

2011-12-01

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP) is a distributed climate-scenario simulation exercise for historical model intercomparison and future climate change conditions with participation of multiple crop and agricultural trade modeling groups around the world. The goals of AgMIP are to improve substantially the characterization of risk of hunger and world food security due to climate change and to enhance adaptation capacity in both developing and developed countries. Recent progress and the current status of AgMIP will be presented, highlighting three areas of activity: preliminary results from crop pilot studies, outcomes from regional workshops, and emerging scientific challenges. AgMIP crop modeling efforts are being led by pilot studies, which have been established for wheat, maize, rice, and sugarcane. These crop-specific initiatives have proven instrumental in testing and contributing to AgMIP protocols, as well as creating preliminary results for aggregation and input to agricultural trade models. Regional workshops are being held to encourage collaborations and set research activities in motion for key agricultural areas. The first of these workshops was hosted by Embrapa and UNICAMP and held in Campinas, Brazil. Outcomes from this meeting have informed crop modeling research activities within South America, AgMIP protocols, and future regional workshops. Several scientific challenges have emerged and are currently being addressed by AgMIP researchers. Areas of particular interest include geospatial weather generation, ensemble methods for climate scenarios and crop models, spatial aggregation of field-scale yields to regional and global production, and characterization of future changes in climate variability.

Response of jatropha on a clay soil to different concentrations of micronutrients

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In recent years Jatropha curcas L. has emerged as a biofuel crop with potential for its production in marginal land with application of treated sewage water. Since this is a new crop for its profitable cultivation, additional research is needed to develop optimal management programs, including macro...

Development of educational tools to connect public audiences with cranberry researchers and growers

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cranberry, Vaccinium macrocarpon Ait., is a native fruit crop of North America and a member of the Ericaceae family. The delicious tangy cranberry is associated with health benefits due to its abundant phytochemicals, including vitamin C, manganese, and anti-oxidants. Cranberries are major cash crop...

Investigating strategies to improve crop germination when using SDI

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

As the nation's population increases and available irrigation water decreases, new technologies are being developed to maintain or increase production on fewer acres. One of these advancements has been the use of subsurface drip irrigation (SDI) on field crops. Research has shown that SDI is the m...

Pigeonpea genomics initiative (PGI): an international effort to improve crop productivity of pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan L.)

PubMed Central

Penmetsa, R. V.; Dutta, S.; Kulwal, P. L.; Saxena, R. K.; Datta, S.; Sharma, T. R.; Rosen, B.; Carrasquilla-Garcia, N.; Farmer, A. D.; Dubey, A.; Saxena, K. B.; Gao, J.; Fakrudin, B.; Singh, M. N.; Singh, B. P.; Wanjari, K. B.; Yuan, M.; Srivastava, R. K.; Kilian, A.; Upadhyaya, H. D.; Mallikarjuna, N.; Town, C. D.; Bruening, G. E.; He, G.; May, G. D.; McCombie, R.; Jackson, S. A.; Singh, N. K.; Cook, D. R.

2009-01-01

Pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan), an important food legume crop in the semi-arid regions of the world and the second most important pulse crop in India, has an average crop productivity of 780 kg/ha. The relatively low crop yields may be attributed to non-availability of improved cultivars, poor crop husbandry and exposure to a number of biotic and abiotic stresses in pigeonpea growing regions. Narrow genetic diversity in cultivated germplasm has further hampered the effective utilization of conventional breeding as well as development and utilization of genomic tools, resulting in pigeonpea being often referred to as an ‘orphan crop legume’. To enable genomics-assisted breeding in this crop, the pigeonpea genomics initiative (PGI) was initiated in late 2006 with funding from Indian Council of Agricultural Research under the umbrella of Indo-US agricultural knowledge initiative, which was further expanded with financial support from the US National Science Foundation’s Plant Genome Research Program and the Generation Challenge Program. As a result of the PGI, the last 3 years have witnessed significant progress in development of both genetic as well as genomic resources in this crop through effective collaborations and coordination of genomics activities across several institutes and countries. For instance, 25 mapping populations segregating for a number of biotic and abiotic stresses have been developed or are under development. An 11X-genome coverage bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) library comprising of 69,120 clones have been developed of which 50,000 clones were end sequenced to generate 87,590 BAC-end sequences (BESs). About 10,000 expressed sequence tags (ESTs) from Sanger sequencing and ca. 2 million short ESTs by 454/FLX sequencing have been generated. A variety of molecular markers have been developed from BESs, microsatellite or simple sequence repeat (SSR)-enriched libraries and mining of ESTs and genomic amplicon sequencing. Of about 21,000 SSRs identified, 6,698 SSRs are under analysis along with 670 orthologous genes using a GoldenGate SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) genotyping platform, with large scale SNP discovery using Solexa, a next generation sequencing technology, is in progress. Similarly a diversity array technology array comprising of ca. 15,000 features has been developed. In addition, >600 unique nucleotide binding site (NBS) domain containing members of the NBS-leucine rich repeat disease resistance homologs were cloned in pigeonpea; 960 BACs containing these sequences were identified by filter hybridization, BES physical maps developed using high information content fingerprinting. To enrich the genomic resources further, sequenced soybean genome is being analyzed to establish the anchor points between pigeonpea and soybean genomes. In addition, Solexa sequencing is being used to explore the feasibility of generating whole genome sequence. In summary, the collaborative efforts of several research groups under the umbrella of PGI are making significant progress in improving molecular tools in pigeonpea and should significantly benefit pigeonpea genetics and breeding. As these efforts come to fruition, and expanded (depending on funding), pigeonpea would move from an ‘orphan legume crop’ to one where genomics-assisted breeding approaches for a sustainable crop improvement are routine. PMID:20976284

Mapping Farming Practices in Belgian Intensive Cropping Systems from Sentinel-1 SAR Time Series

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chome, G.; Baret, P. V.; Defourny, P.

2016-08-01

The environmental impact of the so-called conventional farming system calls for new farming practices reducing negative externalities. Emerging farming practices such as no-till and new inter-cropping management are promising tracks. The development of methods to characterize crop management across an entire region and to understand their spatial dimension offers opportunities to accompany the transition towards a more sustainable agriculture.This research takes advantage of the unmatched polarimetric and temporal resolutions of Sentinel-1 SAR C- band to develop a method to identify farming practices at the parcel level. To this end, the detection of changes in backscattering due to surface roughness modification (tillage, inter-crop cover destruction ...) is used to detect the farming management. The final results are compared to a reference dataset collected through an intensive field campaign. Finally, the performances are discussed in the perspective of practices monitoring of cropping systems through remote sensing.

The Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM): Update on Multisite Inter-comparison Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarvis, I.; Gilliams, S. J. B.; Defourny, P.

2016-12-01

Globally there is significant convergence on agricultural monitoring research questions. The focus of interest usually revolves around crop type, crop area estimation and near real time crop condition and yield forecasting. Notwithstanding this convergence, agricultural systems differ significantly throughout the world, reflecting the diversity of ecosystems they are located in. Consequently, a global system of systems for operational monitoring must be based on multiple approaches. Research is required to compare and assess these approaches to identify which are most appropriate for any given location. To this end the Joint Experiments for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM) was established in 2009 to as a research platform to allow the global agricultural monitoring community to work towards a set of best practices and recommendations for using earth observation data to map, monitor and report on agricultural productivity globally. The JECAM initiative brings together researchers from a large number of globally distributed, well monitored agricultural test sites that cover a range of crop types, cropping systems and climate regimes. The results of JECAM optical inter-comparison research taking place in the Stimulating Innovation for Global Monitoring of Agriculture (SIGMA) project and the Sentinel-2 for Agriculture project will be discussed. The presentation will also highlight upcoming work on a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) inter-comparison study. The outcome of these projects will result in a set of best practices that cover the range of remote sensing monitoring and reporting needs, including satellite data acquisition, pre-processing techniques, information retrieval and ground data validation. These outcomes provide the R&D foundation for GEOGLAM and will help to inform the development of the GEOGLAM system of systems for global agricultural monitoring.

Crop-to-wild gene flow, introgression and possible fitness effects of transgenes.

PubMed

Jenczewski, Eric; Ronfort, Joëlle; Chèvre, Anne-Marie

2003-01-01

Crop-to-wild gene flow has received close attention over the past ten years in connection with the development and cultivation of transgenic crops. In this paper, we review key examples of crop/wild sympatry and overlapping flowering phenology, pollen and seed dispersal, the barriers to hybridisation and introgression, the evolution and fate of interspecific hybrids, their fitness, and the potential cost of transgenes. We pay particular attention to ways in which the evolution and divergence between crops and their wild relatives may interfere with these successive steps. Our review suggests that crop-to-weed gene flow is highly idiosyncratic and that crop gene dispersion will certainly be very difficult to preclude totally. Future directions for research should thus focus on the long-term establishment and effects of transgenes on natural communities.

Research advances in major cereal crops for adaptation to abiotic stresses

PubMed Central

Maiti, RK; Satya, Pratik

2014-01-01

With devastating increase in population there is a great necessity to increase crop productivity of staple crops but the productivity is greatly affected by various abiotic stress factors such as drought, salinity. An attempt has been made a brief account on abiotic stress resistance of major cereal crops viz. In spite of good successes obtained on physiological and use molecular biology, the benefits of this high cost technology are beyond the reach of developing countries. This review discusses several morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of major cereal crops related to the adaptation of these crop to abiotic stress factors. It discusses the effect of abiotic stresses on physiological processes such as flowering, grain filling and maturation and plant metabolisms viz. photosynthesis, enzyme activity, mineral nutrition, and respiration. Though significant progress has been attained on the physiological, biochemical basis of resistance to abiotic stress factors, very little progress has been achieved to increase productivity under sustainable agriculture. Therefore, there is a great necessity of inter-disciplinary research to address this issue and to evolve efficient technology and its transfer to the farmers’ fields. PMID:25523172

Research advances in major cereal crops for adaptation to abiotic stresses.

PubMed

Maiti, R K; Satya, Pratik

2014-01-01

With devastating increase in population there is a great necessity to increase crop productivity of staple crops but the productivity is greatly affected by various abiotic stress factors such as drought, salinity. An attempt has been made a brief account on abiotic stress resistance of major cereal crops viz. In spite of good successes obtained on physiological and use molecular biology, the benefits of this high cost technology are beyond the reach of developing countries. This review discusses several morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms of major cereal crops related to the adaptation of these crop to abiotic stress factors. It discusses the effect of abiotic stresses on physiological processes such as flowering, grain filling and maturation and plant metabolisms viz. photosynthesis, enzyme activity, mineral nutrition, and respiration. Though significant progress has been attained on the physiological, biochemical basis of resistance to abiotic stress factors, very little progress has been achieved to increase productivity under sustainable agriculture. Therefore, there is a great necessity of inter-disciplinary research to address this issue and to evolve efficient technology and its transfer to the farmers' fields.

Speed breeding is a powerful tool to accelerate crop research and breeding.

PubMed

Watson, Amy; Ghosh, Sreya; Williams, Matthew J; Cuddy, William S; Simmonds, James; Rey, María-Dolores; Asyraf Md Hatta, M; Hinchliffe, Alison; Steed, Andrew; Reynolds, Daniel; Adamski, Nikolai M; Breakspear, Andy; Korolev, Andrey; Rayner, Tracey; Dixon, Laura E; Riaz, Adnan; Martin, William; Ryan, Merrill; Edwards, David; Batley, Jacqueline; Raman, Harsh; Carter, Jeremy; Rogers, Christian; Domoney, Claire; Moore, Graham; Harwood, Wendy; Nicholson, Paul; Dieters, Mark J; DeLacy, Ian H; Zhou, Ji; Uauy, Cristobal; Boden, Scott A; Park, Robert F; Wulff, Brande B H; Hickey, Lee T

2018-01-01

The growing human population and a changing environment have raised significant concern for global food security, with the current improvement rate of several important crops inadequate to meet future demand 1 . This slow improvement rate is attributed partly to the long generation times of crop plants. Here, we present a method called 'speed breeding', which greatly shortens generation time and accelerates breeding and research programmes. Speed breeding can be used to achieve up to 6 generations per year for spring wheat (Triticum aestivum), durum wheat (T. durum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and pea (Pisum sativum), and 4 generations for canola (Brassica napus), instead of 2-3 under normal glasshouse conditions. We demonstrate that speed breeding in fully enclosed, controlled-environment growth chambers can accelerate plant development for research purposes, including phenotyping of adult plant traits, mutant studies and transformation. The use of supplemental lighting in a glasshouse environment allows rapid generation cycling through single seed descent (SSD) and potential for adaptation to larger-scale crop improvement programs. Cost saving through light-emitting diode (LED) supplemental lighting is also outlined. We envisage great potential for integrating speed breeding with other modern crop breeding technologies, including high-throughput genotyping, genome editing and genomic selection, accelerating the rate of crop improvement.

A summary of the history of the development of automated remote sensing for agricultural applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macdonald, R. B.

1983-01-01

The research conducted in the United States for the past 20 years with the objective of developing automated satellite remote sensing for monitoring the earth's major food crops is reviewed. The highlights of this research include a National Academy of Science study on the applicability of remote sensing monitoring given impetus by the introduction in the mid-1960's of the first airborne multispectral scanner (MSS); design simulations for the first earth resource satellite in 1969; and the use of the airborne MSS in the Corn Blight Watch, the first large application of remote sensing in agriculture, in 1970. Other programs discussed include the CITAR research project in 1972 which established the feasibility of automating digital classification to process high volumes of Landsat MSS data; the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) in 1974-78, which demonstrated automated processing of Landsat MSS data in estimating wheat crop production on a global basis; and AgRISTARS, a program designed to address the technical issues defined by LACIE.

Beyond landraces: developing improved germplasm resources for underutilized species - a case for Bambara groundnut.

PubMed

Aliyu, Siise; Massawe, Festo; Mayes, Sean

2014-10-01

The potential for underutilized crops (also known as minor, neglected or orphan crops) to improve food and nutrition security has been gaining prominence within the research community in recent years. This is due to their significance for diversified agricultural systems which is a necessary component of future agriculture to address food and nutritional security concerns posed by changing climate and a growing world population. Developing workable value chain systems for underutilized crop species, coupled with comparative trait studies with major crops, potentially allows us to identify suitable agricultural modalities for such species. Bambara groundnut (Vigna subterranea L. Verdc.), an underutilized leguminous species, is of interest for its reported high levels of drought tolerance in particular, which contributes to environmental resilience in semi-arid environments. Here, we present a synopsis of suitable strategies for the genetic improvement of Bambara groundnut as a guide to other underutilized crop species. Underutilized crops have often been adapted over thousands of years in particular regions by farmers and largely still exist as landraces with little or no genetic knowledge of key phenotypic traits. Breeding in these species is fundamentally different to breeding in major crops, where significant pedigree structures and history allow highly directed improvement. In this regard, deploying new integrated germplasm development approaches for variety development and genetic analysis, such as multi-parent advance generation inter-crosses (MAGIC), within breeding programmes of underutilized species will be important to be able to fully utilize such crops.

The Impact of "Coat Protein-Mediated Virus Resistance" in Applied Plant Pathology and Basic Research.

PubMed

Lindbo, John A; Falk, Bryce W

2017-06-01

Worldwide, plant viruses cause serious reductions in marketable crop yield and in some cases even plant death. In most cases, the most effective way to control virus diseases is through genetically controlled resistance. However, developing virus-resistant (VR) crops through traditional breeding can take many years, and in some cases is not even possible. Because of this, the demonstration of the first VR transgenic plants in 1985 generated much attention. This seminal report served as an inflection point for research in both basic and applied plant pathology, the results of which have dramatically changed both basic research and in a few cases, commercial crop production. The typical review article on this topic has focused on only basic or only applied research results stemming from this seminal discovery. This can make it difficult for the reader to appreciate the full impact of research on transgenic virus resistance, and the contributions from fundamental research that led to translational applications of this technology. In this review, we take a global view of this topic highlighting the significant changes to both basic and applied plant pathology research and commercial food production that have accumulated in the last 30 plus years. We present these milestones in the historical context of some of the scientific, economic, and environmental drivers for developing specific VR crops. The intent of this review is to provide a single document that adequately records the significant accomplishments of researchers in both basic and applied plant pathology research on this topic and how they relate to each other. We hope this review therefore serves as both an instructional tool for students new to the topic, as well as a source of conversation and discussion for how the technology of engineered virus resistance could be applied in the future.

Soil response to biodynamic farming practices in estevia -Stevia Rebaudiana- (Extremadura, Spain)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Labrador, Juana; Colmenares, Ricardo; Sánchez, Eduardo; Creus, Juan; García, Nieves; Blázquez, Jaime; Moreno, Marta M.

2014-05-01

The first results of the evolution of an organic-biodynamic cultivation of stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) in Extremadura (Spain) are shown here. The organic-biodynamic approach permits experimentally for a more holistic view of the crop development process what means the understanding and quantification of its evolution at different scales. The research methodology applied includes not only quantitative individual parameters of the crop development but also global parameters which make a contribution of very relevant information concerning unbalances between growth and differentiation processes, as well as other aspects linked to the product intrinsic quality. The crop cultivation has been done over a plot of 2.5 has, on acid soils (pH 5.18) and very poor organic matter content (0.5 %). On this first year of cultivation two cuts were given to the plant with an average total yield of 4,500 kg/ha without any supply of solid organic matter, only with the application of the biodynamic preparations. So far results regarding soil improvement and crop productivity, taking into consideration the practices used, let us introduce this pioneer crop in Extremadura, not only as an alternative crop to the current tobacco crop in this area, but also as a development resource for the rural environment of this region. Key words: Agroecology, Organic Biodynamic Agriculture, Stevia Rebaudiana

A Vision for Incorporating Environmental Effects into Nitrogen Management Decision Support Tools for U.S. Maize Production

PubMed Central

Banger, Kamaljit; Yuan, Mingwei; Wang, Junming; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Pittelkow, Cameron M.

2017-01-01

Meeting crop nitrogen (N) demand while minimizing N losses to the environment has proven difficult despite significant field research and modeling efforts. To improve N management, several real-time N management tools have been developed with a primary focus on enhancing crop production. However, no coordinated effort exists to simultaneously address sustainability concerns related to N losses at field- and regional-scales. In this perspective, we highlight the opportunity for incorporating environmental effects into N management decision support tools for United States maize production systems by integrating publicly available crop models with grower-entered management information and gridded soil and climate data in a geospatial framework specifically designed to quantify environmental and crop production tradeoffs. To facilitate advances in this area, we assess the capability of existing crop models to provide in-season N recommendations while estimating N leaching and nitrous oxide emissions, discuss several considerations for initial framework development, and highlight important challenges related to improving the accuracy of crop model predictions. Such a framework would benefit the development of regional sustainable intensification strategies by enabling the identification of N loss hotspots which could be used to implement spatially explicit mitigation efforts in relation to current environmental quality goals and real-time weather conditions. Nevertheless, we argue that this long-term vision can only be realized by leveraging a variety of existing research efforts to overcome challenges related to improving model structure, accessing field data to enhance model performance, and addressing the numerous social difficulties in delivery and adoption of such tool by stakeholders. PMID:28804490

A Vision for Incorporating Environmental Effects into Nitrogen Management Decision Support Tools for U.S. Maize Production.

PubMed

Banger, Kamaljit; Yuan, Mingwei; Wang, Junming; Nafziger, Emerson D; Pittelkow, Cameron M

2017-01-01

Meeting crop nitrogen (N) demand while minimizing N losses to the environment has proven difficult despite significant field research and modeling efforts. To improve N management, several real-time N management tools have been developed with a primary focus on enhancing crop production. However, no coordinated effort exists to simultaneously address sustainability concerns related to N losses at field- and regional-scales. In this perspective, we highlight the opportunity for incorporating environmental effects into N management decision support tools for United States maize production systems by integrating publicly available crop models with grower-entered management information and gridded soil and climate data in a geospatial framework specifically designed to quantify environmental and crop production tradeoffs. To facilitate advances in this area, we assess the capability of existing crop models to provide in-season N recommendations while estimating N leaching and nitrous oxide emissions, discuss several considerations for initial framework development, and highlight important challenges related to improving the accuracy of crop model predictions. Such a framework would benefit the development of regional sustainable intensification strategies by enabling the identification of N loss hotspots which could be used to implement spatially explicit mitigation efforts in relation to current environmental quality goals and real-time weather conditions. Nevertheless, we argue that this long-term vision can only be realized by leveraging a variety of existing research efforts to overcome challenges related to improving model structure, accessing field data to enhance model performance, and addressing the numerous social difficulties in delivery and adoption of such tool by stakeholders.

Integration of lessons from recent research for “Earth to Mars” life support systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nelson, M.; Dempster, W. F.; Allen, J. P.

Development of reliable and robust strategies for long-term life support for planetary exploration must be built from real-time experimentation to verify and improve system components. Also critical is incorporating a range of viable options to handle potential short-term life system imbalances. This paper revisits some of the conceptual framework for a Mars base prototype which has been developed by the authors along with others previously advanced ("Mars on Earth ®") in the light of three years of experimentation in the Laboratory Biosphere, further investigation of system alternatives and the advent of other innovative engineering and agri-ecosystem approaches. Several experiments with candidate space agriculture crops have demonstrated the higher productivity possible with elevated light levels and improved environmental controls. For example, crops of sweet potatoes exceeded original Mars base prototype projections by an average of 46% (53% for best crop) ultradwarf (Apogee) wheat by 9% (23% for best crop), pinto bean by 13% (31% for best crop). These production levels, although they may be increased with further optimization of lighting regimes, environmental parameters, crop density etc. offer evidence that a soil-based system can be as productive as the hydroponic systems which have dominated space life support scenarios and research. But soil also offers distinct advantages: the capability to be created on the Moon or Mars using in situ space resources, reduces long-term reliance on consumables and imported resources, and more readily recycling and incorporating crew and crop waste products. In addition, a living soil contains a complex microbial ecosystem which helps prevent the buildup of trace gases or compounds, and thus assist with air and water purification. The atmospheric dynamics of these crops were studied in the Laboratory Biosphere adding to the database necessary for managing the mixed stands of crops essential for supplying a nutritionally adequate diet in space. This paper explores some of the challenges of small bioregenerative life support: air-sealing and facility architecture/design, balance of short-term variations of carbon dioxide and oxygen through staggered plantings, options for additional atmospheric buffers and sinks, lighting/energy efficiency engineering, crop and waste product recycling approaches, and human factor considerations in the design and operation of a Mars base. An "Earth to Mars" project, forging the ability to live sustainably in space (as on Earth) requires continued research and testing of these components and integrated subsystems; and developing a step-by-step learning process.

Evaluating the Usefulness of High-Temporal Resolution Vegetation Indices to Identify Crop Types

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hilbert, K.; Lewis, D.; O'Hara, C. G.

2006-12-01

The National Aeronautical and Space Agency (NASA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) jointly sponsored research covering the 2004 to 2006 South American crop seasons that focused on developing methods for the USDA's Foreign Agricultural Service's (FAS) Production Estimates and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD) to identify crop types using MODIS-derived, hyper-temporal Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) images. NDVI images were composited in 8 day intervals from daily NDVI images and aggregated to create a hyper-termporal NDVI layerstack. This NDVI layerstack was used as input to image classification algorithms. Research results indicated that creating high-temporal resolution Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) composites from NASA's MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data products provides useful input to crop type classifications as well as potential useful input for regional crop productivity modeling efforts. A current NASA-sponsored Rapid Prototyping Capability (RPC) experiment will assess the utility of simulated future Visible Infrared Imager / Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) imagery for conducting NDVI-derived land cover and specific crop type classifications. In the experiment, methods will be considered to refine current MODIS data streams, reduce the noise content of the MODIS, and utilize the MODIS data as an input to the VIIRS simulation process. The effort also is being conducted in concert with an ISS project that will further evaluate, verify and validate the usefulness of specific data products to provide remote sensing-derived input for the Sinclair Model a semi-mechanistic model for estimating crop yield. The study area encompasses a large portion of the Pampas region of Argentina--a major world producer of crops such as corn, soybeans, and wheat which makes it a competitor to the US. ITD partnered with researchers at the Center for Surveying Agricultural and Natural Resources (CREAN) of the National University of Cordoba, Argentina, and CREAN personnel collected and continue to collect field-level, GIS-based in situ information. Current efforts involve both developing and optimizing software tools for the necessary data processing. The software includes the Time Series Product Tool (TSPT), Leica's ERDAS Imagine, and Mississippi State University's Temporal Map Algebra computational tools.

Tanzanian farmers' knowledge and attitudes to GM biotechnology and the potential use of GM crops to provide improved levels of food security. A Qualitative Study

PubMed Central

2010-01-01

Background Genetically Modified (GM) crops have been championed as one possible method to improve food security and individual nutritional status in sub Saharan Africa. Understanding and acceptability of GM crop technology to farmers and consumers have not been assessed. We developed a qualitative research study involving farmers as both producers and consumers to gauge the understanding of GM crop technology, its acceptability, and identifying issues of concern. Methods Nineteen individual interviews (10 male and 9 female) and five mixed gender focus group discussions with local farmers were conducted in 3 regions in Tanzania. Analysis took place concurrently with data collection. Following initial interviews, subsequent questions were adjusted based on emerging themes. Results Understanding, awareness and knowledge of GM crop technology and terminology and its potential risks and benefits was very poor in all regions. Receptivity to the potential use of GM crops was, however, high. Respondents focused on the potential benefits of GM crops rather than any potential longer term health risks. A number of factors, most significantly field trial data, would influence farmers' decisions regarding the introduction of GM crop varieties into their farming practice. Understanding of the potential improved health provision possible by changes in agricultural practice and food-related decision making, and the health benefits of a diet containing essential vitamins, minerals and micronutrients is also poor in these communities. Conclusion This study forms a basis from which further research work can be undertaken. It is important to continue to assess opinions and attitudes of farmers and consumers in sub Saharan Africa towards potential use of GM technologies whilst highlighting the importance of the relationship between agriculture, health and development. This will allow people in the region to make accurate, informed decisions about whether they believe use of GM biotechnology is an appropriate way in which to tackle issues of food security, provide improved health and drive development. PMID:20624286

Tanzanian farmers' knowledge and attitudes to GM biotechnology and the potential use of GM crops to provide improved levels of food security. A Qualitative Study.

PubMed

Lewis, Christopher P; Newell, James N; Herron, Caroline M; Nawabu, Haidari

2010-07-12

Genetically Modified (GM) crops have been championed as one possible method to improve food security and individual nutritional status in sub Saharan Africa. Understanding and acceptability of GM crop technology to farmers and consumers have not been assessed. We developed a qualitative research study involving farmers as both producers and consumers to gauge the understanding of GM crop technology, its acceptability, and identifying issues of concern. Nineteen individual interviews (10 male and 9 female) and five mixed gender focus group discussions with local farmers were conducted in 3 regions in Tanzania. Analysis took place concurrently with data collection. Following initial interviews, subsequent questions were adjusted based on emerging themes. Understanding, awareness and knowledge of GM crop technology and terminology and its potential risks and benefits was very poor in all regions. Receptivity to the potential use of GM crops was, however, high. Respondents focused on the potential benefits of GM crops rather than any potential longer term health risks. A number of factors, most significantly field trial data, would influence farmers' decisions regarding the introduction of GM crop varieties into their farming practice. Understanding of the potential improved health provision possible by changes in agricultural practice and food-related decision making, and the health benefits of a diet containing essential vitamins, minerals and micronutrients is also poor in these communities. This study forms a basis from which further research work can be undertaken. It is important to continue to assess opinions and attitudes of farmers and consumers in sub Saharan Africa towards potential use of GM technologies whilst highlighting the importance of the relationship between agriculture, health and development. This will allow people in the region to make accurate, informed decisions about whether they believe use of GM biotechnology is an appropriate way in which to tackle issues of food security, provide improved health and drive development.

Monitoring cover crops using radar remote sensing in southern Ontario, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shang, J.; Huang, X.; Liu, J.; Wang, J.

2016-12-01

Information on agricultural land surface conditions is important for developing best land management practices to maintain the overall health of the fields. The climate condition supports one harvest per year for the majority of the field crops in Canada, with a relative short growing season between May and September. During the non-growing-season months (October to the following April), many fields are traditionally left bare. In more recent year, there has been an increased interest in planting cover crops. Benefits of cover crops include boosting soil organic matters, preventing soil from erosion, retaining soil moisture, and reducing surface runoff hence protecting water quality. Optical remote sensing technology has been exploited for monitoring cover crops. However limitations inherent to optical sensors such as cloud interference and signal saturation (when leaf area index is above 2.5) impeded its operational application. Radar remote sensing on the other hand is not hindered by unfavorable weather conditions, and the signal continues to be sensitive to crop growth beyond the saturation point of optical sensors. It offers a viable means for capturing timely information on field surface conditions (with or without crop cover) or crop development status. This research investigated the potential of using multi-temporal RADARSAT-2 C-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data collected in 2015 over multiple fields of winter wheat, corn and soybean crops in southern Ontario, Canada, to retrieve information on the presence of cover crops and their growth status. Encouraging results have been obtained. This presentation will report the methodology developed and the results obtained.

Development of Farming Diversification with Implementation Plant Patterns as a Strategy of Economic Strengthening

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anwar, S.; Setyohadi, D. P. S.; Utami, M. M. D.; Damanhuri; Hariono, B.

2018-01-01

Bojonegoro, Tulungagung, and Ponorogo districts are an agrarian area and become one of the leading food crops producers in East Java Province. Diversification of farming in this region is done by applying season-based cropping pattern, which is cultivating various commodities in rotation. Farmers need diversification programs wetland cannot provide an optimal contribution to the income of farmers caused because farmers are not able to cultivate high value-added commodities due to limited capital. This research is to identify the characteristics of farming and to analyse the farming system to know the pattern of planting suggestion and prospect. The research used descriptive method, profit farming analysis, and SWOT. The results showed that each region has a specific planting pattern with rice as the main commodity grown in the rainy season followed by crops and horticultural crops and a suggested planting pattern that needs to be implemented by farmers to increase their income. The prospect of diversification of farming development through the implementation of the proposed planting pattern is very suitable with the character of the region and the market demand.

Perennial plants for biofuel production: bridging genomics and field research.

PubMed

Alves, Alexandre Alonso; Laviola, Bruno G; Formighieri, Eduardo F; Carels, Nicolas

2015-04-01

Development of dedicated perennial crops has been indicated as a strategic action to meet the growing demand for biofuels. Breeding of perennial crops,however, is often time- and resource-consuming. As genomics offers a platform from which to learn more about the relationships of genes and phenotypes,its operational use in the context of breeding programs through strategies such as genomic selection promises to foster the development of perennial crops dedicated to biodiesel production by increasing the efficiency of breeding programs and by shortening the length of the breeding cycles. Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Crop traceability and remote sensing in tree fruit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perry, Eileen M.; Rupp, Richard; Davenport, Joan; Leal, Juliano; Pierce, Francis J.; Schulthess, Urs

2004-01-01

Fresh market fruit crops such as apples have not employed precision agriculture tools, partially due to the labor intensive nature of the cropping systems. In this paper we describe new research in the development of precision agriculture tools for tree fruit, including the ability to track spatially variable orchard data before harvest through to the packing plant. Remote sensing is a key component of this system, and remote sensing products are being evaluated for their usefulness in guiding orchard management.

Oil Crop Potential for Biodiesel Production: Summary of Three Years of Spring Mustard Research -- Methodologies, Results, and Recommendations; 2000-2003

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, J.

2005-07-01

This report summarizes a project whose goal was to support R&D to develop an oil-seed crop that has the potential to reduce the feedstock cost of biodiesel to between 7 and 8 cents per pound of oil and expand supplies of biodiesel as demand for biodiesel grows. The key to this goal is that the non-oil fraction of the oil crop (the seed meal) must have a high value outside of the animal feed markets and produce oil that is not suitable for human consumption. To that end, a spring breeding program was developed to increase diversity of glucosinolate andmore » the concentration of glucosinolates in the meal and to optimize the oil composition for biodiesel fuels. This report presents the research on the spring planted hybrids.« less

From LACIE to GEOGLAM: Integrating Earth Observations into Operational Agricultural Monitoring Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. O.

2012-12-01

Earth observation data, owing to their synoptic, timely and repetitive coverage, have long been recognized as an indispensible tool for agricultural monitoring at local to global scales. Research and development over the past several decades in the field of agricultural remote sensing has led to considerable capacity for crop monitoring within the current operational monitoring systems. These systems are relied upon nationally and internationally to provide crop outlooks and production forecasts as the growing season progresses. This talk will discuss the legacy and current state of operational agricultural monitoring using earth observations. In the US, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) have been collaborating to monitor global agriculture from space since the 1970s. In 1974, the USDA, NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) initiated the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) which demonstrated that earth observations could provide vital information on crop production, with unprecedented accuracy and timeliness, prior to harvest. This experiment spurred many agencies and researchers around the world to further develop and evaluate remote sensing technologies for timely, large area, crop monitoring. The USDA and NASA continue to closely collaborate. More recently they jointly initiated the Global Agricultural Monitoring Project (GLAM) to enhance the agricultural monitoring and the crop-production estimation capabilities of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service by using the new generation of NASA satellite observations including from MODIS and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instruments. Internationally, in response to the growing calls for improved agricultural information, the Group on Earth Observations (partnership of governments and international organizations) developed the Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) initiative which was adopted by the G20 as part of the action plan on food price volatility and agriculture. The goal of GEOGLAM is to enhance agricultural production estimates through leveraging advances in the research domain and in satellite technologies, and integrating these into the existing operational monitoring systems.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles for High-Throughput Phenotyping and Agronomic Research

PubMed Central

Shi, Yeyin; Thomasson, J. Alex; Murray, Seth C.; Pugh, N. Ace; Rooney, William L.; Shafian, Sanaz; Rajan, Nithya; Rouze, Gregory; Morgan, Cristine L. S.; Neely, Haly L.; Rana, Aman; Bagavathiannan, Muthu V.; Henrickson, James; Bowden, Ezekiel; Valasek, John; Olsenholler, Jeff; Bishop, Michael P.; Sheridan, Ryan; Putman, Eric B.; Popescu, Sorin; Burks, Travis; Cope, Dale; Ibrahim, Amir; McCutchen, Billy F.; Baltensperger, David D.; Avant, Robert V.; Vidrine, Misty; Yang, Chenghai

2016-01-01

Advances in automation and data science have led agriculturists to seek real-time, high-quality, high-volume crop data to accelerate crop improvement through breeding and to optimize agronomic practices. Breeders have recently gained massive data-collection capability in genome sequencing of plants. Faster phenotypic trait data collection and analysis relative to genetic data leads to faster and better selections in crop improvement. Furthermore, faster and higher-resolution crop data collection leads to greater capability for scientists and growers to improve precision-agriculture practices on increasingly larger farms; e.g., site-specific application of water and nutrients. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have recently gained traction as agricultural data collection systems. Using UAVs for agricultural remote sensing is an innovative technology that differs from traditional remote sensing in more ways than strictly higher-resolution images; it provides many new and unique possibilities, as well as new and unique challenges. Herein we report on processes and lessons learned from year 1—the summer 2015 and winter 2016 growing seasons–of a large multidisciplinary project evaluating UAV images across a range of breeding and agronomic research trials on a large research farm. Included are team and project planning, UAV and sensor selection and integration, and data collection and analysis workflow. The study involved many crops and both breeding plots and agronomic fields. The project’s goal was to develop methods for UAVs to collect high-quality, high-volume crop data with fast turnaround time to field scientists. The project included five teams: Administration, Flight Operations, Sensors, Data Management, and Field Research. Four case studies involving multiple crops in breeding and agronomic applications add practical descriptive detail. Lessons learned include critical information on sensors, air vehicles, and configuration parameters for both. As the first and most comprehensive project of its kind to date, these lessons are particularly salient to researchers embarking on agricultural research with UAVs. PMID:27472222

Determination of actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and dual crop coefficients (Kc) for cotton, wheat and maize in Fergana Valley: integration of the FAO-56 approach and BUDGET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kenjabaev, Shavkat; Dernedde, Yvonne; Frede, Hans-Georg; Stulina, Galina

2014-05-01

Determination of the actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc) during the growing period is important for accurate irrigation scheduling in arid and semi-arid regions. Development of a crop coefficient (Kc) can enhance ETc estimations in relation to specific crop phenological development. This research was conducted to determine daily and growth-stage-specific Kc and ETc values for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.) for silage at fields in Fergana Valley (Uzbekistan). The soil water balance model - Budget with integration of the dual crop procedure of the FAO-56 was used to estimate the ETc and separate it into evaporation (Ec) and transpiration (Tc) components. An empirical equation was developed to determine the daily Kc values based on the estimated Ec and Tc. The ETc, Kc determination and comparison to existing FAO Kc values were performed based on 10, 5 and 6 study cases for cotton, wheat and maize, respectively. Mean seasonal amounts of crop water consumption in terms of ETc were 560±50, 509±27 and 243±39 mm for cotton, wheat and maize, respectively. The growth-stage-specific Kc for cotton, wheat and maize was 0.15, 0.27 and 0.11 at initial; 1.15, 1.03 and 0.56 at mid; and 0.45, 0.89 and 0.53 at late season stages. These values correspond to those reported by the FAO-56. Development of site specific Kc helps tremendously in irrigation management and furthermore provides precise water applications in the region. The developed simple approach to estimate daily Kc for the three main crops grown in the Fergana region was a first attempt to meet this issue. Keywords: Actual crop evapotranspiration, evaporation and transpiration, crop coefficient, model BUDGET, Fergana Valley.

The Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP): Protocols and Pilot Studies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rosenzweig, C.; Jones, J. W.; Hatfield, J. L.; Ruane, A. C.; Boote, K. J.; Thorburn, P.; Antle, J. M.; Nelson, G. C.; Porter, C.; Janssen, S.;

From Concept to Commerce: Developing a Successful Fungal Endophyte Inoculant for Agricultural Crops

PubMed Central

Doohan, Fiona M.; Hodkinson, Trevor R.

2018-01-01

The development of endophyte inoculants for agricultural crops has been bedevilled by the twin problems of a lack of reliability and consistency, with a consequent lack of belief among end users in the efficacy of such treatments. We have developed a successful research pipeline for the production of a reliable, consistent and environmentally targeted fungal endophyte seed-delivered inoculant for barley cultivars. Our approach was developed de novo from an initial concept to source candidate endophyte inoculants from a wild relative of barley, Hordeum murinum (wall barley). A careful screening and selection procedure and extensive controlled environment testing of fungal endophyte strains, followed by multi-year field trials has resulted in the validation of an endophyte consortium suitable for barley crops grown on relatively dry sites. Our approach can be adapted for any crop or environment, provided that the set of first principles we have developed is followed. Here, we report how we developed the successful pipeline for the production of an economically viable fungal endophyte inoculant for barley cultivars. PMID:29439471

The CSAICLAWPS project: a multi-scalar, multi-data source approach to providing climate services for both modelling of climate change impacts on crop yields and development of community-level adaptive capacity for sustainable food security

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Forsythe, N. D.; Fowler, H. J.

2017-12-01

The "Climate-smart agriculture implementation through community-focused pursuit of land and water productivity in South Asia" (CSAICLAWPS) project is a research initiative funded by the (UK) Royal Society through its Challenge Grants programme which is part of the broader UK Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). CSAICLAWPS has three objectives: a) development of "added-value" - bias assessed, statistically down-scaled - climate projections for selected case study sites across South Asia; b) investigation of crop failure modes under both present (observed) and future (projected) conditions; and c) facilitation of developing local adaptive capacity and resilience through stakeholder engagement. At AGU we will be presenting both next steps and progress to date toward these three objectives: [A] We have carried out bias assessments of a substantial multi-model RCM ensemble (MME) from the CORDEX South Asia (CORDEXdomain for case studies in three countries - Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka - and (stochastically) produced synthetic time-series for these sites from local observations using a Python-based implementation of the principles underlying the Climate Research Unit Weather Generator (CRU-WG) in order to enable probabilistic simulation of current crop yields. [B] We have characterised present response of local crop yields to climate variability in key case study sites using AquaCrop simulations parameterised based on input (agronomic practices, soil conditions, etc) from smallholder farmers. [C] We have implemented community-based hydro-climatological monitoring in several case study "revenue villages" (panchayats) in the Nainital District of Uttarakhand. The purpose of this is not only to increase availability of meteorological data, but also has the aspiration of, over time, leading to enhanced quantitative awareness of present climate variability and potential future conditions (as projected by RCMs). Next steps in our work will include: 1) future crop yield simulations driven by "perturbation" of synthetic time-series using "change factors from the CORDEX-SA MME; 2) stakeholder dialogues critically evaluating potential strategies at the grassroots (implementation) level to mitigate impacts of climate variability and change on crop yields.

Development of Bt Rice and Bt Maize in China and Their Efficacy in Target Pest Control

PubMed Central

Liu, Qingsong; Hallerman, Eric; Peng, Yufa; Li, Yunhe

2016-01-01

Rice and maize are important cereal crops that serve as staple foods, feed, and industrial material in China. Multiple factors constrain the production of both crops, among which insect pests are an important one. Lepidopteran pests cause enormous yield losses for the crops annually. In order to control these pests, China plays an active role in development and application of genetic engineering (GE) to crops, and dozens of GE rice and GE maize lines expressing insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have been developed. Many lines have entered environmental release, field testing, and preproduction testing, and laboratory and field experiments have shown that most of the Bt rice and Bt maize lines developed in China exhibited effective control of major target lepidopteran pests on rice (Chilo suppressalis, Scirpophaga incertulas, and Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) and maize (Ostrinia furnacalis), demonstrating bright prospects for application. However, none of these Bt lines has yet been commercially planted through this writing in 2016. Challenges and perspectives for development and application of Bt rice and maize in China are discussed. This article provides a general context for colleagues to learn about research and development of Bt crops in China, and may shed light on future work in this field. PMID:27763554

Development of Bt Rice and Bt Maize in China and Their Efficacy in Target Pest Control.

PubMed

Liu, Qingsong; Hallerman, Eric; Peng, Yufa; Li, Yunhe

2016-10-18

Rice and maize are important cereal crops that serve as staple foods, feed, and industrial material in China. Multiple factors constrain the production of both crops, among which insect pests are an important one. Lepidopteran pests cause enormous yield losses for the crops annually. In order to control these pests, China plays an active role in development and application of genetic engineering (GE) to crops, and dozens of GE rice and GE maize lines expressing insecticidal proteins from the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ) have been developed. Many lines have entered environmental release, field testing, and preproduction testing, and laboratory and field experiments have shown that most of the Bt rice and Bt maize lines developed in China exhibited effective control of major target lepidopteran pests on rice ( Chilo suppressalis , Scirpophaga incertulas , and Cnaphalocrocis medinalis ) and maize ( Ostrinia furnacalis ), demonstrating bright prospects for application. However, none of these Bt lines has yet been commercially planted through this writing in 2016. Challenges and perspectives for development and application of Bt rice and maize in China are discussed. This article provides a general context for colleagues to learn about research and development of Bt crops in China, and may shed light on future work in this field.

Pests, diseases and crop protection practices in the smallholder sweetpotato production system of the highlands of Papua New Guinea

PubMed Central

Liu, Jian; Johnson, Anne C.; Woruba, Deane N.; Kirchhof, Gunnar; Fujinuma, Ryosuke; Sirabis, William; Jeffery, Yapo; Akkinapally, Ramakrishna

2016-01-01

Sweetpotato (Ipomea batatans) is a food crop of global significance. The storage roots and foliage of crop are attacked by a wide range of pests and diseases. Whilst these are generally well controlled in developed countries using approaches such as clean planting material and monitoring with pheromone traps to guide insecticide use, research into methods suitable for developing countries has lagged. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), sweetpotato is grown extensively as a subsistence crop and commercial production as a cash crop is developing. We report results from a survey of 33 smallholder producers located in the Highlands of PNG where the crop is of particular importance. Surveys of interviewees’ crops showed high levels of pest and disease impact to foliage, stems and storage roots, especially in crops that were several years old. Weevils (Curculionidae) were reportedly the most damaging pests and scab (caused by the fungus Elisnoe batatus) the most damaging disease. Most producers reported root damage from the former and foliar damage from the latter but the general level of knowledge of pest and disease types was low. Despite the apparency of pest and disease signs and symptoms and recognition of their importance by farmers, a large majority of producers reported practiced no active pest or disease management. This was despite low numbers of farmers reporting use of traditional cultural practices including phytosanitary measures and insecticidal plants that had the scope for far wider use. Only one respondent reported use of insecticide though pesticides were available in nearby cities. This low level of pest and disease management in most cases, likely due to paucity in biological and technical knowledge among growers, hampers efforts to establish food security and constrains the development of sweetpotato as a cash crop. PMID:27957387

Pests, diseases and crop protection practices in the smallholder sweetpotato production system of the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

PubMed

Gurr, Geoff M; Liu, Jian; Johnson, Anne C; Woruba, Deane N; Kirchhof, Gunnar; Fujinuma, Ryosuke; Sirabis, William; Jeffery, Yapo; Akkinapally, Ramakrishna

2016-01-01

Sweetpotato ( Ipomea batatans ) is a food crop of global significance. The storage roots and foliage of crop are attacked by a wide range of pests and diseases. Whilst these are generally well controlled in developed countries using approaches such as clean planting material and monitoring with pheromone traps to guide insecticide use, research into methods suitable for developing countries has lagged. In Papua New Guinea (PNG), sweetpotato is grown extensively as a subsistence crop and commercial production as a cash crop is developing. We report results from a survey of 33 smallholder producers located in the Highlands of PNG where the crop is of particular importance. Surveys of interviewees' crops showed high levels of pest and disease impact to foliage, stems and storage roots, especially in crops that were several years old. Weevils (Curculionidae) were reportedly the most damaging pests and scab (caused by the fungus Elisnoe batatus ) the most damaging disease. Most producers reported root damage from the former and foliar damage from the latter but the general level of knowledge of pest and disease types was low. Despite the apparency of pest and disease signs and symptoms and recognition of their importance by farmers, a large majority of producers reported practiced no active pest or disease management. This was despite low numbers of farmers reporting use of traditional cultural practices including phytosanitary measures and insecticidal plants that had the scope for far wider use. Only one respondent reported use of insecticide though pesticides were available in nearby cities. This low level of pest and disease management in most cases, likely due to paucity in biological and technical knowledge among growers, hampers efforts to establish food security and constrains the development of sweetpotato as a cash crop.

The politics of Golden Rice

PubMed Central

Dubock, Adrian

2014-01-01

Genetic knowledge applicable to crop improvement has erupted over the past 60 years, and the techniques of introducing genes from one organism to another have enabled new varieties of crops not achievable by previously available methodologies of crop breeding. Research and particularly development of these GMO-crops to a point where they are useful for growers and consumers in most countries is subject to complex national and international rules arising out of the UN's Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, with 167 country signatories. (The USA and Canada are not signatories.) The Protocol was developed based on concerns initially expressed in the 1970's that such technology presented unusual risks to man and the environment. Those ideas have comprehensively and authoritatively been proven to be wrong. The Protocol has nevertheless spawned significant regulatory obstacles to the development of GMO-crop technology at great cost to global society and in conflict with many other UN objectives. The suspicion induced by the Protocol is also widely used, overtly or covertly, for political purposes. These points are illustrated by reference to the not-for-profit Golden Rice project. PMID:25437240

The politics of Golden Rice.

PubMed

Dubock, Adrian

2014-07-03

Genetic knowledge applicable to crop improvement has erupted over the past 60 years, and the techniques of introducing genes from one organism to another have enabled new varieties of crops not achievable by previously available methodologies of crop breeding. Research and particularly development of these GMO-crops to a point where they are useful for growers and consumers in most countries is subject to complex national and international rules arising out of the UN's Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity, with 167 country signatories. (The USA and Canada are not signatories.) The Protocol was developed based on concerns initially expressed in the 1970's that such technology presented unusual risks to man and the environment. Those ideas have comprehensively and authoritatively been proven to be wrong. The Protocol has nevertheless spawned significant regulatory obstacles to the development of GMO-crop technology at great cost to global society and in conflict with many other UN objectives. The suspicion induced by the Protocol is also widely used, overtly or covertly, for political purposes. These points are illustrated by reference to the not-for-profit Golden Rice project.

Soil management, fertilization and plant nutrition in organic systems in Spain: A review of the research in last 20 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalvez, Victor; Raigon Jiménez, M.° Dolores

2016-04-01

The Spanish Society for Agroecology/Organic Farming (SEAE) is a private charity association, founded in 1992, with the purpose to support organic farming practitioners. The principal aim is to join the efforts farmers, technicians and scientifics and others organizations and persons, related to develop sustainable agriculture systems, based on ecological and socioeconomic principles promoted by the international organic farming movement, with the purpose to obtain foods and first resources with high quality, considering the vulnerability of the environment and preserving the soil fertility, with the optimal and adequate use of the local resources, taking in account the rural culture and the ethical value of the social development and the life quality. One of the most relevant and know activity of SEAE is the celebration of one (scientific) Congress every two years. This is the most important event on this issue in Spain. In the last 20 year, eleven events of this kind have been organised in 11 different places (Toledo, Pamplona, Valencia, Córdoba, Gijón-Asturias, Almeria, Zaragoza, Bullas-Murcia, Lleida, Albacete, Vitoria-Gasteiz). The average participation in the Congress was growing up from 100 to 350 persons), from all over Spain. During this events, researchers, advisors, trainers, politicians and operators (farmers, processors, certifiers, marketers, consumers, etc.) shared and update the scientific results, projects in force, political measures, statistics and proposals to develop the organic farming sector Research in organic farming is still low in Spain and the majority of the results in this matter are being presented as papers in this Congresses. Over 1500 papers from over 100 spanish research groups giving information about the research results have been presented in this events, One of the most relevant topic of this research is done on soil conservation, soil fertility and organic crop fertilization and organic matter management in the soil, after organic plant health and plant protection. In total 12 % of the papers presented in these events were devoted to soil conservation, soil fertility and plant nutrition management. We have analyzed this papers contributions dividing in five categories: a) organic and mineral fertilization; b) general evaluation of soil fertility under organic management; c) compost making and compost types; d) soil conservation and fertilization; e) crop fertilization and food quality The results shows that over 20 % of the total papers presented were related to general aspects of crop fertilization in 16% types of vegetables crops, 14% on arable crops and pastures and 8% on perennial crops (almonds, citrus, vineyards, olive trees, and banana) have been presented. Most studies were done on vegetables and very few on nutrient balance have been published. Some papers deal with cover crops. The soil fertility impact of organic farming compared with conventional is focused is included in nearly 30 % of all the scientific papers presented. Compost from different crop residues and the effects on soil and on different crops, including waste sludge (not allowed in organic farming) have been researched. Also some studies deal with how to use the residues of the olive oil mills or residues of vineyards as organic fertilizer. Some of the most recent studies are focused on how compost can control pest and diseases in crop cultivation. Another type of study has analyzed the soil disinfection potential of manure with high exposition to the sun (high temperature) to be used in greenhouses. Few studies are concentrated in the application of mycorrhizae to enhance the capacity of the plants to absorber nutrients from soil. We found some few studies on biofertilisers, but there are many different inputs being offered to organic farmers as natural fertilizer. Soil conservation and organic fertilisation studies are scarce and not sufficiently detailed. Finally we found a five category of very few studies on the relation between fertilization of different crops and the final quality of the crops and fresh foods. The paper presents the most relevant results of research about organic farming fertilization in several crops conducted in Spain, which could be useful for Mediterranean countries with similar soil and clima Key words: compost, , mediterranean, nutrients balance, soil fertility,

Development of Sustainable Landscape Designs for Improved Biomass Production in the U.S. Corn Belt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonner, Ian J.

Demand for renewable and sustainable energy options has resulted in a significant commitment by the US Government to research pathways for fuel production from biomass. The research presented in this thesis describes one potential pathway to increase the amount of biomass available for biofuel production by integrating dedicated energy crops into agricultural fields. In the first chapter an innovative landscape design method based on subfield placement of an energy crop into row crop fields in central Iowa is used to reduce financial loss for farmers, increase and diversify biomass production, and improve soil resources. The second chapter explores how subfield management decisions may be made using high fidelity data and modeling to balance concerns of primary crop production and economics. This work provides critical forward looking support to agricultural land managers and stakeholders in the biomass and bioenergy industry for pathways to improving land stewardship and energy security.

Sugarcane for bioenergy production: an assessment of yield and regulation of sucrose content.

PubMed

Waclawovsky, Alessandro J; Sato, Paloma M; Lembke, Carolina G; Moore, Paul H; Souza, Glaucia M

2010-04-01

An increasing number of plant scientists, including breeders, agronomists, physiologists and molecular biologists, are working towards the development of new and improved energy crops. Research is increasingly focused on how to design crops specifically for bioenergy production and increased biomass generation for biofuel purposes. The most important biofuel to date is bioethanol produced from sugars (sucrose and starch). Second generation bioethanol is also being targeted for studies to allow the use of the cell wall (lignocellulose) as a source of carbon. If a crop is to be used for bioenergy production, the crop should be high yielding, fast growing, low lignin content and requiring relatively small energy inputs for its growth and harvest. Obtaining high yields in nonprime agricultural land is a key for energy crop development to allow sustainability and avoid competition with food production. Sugarcane is the most efficient bioenergy crop of tropical and subtropical regions, and biotechnological tools for the improvement of this crop are advancing rapidly. We focus this review on the studies of sugarcane genes associated with sucrose content, biomass and cell wall metabolism and the preliminary physiological characterization of cultivars that contrast for sugar and biomass yield.

Rhizo-lysimetry: facilities for the simultaneous study of root behaviour and resource use by agricultural crop and pasture systems

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Rhizo-lysimeters offer unique advantages for the study of plants and their interactions with soils. In this paper, an existing facility at Charles Sturt University in Wagga Wagga Australia is described in detail and its potential to conduct both ecophysiological and ecohydrological research in the study of root interactions of agricultural crops and pastures is quantitatively assessed. This is of significance to future crop research efforts in southern Australia, in light of recent significant long-term drought events, as well as potential impacts of climate change as predicted for the region. The rhizo-lysimeter root research facility has recently been expanded to accommodate larger research projects over multiple years and cropping rotations. Results Lucerne, a widely-grown perennial pasture in southern Australia, developed an expansive root system to a depth of 0.9 m over a twelve month period. Its deeper roots particularly at 2.05 m continued to expand for the duration of the experiment. In succeeding experiments, canola, a commonly grown annual crop, developed a more extensive (approximately 300%) root system than wheat, but exhibited a slower rate of root elongation at rates of 7.47 x 10–3 m day–1 for canola and 1.04 x10–2 m day–1 for wheat. A time domain reflectometry (TDR) network was designed to accurately assess changes in soil water content, and could assess water content change to within 5% of the amount of water applied. Conclusions The rhizo-lysimetry system provided robust estimates of root growth and soil water change under conditions representative of a field setting. This is currently one of a very limited number of global research facilities able to perform experimentation under field conditions and is the largest root research experimental laboratory in the southern hemisphere. PMID:23363534

13th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry: Crop, Environment, and Public Health Protection, Technologies for a Changing World.

PubMed

McConnell, Laura L; Racke, Kenneth D; Hapeman, Cathleen J; Seiber, James N

2016-01-13

This introductory paper provides an overview of Perspectives papers written by plenary speakers from the 13th IUPAC International Congress of Pesticide Chemistry held in San Francisco, CA, USA, in August 2014. This group of papers emphasizes some of the emerging issues and challenges at the forefront of agricultural research: sustainability; agriculture's response to climate change and population growth; pollinator health and risk assessment; and global food production and food security. In addition, as part of the Congress, a workshop on "Developing Global Leaders for Research, Regulation, and Stewardship of Crop Protection Chemistry in the 21st Century" identified specific recommendations to attract the best scientists to agricultural science, to provide opportunities to study and conduct research on crop protection chemistry topics, and to improve science communication skills.

Determining the potential productivity of food crops in controlled environments

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bugbee, Bruce

1992-01-01

The quest to determine the maximum potential productivity of food crops is greatly benefitted by crop growth models. Many models have been developed to analyze and predict crop growth in the field, but it is difficult to predict biological responses to stress conditions. Crop growth models for the optimal environments of a Controlled Environment Life Support System (CELSS) can be highly predictive. This paper discusses the application of a crop growth model to CELSS; the model is used to evaluate factors limiting growth. The model separately evaluates the following four physiological processes: absorption of PPF by photosynthetic tissue, carbon fixation (photosynthesis), carbon use (respiration), and carbon partitioning (harvest index). These constituent processes determine potentially achievable productivity. An analysis of each process suggests that low harvest index is the factor most limiting to yield. PPF absorption by plant canopies and respiration efficiency are also of major importance. Research concerning productivity in a CELSS should emphasize: (1) the development of gas exchange techniques to continuously monitor plant growth rates and (2) environmental techniques to reduce plant height in communities.

Responses of Crop Water Use Efficiency to Climate Change and Agronomic Measures in the Semiarid Area of Northern China

PubMed Central

Zhang, Jingting; Ren, Wei; An, Pingli; Pan, Zhihua; Wang, Liwei; Dong, Zhiqiang; He, Di; Yang, Jia; Pan, Shufen; Tian, Hanqin

2015-01-01

It has long been concerned how crop water use efficiency (WUE) responds to climate change. Most of existing researches have emphasized the impact of single climate factor but have paid less attention to the effect of developed agronomic measures on crop WUE. Based on the long-term field observations/experiments data, we investigated the changing responses of crop WUE to climate variables (temperature and precipitation) and agronomic practices (fertilization and cropping patterns) in the semi-arid area of northern China (SAC) during two periods, 1983–1999 and 2000–2010 (drier and warmer). Our results suggest that crop WUE was an intrinsical system sensitive to climate change and agronomic measures. Crops tend to reach the maximum WUE (WUEmax) in warm-dry environment while reach the stable minimum WUE (WUEmin) in warm-wet environment, with a difference between WUEmax and WUEmin ranging from 29.0%-55.5%. Changes in temperature and precipitation in the past three decades jointly enhanced crop WUE by 8.1%-30.6%. Elevated fertilizer and rotation cropping would increase crop WUE by 5.6–11.0% and 19.5–92.9%, respectively. These results indicate crop has the resilience by adjusting WUE, which is not only able to respond to subsequent periods of favorable water balance but also to tolerate the drought stress, and reasonable agronomic practices could enhance this resilience. However, this capacity would break down under impact of climate changes and unconscionable agronomic practices (e.g. excessive N/P/K fertilizer or traditional continuous cropping). Based on the findings in this study, a conceptual crop WUE model is constructed to indicate the threshold of crop resilience, which could help the farmer develop appropriate strategies in adapting the adverse impacts of climate warming. PMID:26336098

Responses of Crop Water Use Efficiency to Climate Change and Agronomic Measures in the Semiarid Area of Northern China.

PubMed

Zhang, Jingting; Ren, Wei; An, Pingli; Pan, Zhihua; Wang, Liwei; Dong, Zhiqiang; He, Di; Yang, Jia; Pan, Shufen; Tian, Hanqin

2015-01-01

It has long been concerned how crop water use efficiency (WUE) responds to climate change. Most of existing researches have emphasized the impact of single climate factor but have paid less attention to the effect of developed agronomic measures on crop WUE. Based on the long-term field observations/experiments data, we investigated the changing responses of crop WUE to climate variables (temperature and precipitation) and agronomic practices (fertilization and cropping patterns) in the semi-arid area of northern China (SAC) during two periods, 1983-1999 and 2000-2010 (drier and warmer). Our results suggest that crop WUE was an intrinsical system sensitive to climate change and agronomic measures. Crops tend to reach the maximum WUE (WUEmax) in warm-dry environment while reach the stable minimum WUE (WUEmin) in warm-wet environment, with a difference between WUEmax and WUEmin ranging from 29.0%-55.5%. Changes in temperature and precipitation in the past three decades jointly enhanced crop WUE by 8.1%-30.6%. Elevated fertilizer and rotation cropping would increase crop WUE by 5.6-11.0% and 19.5-92.9%, respectively. These results indicate crop has the resilience by adjusting WUE, which is not only able to respond to subsequent periods of favorable water balance but also to tolerate the drought stress, and reasonable agronomic practices could enhance this resilience. However, this capacity would break down under impact of climate changes and unconscionable agronomic practices (e.g. excessive N/P/K fertilizer or traditional continuous cropping). Based on the findings in this study, a conceptual crop WUE model is constructed to indicate the threshold of crop resilience, which could help the farmer develop appropriate strategies in adapting the adverse impacts of climate warming.

Vegetation index-based crop coefficients to estimate evapotranspiration by remote sensing in agricultural and natural ecosystems

USGS Publications Warehouse

Glenn, E.P.; Neale, C. M. U.; Hunsaker, D.J.; Nagler, P.L.

2011-01-01

Crop coefficients were developed to determine crop water needs based on the evapotranspiration (ET) of a reference crop under a given set of meteorological conditions. Starting in the 1980s, crop coefficients developed through lysimeter studies or set by expert opinion began to be supplemented by remotely sensed vegetation indices (VI) that measured the actual status of the crop on a field-by-field basis. VIs measure the density of green foliage based on the reflectance of visible and near infrared (NIR) light from the canopy, and are highly correlated with plant physiological processes that depend on light absorption by a canopy such as ET and photosynthesis. Reflectance-based crop coefficients have now been developed for numerous individual crops, including corn, wheat, alfalfa, cotton, potato, sugar beet, vegetables, grapes and orchard crops. Other research has shown that VIs can be used to predict ET over fields of mixed crops, allowing them to be used to monitor ET over entire irrigation districts. VI-based crop coefficients can help reduce agricultural water use by matching irrigation rates to the actual water needs of a crop as it grows instead of to a modeled crop growing under optimal conditions. Recently, the concept has been applied to natural ecosystems at the local, regional and continental scales of measurement, using time-series satellite data from the MODIS sensors on the Terra satellite. VIs or other visible-NIR band algorithms are combined with meteorological data to predict ET in numerous biome types, from deserts, to arctic tundra, to tropical rainforests. These methods often closely match ET measured on the ground at the global FluxNet array of eddy covariance moisture and carbon flux towers. The primary advantage of VI methods for estimating ET is that transpiration is closely related to radiation absorbed by the plant canopy, which is closely related to VIs. The primary disadvantage is that they cannot capture stress effects or soil evaporation. Copyright ?? 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Interactions between Bt crops and aquatic ecosystems: A review.

PubMed

Venter, Hermoine J; Bøhn, Thomas

2016-12-01

The term Bt crops collectively refers to crops that have been genetically modified to include a gene (or genes) sourced from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) bacteria. These genes confer the ability to produce proteins toxic to certain insect pests. The interaction between Bt crops and adjacent aquatic ecosystems has received limited attention in research and risk assessment, despite the fact that some Bt crops have been in commercial use for 20 yr. Reports of effects on aquatic organisms such as Daphnia magna, Elliptio complanata, and Chironomus dilutus suggest that some aquatic species may be negatively affected, whereas other reports suggest that the decreased use of insecticides precipitated by Bt crops may benefit aquatic communities. The present study reviews the literature regarding entry routes and exposure pathways by which aquatic organisms may be exposed to Bt crop material, as well as feeding trials and field surveys that have investigated the effects of Bt-expressing plant material on such organisms. The present review also discusses how Bt crop development has moved past single-gene events, toward multigene stacked varieties that often contain herbicide resistance genes in addition to multiple Bt genes, and how their use (in conjunction with co-technology such as glyphosate/Roundup) may impact and interact with aquatic ecosystems. Lastly, suggestions for further research in this field are provided. Environ Toxicol Chem 2016;35:2891-2902. © 2016 SETAC. © 2016 SETAC.

Environmental impacts of genetically modified plants: A review.

PubMed

Tsatsakis, Aristidis M; Nawaz, Muhammad Amjad; Kouretas, Demetrios; Balias, Georgios; Savolainen, Kai; Tutelyan, Victor A; Golokhvast, Kirill S; Lee, Jeong Dong; Yang, Seung Hwan; Chung, Gyuhwa

2017-07-01

Powerful scientific techniques have caused dramatic expansion of genetically modified crops leading to altered agricultural practices posing direct and indirect environmental implications. Despite the enhanced yield potential, risks and biosafety concerns associated with such GM crops are the fundamental issues to be addressed. An increasing interest can be noted among the researchers and policy makers in exploring unintended effects of transgenes associated with gene flow, flow of naked DNA, weediness and chemical toxicity. The current state of knowledge reveals that GM crops impart damaging impacts on the environment such as modification in crop pervasiveness or invasiveness, the emergence of herbicide and insecticide tolerance, transgene stacking and disturbed biodiversity, but these impacts require a more in-depth view and critical research so as to unveil further facts. Most of the reviewed scientific resources provide similar conclusions and currently there is an insufficient amount of data available and up until today, the consumption of GM plant products are safe for consumption to a greater extent with few exceptions. This paper updates the undesirable impacts of GM crops and their products on target and non-target species and attempts to shed light on the emerging challenges and threats associated with it. Underpinning research also realizes the influence of GM crops on a disturbance in biodiversity, development of resistance and evolution slightly resembles with the effects of non-GM cultivation. Future prospects are also discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A quality assessment of the MARS crop yield forecasting system for the European Union

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van der Velde, Marijn; Bareuth, Bettina

2015-04-01

Timely information on crop production forecasts can become of increasing importance as commodity markets are more and more interconnected. Impacts across large crop production areas due to (e.g.) extreme weather and pest outbreaks can create ripple effects that may affect food prices and availability elsewhere. The MARS Unit (Monitoring Agricultural ResourceS), DG Joint Research Centre, European Commission, has been providing forecasts of European crop production levels since 1993. The operational crop production forecasting is carried out with the MARS Crop Yield Forecasting System (M-CYFS). The M-CYFS is used to monitor crop growth development, evaluate short-term effects of anomalous meteorological events, and provide monthly forecasts of crop yield at national and European Union level. The crop production forecasts are published in the so-called MARS bulletins. Forecasting crop yield over large areas in the operational context requires quality benchmarks. Here we present an analysis of the accuracy and skill of past crop yield forecasts of the main crops (e.g. soft wheat, grain maize), throughout the growing season, and specifically for the final forecast before harvest. Two simple benchmarks to assess the skill of the forecasts were defined as comparing the forecasts to 1) a forecast equal to the average yield and 2) a forecast using a linear trend established through the crop yield time-series. These reveal a variability in performance as a function of crop and Member State. In terms of production, the yield forecasts of 67% of the EU-28 soft wheat production and 80% of the EU-28 maize production have been forecast superior to both benchmarks during the 1993-2013 period. In a changing and increasingly variable climate crop yield forecasts can become increasingly valuable - provided they are used wisely. We end our presentation by discussing research activities that could contribute to this goal.

Noah-MP-Crop: Introducing dynamic crop growth in the Noah-MP land surface model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Xing; Chen, Fei; Barlage, Michael; Zhou, Guangsheng; Niyogi, Dev

2016-12-01

Croplands are important in land-atmosphere interactions and in the modification of local and regional weather and climate; however, they are poorly represented in the current version of the coupled Weather Research and Forecasting/Noah with multiparameterization (Noah-MP) land surface modeling system. This study introduced dynamic corn (Zea mays) and soybean (Glycine max) growth simulations and field management (e.g., planting date) into Noah-MP and evaluated the enhanced model (Noah-MP-Crop) at field scales using crop biomass data sets, surface heat fluxes, and soil moisture observations. Compared to the generic dynamic vegetation and prescribed-leaf area index (LAI)-driven methods in Noah-MP, the Noah-MP-Crop showed improved performance in simulating leaf area index (LAI) and crop biomass. This model is able to capture the seasonal and annual variability of LAI and to differentiate corn and soybean in peak values of LAI as well as the length of growing seasons. Improved simulations of crop phenology in Noah-MP-Crop led to better surface heat flux simulations, especially in the early period of growing season where current Noah-MP significantly overestimated LAI. The addition of crop yields as model outputs expand the application of Noah-MP-Crop to regional agriculture studies. There are limitations in the use of current growing degree days (GDD) criteria to predict growth stages, and it is necessary to develop a new method that combines GDD with other environmental factors, to more accurately define crop growth stages. The capability introduced in Noah-MP allows further crop-related studies and development.

Research in the application of spectral data to crop identification and assessment, volume 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Daughtry, C. S. T. (Principal Investigator); Hixson, M. M.; Bauer, M. E.

1980-01-01

The development of spectrometry crop development stage models is discussed with emphasis on models for corn and soybeans. One photothermal and four thermal meteorological models are evaluated. Spectral data were investigated as a source of information for crop yield models. Intercepted solar radiation and soil productivity are identified as factors related to yield which can be estimated from spectral data. Several techniques for machine classification of remotely sensed data for crop inventory were evaluated. Early season estimation, training procedures, the relationship of scene characteristics to classification performance, and full frame classification methods were studied. The optimal level for combining area and yield estimates of corn and soybeans is assessed utilizing current technology: digital analysis of LANDSAT MSS data on sample segments to provide area estimates and regression models to provide yield estimates.

Soybean Physiology Calibration in the Community Land Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drewniak, B. A.; Bilionis, I.; Constantinescu, E. M.

2014-12-01

With the large influence of agricultural land use on biophysical and biogeochemical cycles, integrating cultivation into Earth System Models (ESMs) is increasingly important. The Community Land Model (CLM) was augmented with a CLM-Crop extension that simulates the development of three crop types: maize, soybean, and spring wheat. The CLM-Crop model is a complex system that relies on a suite of parametric inputs that govern plant growth under a given atmospheric forcing and available resources. However, the strong nonlinearity of ESMs makes parameter fitting a difficult task. In this study, our goal is to calibrate ten of the CLM-Crop parameters for one crop type, soybean, in order to improve model projection of plant development and carbon fluxes. We used measurements of gross primary productivity, net ecosystem exchange, and plant biomass from AmeriFlux sites to choose parameter values that optimize crop productivity in the model. Calibration is performed in a Bayesian framework by developing a scalable and adaptive scheme based on sequential Monte Carlo (SMC). Our scheme can perform model calibration using very few evaluations and, by exploiting parallelism, at a fraction of the time required by plain vanilla Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). We present the results from a twin experiment (self-validation) and calibration results and validation using real observations from an AmeriFlux tower site in the Midwestern United States, for the soybean crop type. The improved model will help researchers understand how climate affects crop production and resulting carbon fluxes, and additionally, how cultivation impacts climate.

Gene Discovery and Advances in Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Genomics-An Important Nutri-Cereal of Future.

PubMed

Sood, Salej; Kumar, Anil; Babu, B Kalyana; Gaur, Vikram S; Pandey, Dinesh; Kant, Lakshmi; Pattnayak, Arunava

2016-01-01

The rapid strides in molecular marker technologies followed by genomics, and next generation sequencing advancements in three major crops (rice, maize and wheat) of the world have given opportunities for their use in the orphan, but highly valuable future crops, including finger millet [ Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.]. Finger millet has many special agronomic and nutritional characteristics, which make it an indispensable crop in arid, semi-arid, hilly and tribal areas of India and Africa. The crop has proven its adaptability in harsh conditions and has shown resilience to climate change. The adaptability traits of finger millet have shown the advantage over major cereal grains under stress conditions, revealing it as a storehouse of important genomic resources for crop improvement. Although new technologies for genomic studies are now available, progress in identifying and tapping these important alleles or genes is lacking. RAPDs were the default choice for genetic diversity studies in the crop until the last decade, but the subsequent development of SSRs and comparative genomics paved the way for the marker assisted selection in finger millet. Resistance gene homologs from NBS-LRR region of finger millet for blast and sequence variants for nutritional traits from other cereals have been developed and used invariably. Population structure analysis studies exhibit 2-4 sub-populations in the finger millet gene pool with separate grouping of Indian and exotic genotypes. Recently, the omics technologies have been efficiently applied to understand the nutritional variation, drought tolerance and gene mining. Progress has also occurred with respect to transgenics development. This review presents the current biotechnological advancements along with research gaps and future perspective of genomic research in finger millet.

Gene Discovery and Advances in Finger Millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] Genomics—An Important Nutri-Cereal of Future

PubMed Central

Sood, Salej; Kumar, Anil; Babu, B. Kalyana; Gaur, Vikram S.; Pandey, Dinesh; Kant, Lakshmi; Pattnayak, Arunava

2016-01-01

The rapid strides in molecular marker technologies followed by genomics, and next generation sequencing advancements in three major crops (rice, maize and wheat) of the world have given opportunities for their use in the orphan, but highly valuable future crops, including finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.]. Finger millet has many special agronomic and nutritional characteristics, which make it an indispensable crop in arid, semi-arid, hilly and tribal areas of India and Africa. The crop has proven its adaptability in harsh conditions and has shown resilience to climate change. The adaptability traits of finger millet have shown the advantage over major cereal grains under stress conditions, revealing it as a storehouse of important genomic resources for crop improvement. Although new technologies for genomic studies are now available, progress in identifying and tapping these important alleles or genes is lacking. RAPDs were the default choice for genetic diversity studies in the crop until the last decade, but the subsequent development of SSRs and comparative genomics paved the way for the marker assisted selection in finger millet. Resistance gene homologs from NBS-LRR region of finger millet for blast and sequence variants for nutritional traits from other cereals have been developed and used invariably. Population structure analysis studies exhibit 2–4 sub-populations in the finger millet gene pool with separate grouping of Indian and exotic genotypes. Recently, the omics technologies have been efficiently applied to understand the nutritional variation, drought tolerance and gene mining. Progress has also occurred with respect to transgenics development. This review presents the current biotechnological advancements along with research gaps and future perspective of genomic research in finger millet. PMID:27881984

Overview of the dairy and food processing research conducted at the Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit, ERRC, and research to develop sustainable food processes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The DFFRU is dedicated to solving critical problems in the utilization of milk and specialty crop byproducts by developing high-quality, value-added functional foods and consumer products. The presentation will give an overview of the research projects that will benefit human health and well-being. ...

Systems Based Approaches for Conversion of Biomass to Bioenergy and Bioproducts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taylor, Steve; McDonald, Timothy; Adhikari, Sushil

The research provided data on applicability of agricultural energy crops and forest biomass production and logistics models. While much of the overall research effort was focused on lignocellulosic feedstocks, the research also recognized that there are important opportunities for the production and use of starch-based agricultural crops to serve as alternative regionally-appropriate biofuel feedstocks. Also, the research identified fractionation techniques that can be used to separate biomass feedstocks into their basic chemical constituents and then streamline the biorefining industry by developing commodity products for cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Finally, models and techniques were developed to determine economically feasible technologies formore » production of biomass-derived synthesis gases that can be used for clean, renewable power generation and for production of liquid transportation fuels through Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis. Moreover, this research program educated the next generation of engineers and scientists needed to implement these technologies.« less

A summary of the history of the development of automated remote sensing for agricultural applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Macdonald, R. B.

1984-01-01

An historical account is given of the development of technology for the processing of satellite-acquired multispectral data aimed at the identification of the type, condition, and ontogenic stages of agricultural areas. During 1972 and 1973, research established the feasibility of automating digital classification for the processing of large volumes of Landsat MSS data. This capability was successfully demonstrated during the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment, which estimated wheat crop production on a global basis. This achievement in turn led to the Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing, which investigated other portions of the electromagnetic spectrum and expanded the study of key commercial crops in important agricultural areas.

Consensus, uncertainties and challenges for perennial bioenergy crops and land use.

PubMed

Whitaker, Jeanette; Field, John L; Bernacchi, Carl J; Cerri, Carlos E P; Ceulemans, Reinhart; Davies, Christian A; DeLucia, Evan H; Donnison, Iain S; McCalmont, Jon P; Paustian, Keith; Rowe, Rebecca L; Smith, Pete; Thornley, Patricia; McNamara, Niall P

2018-03-01

Perennial bioenergy crops have significant potential to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation by substituting for fossil fuels; yet delivering significant GHG savings will require substantial land-use change, globally. Over the last decade, research has delivered improved understanding of the environmental benefits and risks of this transition to perennial bioenergy crops, addressing concerns that the impacts of land conversion to perennial bioenergy crops could result in increased rather than decreased GHG emissions. For policymakers to assess the most cost-effective and sustainable options for deployment and climate change mitigation, synthesis of these studies is needed to support evidence-based decision making. In 2015, a workshop was convened with researchers, policymakers and industry/business representatives from the UK, EU and internationally. Outcomes from global research on bioenergy land-use change were compared to identify areas of consensus, key uncertainties, and research priorities. Here, we discuss the strength of evidence for and against six consensus statements summarising the effects of land-use change to perennial bioenergy crops on the cycling of carbon, nitrogen and water, in the context of the whole life-cycle of bioenergy production. Our analysis suggests that the direct impacts of dedicated perennial bioenergy crops on soil carbon and nitrous oxide are increasingly well understood and are often consistent with significant life cycle GHG mitigation from bioenergy relative to conventional energy sources. We conclude that the GHG balance of perennial bioenergy crop cultivation will often be favourable, with maximum GHG savings achieved where crops are grown on soils with low carbon stocks and conservative nutrient application, accruing additional environmental benefits such as improved water quality. The analysis reported here demonstrates there is a mature and increasingly comprehensive evidence base on the environmental benefits and risks of bioenergy cultivation which can support the development of a sustainable bioenergy industry.

Spatial diversification of agroecosystems to enhance biological control and other regulating services: An agroecological perspective.

PubMed

Hatt, Séverin; Boeraeve, Fanny; Artru, Sidonie; Dufrêne, Marc; Francis, Frédéric

2018-04-15

Spatial diversification of crop and non-crop habitats in farming systems is promising for enhancing natural regulation of insect pests. Nevertheless, results from recent syntheses show variable effects. One explanation is that the abundance and diversity of pests and natural enemies are affected by the composition, design and management of crop and non-crop habitats. Moreover, interactions between both local and landscape elements and practices carried out at different spatial scales may affect the regulation of insect pests. Hence, research is being conducted to understand these interdependencies. However, insects are not the only pests and pests are not the only elements to regulate in agroecosystems. Broadening the scope could allow addressing multiple issues simultaneously, but also solving them together by enhancing synergies. Indeed, spatial diversification of crop and non-crop habitats can allow addressing the issues of weeds and pathogens, along with being beneficial to several other regulating services like pollination, soil conservation and nutrient cycling. Although calls rise to develop multifunctional landscapes that optimize the delivery of multiple ecosystem services, it still represents a scientific challenge today. Enhancing interdisciplinarity in research institutions and building interrelations between scientists and stakeholders may help reach this goal. Despite obstacles, positive results from research based on such innovative approaches are encouraging for engaging science in this path. Hence, the aim of the present paper is to offer an update on these issues by exploring the most recent findings and discussing these results to highlight needs for future research. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The GCP molecular marker toolkit, an instrument for use in breeding food security crops.

PubMed

Van Damme, Veerle; Gómez-Paniagua, Humberto; de Vicente, M Carmen

2011-12-01

Crop genetic resources carry variation useful for overcoming the challenges of modern agriculture. Molecular markers can facilitate the selection of agronomically important traits. The pervasiveness of genomics research has led to an overwhelming number of publications and databases, which are, nevertheless, scattered and hence often difficult for plant breeders to access, particularly those in developing countries. This situation separates them from developed countries, which have better endowed programs for developing varieties. To close this growing knowledge gap, we conducted an intensive literature review and consulted with more than 150 crop experts on the use of molecular markers in the breeding program of 19 food security crops. The result was a list of effectively used and highly reproducible sequence tagged site (STS), simple sequence repeat (SSR), single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), and sequence characterized amplified region (SCAR) markers. However, only 12 food crops had molecular markers suitable for improvement. That is, marker-assisted selection is not yet used for Musa spp., coconut, lentils, millets, pigeonpea, sweet potato, and yam. For the other 12 crops, 214 molecular markers were found to be effectively used in association with 74 different traits. Results were compiled as the GCP Molecular Marker Toolkit, a free online tool that aims to promote the adoption of molecular approaches in breeding activities.

Heat stress regimes for the investigation of pollen thermotolerance in crop plants.

PubMed

Mesihovic, Anida; Iannacone, Rina; Firon, Nurit; Fragkostefanakis, Sotirios

2016-06-01

Pollen thermotolerance. Global warming is predicted to increase the frequency and severity of extreme weather phenomena such as heat waves thereby posing a major threat for crop productivity and food security. The yield in case of most crop species is dependent on the success of reproductive development. Pollen development has been shown to be highly sensitive to elevated temperatures while the development of the female gametophyte as well as sporophytic tissues might also be disturbed under mild or severe heat stress conditions. Therefore, assessing pollen thermotolerance is currently of high interest for geneticists, plant biologists and breeders. A key aspect in pollen thermotolerance studies is the selection of the appropriate heat stress regime, the developmental stage that the stress is applied to, as well as the method of application. Literature search reveals a rather high variability in heat stress treatments mainly due to the lack of standardized protocols for different plant species. In this review, we summarize and discuss experimental approaches that have been used in various crops, with special focus on tomato, rice and wheat, as the best studied crops regarding pollen thermotolerance. The overview of stress treatments and the major outcomes of each study aim to provide guidelines for similar research in other crops.

Considerations in miniaturizing simplified agro-ecosystems for advanced life support

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Volk, T.

1996-01-01

Miniaturizing the Earth's biogeochemical cycles to support human life during future space missions is the goal of the NASA research and engineering program in advanced life support. Mission requirements to reduce mass, volume, and power have focused efforts on (1) a maximally simplified agro-ecosystem of humans, food crops, and microbes; and, (2) a design for optimized productivity of food crops with high light levels over long days, with hydroponics, with elevated carbon dioxide and other controlled environmental factors, as well as with genetic selection for desirable crop properties. Mathematical modeling contributes to the goals by establishing trade-offs, by analyzing the growth and development of experimental crops, and by pointing to the possibilities of directed phasic control using modified field crop models to increase the harvest index.

Vulnerability of Bread-Baskets to Weather Shocks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerber, J. S.; Ray, D. K.; West, P. C.; Foley, J. A.

2013-12-01

Many analyses of food security consider broad trends in food supply (crop production, crop use) and demand (changing diets, population growth.) However, if past shocks to the food system due to weather events (i.e. droughts) were to repeat themselves today, the resulting famines could be far more serious due to increased concentration of grain production in vulnerable bread-baskets, and decreased resilience of global and regional food systems (i.e. lower stocks, dependence on fewer crops). The present research project takes advantage of high-resolution historical weather datasets to assess probabilities of historically observed droughts repeating themselves in one or more of today's bread-basket regions. Using recently developed relationships between weather and crop yield, we consider the likelihood of region-wide crop failures under current conditions, and also under various climate scenarios.

Considerations in miniaturizing simplified agro-ecosystems for advanced life support.

PubMed

Volk, T

1996-01-01

Miniaturizing the Earth's biogeochemical cycles to support human life during future space missions is the goal of the NASA research and engineering program in advanced life support. Mission requirements to reduce mass, volume, and power have focused efforts on (1) a maximally simplified agro-ecosystem of humans, food crops, and microbes; and, (2) a design for optimized productivity of food crops with high light levels over long days, with hydroponics, with elevated carbon dioxide and other controlled environmental factors, as well as with genetic selection for desirable crop properties. Mathematical modeling contributes to the goals by establishing trade-offs, by analyzing the growth and development of experimental crops, and by pointing to the possibilities of directed phasic control using modified field crop models to increase the harvest index.

iPot: Improved potato monitoring in Belgium using remote sensing and crop growth modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Piccard, Isabelle; Gobin, Anne; Curnel, Yannick; Goffart, Jean-Pierre; Planchon, Viviane; Wellens, Joost; Tychon, Bernard; Cattoor, Nele; Cools, Romain

2016-04-01

Potato processors, traders and packers largely work with potato contracts. The close follow up of contracted parcels is important to improve the quantity and quality of the crop and reduce risks related to storage, packaging or processing. The use of geo-information by the sector is limited, notwithstanding the great benefits that this type of information may offer. At the same time, new sensor-based technologies continue to gain importance and farmers increasingly invest in these. The combination of geo-information and crop modelling might strengthen the competitiveness of the Belgian potato chain in a global market. The iPot project, financed by the Belgian Science Policy Office (Belspo), aims at providing the Belgian potato processing sector, represented by Belgapom, with near real time information on field condition (weather-soil), crop development and yield estimates, derived from a combination of satellite images and crop growth models. During the cropping season regular UAV flights (RGB, 3x3 cm) and high resolution satellite images (DMC/Deimos, 22m pixel size) were combined to elucidate crop phenology and performance at variety trials. UAV images were processed using a K-means clustering algorithm to classify the crop according to its greenness at 5m resolution. Vegetation indices such as %Cover and LAI were calculated with the Cyclopes algorithm (INRA-EMMAH) on the DMC images. Both DMC and UAV-based cover maps showed similar patterns, and helped detect different crop stages during the season. A wide spread field monitoring campaign with crop observations and measurements allowed for further calibration of the satellite image derived vegetation indices. Curve fitting techniques and phenological models were developed and compared with the vegetation indices during the season, both at trials and farmers' fields. Understanding and predicting crop phenology and canopy development is important for timely crop management and ultimately for yield estimates. An intuitive web-based geo-information platform is developed to allow both the industry and the research centres to access, analyse and combine the data with their own field observations for improved decision-making.

Applications and challenges of next-generation sequencing in Brassica species.

PubMed

Wei, Lijuan; Xiao, Meili; Hayward, Alice; Fu, Donghui

2013-12-01

Next-generation sequencing (NGS) produces numerous (often millions) short DNA sequence reads, typically varying between 25 and 400 bp in length, at a relatively low cost and in a short time. This revolutionary technology is being increasingly applied in whole-genome, transcriptome, epigenome and small RNA sequencing, molecular marker and gene discovery, comparative and evolutionary genomics, and association studies. The Brassica genus comprises some of the most agro-economically important crops, providing abundant vegetables, condiments, fodder, oil and medicinal products. Many Brassica species have undergone the process of polyploidization, which makes their genomes exceptionally complex and can create difficulties in genomics research. NGS injects new vigor into Brassica research, yet also faces specific challenges in the analysis of complex crop genomes and traits. In this article, we review the advantages and limitations of different NGS technologies and their applications and challenges, using Brassica as an advanced model system for agronomically important, polyploid crops. Specifically, we focus on the use of NGS for genome resequencing, transcriptome sequencing, development of single-nucleotide polymorphism markers, and identification of novel microRNAs and their targets. We present trends and advances in NGS technology in relation to Brassica crop improvement, with wide application for sophisticated genomics research into agronomically important polyploid crops.

A systematic review of rodent pest research in Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming systems: Are we asking the right questions?

PubMed

Swanepoel, Lourens H; Swanepoel, Corrie M; Brown, Peter R; Eiseb, Seth J; Goodman, Steven M; Keith, Mark; Kirsten, Frikkie; Leirs, Herwig; Mahlaba, Themb'alilahlwa A M; Makundi, Rhodes H; Malebane, Phanuel; von Maltitz, Emil F; Massawe, Apia W; Monadjem, Ara; Mulungu, Loth S; Singleton, Grant R; Taylor, Peter J; Soarimalala, Voahangy; Belmain, Steven R

2017-01-01

Rodent pests are especially problematic in terms of agriculture and public health since they can inflict considerable economic damage associated with their abundance, diversity, generalist feeding habits and high reproductive rates. To quantify rodent pest impacts and identify trends in rodent pest research impacting on small-holder agriculture in the Afro-Malagasy region we did a systematic review of research outputs from 1910 to 2015, by developing an a priori defined set of criteria to allow for replication of the review process. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We reviewed 162 publications, and while rodent pest research was spatially distributed across Africa (32 countries, including Madagascar), there was a disparity in number of studies per country with research biased towards four countries (Tanzania [25%], Nigeria [9%], Ethiopia [9%], Kenya [8%]) accounting for 51% of all rodent pest research in the Afro-Malagasy region. There was a disparity in the research themes addressed by Tanzanian publications compared to publications from the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region where research in Tanzania had a much more applied focus (50%) compared to a more basic research approach (92%) in the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region. We found that pest rodents have a significant negative effect on the Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming communities. Crop losses varied between cropping stages, storage and crops and the highest losses occurred during early cropping stages (46% median loss during seedling stage) and the mature stage (15% median loss). There was a scarcity of studies investigating the effectiveness of various management actions on rodent pest damage and population abundance. Our analysis highlights that there are inadequate empirical studies focused on developing sustainable control methods for rodent pests and rodent pests in the Africa-Malagasy context is generally ignored as a research topic.

A systematic review of rodent pest research in Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming systems: Are we asking the right questions?

PubMed Central

Swanepoel, Corrie M.; Brown, Peter R.; Eiseb, Seth J.; Goodman, Steven M.; Keith, Mark; Kirsten, Frikkie; Leirs, Herwig; Mahlaba, Themb’alilahlwa A. M.; Makundi, Rhodes H.; Malebane, Phanuel; von Maltitz, Emil F.; Massawe, Apia W.; Monadjem, Ara; Mulungu, Loth S.; Singleton, Grant R.; Taylor, Peter J.; Soarimalala, Voahangy; Belmain, Steven R.

2017-01-01

Rodent pests are especially problematic in terms of agriculture and public health since they can inflict considerable economic damage associated with their abundance, diversity, generalist feeding habits and high reproductive rates. To quantify rodent pest impacts and identify trends in rodent pest research impacting on small-holder agriculture in the Afro-Malagasy region we did a systematic review of research outputs from 1910 to 2015, by developing an a priori defined set of criteria to allow for replication of the review process. We followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We reviewed 162 publications, and while rodent pest research was spatially distributed across Africa (32 countries, including Madagascar), there was a disparity in number of studies per country with research biased towards four countries (Tanzania [25%], Nigeria [9%], Ethiopia [9%], Kenya [8%]) accounting for 51% of all rodent pest research in the Afro-Malagasy region. There was a disparity in the research themes addressed by Tanzanian publications compared to publications from the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region where research in Tanzania had a much more applied focus (50%) compared to a more basic research approach (92%) in the rest of the Afro-Malagasy region. We found that pest rodents have a significant negative effect on the Afro-Malagasy small-holder farming communities. Crop losses varied between cropping stages, storage and crops and the highest losses occurred during early cropping stages (46% median loss during seedling stage) and the mature stage (15% median loss). There was a scarcity of studies investigating the effectiveness of various management actions on rodent pest damage and population abundance. Our analysis highlights that there are inadequate empirical studies focused on developing sustainable control methods for rodent pests and rodent pests in the Africa-Malagasy context is generally ignored as a research topic. PMID:28358899

Development of feedstocks for cellulosic biofuels

PubMed Central

Somerville, Chris

2012-01-01

The inclusion of cellulosic ethanol in the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007 and the revised Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) has spurred development of the first commercial scale cellulosic ethanol biorefineries. These efforts have also revived interest in the development of dedicated energy crops selected for biomass productivity and for properties that facilitate conversion of biomass to liquid fuels. While many aspects of developing these feedstocks are compatible with current agricultural activities, improving biomass productivity may provide opportunities to expand the potential for biofuel production beyond the classical research objectives associated with improving traditional food and feed crops. PMID:22615716

Dairy and functional foods research in the Agricultural Research Service

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The Dairy and Functional Foods Research Unit is the only group in the Agricultural Research Service that is dedicated to solving critical problems in milk utilization and fruit and vegetable byproducts from specialty crops. The many areas of investigation include development of specialty cheese, c...

The Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM): Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Inter-Comparison Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dingle Robertson, L.; Hosseini, M.; Davidson, A. M.; McNairn, H.

2017-12-01

The Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring (JECAM) is the research and development branch of GEOGLAM (Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring), a G20 initiative to improve the global monitoring of agriculture through the use of Earth Observation (EO) data and remote sensing. JECAM partners represent a diverse network of researchers collaborating towards a set of best practices and recommendations for global agricultural analysis using EO data, with well monitored test sites covering a wide range of agriculture types, cropping systems and climate regimes. Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) for crop inventory and condition monitoring offers many advantages particularly the ability to collect data under cloudy conditions. The JECAM SAR Inter-Comparison Experiment is a multi-year, multi-partner project that aims to compare global methods for (1) operational SAR & optical; multi-frequency SAR; and compact polarimetry methods for crop monitoring and inventory, and (2) the retrieval of Leaf Area Index (LAI) and biomass estimations using models such as the Water Cloud Model (WCM) employing single frequency SAR; multi-frequency SAR; and compact polarimetry. The results from these activities will be discussed along with an examination of the requirements of a global experiment including best-date determination for SAR data acquisition, pre-processing techniques, in situ data sharing, model development and statistical inter-comparison of the results.

[Cultivation and environmental impacts of GMO crops].

PubMed

Pelletier, Georges

2009-01-01

Transgenic plant varieties are grown since 1996 on surfaces increasing each year. They covered 114 million hectares worldwide in 2007, which shows their success among the farmers in developed as well as developing countries, despite the propaganda campaigns of the environmental movements and advocates of decline. The first transgenic crops (soybean, corn, coton and rapeseed) offer benefits in terms of health, economy and environment. Europe and especially France, which reject this technology, sentence their research to death and penalize their agriculture.

Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide

PubMed Central

Achicanoy, Harold A.; Bjorkman, Anne D.; Navarro-Racines, Carlos; Guarino, Luigi; Flores-Palacios, Ximena; Engels, Johannes M. M.; Wiersema, John H.; Dempewolf, Hannes; Sotelo, Steven; Ramírez-Villegas, Julian; Castañeda-Álvarez, Nora P.; Fowler, Cary; Jarvis, Andy; Rieseberg, Loren H.; Struik, Paul C.

2016-01-01

Research into the origins of food plants has led to the recognition that specific geographical regions around the world have been of particular importance to the development of agricultural crops. Yet the relative contributions of these different regions in the context of current food systems have not been quantified. Here we determine the origins (‘primary regions of diversity’) of the crops comprising the food supplies and agricultural production of countries worldwide. We estimate the degree to which countries use crops from regions of diversity other than their own (‘foreign crops’), and quantify changes in this usage over the past 50 years. Countries are highly interconnected with regard to primary regions of diversity of the crops they cultivate and/or consume. Foreign crops are extensively used in food supplies (68.7% of national food supplies as a global mean are derived from foreign crops) and production systems (69.3% of crops grown are foreign). Foreign crop usage has increased significantly over the past 50 years, including in countries with high indigenous crop diversity. The results provide a novel perspective on the ongoing globalization of food systems worldwide, and bolster evidence for the importance of international collaboration on genetic resource conservation and exchange.

Research for Environmental Stewardship and Conservation at the APTRU

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research methods for mitigation of off-target spray drift, remote sensing for precision crop management, and irrigation and tillage methods are presented. Research for mitigation of off target spray drift includes development of sophisticated weather apparatus to determine weather conditions unfavor...

Climate Change for Agriculture, Forest Cover and 3d Urban Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kapoor, M.; Bassir, D.

2014-11-01

This research demonstrates the important role of the remote sensing in finding out the different parameters behind the agricultural crop change, forest cover and urban 3D models. Standalone software is developed to view and analysis the different factors effecting the change in crop productions. Open-source libraries from the Open Source Geospatial Foundation have been used for the development of the shape-file viewer. Software can be used to get the attribute information, scale, zoom in/out and pan the shapefiles. Environmental changes due to pollution and population that are increasing the urbanisation and decreasing the forest cover on the earth. Satellite imagery such as Landsat 5(1984) to Landsat TRIS/8 (2014), Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) and NDVI are used to analyse the different parameters that are effecting the agricultural crop production change and forest change. It is advisable for the development of good quality of NDVI and forest cover maps to use data collected from the same processing methods for the complete region. Management practices have been developed from the analysed data for the betterment of the crop and saving the forest cover

Evaporation from irrigated crops: Its measurement, modeling and estimation from remotely sensed data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garatuza-Payan, Jaime

The research described in this dissertation is predicated on the hypothesis that remotely sensed information from climatological satellites can be used to estimate the actual evapotranspiration from agricultural crops to improve irrigation scheduling and water use efficiency. The goal of the enabling research program described here was to facilitate and demonstrate the potential use of satellite data for the rapid and routine estimation of water use by irrigated crops in the Yaqui Valley irrigation scheme, an extensive irrigated area in Sonora, Mexico. The approach taken was first, to measure and model the evapotranspiration and crop factors for wheat and cotton, the most common irrigated crops in the Yaqui Valley scheme. Second, to develop and test a high-resolution (4 km x 4 km) method for determining cloud cover and solar radiation from GOES satellite data. Then third, to demonstrate the application of satellite data to calculate the actual evaporation for sample crops in the Yaqui Valley scheme by combining estimates of potential rate with relevant crop factors and information on crop management. Results show that it is feasible to provide routine estimates of evaporation for the most common crops in the Yaqui Valley irrigation scheme from satellite data. Accordingly, a system to provide such estimates has been established and the Water Users Association, the entity responsible for water distribution in Yaqui Valley, can now use them to decide whether specific fields need irrigation. A Web site (teka-pucem.itson.mx) is also being created which will allow individual farmers to have direct access to the evaporation estimates via the Internet.

Network Candidate Genes in Breeding for Drought Tolerant Crops

PubMed Central

Krannich, Christoph Tim; Maletzki, Lisa; Kurowsky, Christina; Horn, Renate

2015-01-01

Climate change leading to increased periods of low water availability as well as increasing demands for food in the coming years makes breeding for drought tolerant crops a high priority. Plants have developed diverse strategies and mechanisms to survive drought stress. However, most of these represent drought escape or avoidance strategies like early flowering or low stomatal conductance that are not applicable in breeding for crops with high yields under drought conditions. Even though a great deal of research is ongoing, especially in cereals, in this regard, not all mechanisms involved in drought tolerance are yet understood. The identification of candidate genes for drought tolerance that have a high potential to be used for breeding drought tolerant crops represents a challenge. Breeding for drought tolerant crops has to focus on acceptable yields under water-limited conditions and not on survival. However, as more and more knowledge about the complex networks and the cross talk during drought is available, more options are revealed. In addition, it has to be considered that conditioning a crop for drought tolerance might require the production of metabolites and might cost the plants energy and resources that cannot be used in terms of yield. Recent research indicates that yield penalty exists and efficient breeding for drought tolerant crops with acceptable yields under well-watered and drought conditions might require uncoupling yield penalty from drought tolerance. PMID:26193269

Network Candidate Genes in Breeding for Drought Tolerant Crops.

PubMed

Krannich, Christoph Tim; Maletzki, Lisa; Kurowsky, Christina; Horn, Renate

2015-07-17

Climate change leading to increased periods of low water availability as well as increasing demands for food in the coming years makes breeding for drought tolerant crops a high priority. Plants have developed diverse strategies and mechanisms to survive drought stress. However, most of these represent drought escape or avoidance strategies like early flowering or low stomatal conductance that are not applicable in breeding for crops with high yields under drought conditions. Even though a great deal of research is ongoing, especially in cereals, in this regard, not all mechanisms involved in drought tolerance are yet understood. The identification of candidate genes for drought tolerance that have a high potential to be used for breeding drought tolerant crops represents a challenge. Breeding for drought tolerant crops has to focus on acceptable yields under water-limited conditions and not on survival. However, as more and more knowledge about the complex networks and the cross talk during drought is available, more options are revealed. In addition, it has to be considered that conditioning a crop for drought tolerance might require the production of metabolites and might cost the plants energy and resources that cannot be used in terms of yield. Recent research indicates that yield penalty exists and efficient breeding for drought tolerant crops with acceptable yields under well-watered and drought conditions might require uncoupling yield penalty from drought tolerance.

[Soil quality assessment under different cropping system and straw management in farmland of arid oasis region].

PubMed

Zhang, Peng Peng; Pu, Xiao Zhen; Zhang, Wang Feng

2018-03-01

To reveal the regulatory mechanism of agricultural management practices on soil quality, an experiment was carried out to study the different cropping system and straw management on soil organic carbon and fractions and soil enzyme activity in farmland of arid oasis region, which would provide a scientific basic for enhancing agricultural resources utilization and sustainable development. In crop planting planning area, we took the mainly crop (cotton, wheat, maize) as research objects and designed long-term continues cropping and crop rotation experiments. The results showed that the soil organic carbon (SOC), soil microbial biomass C, labile C, water-soluble organic C, and hot-water-soluble organic C content were increased by 3.6%-9.9%, 41.8%-98.9%, 3.3%-17.0%, 11.1%-32.4%, 4.6%-27.5% by crop rotation compared to continues cropping, and 12%-35.9%, 22.4%-49.7%, 30.7%-51.0%, 10.6%-31.9%, 41.0%-96.4% by straw incorporated compared to straw removed, respectively. The soil catalase, dehydrogenase, β-glucosidase, invertase glucose, cellulase glucose activity were increased by 6.4%-10.9%, 6.6%-18.8%, 5.9%-15.3%, 10.0%-27.4%, 28.1%-37.5% by crop rotation compared to continues cropping, and 31.4%-47.5%, 19.9%-46.6%, 13.8%-20.7%, 19.8%-55.6%, 54.1%-70.9% by straw incorporated compared to straw removed, respectively. There were significant positive linear correlations among SOC, labile SOC fractions and soil enzyme. Therefore, we concluded that labile SOC fractions and soil enzyme were effective index for evaluating the change of SOC and soil quality. Based on factor analysis, in arid region, developing agricultural production using cropland management measures, such as straw-incorporated and combined short-term continues cotton and crop rotation, could enhance SOC and labile SOC fractions contents and soil enzyme activity, which could improve soil quality and be conducive to agricultural sustainable development.

The importance of long‐term experiments in agriculture: their management to ensure continued crop production and soil fertility; the Rothamsted experience

PubMed Central

Johnston, A. E.

2018-01-01

Summary Long‐term field experiments that test a range of treatments and are intended to assess the sustainability of crop production, and thus food security, must be managed actively to identify any treatment that is failing to maintain or increase yields. Once identified, carefully considered changes can be made to the treatment or management, and if they are successful yields will change. If suitable changes cannot be made to an experiment to ensure its continued relevance to sustainable crop production, then it should be stopped. Long‐term experiments have many other uses. They provide a field resource and samples for research on plant and soil processes and properties, especially those properties where change occurs slowly and affects soil fertility. Archived samples of all inputs and outputs are an invaluable source of material for future research, and data from current and archived samples can be used to develop models to describe soil and plant processes. Such changes and uses in the Rothamsted experiments are described, and demonstrate that with the appropriate crop, soil and management, acceptable yields can be maintained for many years, with either organic manure or inorganic fertilizers. Highlights Long‐term experiments demonstrate sustainability and increases in crop yield when managed to optimize soil fertility.Shifting individual response curves into coincidence increases understanding of the factors involved.Changes in inorganic and organic pollutants in archived crop and soil samples are related to inputs over time.Models describing soil processes are developed from current and archived soil data. PMID:29527119

Cowpea: a legume crop for a challenging environment.

PubMed

Carvalho, Márcia; Lino-Neto, Teresa; Rosa, Eduardo; Carnide, Valdemar

2017-10-01

Cowpea is a grain legume native from Africa and is a primary source of protein for millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa and other parts of the developing world. The main important characteristics of this crop include a good protein quality with a high nutritional value, its nitrogen-fixing ability, and an ability to be more drought- and heat-tolerant than most of its legume relatives. In a research perspective, studies of cowpea are relatively scarce, despite its relevance to agriculture in the developing world and its resilience to stress. The present review provides an overview of different aspects of cowpea, with a special emphasis on the molecular markers for assessing genetic diversity, as well as on biochemical and transcriptomic data with respect to evaluating cowpea drought stress tolerance. The integration of both datasets will be useful for the improvement of cowpea because research on drought stress tolerance is of major interest for this crop in a challenging environment. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

Analysis of scanner data for crop inventories

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horvath, R. (Principal Investigator); Cicone, R. C.; Kauth, R. J.; Malila, W. A.

1981-01-01

Progress and technical issues are reported in the development of corn/soybeans area estimation procedures for use on data from South America, with particular emphasis on Argentina. Aspects related to the supporting research section of the AgRISTARS Project discussed include: (1) multisegment corn/soybean estimation; (2) through the season separability of corn and soybeans within the U.S. corn belt; (3) TTS estimation; (4) insights derived from the baseline corn and soybean procedure; (5) small fields research; and (6) simulating the spectral appearance of wheat as a function of its growth and development. To assist the foreign commodity production forecasting, the performance of the baseline corn/soybean procedure was analyzed and the procedure modified. Fundamental limitations were found in the existing guidelines for discriminating these two crops. The temporal and spectral characteristics of corn and soybeans must be determined because other crops grow with them in Argentina. The state of software technology is assessed and the use of profile techniques for estimation is considered.

Diseases and their management strategies take top research priority in watermelon research and development group member’s survey

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Watermelon is an important crop grown for its delicious fruit in the U.S. and in many countries across the world. A survey of members of Watermelon Research and Development Group (WRDG) was conducted via email and during WRDG meetings in 2014 and 2015 in an effort to identify and rank important rese...

[Cropping system and research strategies in Panax ginseng].

PubMed

Shen, Liang; Xu, Jiang; Dong, Lin-lin; Li, Xi-wen; Chen, Shi-lin

2015-09-01

Panax ginseng is the king of herbs and plays important roles in the traditional Chinese medicine industry. In this paper, we summarized the development of ginseng cultivation in China and other main countries, analyzed the effects of ecological factors of soil and climate on ginseng distribution, and investigated the characteristic of main cultivation patterns (conversion of forest to cultivate ginseng soils, cultivated ginseng in the farmland and wild nursery). Aimed at the serious issues in the cultivation, research strategies have been provided to guarantee the sustainable development of the ginseng industry. The patterns of cultivated ginseng in the farmland should be strive to develop; pollution-free cultivation and studies of continuous cropping obstacles should be carried out; ginseng varieties suited to ecological environment of farmland should be bred using modern biotechnology.

Efforts Toward an Early Warning Crop Monitor for Countries at Risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Budde, M. E.; Verdin, J. P.; Barker, B.; Humber, M. L.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. O.; Magadzire, T.; Galu, G.; Rodriguez, M.; Jayanthi, H.

2015-12-01

Assessing crop growing conditions is a crucial aspect of monitoring food security in the developing world. One of the core components of the Group on Earth Observations - Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) targets monitoring Countries at Risk (component 3). The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) has a long history of utilizing remote sensing and crop modeling to address food security threats in the form of drought, floods, pest infestation, and climate change in some of the world's most at risk countries. FEWS NET scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) Center and the University of Maryland Department of Geography have undertaken efforts to address component 3, by promoting the development of a collaborative Early Warning Crop Monitor (EWCM) that would specifically address Countries at Risk. A number of organizations utilize combinations of satellite earth observations, field campaigns, network partner inputs, and crop modeling techniques to monitor crop conditions throughout the world. Agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), and the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC) provide agricultural monitoring information and reporting across a broad number of areas at risk and in many cases, organizations routinely report on the same countries. The latter offers an opportunity for collaboration on crop growing conditions among agencies. The reduction of uncertainty and achievement of consensus will help strengthen confidence in decisions to commit resources for mitigation of acute food insecurity and support for resilience and development programs. In addition, the development of a collaborative global EWCM will provide each of the partner agencies with the ability to quickly gather crop condition information for areas where they may not typically work or have access to local networks. Using a framework developed by GEOGLAM for monitoring crop conditions in support of the Agricultural Market Information System, we developed an EWCM system for countries at risk. We present the current status of that implementation and highlight achievements to date along with future plans to support the needs of the global agricultural monitoring community.

Engineering Strategies for the Design of Plant Nutrient Delivery Systems for Use in Space: Approaches to Countering Microbiological Contamination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzales, A. A.; Schuerger, A. C.; Mitchell, R.; Harper, Lynn D. (Technical Monitor)

1994-01-01

Microbiological contamination of crops within space-based crop growth research chambers has been postulated as a potentially significant problem. Microbial infestations; fouling of Nutrient Delivery System (NDS) fluid loops; and the formation of biofilms, have been suggested as the most obvious and important manifestations of the problem. Strict sanitation and quarantine procedures will reduce, but not eliminate, microbial species introduced into plant growing systems in space habitats. Microorganisms transported into space will most likely occur as contaminants on spacecraft components, equipment, the crew, and plant-propagative materials. Illustrations of the potential magnitude of the microbiological contamination issue will be drawn from the literature and from documentation of laboratory and commercial field experience. Engineering strategies for limiting contamination and for the development of countermeasures will be described. Microbiological control technologies and NDS hardware will be discussed. Configurations appropriate for microgravity research facilities, as well as anticipated bio-regenerative life support system implementations, will be explored. An efficiently designed NDS, capable of adequately meeting the environmental needs of crop plants in space, is considered to be critical in both the research and operational domains. Recommended experiments, tests and technology developments, structured to allow the development of prudent engineering solutions, will also be presented.

Characterization of Soil Moisture Level for Rice and Maize Crops using GSM Shield and Arduino Microcontroller

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gines, G. A.; Bea, J. G.; Palaoag, T. D.

2018-03-01

Soil serves a medium for plants growth. One factor that affects soil moisture is drought. Drought has been a major cause of agricultural disaster. Agricultural drought is said to occur when soil moisture is insufficient to meet crop water requirements, resulting in yield losses. In this research, it aimed to characterize soil moisture level for Rice and Maize Crops using Arduino and applying fuzzy logic. System architecture for soil moisture sensor and water pump were the basis in developing the equipment. The data gathered was characterized by applying fuzzy logic. Based on the results, applying fuzzy logic in validating the characterization of soil moisture level for Rice and Maize crops is accurate as attested by the experts. This will help the farmers in monitoring the soil moisture level of the Rice and Maize crops.

7 CFR 1218.4 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.4 Crop year. Crop...

7 CFR 1218.4 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.4 Crop year. Crop...

7 CFR 1218.4 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.4 Crop year. Crop...

7 CFR 1218.4 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.4 Crop year. Crop...

7 CFR 1218.4 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE BLUEBERRY PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION ORDER Blueberry Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1218.4 Crop year. Crop...

Registration of DGE-2, a durum wheat disomic alien substitution line 1E(1A) involving a diploid wheatgrass chromosome

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L., 2n = 2x = 28; AABB genomes) alien disomic substitution 1E(1A) line DGE-2 (PI 663216) was developed by the USDA–ARS, Cereal Crops Research Unit, Northern Crop Science Laboratory, Fargo, North Dakota and released in 2011. DGE-2 has 2n = 28 chromosomes, which are...

Estimating the impact of mineral aerosols on crop yields in food insecure regions using statistical crop models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffman, A.; Forest, C. E.; Kemanian, A.

2016-12-01

A significant number of food-insecure nations exist in regions of the world where dust plays a large role in the climate system. While the impacts of common climate variables (e.g. temperature, precipitation, ozone, and carbon dioxide) on crop yields are relatively well understood, the impact of mineral aerosols on yields have not yet been thoroughly investigated. This research aims to develop the data and tools to progress our understanding of mineral aerosol impacts on crop yields. Suspended dust affects crop yields by altering the amount and type of radiation reaching the plant, modifying local temperature and precipitation. While dust events (i.e. dust storms) affect crop yields by depleting the soil of nutrients or by defoliation via particle abrasion. The impact of dust on yields is modeled statistically because we are uncertain which impacts will dominate the response on national and regional scales considered in this study. Multiple linear regression is used in a number of large-scale statistical crop modeling studies to estimate yield responses to various climate variables. In alignment with previous work, we develop linear crop models, but build upon this simple method of regression with machine-learning techniques (e.g. random forests) to identify important statistical predictors and isolate how dust affects yields on the scales of interest. To perform this analysis, we develop a crop-climate dataset for maize, soybean, groundnut, sorghum, rice, and wheat for the regions of West Africa, East Africa, South Africa, and the Sahel. Random forest regression models consistently model historic crop yields better than the linear models. In several instances, the random forest models accurately capture the temperature and precipitation threshold behavior in crops. Additionally, improving agricultural technology has caused a well-documented positive trend that dominates time series of global and regional yields. This trend is often removed before regression with traditional crop models, but likely at the cost of removing climate information. Our random forest models consistently discover the positive trend without removing any additional data. The application of random forests as a statistical crop model provides insight into understanding the impact of dust on yields in marginal food producing regions.

Forecasting wheat and barley crop production in arid and semi-arid regions using remotely sensed primary productivity and crop phenology: A case study in Iraq.

PubMed

Qader, Sarchil Hama; Dash, Jadunandan; Atkinson, Peter M

2018-02-01

Crop production and yield estimation using remotely sensed data have been studied widely, but such information is generally scarce in arid and semi-arid regions. In these regions, inter-annual variation in climatic factors (such as rainfall) combined with anthropogenic factors (such as civil war) pose major risks to food security. Thus, an operational crop production estimation and forecasting system is required to help decision-makers to make early estimates of potential food availability. Data from NASA's MODIS with official crop statistics were combined to develop an empirical regression-based model to forecast winter wheat and barley production in Iraq. The study explores remotely sensed indices representing crop productivity over the crop growing season to find the optimal correlation with crop production. The potential of three different remotely sensed indices, and information related to the phenology of crops, for forecasting crop production at the governorate level was tested and their results were validated using the leave-one-year-out approach. Despite testing several methodological approaches, and extensive spatio-temporal analysis, this paper depicts the difficulty in estimating crop yield on an annual base using current satellite low-resolution data. However, more precise estimates of crop production were possible. The result of the current research implies that the date of the maximum vegetation index (VI) offered the most accurate forecast of crop production with an average R 2 =0.70 compared to the date of MODIS EVI (Avg R 2 =0.68) and a NPP (Avg R 2 =0.66). When winter wheat and barley production were forecasted using NDVI, EVI and NPP and compared to official statistics, the relative error ranged from -20 to 20%, -45 to 28% and -48 to 22%, respectively. The research indicated that remotely sensed indices could characterize and forecast crop production more accurately than simple cropping area, which was treated as a null model against which to evaluate the proposed approach. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An image based method for crop yield prediction using remotely sensed and crop canopy data: the case of Paphos district, western Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papadavid, G.; Hadjimitsis, D.

2014-08-01

Remote sensing techniques development have provided the opportunity for optimizing yields in the agricultural procedure and moreover to predict the forthcoming yield. Yield prediction plays a vital role in Agricultural Policy and provides useful data to policy makers. In this context, crop and soil parameters along with NDVI index which are valuable sources of information have been elaborated statistically to test if a) Durum wheat yield can be predicted and b) when is the actual time-window to predict the yield in the district of Paphos, where Durum wheat is the basic cultivation and supports the rural economy of the area. 15 plots cultivated with Durum wheat from the Agricultural Research Institute of Cyprus for research purposes, in the area of interest, have been under observation for three years to derive the necessary data. Statistical and remote sensing techniques were then applied to derive and map a model that can predict yield of Durum wheat in this area. Indeed the semi-empirical model developed for this purpose, with very high correlation coefficient R2=0.886, has shown in practice that can predict yields very good. Students T test has revealed that predicted values and real values of yield have no statistically significant difference. The developed model can and will be further elaborated with more parameters and applied for other crops in the near future.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Electrons, water and rice fields: plant response and adaptation to flooding and submergence stress

PubMed Central

Jackson, Michael B.; Ismail, Abdelbagi M.

2015-01-01

Flooding and submergence impose widespread and unpredictable environmental stresses on plants and depress the yield of most food crops. The problem is increasing, as is the need for greater food production from an expanding human population. The incompatibility of these opposing trends creates an urgent need to improve crop resilience to flooding in its multifarious forms. This Special Issue brings together research findings from diverse plant species to address the challenge of enhancing adaptation to flooding in major crops and learning from tactics of wetland plants. Here we provide an overview of the articles, with attempts to summarize how recent research results are being used to produce varieties of crop plants with greater flooding tolerance, notably in rice. The progress is considerable and based firmly on molecular and physiological research findings. The article also sets out how next-generation improvements in crop tolerance are likely to be achieved and highlights some of the new research that is guiding the development of improved varieties. The potential for non-model species from the indigenous riparian flora to uncover and explain novel adaptive mechanisms of flooding tolerance that may be introduced into crop species is also explored. The article begins by considering how, despite the essential role of water in sustaining plant life, floodwater can threaten its existence unless appropriate adaptations are present. Central to resolving the contradiction is the distinction between the essential role of cellular water as the source of electrons and protons used to build and operate the plant after combining with CO2 and O2 and the damaging role of extracellular water that, in excess, interferes with the union of these gases with photosynthetic or respiratory electrons and protons. PMID:26174144

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-10-01

Research with plants in microgravity offers many exciting opportunities to gain new insights and could improve products on Earth ranging from crop production to fragrances and food flavorings. The ASTROCULTURE facility is a lead commercial facility for plant growth and plant research in microgravity and was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WSCAR), a NASA Commercial Space Center. On STS-95 it will support research that could help improve crop development leading to plants that are more disease resistant or have a higher yield and provide data on the production of plant essential oils---oils that contain the essence of the plant and provide both fragrance and flavoring. On STS-95, a flowering plant will be grown in ASTROCULTURE and samples taken using a method developed by the industry partner for this investigation. On Earth the samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the data used to evaluate both the production of fragrant oils in microgravity and in the development of one or more products.

The ASTROCULTURE Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Research with plants in microgravity offers many exciting opportunities to gain new insights and could improve products on Earth ranging from crop production to fragrances and food flavorings. The ASTROCULTURE facility is a lead commercial facility for plant growth and plant research in microgravity and was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WSCAR), a NASA Commercial Space Center. On STS-95 it will support research that could help improve crop development leading to plants that are more disease resistant or have a higher yield and provide data on the production of plant essential oils---oils that contain the essence of the plant and provide both fragrance and flavoring. On STS-95, a flowering plant will be grown in ASTROCULTURE and samples taken using a method developed by the industry partner for this investigation. On Earth the samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the data used to evaluate both the production of fragrant oils in microgravity and in the development of one or more products.

Putting mechanisms into crop production models.

PubMed

Boote, Kenneth J; Jones, James W; White, Jeffrey W; Asseng, Senthold; Lizaso, Jon I

2013-09-01

Crop growth models dynamically simulate processes of C, N and water balance on daily or hourly time-steps to predict crop growth and development and at season-end, final yield. Their ability to integrate effects of genetics, environment and crop management have led to applications ranging from understanding gene function to predicting potential impacts of climate change. The history of crop models is reviewed briefly, and their level of mechanistic detail for assimilation and respiration, ranging from hourly leaf-to-canopy assimilation to daily radiation-use efficiency is discussed. Crop models have improved steadily over the past 30-40 years, but much work remains. Improvements are needed for the prediction of transpiration response to elevated CO₂ and high temperature effects on phenology and reproductive fertility, and simulation of root growth and nutrient uptake under stressful edaphic conditions. Mechanistic improvements are needed to better connect crop growth to genetics and to soil fertility, soil waterlogging and pest damage. Because crop models integrate multiple processes and consider impacts of environment and management, they have excellent potential for linking research from genomics and allied disciplines to crop responses at the field scale, thus providing a valuable tool for deciphering genotype by environment by management effects. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Constraints on water use efficiency of drought tolerant maize grown in a semi-arid environment

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Identifying the constraints on crop water use efficiency (WUE) will help develop strategies to mitigate these limitations. The objectives of this research were to 1) develop a boundary function for maize using data (n=260) from research projects conducted at Bushland, TX, and 2) compare the yields o...

The Challenge of Improving Soil Fertility in Yam Cropping Systems of West Africa

PubMed Central

Frossard, Emmanuel; Aighewi, Beatrice A.; Aké, Sévérin; Barjolle, Dominique; Baumann, Philipp; Bernet, Thomas; Dao, Daouda; Diby, Lucien N.; Floquet, Anne; Hgaza, Valérie K.; Ilboudo, Léa J.; Kiba, Delwende I.; Mongbo, Roch L.; Nacro, Hassan B.; Nicolay, Gian L.; Oka, Esther; Ouattara, Yabile F.; Pouya, Nestor; Senanayake, Ravinda L.; Six, Johan; Traoré, Orokya I.

2017-01-01

Yam (Dioscorea spp.) is a tuber crop grown for food security, income generation, and traditional medicine. This crop has a high cultural value for some of the groups growing it. Most of the production comes from West Africa where the increased demand has been covered by enlarging cultivated surfaces while the mean yield remained around 10 t tuber ha−1. In West Africa, yam is traditionally cultivated without input as the first crop after a long-term fallow as it is considered to require a high soil fertility. African soils, however, are being more and more degraded. The aims of this review were to show the importance of soil fertility for yam, discuss barriers that might limit the adoption of integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) in yam-based systems in West Africa, present the concept of innovation platforms (IPs) as a tool to foster collaboration between actors for designing innovations in yam-based systems and provide recommendations for future research. This review shows that the development of sustainable, feasible, and acceptable soil management innovations for yam requires research to be conducted in interdisciplinary teams including natural and social sciences and in a transdisciplinary manner involving relevant actors from the problem definition, to the co-design of soil management innovations, the evaluation of research results, their communication and their implementation. Finally, this research should be conducted in diverse biophysical and socio-economic settings to develop generic rules on soil/plant relationships in yam as affected by soil management and on how to adjust the innovation supply to specific contexts. PMID:29209341

Silicon Era of Carbon-Based Life: Application of Genomics and Bioinformatics in Crop Stress Research

PubMed Central

Li, Man-Wah; Qi, Xinpeng; Ni, Meng; Lam, Hon-Ming

2013-01-01

Abiotic and biotic stresses lead to massive reprogramming of different life processes and are the major limiting factors hampering crop productivity. Omics-based research platforms allow for a holistic and comprehensive survey on crop stress responses and hence may bring forth better crop improvement strategies. Since high-throughput approaches generate considerable amounts of data, bioinformatics tools will play an essential role in storing, retrieving, sharing, processing, and analyzing them. Genomic and functional genomic studies in crops still lag far behind similar studies in humans and other animals. In this review, we summarize some useful genomics and bioinformatics resources available to crop scientists. In addition, we also discuss the major challenges and advancements in the “-omics” studies, with an emphasis on their possible impacts on crop stress research and crop improvement. PMID:23759993

Research in biomass production and utilization: Systems simulation and analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bennett, Albert Stewart

There is considerable public interest in developing a sustainable biobased economy that favors support of family farms and rural communities and also promotes the development of biorenewable energy resources. This study focuses on a number of questions related to the development and exploration of new pathways that can potentially move us toward a more sustainable biobased economy. These include issues related to biomass fuels for drying grain, economies-of-scale, new biomass harvest systems, sugar-to-ethanol crop alternatives for the Upper Midwest U.S., biomass transportation, post-harvest biomass processing and double cropping production scenarios designed to maximize biomass feedstock production. The first section of this study considers post-harvest drying of shelled corn grain both at farm-scale and at larger community-scaled installations. Currently, drying of shelled corn requires large amounts of fossil fuel energy. To address future energy concerns, this study evaluates the potential use of combined heat and power systems that use the combustion of corn stover to produce steam for drying and to generate electricity for fans, augers, and control components. Because of the large capital requirements for solid fuel boilers and steam turbines/engines, both farm-scale and larger grain elevator-scaled systems benefit by sharing boiler and power infrastructure with other processes. The second and third sections evaluate sweet sorghum as a possible "sugarcane-like" crop that can be grown in the Upper Midwest. Various harvest systems are considered including a prototype mobile juice harvester, a hypothetical one-pass unit that separates grain heads from chopped stalks and traditional forage/silage harvesters. Also evaluated were post-harvest transportation, storage and processing costs and their influence on the possible use of sweet sorghum as a supplemental feedstock for existing dry-grind ethanol plants located in the Upper Midwest. Results show that the concept of a mobile juice harvester is not economically viable due to low sugar recovery. The addition of front-end stalk processing/pressing equipment into existing ethanol facilities was found to be economically viable when combined with the plants' use of residuals as a natural gas fuel replacement. Because of high loss of fermentable carbohydrates during ensilage, storage of sweet sorghum in bunkers was not found to be economically viable. The fourth section looks at double cropping winter triticale with late-planted summer corn and compares these scenarios to traditional single cropped corn. Double cropping systems show particular promise for co-production of grain and biomass feedstocks and potentially can allow for greater utilization of grain crop residues. However, additional costs and risks associated with producing two crops instead of one could make biomass-double crops less attractive for producers despite productivity advantages. Detailed evaluation and comparisons show double cropped triticale-corn to be at a significant economic disadvantage relative to single crop corn. The cost benefits associated with using less equipment combined with availability of risk mitigating crop insurance and government subsidies will likely limit farmer interest and clearly indicate that traditional single-crop corn will provide greater financial returns to management. To evaluate the various sweet sorghum, single crop corn and double cropped triticale-corn production scenarios, a detailed but generic model was developed. The primary goal of this generic approach was to develop a modeling foundation that can be rapidly adapted, by an experienced user, to describe new and existing biomass and crop production scenarios that may be of interest to researchers. The foundation model allows input of management practices, crop production characteristics and utilizes standardized machinery performance and cost information, including farm-owned machinery and implements, and machinery and farm production operations provided by custom operators. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Hydroponic Crop Production using Recycled Nutrients from Inedible Crop Residues

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Garland, Jay L.; Mackowiak, Cheryl L.; Sager, John C.

1993-01-01

The coupling of plant growth and waste recycling systems is an important step toward the development of bioregenerative life support systems. This research examined the effectiveness of two alternative methods for recycling nutrients from the inedible fraction (residue) of candidate crops in a bioregenerative system as follows: (1) extraction in water, or leaching, and (2) combustion at 550 C, with subsequent reconstitution of the ash in acid. The effectiveness of the different methods was evaluated by (1) comparing the percent recovery of nutrients, and (2) measuring short- and long-term plant growth in hydroponic solutions, based on recycled nutrients.

Impacts of crop growth dynamics on soil quality at the regional scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gobin, Anne

2014-05-01

Agricultural land use and in particular crop growth dynamics can greatly affect soil quality. Both the amount of soil lost from erosion by water and soil organic matter are key indicators for soil quality. The aim was to develop a modelling framework for quantifying the impacts of crop growth dynamics on soil quality at the regional scale with test case Flanders. A framework for modelling the impacts of crop growth on soil erosion and soil organic matter was developed by coupling the dynamic crop cover model REGCROP (Gobin, 2010) to the PESERA soil erosion model (Kirkby et al., 2009) and to the RothC carbon model (Coleman and Jenkinson, 1999). All three models are process-based, spatially distributed and intended as a regional diagnostic tool. A geo-database was constructed covering 10 years of crop rotation in Flanders using the IACS parcel registration (Integrated Administration and Control System). Crop allometric models were developed from variety trials to calculate crop residues for common crops in Flanders and subsequently derive stable organic matter fluxes to the soil. Results indicate that crop growth dynamics and crop rotations influence soil quality for a very large percentage. soil erosion mainly occurs in the southern part of Flanders, where silty to loamy soils and a hilly topography are responsible for soil loss rates of up to 40 t/ha. Parcels under maize, sugar beet and potatoes are most vulnerable to soil erosion. Crop residues of grain maize and winter wheat followed by catch crops contribute most to the total carbon sequestered in agricultural soils. For the same rotations carbon sequestration is highest on clay soils and lowest on sandy soils. This implies that agricultural policies that impact on agricultural land management influence soil quality for a large percentage. The coupled REGCROP-PESERA-ROTHC model allows for quantifying the impact of seasonal and year-to-year crop growth dynamics on soil quality. When coupled to a multi-annual crop rotation database both spatial and temporal analysis becomes possible and allows for decision support at both farm and regional level. The framework is therefore suited for further scenario analysis and impact assessment. The research is funded by the Belgian Science Policy Organisation (Belspo) under contract nr SD/RI/03A.

The AgMIP Coordinated Climate-Crop Modeling Project (C3MP): Methods and Protocols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shukla, Sonali P.; Ruane, Alexander Clark

2014-01-01

Climate change is expected to alter a multitude of factors important to agricultural systems, including pests, diseases, weeds, extreme climate events, water resources, soil degradation, and socio-economic pressures. Changes to carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]), temperature, and water (CTW) will be the primary drivers of change in crop growth and agricultural systems. Therefore, establishing the CTW-change sensitivity of crop yields is an urgent research need and warrants diverse methods of investigation. Crop models provide a biophysical, process-based tool to investigate crop responses across varying environmental conditions and farm management techniques, and have been applied in climate impact assessment by using a variety of methods (White et al., 2011, and references therein). However, there is a significant amount of divergence between various crop models' responses to CTW changes (Rotter et al., 2011). While the application of a site-based crop model is relatively simple, the coordination of such agricultural impact assessments on larger scales requires consistent and timely contributions from a large number of crop modelers, each time a new global climate model (GCM) scenario or downscaling technique is created. A coordinated, global effort to rapidly examine CTW sensitivity across multiple crops, crop models, and sites is needed to aid model development and enhance the assessment of climate impacts (Deser et al., 2012). To fulfill this need, the Coordinated Climate-Crop Modeling Project (C3MP) (Ruane et al., 2014) was initiated within the Agricultural Model Intercomparison and Improvement Project (AgMIP; Rosenzweig et al., 2013). The submitted results from C3MP Phase 1 (February 15, 2013-December 31, 2013) are currently being analyzed. This chapter serves to present and update the C3MP protocols, discuss the initial participation and general findings, comment on needed adjustments, and describe continued and future development. AgMIP aims to improve substantially the climate, crop, and economic simulation tools that are used to characterize the agricultural sector, to assess future world food security under changing climate conditions, and to enhance adaptation capacity both globally and regionally. To understand better and improve the modeled crop responses, AgMIP has conducted detailed crop model intercomparisons at closely observed field sites for wheat (Asseng et al., 2013), rice (Li et al., in review), maize (Bassu et al., 2014), and sugarcane (Singels et al., 2013). A coordinated modeling exercise was one of the original motivations for AgMIP, and C3MP provides rapid estimation of crop responses to CO2, water, and temperature (CTW) changes, adding dimension and insight into the crop model intercomparisons, while facilitating interactions within the global community of modelers. C3MP also contributes a fast-track, multi-model climate sensitivity assessment for the AgMIP climate and crop modeling teams on Research Track 2 (Fig. 1), which seeks to understand the impact of projected climatic changes on crop production and food security (Rosenzweig et al., 2013; Ruane et al., 2014).

A roadmap for research on crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) to enhance sustainable food and bioenergy production in a hotter, drier world.

PubMed

Yang, Xiaohan; Cushman, John C; Borland, Anne M; Edwards, Erika J; Wullschleger, Stan D; Tuskan, Gerald A; Owen, Nick A; Griffiths, Howard; Smith, J Andrew C; De Paoli, Henrique C; Weston, David J; Cottingham, Robert; Hartwell, James; Davis, Sarah C; Silvera, Katia; Ming, Ray; Schlauch, Karen; Abraham, Paul; Stewart, J Ryan; Guo, Hao-Bo; Albion, Rebecca; Ha, Jungmin; Lim, Sung Don; Wone, Bernard W M; Yim, Won Cheol; Garcia, Travis; Mayer, Jesse A; Petereit, Juli; Nair, Sujithkumar S; Casey, Erin; Hettich, Robert L; Ceusters, Johan; Ranjan, Priya; Palla, Kaitlin J; Yin, Hengfu; Reyes-García, Casandra; Andrade, José Luis; Freschi, Luciano; Beltrán, Juan D; Dever, Louisa V; Boxall, Susanna F; Waller, Jade; Davies, Jack; Bupphada, Phaitun; Kadu, Nirja; Winter, Klaus; Sage, Rowan F; Aguilar, Cristobal N; Schmutz, Jeremy; Jenkins, Jerry; Holtum, Joseph A M

2015-08-01

Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) is a specialized mode of photosynthesis that features nocturnal CO2 uptake, facilitates increased water-use efficiency (WUE), and enables CAM plants to inhabit water-limited environments such as semi-arid deserts or seasonally dry forests. Human population growth and global climate change now present challenges for agricultural production systems to increase food, feed, forage, fiber, and fuel production. One approach to meet these challenges is to increase reliance on CAM crops, such as Agave and Opuntia, for biomass production on semi-arid, abandoned, marginal, or degraded agricultural lands. Major research efforts are now underway to assess the productivity of CAM crop species and to harness the WUE of CAM by engineering this pathway into existing food, feed, and bioenergy crops. An improved understanding of CAM has potential for high returns on research investment. To exploit the potential of CAM crops and CAM bioengineering, it will be necessary to elucidate the evolution, genomic features, and regulatory mechanisms of CAM. Field trials and predictive models will be required to assess the productivity of CAM crops, while new synthetic biology approaches need to be developed for CAM engineering. Infrastructure will be needed for CAM model systems, field trials, mutant collections, and data management. © 2015 ORNL/UT-Battelle New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

Stimulating innovation for global monitoring of agriculture and its impact on the environment in support of GEOGLAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bydekerke, Lieven; Gilliams, Sven; Gobin, Anne

2015-04-01

There is an urgent need to ensure food supply for a growing global population. To enable a sustainable growth of agricultural production, effective and timely information is required to support decision making and to improve management of agricultural resources. This requires innovative ways and monitoring methods that will not only improve short-term crop production forecasts, but also allow to assess changes in cultivation practices, agricultural areas, agriculture in general and, its impact on the environment. The G20 launched in June 2011 the "GEO Global Agricultural Monitoring initiative (GEOGLAM), requesting the GEO (Group on Earth Observations) Agricultural Community of Practice to implement GEOGLAM with the main objective to improve crop yield forecasts as an input to the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), in order to foster stabilisation of markets and increase transparency on agricultural production. In response to this need, the European Commission decided in 2013 to fund an international partnership to contribute to GEOGLAM and its research agenda. The resulting SIGMA project (Stimulating Innovation for Global Monitoring of Agriculture), a partnership of 23 globally distributed expert organisations, focusses on developing datasets and innovative techniques in support of agricultural monitoring and its impact on the environment in support of GEOGLAM. SIGMA has 3 generic objectives which are: (i) develop and test methods to characterise cropland and assess its changes at various scales; (ii) develop and test methods to assess changes in agricultural production levels; and; (iii) study environmental impacts of agriculture. Firstly, multi-scale remote sensing data sets, in combination with field and other ancillary data, will be used to generate an improved (global) agro-ecological zoning map and crop mask. Secondly, a combination of agro-meteorological models, satellite-based information and long-term time series will be explored to assess crop yield gaps and shifts in cultivation. The third research topic entails the development of best practices for assessing the impact of crop land and cropping system change on the environment. In support of the GEO JECAM (Joint Experiment for Crop Assessment and Monitoring) initiative, SIGMA has selected case studies in Ukraine, Russia, Europe, Africa, Latin America and China, coinciding with the JECAM sites in these area, to explore possible methodological synergies and particularities according to different cropping systems. In combination with research conducted at regional and global scale, it is one of the goals to improve the understanding of dynamics, interactions and validity of the developed methods at the various scales. In addition, specific activities will be dedicated to raising awareness and strengthening capacity for what concerns agro-environmental monitoring, data accessibility and interoperability in line with the GEOSS Data-core principles. The SIGMA project will also anticipate on the availability of the SENTINEL satellites for agricultural applications as open-data in the near future. References http://proba-v.vgt.vito.be/ http://www.geoglam-sigma.info/

AquaCrop-OS: A tool for resilient management of land and water resources in agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Foster, Timothy; Brozovic, Nicholas; Butler, Adrian P.; Neale, Christopher M. U.; Raes, Dirk; Steduto, Pasquale; Fereres, Elias; Hsiao, Theodore C.

2017-04-01

Water managers, researchers, and other decision makers worldwide are faced with the challenge of increasing food production under population growth, drought, and rising water scarcity. Crop simulation models are valuable tools in this effort, and, importantly, provide a means of quantifying rapidly crop yield response to water, climate, and field management practices. Here, we introduce a new open-source crop modelling tool called AquaCrop-OS (Foster et al., 2017), which extends the functionality of the globally used FAO AquaCrop model. Through case studies focused on groundwater-fed irrigation in the High Plains and Central Valley of California in the United States, we demonstrate how AquaCrop-OS can be used to understand the local biophysical, behavioural, and institutional drivers of water risks in agricultural production. Furthermore, we also illustrate how AquaCrop-OS can be combined effectively with hydrologic and economic models to support drought risk mitigation and decision-making around water resource management at a range of spatial and temporal scales, and highlight future plans for model development and training. T. Foster, et al. (2017) AquaCrop-OS: An open source version of FAO's crop water productivity model. Agricultural Water Management. 181: 18-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2016.11.015.

Pick-and-Eat Salad-Crop Productivity, Nutritional Value, and Acceptability to Supplement the ISS Food System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, G. D.; Wheeler, R. M.; Hummerick, M. E.; Morrow, R. C.; Mitchell, C. A.; Whitmire, A. M.; Ploutz-Snyder, R. J.; Douglas, G. L.

2016-01-01

The capability to grow nutritious, palatable food for crew consumption during spaceflight has the potential to provide health-promoting, bioavailable nutrients, enhance the dietary experience, and reduce launch mass as we move toward longer-duration missions. However, studies of edible produce during spaceflight have been limited, leaving a significant knowledge gap in the methods required to grow safe, acceptable, nutritious crops for consumption in space. Researchers from Kennedy Space Center, Johnson Space Center, Purdue University and ORBITEC have teamed up to explore the potential for plant growth and food production on the International Space Station (ISS) and future exploration missions. KSC, Purdue, and ORBITEC bring a history of plant and plant-microbial interaction research for ISS and for future bioregenerative life support systems. JSC brings expertise in Advanced Food Technology (AFT), Behavioral Health and Performance (BHP), and statistics. The Veggie vegetable-production system on the ISS offers an opportunity to develop a pick-and-eat fresh vegetable component to the ISS food system as a first step to bioregenerative supplemental food production. We propose growing salad plants in the Veggie unit during spaceflight, focusing on the impact of light quality and fertilizer formulation on crop morphology, edible biomass yield, microbial food safety, organoleptic acceptability, nutritional value, and behavioral health benefits of the fresh produce. The first phase of the project will involve flight tests using leafy greens, with a small Chinese cabbage variety, Tokyo bekana, previously down selected through a series of research tests as a suitable candidate. The second phase will focus on dwarf tomato. Down selection of candidate varieties have been performed, and the dwarf cultivar Red Robin has been selected as the test crop. Four light treatments and three fertilizer treatments will be tested for each crop on the ground, to down select to two light treatments and one fertilizer treatment to test on ISS. Our work will help define light colors, levels, and horticultural best practices to achieve high yields of safe, nutritious leafy greens and tomatoes to supplement a space diet of prepackaged food. Our final deliverable will be the development of growth protocols for these crops in a spaceflight vegetable production system. With this work, and potentially with other pending joint projects, we will continue the synergistic research to help close gaps in the human research roadmap, and enable humans to venture to Mars and beyond. This research was co-funded by the Human Research Program and Space Biology (MTL1075) in the ILSRA 2015 NRA call.

Application of Thermal Infrared Remote Sensing for Quantitative Evaluation of Crop Characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shaw, J.; Luvall, J.; Rickman, D.; Mask, P.; Wersinger, J.; Sullivan, D.; Arnold, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Evidence suggests that thermal infrared emittance (TIR) at the field-scale is largely a function of the integrated crop/soil moisture continuum. Because soil moisture dynamics largely determine crop yields in non-irrigated farming (85 % of Alabama farms are non-irrigated), TIR may be an effective method of mapping within field crop yield variability, and possibly, absolute yields. The ability to map yield variability at juvenile growth stages can lead to improved soil fertility and pest management, as well as facilitating the development of economic forecasting. Researchers at GHCC/MSFC/NASA and Auburn University are currently investigating the role of TIR in site-specific agriculture. Site-specific agriculture (SSA), or precision farming, is a method of crop production in which zones and soils within a field are delineated and managed according to their unique properties. The goal of SSA is to improve farm profits and reduce environmental impacts through targeted agrochemical applications. The foundation of SSA depends upon the spatial and temporal characterization of soil and crop properties through the creation of management zones. Management zones can be delineated using: 1) remote sensing (RS) data, 2) conventional soil testing and soil mapping, and 3) yield mapping. Portions of this research have concentrated on using remote sensing data to map yield variability in corn (Zea mays L.) and soybean (Glycine max L.) crops. Remote sensing data have been collected for several fields in the Tennessee Valley region at various crop growth stages during the last four growing seasons. Preliminary results of this study will be presented.

Microbial ecology of the Agaricus bisporus mushroom cropping process.

PubMed

McGee, Conor F

2018-02-01

Agaricus bisporus is the most widely cultivated mushroom species in the world. Cultivation is commenced by inoculating beds of semi-pasteurised composted organic substrate with a pure spawn of A. bisporus. The A. bisporus mycelium subsequently colonises the composted substrate by degrading the organic material to release nutrients. A layer of peat, often called "casing soil", is laid upon the surface of the composted substrate to induce the development of the mushroom crop and maintain compost environmental conditions. Extensive research has been conducted investigating the biochemistry and genetics of A. bisporus throughout the cultivation process; however, little is currently known about the wider microbial ecology that co-inhabits the composted substrate and casing layers. The compost and casing microbial communities are known to play important roles in the mushroom production process. Microbial species present in the compost and casing are known for (1) being an important source of nitrogen for the A. bisporus mycelium, (2) releasing sugar residues through the degradation of the wheat straw in the composted substrate, (3) playing a critical role in inducing development of the A. bisporus fruiting bodies and (4) acting as pathogens by parasitising the mushroom mycelium/crop. Despite a long history of research into the mushroom cropping process, an extensive review of the microbial communities present in the compost and casing has not as of yet been undertaken. The aim of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the literature investigating the compost and casing microbial communities throughout cultivation of the A. bisporus mushroom crop.

Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE). Development of procedure M for multicrop inventory, with tests of a spring-wheat configuration

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Horvath, R. (Principal Investigator); Cicone, R.; Crist, E.; Kauth, R. J.; Lambeck, P.; Malila, W. A.; Richardson, W.

1979-01-01

The author has identified the following significant results. An outgrowth of research and development activities in support of LACIE was a multicrop area estimation procedure, Procedure M. This procedure was a flexible, modular system that could be operated within the LACIE framework. Its distinctive features were refined preprocessing (including spatially varying correction for atmospheric haze), definition of field like spatial features for labeling, spectral stratification, and unbiased selection of samples to label and crop area estimation without conventional maximum likelihood classification.

Bacteriophages and Bacterial Plant Diseases

PubMed Central

Buttimer, Colin; McAuliffe, Olivia; Ross, R. P.; Hill, Colin; O’Mahony, Jim; Coffey, Aidan

2017-01-01

Losses in crop yields due to disease need to be reduced in order to meet increasing global food demands associated with growth in the human population. There is a well-recognized need to develop new environmentally friendly control strategies to combat bacterial crop disease. Current control measures involving the use of traditional chemicals or antibiotics are losing their efficacy due to the natural development of bacterial resistance to these agents. In addition, there is an increasing awareness that their use is environmentally unfriendly. Bacteriophages, the viruses of bacteria, have received increased research interest in recent years as a realistic environmentally friendly means of controlling bacterial diseases. Their use presents a viable control measure for a number of destructive bacterial crop diseases, with some phage-based products already becoming available on the market. Phage biocontrol possesses advantages over chemical controls in that tailor-made phage cocktails can be adapted to target specific disease-causing bacteria. Unlike chemical control measures, phage mixtures can be easily adapted for bacterial resistance which may develop over time. In this review, we will examine the progress and challenges for phage-based disease biocontrol in food crops. PMID:28163700

77 FR 69823 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Proposed Collection; Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-21

... application equipment manufacturers, chemical manufacturers, pesticide registrants, university researchers... Production 111 Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, Life 541710 Sciences Colleges... drift reducing adjuvant chemicals used for aerial or groundboom applications to row and field crops...

Estimating the Impact and Spillover Effect of Climate Change on Crop Yield in Northern Ghana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Botchway, E.

2016-12-01

In tropical regions of the world human-induced climate change is likely to impact negatively on crop yields. To investigate the impact of climate change and its spillover effect on mean and variance of crop yields in northern Ghana, the Just and Pope stochastic production function and the Spatial Durbin model were adopted. Surprisingly, the results suggest that both precipitation and average temperature have positive effects on mean crop yield during the wet season. Wet season average temperature has a significant spillover effect in the region, whereas precipitation during the wet season has only one significant spillover effect on maize yield. Wet season precipitation does not have a strong significant effect on crop yield despite the rainfed nature of agriculture in the region. Thus, even if there are losers and winners as a result of future climate change at the regional level, future crop yield would largely depend on future technological development in agriculture, which may improve yields over time despite the changing climate. We argue, therefore, that technical improvement in farm management such as improved seeds and fertilizers, conservation tillage and better pest control, may have a more significant role in increasing observed crop productivity levels over time. So investigating the relative importance of non-climatic factors on crop yield may shed more light on where appropriate interventions can help in improving crop yields. Climate change, also, needs to be urgently assessed at the level of the household, so that poor and vulnerable people dependent on agriculture can be appropriately targeted in research and development activities whose object is poverty alleviation.

The CELSS Test Facility - A foundation for crop research in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Straight, C. L.; Macelroy, R. D.

1990-01-01

Under the NASA Space Biology Initiative, a CELSS Test Facility (CTF) is being planned for installation on Space Station Freedom. The CTF will be used to study the productivity of typical CELSS higher plant crops under the microgravity conditions of the Space Station Freedom (SSF). Such science studies will be supported under the CELSS Space Research Project. The CTF will be used to evaluate fundamental issues of crop productivity, such as the production rates of O2, food and transpired water, and CO2 uptake. A series of precursor tests that are essential to the development of the CTF will be flown on Space Shuttle flights. The tests will be used to validate and qualify technology concepts and to answer specific questions regarding seed germination, root/shoot orientation, water condensation and recycling, nutrient delivery, and liquid/gas phase interactions.

Method for Estimating Annual Atrazine Use for Counties in the Conterminous United States, 1992-2007

USGS Publications Warehouse

Thelin, Gail P.; Stone, Wesley W.

2010-01-01

A method was developed to estimate annual atrazine use during 1992 to 2007 on sixteen crops and four agricultural land uses. For each year, atrazine use was estimated for all counties in the conterminous United States (except California) by combining (1) proprietary data from the Doane Marketing Research-Kynetec (DMRK) AgroTrak database on the mass of atrazine applied to agricultural crops, (2) county harvested crop acreage, by county, from the 1992, 1997, 2002, and 2007 Censuses of Agriculture, and (3) annual harvested crop acreage from National Agriculture Statistics Service (NASS) for non-Census years. DMRK estimates of pesticide use on individual crops were derived from surveys of major field crops and selected specialty crops in multicounty areas referred to as Crop Reporting Districts (CRD). The CRD-level atrazine-use estimates were disaggregated to obtain county-level application rates by dividing the mass (pounds) of pesticides applied to a crop by the acreage of that crop in the CRD to yield a rate per harvested acre. When atrazine-use estimates were not available for a CRD, crop, or year, an estimated rate was developed following a hierarchy of decision rules that checked first for the availability of a crop application rate from surveyed atrazine application rate(s) for adjacent CRDs for a specific year, and second, the rates from surveyed CRDs within for U.S. Department of Agriculture Farm Production Regions for a specific year or multiple years. The estimation method applied linear interpolation to estimate crop acreage for years when harvested acres for a crop and county were not reported in either the Census of Agriculture or the NASS database, but were reported by these data sources for other years for that crop and county. Data for atrazine use for the counties in California was obtained from farmers' reports of pesticide use collected and published by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation-Pesticide Use Reporting (DPR-PUR) because these data are more complete than DMRK survey data. National and state annual atrazine-use totals derived by this method were compared with other published pesticide-use estimates and were highly correlated. The method developed is designed to be applicable to other pesticides for which there are similar data; however, for some pesticides that are applied to specialty crops, fewer surveys are usually available to estimate application rates and there are a greater number of years with unreported crop acreage, potentially resulting in greater uncertainty in use

Regulation of Bt crops in Canada.

PubMed

Macdonald, Phil; Yarrow, Stephen

2003-06-01

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regulates environmental releases of plants with novel traits, which include transgenic plants such as Bt crops. Bt crops are regulated in Canada because they express insect resistance novel to their species. Commercialization of crops with novel traits such as the production of insecticidal Bt proteins requires an approval for environmental release, as well as approvals for use as feed and food. Environmental factors such as potential impacts on non-target species are considered. Insect resistance management (IRM) may be imposed as a condition for environmental release of Bt crops to delay the development of resistance in the target insect. Bt potato and European corn borer-resistant Bt corn have been released with mandatory IRM. The CFIA imposes an IRM plan consisting of appropriate refugia, education of farmers and seed dealers, and monitoring and mitigation. Industry, regulators, government extension staff and public researchers provide expert advice on IRM.

A Novel Approach for Forecasting Crop Production and Yield Using Remotely Sensed Satellite Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, R. K.; Budde, M. E.; Senay, G. B.; Rowland, J.

2017-12-01

Forecasting crop production in advance of crop harvest plays a significant role in drought impact management, improved food security, stabilizing food grain market prices, and poverty reduction. This becomes essential, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is a critical source of livelihoods, but lacks good quality agricultural statistical data. With increasing availability of low cost satellite data, faster computing power, and development of modeling algorithms, remotely sensed images are becoming a common source for deriving information for agricultural, drought, and water management. Many researchers have shown that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), based on red and near-infrared reflectance, can be effectively used for estimating crop production and yield. Similarly, crop production and yield have been closely related to evapotranspiration (ET) also as there are strong linkages between production/yield and transpiration based on plant physiology. Thus, we combined NDVI and ET information from remotely sensed images for estimating total production and crop yield prior to crop harvest for Niger and Burkina Faso in West Africa. We identified the optimum time (dekads 23-29) for cumulating NDVI and ET and developed a new algorithm for estimating crop production and yield. We used the crop data from 2003 to 2008 to calibrate our model and the data from 2009 to 2013 for validation. Our results showed that total crop production can be estimated within 5% of actual production (R2 = 0.98) about 30-45 days before end of the harvest season. This novel approach can be operationalized to provide a valuable tool to decision makers for better drought impact management in drought-prone regions of the world.

Assessment of the safety of foods derived from genetically modified (GM) crops.

PubMed

König, A; Cockburn, A; Crevel, R W R; Debruyne, E; Grafstroem, R; Hammerling, U; Kimber, I; Knudsen, I; Kuiper, H A; Peijnenburg, A A C M; Penninks, A H; Poulsen, M; Schauzu, M; Wal, J M

2004-07-01

This paper provides guidance on how to assess the safety of foods derived from genetically modified crops (GM crops); it summarises conclusions and recommendations of Working Group 1 of the ENTRANSFOOD project. The paper provides an approach for adapting the test strategy to the characteristics of the modified crop and the introduced trait, and assessing potential unintended effects from the genetic modification. The proposed approach to safety assessment starts with the comparison of the new GM crop with a traditional counterpart that is generally accepted as safe based on a history of human food use (the concept of substantial equivalence). This case-focused approach ensures that foods derived from GM crops that have passed this extensive test-regime are as safe and nutritious as currently consumed plant-derived foods. The approach is suitable for current and future GM crops with more complex modifications. First, the paper reviews test methods developed for the risk assessment of chemicals, including food additives and pesticides, discussing which of these methods are suitable for the assessment of recombinant proteins and whole foods. Second, the paper presents a systematic approach to combine test methods for the safety assessment of foods derived from a specific GM crop. Third, the paper provides an overview on developments in this area that may prove of use in the safety assessment of GM crops, and recommendations for research priorities. It is concluded that the combination of existing test methods provides a sound test-regime to assess the safety of GM crops. Advances in our understanding of molecular biology, biochemistry, and nutrition may in future allow further improvement of test methods that will over time render the safety assessment of foods even more effective and informative. Copryright 2004 Elsevier Ltd.

Impacts of climate change on cropping patterns in a tropical, sub-humid watershed

PubMed Central

Zwart, Sander J.; Hein, Lars

2018-01-01

In recent decades, there have been substantial increases in crop production in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) as a result of higher yields, increased cropping intensity, expansion of irrigated cropping systems, and rainfed cropland expansion. Yet, to date much of the research focus of the impact of climate change on crop production in the coming decades has been on crop yield responses. In this study, we analyse the impact of climate change on the potential for increasing rainfed cropping intensity through sequential cropping and irrigation expansion in central Benin. Our approach combines hydrological modelling and scenario analysis involving two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs), two water-use scenarios for the watershed based on the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), and environmental water requirements leading to sustained streamflow. Our analyses show that in Benin, warmer temperatures will severely limit crop production increases achieved through the expansion of sequential cropping. Depending on the climate change scenario, between 50% and 95% of cultivated areas that can currently support sequential cropping or will need to revert to single cropping. The results also show that the irrigation potential of the watershed will be at least halved by mid-century in all scenario combinations. Given the urgent need to increase crop production to meet the demands of a growing population in SSA, our study outlines challenges and the need for planned development that need to be overcome to improve food security in the coming decades. PMID:29513753

Reusable Software and Open Data Incorporate Ecological Understanding To Optimize Agriculture and Improveme Crops.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

LeBauer, D.

2015-12-01

Humans need a secure and sustainable food supply, and science can help. We have an opportunity to transform agriculture by combining knowledge of organisms and ecosystems to engineer ecosystems that sustainably produce food, fuel, and other services. The challenge is that the information we have. Measurements, theories, and laws found in publications, notebooks, measurements, software, and human brains are difficult to combine. We homogenize, encode, and automate the synthesis of data and mechanistic understanding in a way that links understanding at different scales and across domains. This allows extrapolation, prediction, and assessment. Reusable components allow automated construction of new knowledge that can be used to assess, predict, and optimize agro-ecosystems. Developing reusable software and open-access databases is hard, and examples will illustrate how we use the Predictive Ecosystem Analyzer (PEcAn, pecanproject.org), the Biofuel Ecophysiological Traits and Yields database (BETYdb, betydb.org), and ecophysiological crop models to predict crop yield, decide which crops to plant, and which traits can be selected for the next generation of data driven crop improvement. A next step is to automate the use of sensors mounted on robots, drones, and tractors to assess plants in the field. The TERRA Reference Phenotyping Platform (TERRA-Ref, terraref.github.io) will provide an open access database and computing platform on which researchers can use and develop tools that use sensor data to assess and manage agricultural and other terrestrial ecosystems. TERRA-Ref will adopt existing standards and develop modular software components and common interfaces, in collaboration with researchers from iPlant, NEON, AgMIP, USDA, rOpenSci, ARPA-E, many scientists and industry partners. Our goal is to advance science by enabling efficient use, reuse, exchange, and creation of knowledge.

Developing a Roadmap for Improving Neglected and Underutilized Crops: A Case Study of South Africa

PubMed Central

Mabhaudhi, Tafadzwanashe; Chimonyo, Vimbayi G. P.; Chibarabada, Tendai P.; Modi, Albert T.

2017-01-01

Reports of neglected and underutilized crops' (NUS) potential remain mostly anecdotal with limited and often incoherent research available to support them. This has been attributed to lack of clear research goals, limited funding directed at NUS and journal apathy toward publishing work on NUS. The latter points also explain the lack of interest from emerging and established researchers. Additionally, the NUS community's inability to articulate a roadmap for NUS' promotion may have unintentionally contributed to this. The current study is a sequel to an initial study that assessed the status of NUS in South Africa. The objective of this follow-up study was then to (i) identify priority NUS, and (ii) articulate a strategy and actionable recommendations for promoting NUS in South Africa. The study identified 13 priority NUS, categorized into cereals, legumes, root, and tuber crops and leafy vegetables based on drought and heat stress tolerance and nutritional value. It is recommended that the available limited resources should be targeted on improving these priority NUS as they offer the best prospects for success. Focus should be on developing value chains for the priority NUS. This should be underpinned by science to provide evidence-based outcomes. This would assist to attract more funding for NUS research, development and innovation in South Africa. It is envisaged that through this roadmap, NUS could be transformed from the peripheries into mainstream agriculture. This study provides a template for developing a roadmap for promoting NUS that could be transposed and replicated among the 14 other southern African states. PMID:29312397

Finger Millet: A "Certain" Crop for an "Uncertain" Future and a Solution to Food Insecurity and Hidden Hunger under Stressful Environments.

PubMed

Gupta, Sanjay Mohan; Arora, Sandeep; Mirza, Neelofar; Pande, Anjali; Lata, Charu; Puranik, Swati; Kumar, J; Kumar, Anil

2017-01-01

Crop growth and productivity has largely been vulnerable to various abiotic and biotic stresses that are only set to be compounded due to global climate change. Therefore developing improved varieties and designing newer approaches for crop improvement against stress tolerance have become a priority now-a-days. However, most of the crop improvement strategies are directed toward staple cereals such as rice, wheat, maize etc., whereas attention on minor cereals such as finger millet [ Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] lags far behind. It is an important staple in several semi-arid and tropical regions of the world with excellent nutraceutical properties as well as ensuring food security in these areas even during harsh environment. This review highlights the importance of finger millet as a model nutraceutical crop. Progress and prospects in genetic manipulation for the development of abiotic and biotic stress tolerant varieties is also discussed. Although limited studies have been conducted for genetic improvement of finger millets, its nutritional significance in providing minerals, calories and protein makes it an ideal model for nutrition-agriculture research. Therefore, improved genetic manipulation of finger millets for resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as for enhancing nutrient content will be very effective in millet improvement. Key message: Apart from the excellent nutraceutical value of finger millet, its ability to tolerate various abiotic stresses and resist pathogens make it an excellent model for exploring vast genetic and genomic potential of this crop, which provide us a wide choice for developing strategies for making climate resilient staple crops.

A center for commercial development of space: Real-time satellite mapping. Remote sensing-based agricultural information expert system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hadipriono, Fabian C.; Diaz, Carlos F.; Merritt, Earl S.

1989-01-01

The research project results in a powerful yet user friendly CROPCAST expert system for use by a client to determine the crop yield production of a certain crop field. The study is based on the facts that heuristic assessment and decision making in agriculture are significant and dominate much of agribusiness. Transfer of the expert knowledge concerning remote sensing based crop yield production into a specific expert system is the key program in this study. A knowledge base consisting of a root frame, CROP-YIELD-FORECAST, and four subframes, namely, SATELLITE, PLANT-PHYSIOLOGY, GROUND, and MODEL were developed to accommodate the production rules obtained from the domain expert. The expert system shell Personal Consultant Plus version 4.0. was used for this purpose. An external geographic program was integrated to the system. This project is the first part of a completely built expert system. The study reveals that much effort was given to the development of the rules. Such effort is inevitable if workable, efficient, and accurate rules are desired. Furthermore, abundant help statements and graphics were included. Internal and external display routines add to the visual capability of the system. The work results in a useful tool for the client for making decisions on crop yield production.

Crop Genetics: The Seeds of Revolution.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

DeYoung, H. Garrett

1983-01-01

Current research in plant genetics is described. Benefits of this research (which includes genetic engineering applications) will include reduction/elimination of crop diseases, assurance of genetic stability, and the creation of new crop varieties. (JN)

E-precision agriculture for small scale cash crops in Tobasa regency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Putra Simanjuntak, Panca; Tiurniari Napitupulu, Pangeran; Pratama Silalahi, Soni; Kisno; Pasaribu, Norlina; Valešová, Libuše

2017-09-01

Cash crop is a promising sector in Tobasa regency; however, the trend showed a negative change of the cash crop production in. This research aims to develop an application which is based on Arduino for watering and fertilizing corn land. The result of using e-precision agriculture based on embedded system is 100% higher than the conventional one and the risk of harvesting failure using the embedded system decreased to 50%. Embedded system in this study acquired critical environment measurements which at last affected the yield raising and risk reduction. As the result, the use of e-precision agriculture provided a framework to be used by different stakeholders to implement e-agriculture platform that supports marketing of agricultural production since the system is proven to save the material and time which finally reduces the risk of harvesting failure and increases the yield. In other words, the system is able to economize the use of water and fertilizer on a small corn land. The system will be developed for more efficiency in material loss and the mobile-based application development to reach sustainable rural development particularly for cash-crop farmers.

New Crop Selection

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bhuiyan, Ruqayah H.; Spencer, Lashelle; Wheeler, Ray; Romeyn, Matthew

2018-01-01

For extended space flight, reliable food supplies are a necessity. Most of the food products consumed by astronauts today are stored for flight via freeze drying. Fresh food is needed to supplement known national deficiencies in the stored food diet (Cooper et al.). This is so because stored foods can lose nutritional value. Fresh food is the answer to the nutritional demands of space flight. Kennedy Space Center's Utilization and Life Sciences Office (UB-A), under the Exploration Research and Technology Program (UB), conducts research on plant growth and development under International Space Station (ISS) conditions. UB-A analyzes the growth responses of leafy greens in microgravity and through the manipulation of environmental conditions (CO2 levels, light intensity, relative humidity, and water delivery). By manipulating growing conditions researchers can optimize food production using minimal/restricted resources. The New Crop Selection experiments are testing the suitability of leafy crops to ISS conditions. Results from this study showed that 'Dragoon' Lettuce and 'Red Russian' Kale have the largest fresh mass.

Changing techniques in crop plant classification: molecularization at the National Institute of Agricultural Botany during the 1980s.

PubMed

Holmes, Matthew

2017-04-01

Modern methods of analysing biological materials, including protein and DNA sequencing, are increasingly the objects of historical study. Yet twentieth-century taxonomic techniques have been overlooked in one of their most important contexts: agricultural botany. This paper addresses this omission by harnessing unexamined archival material from the National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB), a British plant science organization. During the 1980s the NIAB carried out three overlapping research programmes in crop identification and analysis: electrophoresis, near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and machine vision systems. For each of these three programmes, contemporary economic, statutory and scientific factors behind their uptake by the NIAB are discussed. This approach reveals significant links between taxonomic practice at the NIAB and historical questions around agricultural research, intellectual property and scientific values. Such links are of further importance given that the techniques developed by researchers at the NIAB during the 1980s remain part of crop classification guidelines issued by international bodies today.

Opportunities and challenges for harvest weed seed control in global cropping systems.

PubMed

Walsh, Michael J; Broster, John C; Schwartz-Lazaro, Lauren M; Norsworthy, Jason K; Davis, Adam S; Tidemann, Breanne D; Beckie, Hugh J; Lyon, Drew J; Soni, Neeta; Neve, Paul; Bagavathiannan, Muthukumar V

2017-11-28

The opportunity to target weed seeds during grain harvest was established many decades ago following the introduction of mechanical harvesting and the recognition of high weed-seed retention levels at crop maturity; however, this opportunity remained largely neglected until more recently. The introduction and adoption of harvest weed seed control (HWSC) systems in Australia has been in response to widespread occurrence of herbicide-resistant weed populations. With diminishing herbicide resources and the need to maintain highly productive reduced tillage and stubble-retention practices, growers began to develop systems that targeted weed seeds during crop harvest. Research and development efforts over the past two decades have established the efficacy of HWSC systems in Australian cropping systems, where widespread adoption is now occurring. With similarly dramatic herbicide resistance issues now present across many of the world's cropping regions, it is timely for HWSC systems to be considered for inclusion in weed-management programs in these areas. This review describes HWSC systems and establishing the potential for this approach to weed control in several cropping regions. As observed in Australia, the inclusion of HWSC systems can reduce weed populations substantially reducing the potential for weed adaptation and resistance evolution. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry.

CELSS research and development program

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bubenheim, David

1990-01-01

Research in Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) conducted by NASA indicate that plant based systems are feasible candidates for human support in space. Ames has responsibility for research and development, systems integration and control, and space flight experiment portions of the CELSS program. Important areas for development of new methods and technologies are biomass production, waste processing, water purification, air revitalization, and food processing. For the plant system, the approach was to identify the flexibility and response time for the food, water, and oxygen production, and carbon dioxide consumption processes. Tremendous increases in productivity, compared with terrestrial agriculture, were realized. Waste processing research emphasizes recycle (transformation) of human wastes, trash, and inedible biomass to forms usable as inputs to the plant production system. Efforts to improve efficiency of the plant system, select new CELSS crops for a balanced diet, and initiate closed system research with the Crop Growth Research Chambers continue. The System Control and Integration program goal is to insure orchestrated system operation of the biological, physical, and chemical operation of the biological, physical, and chemical component processors of the CELSS. Space flight studies are planned to verify adequate operation of the system in reduced gravity or microgravity environments.

Identifying obstacles and ranking common biological control research priorities for Europe to manage most economically important pests in arable, vegetable and perennial crops.

PubMed

Lamichhane, Jay Ram; Bischoff-Schaefer, Monika; Bluemel, Sylvia; Dachbrodt-Saaydeh, Silke; Dreux, Laure; Jansen, Jean-Pierre; Kiss, Jozsef; Köhl, Jürgen; Kudsk, Per; Malausa, Thibaut; Messéan, Antoine; Nicot, Philippe C; Ricci, Pierre; Thibierge, Jérôme; Villeneuve, François

2017-01-01

EU agriculture is currently in transition from conventional crop protection to integrated pest management (IPM). Because biocontrol is a key component of IPM, many European countries recently have intensified their national efforts on biocontrol research and innovation (R&I), although such initiatives are often fragmented. The operational outputs of national efforts would benefit from closer collaboration among stakeholders via transnationally coordinated approaches, as most economically important pests are similar across Europe. This paper proposes a common European framework on biocontrol R&I. It identifies generic R&I bottlenecks and needs as well as priorities for three crop types (arable, vegetable and perennial crops). The existing gap between the market offers of biocontrol solutions and the demand of growers, the lengthy and expensive registration process for biocontrol solutions and their varying effectiveness due to variable climatic conditions and site-specific factors across Europe are key obstacles hindering the development and adoption of biocontrol solutions in Europe. Considering arable, vegetable and perennial crops, a dozen common target pests are identified for each type of crop and ranked by order of importance at European level. Such a ranked list indicates numerous topics on which future joint transnational efforts would be justified. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

High-resolution DNA melting analysis in plant research

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Genetic and genomic studies provide valuable insight into the inheritance, structure, organization, and function of genes. The knowledge gained from the analysis of plant genes is beneficial to all aspects of plant research, including crop improvement. New methods and tools are continually developed...

Switchgrass for ethanol and lipid production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Switchgrass is being developed as a dedicated cellulosic biomass crop by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS). Switchgrass is a native prairie grass with high productivity and favorable agronomic traits. ARS researchers have recently released Liberty switchgrass, which has a 25-78% increase in bi...

Genomic resources in fruit plants: an assessment of current status.

PubMed

Rai, Manoj K; Shekhawat, N S

2015-01-01

The availability of many genomic resources such as genome sequences, functional genomics resources including microarrays and RNA-seq, sufficient numbers of molecular markers, express sequence tags (ESTs) and high-density genetic maps is causing a rapid acceleration of genetics and genomic research of many fruit plants. This is leading to an increase in our knowledge of the genes that are linked to many horticultural and agronomically important traits. Recently, some progress has also been made on the identification and functional analysis of miRNAs in some fruit plants. This is one of the most active research fields in plant sciences. The last decade has witnessed development of genomic resources in many fruit plants such as apple, banana, citrus, grapes, papaya, pears, strawberry etc.; however, many of them are still not being exploited. Furthermore, owing to lack of resources, infrastructure and research facilities in many lesser-developed countries, development of genomic resources in many underutilized or less-studied fruit crops, which grow in these countries, is limited. Thus, research emphasis should be given to those fruit crops for which genomic resources are relatively scarce. The development of genomic databases of these less-studied fruit crops will enable biotechnologists to identify target genes that underlie key horticultural and agronomical traits. This review presents an overview of the current status of the development of genomic resources in fruit plants with the main emphasis being on genome sequencing, EST resources, functional genomics resources including microarray and RNA-seq, identification of quantitative trait loci and construction of genetic maps as well as efforts made on the identification and functional analysis of miRNAs in fruit plants.

Early Season Large-Area Winter Crop Mapping Using MODIS NDVI Data, Growing Degree Days Information and a Gaussian Mixture Model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Skakun, Sergii; Franch, Belen; Vermote, Eric; Roger, Jean-Claude; Becker-Reshef, Inbal; Justice, Christopher; Kussul, Nataliia

2017-01-01

Knowledge on geographical location and distribution of crops at global, national and regional scales is an extremely valuable source of information applications. Traditional approaches to crop mapping using remote sensing data rely heavily on reference or ground truth data in order to train/calibrate classification models. As a rule, such models are only applicable to a single vegetation season and should be recalibrated to be applicable for other seasons. This paper addresses the problem of early season large-area winter crop mapping using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) time-series and growing degree days (GDD) information derived from the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) product. The model is based on the assumption that winter crops have developed biomass during early spring while other crops (spring and summer) have no biomass. As winter crop development is temporally and spatially non-uniform due to the presence of different agro-climatic zones, we use GDD to account for such discrepancies. A Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is applied to discriminate winter crops from other crops (spring and summer). The proposed method has the following advantages: low input data requirements, robustness, applicability to global scale application and can provide winter crop maps 1.5-2 months before harvest. The model is applied to two study regions, the State of Kansas in the US and Ukraine, and for multiple seasons (2001-2014). Validation using the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Crop Data Layer (CDL) for Kansas and ground measurements for Ukraine shows that accuracies of greater than 90% can be achieved in mapping winter crops 1.5-2 months before harvest. Results also show good correspondence to official statistics with average coefficients of determination R(exp. 2) greater than 0.85.

ASTROCULTURE(tm) Commercial Plant Growth Unit and Glove Box Insert

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhou, Wei-Jia; Lambing, Steve (Technical Monitor)

2002-01-01

Two commercial plant investigations will be conducted during the STS-107 mission: living flower essential oil production and gene transfer. The research will be done using the ASTROCULTURE (trademark) hardware, which builds on similar experiments flown in the past on the space shuttle. This research will investigate how microgravity might affect the formation of the volatile chemical compounds - the essential oils - produced by two different types of living flowers. The flowers will be cultured in the ASTROCULTURE (trademark) plant chamber, which provides an enclosed and controlled environment. As the flowers bloom in space, they will produce essential oils, and these volatile compounds will be collected using International Flavors and Fragrance's proprietary Solid Phase Micro Extraction (SPME) technology. The gene transfer experiment examines a newly developed transformation system to see if it operates efficiently in the microgravity environment. This research is important for the development of genetically engineered crops, also known as transgenic crops.

Senior Research Connects Students with a Living Laboratory As Part of an Integrated Crop and Livestock System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senturklu, Songul; Landblom, Douglas; Brevik, Eric C.

2015-04-01

Soil, water, soil microbes, and solar energy are the main sources that sustain life on this planet. Without them working in concert, neither plants nor animals would survive. Considering the efficiency of animal production targets, soil must be protected and improved. Therefore, through our sustainable integrated crop and livestock research, we are studying animal and soil interactions from the soil to the plate. Integrating beef cattle systems into a diverse cropping system is providing a living laboratory for education beyond the traditional classroom setting. To establish the living learning laboratory at the Dickinson Research Extension Center, a five-crop rotation was established that included adapted cool and warm season grasses and broadleaf crops. The crop rotation is: sunflower > hard red spring wheat > fall seeded winter triticale-hairy vetch (hay)/spring seeded 7-species cover crop > Corn (85-95 day varieties) > field pea-barley intercrop. Sunflower and spring wheat are harvested for cash crop income in the rotation. Livestock integration occurs when yearling steers that had previously grazed perennial pastures until mid-August graze field pea-barley and subsequently unharvested corn. Average grazing days for field pea-barley and unharvested corn is 30 and 70 days, respectively. At the end of the grazing period, the yearling steers average 499-544 kg and are moved to a feedlot and fed an additional 75 days until slaughter. Maximizing grazing days and extending the grazing season through integration with the cropping system reduces custom feeding costs and enhances animal profit. Beef cows do not require high quality feed after their calves have been weaned. Therefore, gestating beef cows are an ideal animal to graze cover crops and crop aftermath (residue) after yearling steer grazing and farming operations have been completed. Extending the grazing season for beef cows by grazing cover crops and residues reduces winter feed cost, which is one of the highest expenses in beef cattle production. Senior research investigating the impact of livestock integration and multi-species cover crop grown within the crop rotation is studying changes in soil attributes resulting from the crop-animal integration by measuring bulk density and in-season soil fertility in the crop rotation. These responses are further contrasted with results from within the crop rotation and responses from perennial native range. Students that become engaged in the research represent a broad cross section of the consuming public and include high school junior and senior students, college undergraduate students that conduct research projects, postdoctoral research scientists engaged in senior level research, agricultural extension educators, and finally, farmer and rancher businessmen. The integrated nature of the research provides a wealth of learning opportunities for these various groups. For the high school students, visits to the living laboratory increase awareness and introduces students to a potential career path in agriculture, natural resource fields, and the many allied vocational fields that support agriculture. When college undergraduate students visit the living laboratory, they seek to address a researchable question or a problem in agriculture, while fulfilling requirements for graduation by conducting a research project. Because postdoctoral students want to be actively engaged in research and advanced learning, they are interested in conducting research in the living laboratory that can be published in peer reviewed journals. Agricultural extension educators, who advise farmers and ranchers, are looking for research results from the living laboratory that can be convey to their constituents. Farmers and ranchers participate in workshop events that give them face-to-face learning opportunities that they can use to effect change in their farm and ranch businesses. Each of these demographic groups are unique in their interest in the interaction between agricultural production and soil science. The authors will describe and discuss how each of these very different research consumers have been assisted during their experience and involvement in the living laboratory.

A comprehensive crop genome research project: the Superhybrid Rice Genome Project in China.

PubMed

Yu, Jun; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu; Liu, Siqi; Wang, Jian; Yang, Huanming

2007-06-29

In May 2000, the Beijing Institute of Genomics formally announced the launch of a comprehensive crop genome research project on rice genomics, the Chinese Superhybrid Rice Genome Project. SRGP is not simply a sequencing project targeted to a single rice (Oryza sativa L.) genome, but a full-swing research effort with an ultimate goal of providing inclusive basic genomic information and molecular tools not only to understand biology of the rice, both as an important crop species and a model organism of cereals, but also to focus on a popular superhybrid rice landrace, LYP9. We have completed the first phase of SRGP and provide the rice research community with a finished genome sequence of an indica variety, 93-11 (the paternal cultivar of LYP9), together with ample data on subspecific (between subspecies) polymorphisms, transcriptomes and proteomes, useful for within-species comparative studies. In the second phase, we have acquired the genome sequence of the maternal cultivar, PA64S, together with the detailed catalogues of genes uniquely expressed in the parental cultivars and the hybrid as well as allele-specific markers that distinguish parental alleles. Although SRGP in China is not an open-ended research programme, it has been designed to pave a way for future plant genomics research and application, such as to interrogate fundamentals of plant biology, including genome duplication, polyploidy and hybrid vigour, as well as to provide genetic tools for crop breeding and to carry along a social burden-leading a fight against the world's hunger. It began with genomics, the newly developed and industry-scale research field, and from the world's most populous country. In this review, we summarize our scientific goals and noteworthy discoveries that exploit new territories of systematic investigations on basic and applied biology of rice and other major cereal crops.

Effects of break crops, and of wheat volunteers growing in break crops or in set-aside or conservation covers, all following crops of winter wheat, on the development of take-all (Gaeumannomyces graminis var. tritici) in succeeding crops of winter wheat

PubMed Central

Jenkyn, JF; Gutteridge, RJ; White, RP

2014-01-01

Experiments on the Rothamsted and Woburn Experimental Farms studied the effects on take-all of different break crops and of set-aside/conservation covers that interrupted sequences of winter wheat. There was no evidence for different effects on take-all of the break crops per se but the presence of volunteers, in crops of oilseed rape, increased the amounts of take-all in the following wheat. Severity of take-all was closely related to the numbers of volunteers in the preceding break crops and covers, and was affected by the date of their destruction. Early destruction of set-aside/conservation covers was usually effective in preventing damaging take-all in the following wheat except, sometimes, when populations of volunteers were very large. The experiments were not designed to test the effects of sowing dates but different amounts of take-all in the first wheats after breaks or covers apparently affected the severity of take-all in the following (second) wheats only where the latter were relatively late sown. In earlier-sown second wheats, take-all was consistently severe and unrelated to the severity of the disease in the preceding (first) wheats. Results from two very simple experiments suggested that substituting set-aside/conservation covers for winter wheat, for 1 year only, did not seriously interfere with the development of take-all disease or with the development or maintenance of take-all decline (TAD). With further research, it might be possible for growers wishing to exploit TAD to incorporate set-aside/conservation covers into their cropping strategies, and especially to avoid the worst effects of the disease on grain yield during the early stages of epidemics. PMID:25653455

Sustainable Disposal of Edible Food Byproducts at University Research Farms

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Baldwin, Sherill; Chung, Kimberly

2007-01-01

Purpose: Research at agricultural universities often generates food crops that are edible by-products of the research process. The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors that affect decision-making around the disposal of these crops. Understanding decision-making suggests how universities might include food crop production into campus…

Overview: early history of crop growth and photosynthesis modeling.

PubMed

El-Sharkawy, Mabrouk A

2011-02-01

As in industrial and engineering systems, there is a need to quantitatively study and analyze the many constituents of complex natural biological systems as well as agro-ecosystems via research-based mechanistic modeling. This objective is normally addressed by developing mathematically built descriptions of multilevel biological processes to provide biologists a means to integrate quantitatively experimental research findings that might lead to a better understanding of the whole systems and their interactions with surrounding environments. Aided with the power of computational capacities associated with computer technology then available, pioneering cropping systems simulations took place in the second half of the 20th century by several research groups across continents. This overview summarizes that initial pioneering effort made to simulate plant growth and photosynthesis of crop canopies, focusing on the discovery of gaps that exist in the current scientific knowledge. Examples are given for those gaps where experimental research was needed to improve the validity and application of the constructed models, so that their benefit to mankind was enhanced. Such research necessitates close collaboration among experimentalists and model builders while adopting a multidisciplinary/inter-institutional approach. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Determining pomegranate water and nitrogen requirements with drip irrigation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Despite being an ancient crop there is limited knowledge on the water and nitrogen (N) requirements of pomegranate. We conducted research at the University of California, Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center (KARE) to determine the water and nitrogen requirements of a developing pomegr...

Surrogate species selection for assessing potential adverse environmental impacts of genetically engineered insect-resistant plants on non-target organisms.

PubMed

Carstens, Keri; Cayabyab, Bonifacio; De Schrijver, Adinda; Gadaleta, Patricia G; Hellmich, Richard L; Romeis, Jörg; Storer, Nicholas; Valicente, Fernando H; Wach, Michael

2014-01-01

Most regulatory authorities require that developers of genetically engineered insect-resistant (GEIR) crops evaluate the potential for these crops to have adverse impacts on valued non-target organisms (NTOs), i.e., organisms not intended to be controlled by the trait. In many cases, impacts to NTOs are assessed using surrogate species, and it is critical that the data derived from surrogates accurately predict any adverse impacts likely to be observed from the use of the crop in the agricultural context. The key is to select surrogate species that best represent the valued NTOs in the location where the crop is going to be introduced, but this selection process poses numerous challenges for the developers of GE crops who will perform the tests, as well as for the ecologists and regulators who will interpret the test results. These issues were the subject of a conference "Surrogate Species Selection for Assessing Potential Adverse Environmental Impacts of Genetically Engineered Plants on Non-Target Organisms" convened by the Center for Environmental Risk Assessment, ILSI Research Foundation. This report summarizes the proceedings of the conference, including the presentations, discussions and the points of consensus agreed to by the participants.

Accuracy Assessment of GAI Retrieval from SPOT5 Take According to Crop Type and Crop Development (BELCAM)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delloye, C.; Weiss, M.; Baret, F.; Morin, D.; Defourny, P.

2016-08-01

The successful launch of Sentinel-2A equipped of the Multi Spectral Instrument is an exceptional opportunity to deliver regular information of high spatial and temporal resolution about the agricultural fields in Belgium. This research takes advantage of SPOT5 Take5 frequent acquisition over the Belgium in 2015 to realize an in-depth analysis of the Green Area Index (GAI) retrieval by inversion of a radiative transfer model at field scale over the whole Belgium for 2 crops: winter wheat and potato. The GAI is particularly relevant to derive the chlorophyll content at the canopy level (GAI × Cab) which is directly correlated to the Nitrogen content of the crops. This information is of crucial importance to advice farmers on the nitrogen fertilization genuinely required by the crops allowing the best yield and avoiding over fertilization and pollution of the groundwater table. The use of vegetation indexes seems promising to retrieve accurately the GAI (RRMSE =10.2%) during the period of the third Nitrogen application for the winter wheat. Further analyses have to be conducted for varieties of potato with a high level of biomass development (GAI > 4).

DEVELOPMENT OF ADME DATA IN AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL SAFETY ASSESSMENTS

EPA Science Inventory

DEVELOPMENT OF ADME DATA IN AGRICULTURAL CHEMICAL SAFETY ASSESSMENTS
Pastoor, Timothy1, Barton, Hugh2
1 Syngenta Crop Protection, Greensboro, NC, USA.
2 EPA, Office of Research and Development-NHEERL, RTP, NC, USA.

A multi-stakeholder series of discussions d...

Criteria for Space-Based Sensor Applied to Bt Crop Monitoring

EPA Science Inventory

A joint agro-ecosystem research effort of NASA and USEPA has focused on the development of a decision support system designed to predict the development of insect pest resistance to transgenic toxins in maize. The use of NASA-developed remote sensing technologies that significant...

A Bayesian approach to infer nitrogen loading rates from crop and land-use types surrounding private wells in the Central Valley, California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ransom, Katherine M.; Bell, Andrew M.; Barber, Quinn E.; Kourakos, George; Harter, Thomas

2018-05-01

This study is focused on nitrogen loading from a wide variety of crop and land-use types in the Central Valley, California, USA, an intensively farmed region with high agricultural crop diversity. Nitrogen loading rates for several crop types have been measured based on field-scale experiments, and recent research has calculated nitrogen loading rates for crops throughout the Central Valley based on a mass balance approach. However, research is lacking to infer nitrogen loading rates for the broad diversity of crop and land-use types directly from groundwater nitrate measurements. Relating groundwater nitrate measurements to specific crops must account for the uncertainty about and multiplicity in contributing crops (and other land uses) to individual well measurements, and for the variability of nitrogen loading within farms and from farm to farm for the same crop type. In this study, we developed a Bayesian regression model that allowed us to estimate land-use-specific groundwater nitrogen loading rate probability distributions for 15 crop and land-use groups based on a database of recent nitrate measurements from 2149 private wells in the Central Valley. The water and natural, rice, and alfalfa and pasture groups had the lowest median estimated nitrogen loading rates, each with a median estimate below 5 kg N ha-1 yr-1. Confined animal feeding operations (dairies) and citrus and subtropical crops had the greatest median estimated nitrogen loading rates at approximately 269 and 65 kg N ha-1 yr-1, respectively. In general, our probability-based estimates compare favorably with previous direct measurements and with mass-balance-based estimates of nitrogen loading. Nitrogen mass-balance-based estimates are larger than our groundwater nitrate derived estimates for manured and nonmanured forage, nuts, cotton, tree fruit, and rice crops. These discrepancies are thought to be due to groundwater age mixing, dilution from infiltrating river water, or denitrification between the time when nitrogen leaves the root zone (point of reference for mass-balance-derived loading) and the time and location of groundwater measurement.

Effectiveness of Spectral Similarity Measures to Develop Precise Crop Spectra for Hyperspectral Data Analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chauhan, H.; Krishna Mohan, B.

2014-11-01

The present study was undertaken with the objective to check effectiveness of spectral similarity measures to develop precise crop spectra from the collected hyperspectral field spectra. In Multispectral and Hyperspectral remote sensing, classification of pixels is obtained by statistical comparison (by means of spectral similarity) of known field or library spectra to unknown image spectra. Though these algorithms are readily used, little emphasis has been placed on use of various spectral similarity measures to select precise crop spectra from the set of field spectra. Conventionally crop spectra are developed after rejecting outliers based only on broad-spectrum analysis. Here a successful attempt has been made to develop precise crop spectra based on spectral similarity. As unevaluated data usage leads to uncertainty in the image classification, it is very crucial to evaluate the data. Hence, notwithstanding the conventional method, the data precision has been performed effectively to serve the purpose of the present research work. The effectiveness of developed precise field spectra was evaluated by spectral discrimination measures and found higher discrimination values compared to spectra developed conventionally. Overall classification accuracy for the image classified by field spectra selected conventionally is 51.89% and 75.47% for the image classified by field spectra selected precisely based on spectral similarity. KHAT values are 0.37, 0.62 and Z values are 2.77, 9.59 for image classified using conventional and precise field spectra respectively. Reasonable higher classification accuracy, KHAT and Z values shows the possibility of a new approach for field spectra selection based on spectral similarity measure.

Looking Inward to the Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) for Rice Production Assessment in Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Komaladara, A. A. S. P.; Ambarawati, I. G. A. A.; Wijaya, I. M. A. S.; Hongo, C.; Mirah Adi, A. A. A.

2015-12-01

Rice is the main source of carbohydrate for most Indonesians. Rice production has been very dynamic due to improved infrastructure, research and development, and better farm management. However, rice production is susceptible to loss caused by drought, pest and disease attack and climate change. With the growing concern on sustainable and self-reliance food production in the country, there is an urgency to encourage research and efforts to increase rice productivity. Attempts to provide spatial distribution of rice fields on high resolution optical remote sensing data have been employed to some extent, however this technology could be costly. The use of UAV has been introduced to estimate damage ratio in rice crop recently in Indonesia. This technology is one of the ways to estimate rice production quicker, cost-saving and before harvesting time. This study aims to analyze spatio temporal and damage ratio of rice crop using UAV in Indonesia. The study empirically presents the use of UAV (Phantom 2 Vision +) on rice fields to the soil condition and development of management zone map in Bali as an example. The study concludes that the use of UAV allows researchers to pin point characteristics of crop and land in a specific area of a farm. This will then allow researchers to assist farmers in implementing specific and appropriate solutions to production issues. Key words: UAV, rice production, damage ratio

A network-based approach for semi-quantitative knowledge mining and its application to yield variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schauberger, Bernhard; Rolinski, Susanne; Müller, Christoph

2016-12-01

Variability of crop yields is detrimental for food security. Under climate change its amplitude is likely to increase, thus it is essential to understand the underlying causes and mechanisms. Crop models are the primary tool to project future changes in crop yields under climate change. A systematic overview of drivers and mechanisms of crop yield variability (YV) can thus inform crop model development and facilitate improved understanding of climate change impacts on crop yields. Yet there is a vast body of literature on crop physiology and YV, which makes a prioritization of mechanisms for implementation in models challenging. Therefore this paper takes on a novel approach to systematically mine and organize existing knowledge from the literature. The aim is to identify important mechanisms lacking in models, which can help to set priorities in model improvement. We structure knowledge from the literature in a semi-quantitative network. This network consists of complex interactions between growing conditions, plant physiology and crop yield. We utilize the resulting network structure to assign relative importance to causes of YV and related plant physiological processes. As expected, our findings confirm existing knowledge, in particular on the dominant role of temperature and precipitation, but also highlight other important drivers of YV. More importantly, our method allows for identifying the relevant physiological processes that transmit variability in growing conditions to variability in yield. We can identify explicit targets for the improvement of crop models. The network can additionally guide model development by outlining complex interactions between processes and by easily retrieving quantitative information for each of the 350 interactions. We show the validity of our network method as a structured, consistent and scalable dictionary of literature. The method can easily be applied to many other research fields.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolff, D.

In agricultural crop improvement, yield under various stress conditions and limiting factors is assessed experimentally. Of the stresses on plants which affect yield are those due to insects. Ostrinia nubilalis, the European corn borer (corn borer) is a major pest in sweet and field corn in the U.S. There are many ways to fight crop pests such as the corn borer, including (1) application of chemical insecticides, (2) application of natural predators and, (3) improving crop resistance through plant genetics programs. Randomized field trials are used to determine the effectiveness of pest management programs. These trials frequently consist of randomlymore » selected crop plots to which well-defined input regimes are instituted. For example, corn borers might be released onto crop plots in several densities at various stages of crop development, then sprayed with different levels of pesticide. These experiments are duplicated across regions and, in some cases across the country, to determine, in this instance for example, the best pesticide application rate for a given pest density and crop development stage. In order to release these pests onto crop plots, one must have an adequate supply of the insect pest. In winter months studies are carried out in the laboratory to examine chemical and natural pesticide effectiveness, as well as such things as the role of pheromones in moth behavior. The advantage in field trials is that yield data can be garnered directly. In this country, insects are raised for crop research primarily through the US Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with public Land Grant Universities and, by the private sector agricultural concerns - seed companies and others. This study quantifies the airborne allergen exposure of persons working in a Land Grant University entomology lab were allergy to European corn borer was suspected.« less

Managing Nitrogen in the anthropocene: integrating social and ecological science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, X.; Mauzerall, D. L.; Davidson, E. A.; Kanter, D.; Cai, R.; Searchinger, T.

2014-12-01

Human alteration of the global nitrogen cycle by agricultural activities has provided nutritious food to society, but also poses increasing threats to human and ecosystem health through unintended pollution. Managing nitrogen more efficiently in crop production is critical for addressing both food security and environmental challenges. Technologies and management practices have been developed to increase the uptake of applied nitrogen by crops. However, nitrogen use efficiency (NUE, yield per unit nitrogen input) is also affected by social and economic factors. For example, to maximize profit, farmers may change crop choice or their nitrogen application rate, both of which lead to a change in NUE. To evaluate such impacts, we use both theoretical and empirical approaches on micro (farm) and macro (national) scales: 1) We developed a bio-economic model (NUE3) on a farm scale to investigate how market signals (e.g. fertilizer and crop prices), government policies, and nitrogen-efficient technologies affect NUE. We demonstrate that if factors that influence nitrogen inputs (e.g. fertilizer-to-crop price ratios) are not considered, NUE projections will be poorly constrained. The impact of nitrogen-efficient technologies on NUE not only depends on how technology changes the production function, but also relies on the prices of the technologies, fertilizers, and crops. 2) We constructed a database of the nitrogen budget in crop production for major crops and major crop producing countries from 1961 to 2010. Using this database, we investigate historical trends of NUE and its relationship to agronomic, economic, social, and policy factors. We find that NUE in most developed countries follows a "U-shape" relationship with income level, consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve theory. According to the dynamics revealed in the NUE3 model, we propose three major pathways by which economic development affects NUE, namely consumption, technology, and public policy. Overall, our research suggests that it is critical to include social and economic processes when studying perturbations of the global nitrogen cycle and crafting environmental and food security policy. Better collaboration across disciplines is essential to improve nitrogen management in the anthropocene.

Microgravity

NASA Image and Video Library

1998-10-01

Research with plants in microgravity offers many exciting opportunities to gain new insights and could improve products on Earth ranging from crop production to fragrances and food flavorings. The ASTROCULTURE facility is a lead commercial facility for plant growth and plant research in microgravity and was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WSCAR), a NASA Commercial Space Center. On STS-95 it will support research that could help improve crop development leading to plants that are more disease resistant or have a higher yield and provide data on the production of plant essential oils---oils that contain the essence of the plant and provide both fragrance and flavoring. On STS-95, a flowering plant will be grown in ASTROCULTURE and samples taken using a method developed by the industry partner for this investigation. On Earth, the samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the data used to evaluate both the production of fragrant oils in microgravity and in the development of one or more products. The ASTROCULTURE payload uses these pourous tubes with precise pressure sensing and control for fluid delivery to the plant root tray.

The ASTROCULTURE Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1998-01-01

Research with plants in microgravity offers many exciting opportunities to gain new insights and could improve products on Earth ranging from crop production to fragrances and food flavorings. The ASTROCULTURE facility is a lead commercial facility for plant growth and plant research in microgravity and was developed by the Wisconsin Center for Space Automation and Robotics (WSCAR), a NASA Commercial Space Center. On STS-95 it will support research that could help improve crop development leading to plants that are more disease resistant or have a higher yield and provide data on the production of plant essential oils---oils that contain the essence of the plant and provide both fragrance and flavoring. On STS-95, a flowering plant will be grown in ASTROCULTURE and samples taken using a method developed by the industry partner for this investigation. On Earth, the samples will be analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and the data used to evaluate both the production of fragrant oils in microgravity and in the development of one or more products. The ASTROCULTURE payload uses these pourous tubes with precise pressure sensing and control for fluid delivery to the plant root tray.

Research investment implications of shifts in the global geography of wheat stripe rust.

PubMed

Beddow, Jason M; Pardey, Philip G; Chai, Yuan; Hurley, Terrance M; Kriticos, Darren J; Braun, Hans-Joachim; Park, Robert F; Cuddy, William S; Yonow, Tania

2015-09-14

Breeding new crop varieties with resistance to the biotic stresses that undermine crop yields is tantamount to increasing the amount and quality of biological capital in agriculture. However, the success of genes that confer resistance to pests induces a co-evolutionary response that depreciates the biological capital embodied in the crop, as pests evolve the capacity to overcome the crop's new defences. Thus, simply maintaining this biological capital, and the beneficial production and economic outcomes it bestows, requires continual reinvestment in new crop defences. Here we use observed and modelled data on stripe rust occurrence to gauge changes in the geographic spread of the disease over recent decades. We document a significant increase in the spread of stripe rust since 1960, with 88% of the world's wheat production now susceptible to infection. Using a probabilistic Monte Carlo simulation model we estimate that 5.47 million tonnes of wheat are lost to the pathogen each year, equivalent to a loss of US$979 million per year. Comparing the cost of developing stripe-rust-resistant varieties of wheat with the cost of stripe-rust-induced yield losses, we estimate that a sustained annual research investment of at least US$32 million into stripe rust resistance is economically justified.

Green Revolution research saved an estimated 18 to 27 million hectares from being brought into agricultural production

PubMed Central

Stevenson, James R.; Villoria, Nelson; Byerlee, Derek; Kelley, Timothy; Maredia, Mywish

2013-01-01

New estimates of the impacts of germplasm improvement in the major staple crops between 1965 and 2004 on global land-cover change are presented, based on simulations carried out using a global economic model (Global Trade Analysis Project Agro-Ecological Zone), a multicommodity, multiregional computable general equilibrium model linked to a global spatially explicit database on land use. We estimate the impact of removing the gains in cereal productivity attributed to the widespread adoption of improved varieties in developing countries. Here, several different effects—higher yields, lower prices, higher land rents, and trade effects—have been incorporated in a single model of the impact of Green Revolution research (and subsequent advances in yields from crop germplasm improvement) on land-cover change. Our results generally support the Borlaug hypothesis that increases in cereal yields as a result of widespread adoption of improved crop germplasm have saved natural ecosystems from being converted to agriculture. However, this relationship is complex, and the net effect is of a much smaller magnitude than Borlaug proposed. We estimate that the total crop area in 2004 would have been between 17.9 and 26.7 million hectares larger in a world that had not benefited from crop germplasm improvement since 1965. Of these hectares, 12.0–17.7 million would have been in developing countries, displacing pastures and resulting in an estimated 2 million hectares of additional deforestation. However, the negative impacts of higher food prices on poverty and hunger under this scenario would likely have dwarfed the welfare effects of agricultural expansion. PMID:23671086

Green Revolution research saved an estimated 18 to 27 million hectares from being brought into agricultural production.

PubMed

Stevenson, James R; Villoria, Nelson; Byerlee, Derek; Kelley, Timothy; Maredia, Mywish

2013-05-21

New estimates of the impacts of germplasm improvement in the major staple crops between 1965 and 2004 on global land-cover change are presented, based on simulations carried out using a global economic model (Global Trade Analysis Project Agro-Ecological Zone), a multicommodity, multiregional computable general equilibrium model linked to a global spatially explicit database on land use. We estimate the impact of removing the gains in cereal productivity attributed to the widespread adoption of improved varieties in developing countries. Here, several different effects--higher yields, lower prices, higher land rents, and trade effects--have been incorporated in a single model of the impact of Green Revolution research (and subsequent advances in yields from crop germplasm improvement) on land-cover change. Our results generally support the Borlaug hypothesis that increases in cereal yields as a result of widespread adoption of improved crop germplasm have saved natural ecosystems from being converted to agriculture. However, this relationship is complex, and the net effect is of a much smaller magnitude than Borlaug proposed. We estimate that the total crop area in 2004 would have been between 17.9 and 26.7 million hectares larger in a world that had not benefited from crop germplasm improvement since 1965. Of these hectares, 12.0-17.7 million would have been in developing countries, displacing pastures and resulting in an estimated 2 million hectares of additional deforestation. However, the negative impacts of higher food prices on poverty and hunger under this scenario would likely have dwarfed the welfare effects of agricultural expansion.

Genetically engineered plants in the product development pipeline in India.

PubMed

Warrier, Ranjini; Pande, Hem

2016-01-02

In order to proactively identify emerging issues that may impact the risk assessment and risk management functions of the Indian biosafety regulatory system, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change sought to understand the nature and diversity of genetically engineered crops that may move to product commercialization within the next 10 y. This paper describes the findings from a questionnaire designed to solicit information about public and private sector research and development (R&D) activities in plant biotechnology. It is the first comprehensive overview of the R&D pipeline for GE crops in India.

Coping with drought: stress and adaptive responses in potato and perspectives for improvement

PubMed Central

Obidiegwu, Jude E.; Bryan, Glenn J.; Jones, Hamlyn G.; Prashar, Ankush

2015-01-01

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is often considered as a drought sensitive crop and its sustainable production is threatened due to frequent drought episodes. There has been much research aiming to understand the physiological, biochemical, and genetic basis of drought tolerance in potato as a basis for improving production under drought conditions. The complex phenotypic response of potato plants to drought is conditioned by the interactive effects of the plant's genotypic potential, developmental stage, and environment. Effective crop improvement for drought tolerance will require the pyramiding of many disparate characters, with different combinations being appropriate for different growing environments. An understanding of the interaction between below ground water uptake by the roots and above ground water loss from the shoot system is essential. The development of high throughput precision phenotyping platforms is providing an exciting new tool for precision screening, which, with the incorporation of innovative screening strategies, can aid the selection and pyramiding of drought-related genes appropriate for specific environments. Outcomes from genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and bioengineering advances will undoubtedly compliment conventional breeding strategies and presents an alternative route toward development of drought tolerant potatoes. This review presents an overview of past research activity, highlighting recent advances with examples from other crops and suggesting future research directions. PMID:26257752

Finger Millet: A “Certain” Crop for an “Uncertain” Future and a Solution to Food Insecurity and Hidden Hunger under Stressful Environments

PubMed Central

Gupta, Sanjay Mohan; Arora, Sandeep; Mirza, Neelofar; Pande, Anjali; Lata, Charu; Puranik, Swati; Kumar, J.; Kumar, Anil

2017-01-01

Crop growth and productivity has largely been vulnerable to various abiotic and biotic stresses that are only set to be compounded due to global climate change. Therefore developing improved varieties and designing newer approaches for crop improvement against stress tolerance have become a priority now-a-days. However, most of the crop improvement strategies are directed toward staple cereals such as rice, wheat, maize etc., whereas attention on minor cereals such as finger millet [Eleusine coracana (L.) Gaertn.] lags far behind. It is an important staple in several semi-arid and tropical regions of the world with excellent nutraceutical properties as well as ensuring food security in these areas even during harsh environment. This review highlights the importance of finger millet as a model nutraceutical crop. Progress and prospects in genetic manipulation for the development of abiotic and biotic stress tolerant varieties is also discussed. Although limited studies have been conducted for genetic improvement of finger millets, its nutritional significance in providing minerals, calories and protein makes it an ideal model for nutrition-agriculture research. Therefore, improved genetic manipulation of finger millets for resistance to both abiotic and biotic stresses, as well as for enhancing nutrient content will be very effective in millet improvement. Key message: Apart from the excellent nutraceutical value of finger millet, its ability to tolerate various abiotic stresses and resist pathogens make it an excellent model for exploring vast genetic and genomic potential of this crop, which provide us a wide choice for developing strategies for making climate resilient staple crops. PMID:28487720

Phyto-recurrent selection: a method for selecting Populus and Salix genotypes for environmental applications

Treesearch

Ronald S. Jr. Zalesny; Jill A. Zalesny

2010-01-01

Short rotation woody crops (SRWCs) research began in 1968 at the U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station, Institute for Applied Ecosystem Studies (IAES) in Rhinelander, Wisconsin, USA. Genetics, physiology, and silviculture were at the forefront of research priorities, and the IAES became a national and global leader in SRWCs research and development. Given the...

Know your community: Model applications in field research

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The focus of this community is to promote the application of cropping or range system models in field research to help evaluate and develop optimum agricultural systems and management to achieve long-term economic and environmental sustainability under a changing climate. Model applications to a var...

Lessons from Cotton: Research Projects Following Development of a Community-based Genotyping Array

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

High-throughput, cost-effective genotyping arrays provide a standardized resource for plant breeding communities that can be used for a wide range of applications at a suitable pace for integrating pertinent information into breeding programs. Traditionally, crop research communities will target dev...

Innovating Conservation Agriculture: The Case of No-Till Cropping

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Coughenour, C. Milton

2003-01-01

The extensive sociological studies of conservation agriculture have provided considerable understanding of farmers' use of conservation practices, but attempts to develop predictive models have failed. Reviews of research findings question the utility of the conceptual and methodological perspectives of prior research. The argument advanced here…

The next generation of superfruits: enhancing anthocyanin rich black raspberries

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Our research group has worked the last seven years on developing black raspberries with improved disease resistance and phytochemical traits. We have been awarded USDA/NIFA-Specialty Crops Research Initiative (SCRI) funding to continue our project as a multi-region and international collaboration en...

Urban farming model in South Jakarta

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indrawati, E.

2018-01-01

The development of infrastructure rapidly, large of population and large of urbanization. Meanwhile, agricultural land is decreasing and agricultural production continues to decline. The productive crops is needed for consumption and it is also to improve the environment from oxygen provisioning, antidote to air pollution and to improve soil conditions. The use of yard land for horticultural crops (vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants), spices, medicines, herbs etc. can benefit for the owners of the yard particularly and the general public. The purpose of this research is to identify the model of home yard utilization, mosque yard, office, school, urban park and main road and sub main road, which can improve environmental quality in Pesanggrahan district. The method of analysis used descriptive analysis method by observation. Then analyzed the percentage of the use of yard with productive crops as urban farming. The results showed that the most productive crops were planted in Kelurahan Pesanggrahan 67% which compared with in Kelurahan Ulujami 47%, and in Kelurahan Petukangan Utara 27%. The most types of productive crops were grown as fruit trees and vegetable crops.

Integrating multiple satellite data for crop monitoring

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Remote sensing provides a valuable data source for detecting crop types, monitoring crop condition and predicting crop yields from space. Routine and continuous remote sensing data are critical for agricultural research and operational applications. Since crop field dimensions tend to be relatively ...

[Water-saving mechanisms of intercropping system in improving cropland water use efficiency].

PubMed

Zhang, Feng-Yun; Wu, Pu-Te; Zhao, Xi-Ning; Cheng, Xue-Feng

2012-05-01

Based on the multi-disciplinary researches, and in terms of the transformation efficiency of surface water to soil water, availability of cropland soil water, crop canopy structure, total irrigation volume needed on a given area, and crop yield, this paper discussed the water-saving mechanisms of intercropping system in improving cropland water use efficiency. Intercropping system could promote the full use of cropland water by plant roots, increase the water storage in root zone, reduce the inter-row evaporation and control excessive transpiration, and create a special microclimate advantageous to the plant growth and development. In addition, intercropping system could optimize source-sink relationship, provide a sound foundation for intensively utilizing resources temporally and spatially, and increase the crop yield per unit area greatly without increase of water consumption, so as to promote the crop water use efficiency effectively.

The Crop Evaluation Research for Environmental Strategies (CERES) Remote Sensing 2008 Project Activities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Casas, Joseph C.; Glaser, John A.; Copenhaver, Kenneth L.; May, George

2009-01-01

In recent years, the use of Plant Incorporated Protectant (PIP) corn by American producers has been increasing dramatically. PIP corn contains genetically inserted traits that produce toxins in the plant that provide narrowly targeted protection against specific insect pests. The plant producing t oxms can offer significant reductions in the application of broad -spectrum pesticides that have ecological and human health consequences. PIP corn as a percentage of total corn acreage planted in the US is expected to continue to increase as these protective traits are "stacked" with other desirable traits by seed companies, and producers are seeing considerable increases in corn yield as a result. The introduction of corn as a bio-fuel source for ethanol has increased production by over 6 million hectares in 2007. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), which is responsible for the registration of PIP crops under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act, views the use of PIP corn as positive. Broad spectrum pesticide use has declined since the PIP traits have been introduced. As the agricultural landscape sees a higher percentage of corn acres using the PIP technology, the risk of the targeted insect pest populations developing resistance to the toxins, thereby rendering the in will increase as well. This result would negate the effectiveness of the PIP corn traits and could reduce production of a US field corn crop valued at $33 billion dollars in 2006 and place US food and now energy security at risk. Concerns over insect pest resistance development to PIP traits have led the USEPA to team with NASA and the Institute for Technology Development (ITD) to develop geo-spatial technologies designed to proactively monitor the corn production landscape for insect pest infestation and possible resistance development. USEPA resistance management simulation models are combined with NASA remote sensi ng products to monitor the corn landscape for resistance development. The two agencies have entered into an agreement which could potentially lead to the development of next generation NASA sensors that will more specifically address the requirements of the USEPA's resistance development strategy and offer opportunities to study the ever changing ecosystem complexities. The USEPA/NASA/ITD team has developed a broad research project entitled CERES (Crop Evaluation Research for Environmental Strategies). CERES is a research effort leading to decision support system tools that are designed to integrate multi-resolution NASA remote sensing data products and USEPA geo -spatial models to monitor the potential for insect pest resistance development from the regional to the landscape and then to the field level.

Monitoring and Modeling Crop Health and Water Use via in-situ, Airborne and Space-based Platforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McCabe, M. F.

2014-12-01

The accurate retrieval of plant water use, health and function together with soil state and condition, represent key objectives in the management and monitoring of large-scale agricultural production. In regions of water shortage or stress, understanding the sustainable use of available water supplies is critical. Unfortunately, this need is all too often limited by a lack of reliable observations. Techniques that balance the demand for reliable ground-based data with the rapid retrieval of spatially distributed crop characteristics represent a needed line of research. Data from in-situ monitoring coupled with advances in satellite retrievals of key land surface variables, provide the information necessary to characterize many crop health and water use features, including evaporation, leaf-chlorophyll and other common vegetation indices. With developments in UAV and quadcopter solutions, the opportunity to bridge the spatio-temporal gap between satellite and ground based sensing now exists, along with the capacity for customized retrievals of crop information. While there remain challenges in the routine application of autonomous airborne systems, the state of current technology and sensor developments provide the capacity to explore the operational potential. While this presentation will focus on the multi-scale estimation of crop-water use and crop-health characteristics from satellite-based sensors, the retrieval of high resolution spatially distributed information from near-surface airborne and ground-based systems will also be examined.

Breeding for plant heat tolerance at vegetative and reproductive stages.

PubMed

Driedonks, Nicky; Rieu, Ivo; Vriezen, Wim H

2016-06-01

Thermotolerant crop research. Global warming has become a serious worldwide threat. High temperature is a major environmental factor limiting crop productivity. Current adaptations to high temperature via alterations to technical and management systems are insufficient to sustain yield. For this reason, breeding for heat-tolerant crops is in high demand. This review provides an overview of the effects of high temperature on plant physiology, fertility and crop yield and discusses the strategies for breeding heat-tolerant cultivars. Generating thermotolerant crops seems to be a challenging task as heat sensitivity is highly variable across developmental stages and processes. In response to heat, plants trigger a cascade of events, switching on numerous genes. Although breeding has made substantial advances in developing heat-tolerant lines, the genetic basis and diversity of heat tolerance in plants remain largely unknown. The development of new varieties is expensive and time-consuming, and knowledge of heat tolerance mechanisms would aid the design of strategies to screen germplasm for heat tolerance traits. However, gains in heat tolerance are limited by the often narrow genetic diversity. Exploration and use of wild relatives and landraces in breeding can increase useful genetic diversity in current crops. Due to the complex nature of plant heat tolerance and its immediate global concern, it is essential to face this breeding challenge in a multidisciplinary holistic approach involving governmental agencies, private companies and academic institutions.

How Universal Is the Relationship Between Remotely Sensed Vegetation Indices (VI) and Crop Leaf Area Index (LAI)?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kang, Yanghui; Ozdogan, Mutlu; Zipper, Samuel C.; Roman, Miguel

2016-01-01

Global LAI-VI relationships are statistically significant, crop-specific, and mostly non-linear. This research enables the operationalization of large-area crop modeling and, by extension, has relevance to both fundamental and applied agroecosystem research.

Cover Crop Chart: An intuitive educational resource for extension professionals

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Interest in cover crops by agricultural producers has increased the need for information regarding the suitability of crops for addressing different production and natural resource goals. To help address this need, staff at the USDA Agricultural Research Service Northern Great Plains Research Labor...

Biomass Energy | Climate Neutral Research Campuses | NREL

Science.gov Websites

forest residues, mill and urban wastes, and agricultural residues, as well as energy crop potential developed biomass energy generation facilities including those that run on agricultural waste byproducts

History of cotton fiber bioscience research at USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Improving fiber quality has been an important breeding goal for cotton breeders. Better understanding of fiber development helps cotton scientists to devise a strategy for crop improvement either through marker-assisted selection or via manipulation of fiber genes. USDA-ARS Southern Regional Researc...

Milestones in plant sulfur research on sulfur-induced-resistance (SIR) in Europe

PubMed Central

Bloem, Elke; Haneklaus, Silvia; Schnug, Ewald

2015-01-01

Until the 1970's of the last century sulfur (S) was mainly regarded as a pollutant being the main contributor of acid rain, causing forest dieback in central Europe. When Clean Air Acts came into force at the start of the 1980's SO2 contaminations in the air were consequently reduced within the next years. S changed from an unwanted pollutant into a lacking plant nutrient in agriculture since agricultural fields were no longer “fertilized” indirectly by industrial pollution. S deficiency was first noticed in Brassica crops that display an especially high S demand because of its content of S-containing secondary metabolites, the glucosinolates. In Scotland, where S depositions decreased even faster than in continental Europe, an increasing disease incidence with Pyrenopeziza brassicae was observed in oilseed rape in the beginning 1990's and the concept of sulfur-induced-resistance (SIR) was developed after a relationship between the S status and the disease incidence was uncovered. Since then a lot of research was carried out to unravel the background of SIR in the metabolism of agricultural crops and to identify metabolites, enzymes and reactions, which are potentially activated by the S metabolism to combat fungal pathogens. The S status of the crop is affecting many different plant features such as color and scent of flowers, pigments in leaves, metabolite concentrations and the release of gaseous S compounds which are directly influencing the desirability of a crop for a variety of different organisms from microorganisms, over insects and slugs to the point of grazing animals. The present paper is an attempt to sum up the knowledge about the effect of the S nutritional status of agricultural crops on parameters that are directly related to their health status and by this to SIR. Milestones in SIR research are compiled, open questions are addressed and future projections were developed. PMID:25642233

Orphan legume crops enter the genomics era!

PubMed

Varshney, Rajeev K; Close, Timothy J; Singh, Nagendra K; Hoisington, David A; Cook, Douglas R

2009-04-01

Many of the world's most important food legumes are grown in arid and semi-arid regions of Africa and Asia, where crop productivity is hampered by biotic and abiotic stresses. Until recently, these crops have also suffered from a dearth of genomic and molecular-genetic resources and thus were 'orphans' of the genome revolution. However, the community of legume researchers has begun a concerted effort to change this situation. The driving force is a series of international collaborations that benefit from recent advances in genome sequencing and genotyping technologies. The focus of these activities is the development of genome-scale data sets that can be used in high-throughput approaches to facilitate genomics-assisted breeding in these legumes.

A generalized approach to wheat yield forecasting using earth observations: Data considerations, application and relevance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker-Reshef, Inbal

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the demand for timely, comprehensive global agricultural intelligence. The issue of food security has rapidly risen to the top of government agendas around the world as the recent lack of food access led to unprecedented food prices, hunger, poverty, and civil conflict. Timely information on global crop production is indispensable for combating the growing stress on the world's crop production, for stabilizing food prices, developing effective agricultural policies, and for coordinating responses to regional food shortages. Earth Observations (EO) data offer a practical means for generating such information as they provide global, timely, cost-effective, and synoptic information on crop condition and distribution. Their utility for crop production forecasting has long been recognized and demonstrated across a wide range of scales and geographic regions. Nevertheless it is widely acknowledged that EO data could be better utilized within the operational monitoring systems and thus there is a critical need for research focused on developing practical robust methods for agricultural monitoring. Within this context this dissertation focused on advancing EO-based methods for crop yield forecasting and on demonstrating the potential relevance for adopting EO-based crop forecasts for providing timely reliable agricultural intelligence. This thesis made contributions to this field by developing and testing a robust EO-based method for wheat production forecasting at state to national scales using available and easily accessible data. The model was developed in Kansas (KS) using coarse resolution normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series data in conjunction with out-of-season wheat masks and was directly applied in Ukraine to assess its transferability. The model estimated yields within 7% in KS and 10% in Ukraine of final estimates 6 weeks prior to harvest. The relevance of adopting such methods to provide timely reliable information to crop commodity markets is demonstrated through a 2010 case study.

Advances in regional crop yield estimation over the United States using satellite remote sensing data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, D. M.; Dorn, M. F.; Crawford, C.

2015-12-01

Since the dawn of earth observation imagery, particularly from systems like Landsat and the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer, there has been an overarching desire to regionally estimate crop production remotely. Research efforts integrating space-based imagery into yield models to achieve this need have indeed paralleled these systems through the years, yet development of a truly useful crop production monitoring system has been arguably mediocre in coming. As a result, relatively few organizations have yet to operationalize the concept, and this is most acute in regions of the globe where there are not even alternative sources of crop production data being collected. However, the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) has continued to push for this type of data source as a means to complement its long-standing, traditional crop production survey efforts which are financially costly to the government and create undue respondent burden on farmers. Corn and soybeans, the two largest field crops in the United States, have been the focus of satellite-based production monitoring by NASS for the past decade. Data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) has been seen as the most pragmatic input source for modeling yields primarily based on its daily revisit capabilities and reasonable ground sample resolution. The research methods presented here will be broad but provides a summary of what is useful and adoptable with satellite imagery in terms of crop yield estimation. Corn and soybeans will be of particular focus but other major staple crops like wheat and rice will also be presented. NASS will demonstrate that while MODIS provides a slew of vegetation related products, the traditional normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) is still ideal. Results using land surface temperature products, also generated from MODIS, will also be shown. Beyond the MODIS data itself, NASS research has also focused efforts on understanding a variety of data mining and modeling options and results strongly lean toward solutions of ensemble decision trees like Cubist and Random Forest. Those comparisons of what are seen as best will be also be shown. And finally, important model refinements accounting for temporal and spatial trends have also been considered and results will be presented.

CmMDb: a versatile database for Cucumis melo microsatellite markers and other horticulture crop research.

PubMed

Bhawna; Chaduvula, Pavan K; Bonthala, Venkata S; Manjusha, Verma; Siddiq, Ebrahimali A; Polumetla, Ananda K; Prasad, Gajula M N V

2015-01-01

Cucumis melo L. that belongs to Cucurbitaceae family ranks among one of the highest valued horticulture crops being cultivated across the globe. Besides its economical and medicinal importance, Cucumis melo L. is a valuable resource and model system for the evolutionary studies of cucurbit family. However, very limited numbers of molecular markers were reported for Cucumis melo L. so far that limits the pace of functional genomic research in melon and other similar horticulture crops. We developed the first whole genome based microsatellite DNA marker database of Cucumis melo L. and comprehensive web resource that aids in variety identification and physical mapping of Cucurbitaceae family. The Cucumis melo L. microsatellite database (CmMDb: http://65.181.125.102/cmmdb2/index.html) encompasses 39,072 SSR markers along with its motif repeat, motif length, motif sequence, marker ID, motif type and chromosomal locations. The database is featured with novel automated primer designing facility to meet the needs of wet lab researchers. CmMDb is a freely available web resource that facilitates the researchers to select the most appropriate markers for marker-assisted selection in melons and to improve breeding strategies.

Alternative cropping systems for sugarcane

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Planting cover crops during the fallow period prior to planting sugarcane has the potential to influence not only the following sugarcane crop, but the economics of the production system as a whole. Research was conducted at the USDA, ARS, Sugarcane Research Unit at Houma, LA to determine the impac...

Finding the Subcellular Location of Barley, Wheat, Rice and Maize Proteins: The Compendium of Crop Proteins with Annotated Locations (cropPAL).

PubMed

Hooper, Cornelia M; Castleden, Ian R; Aryamanesh, Nader; Jacoby, Richard P; Millar, A Harvey

2016-01-01

Barley, wheat, rice and maize provide the bulk of human nutrition and have extensive industrial use as agricultural products. The genomes of these crops each contains >40,000 genes encoding proteins; however, the major genome databases for these species lack annotation information of protein subcellular location for >80% of these gene products. We address this gap, by constructing the compendium of crop protein subcellular locations called crop Proteins with Annotated Locations (cropPAL). Subcellular location is most commonly determined by fluorescent protein tagging of live cells or mass spectrometry detection in subcellular purifications, but can also be predicted from amino acid sequence or protein expression patterns. The cropPAL database collates 556 published studies, from >300 research institutes in >30 countries that have been previously published, as well as compiling eight pre-computed subcellular predictions for all Hordeum vulgare, Triticum aestivum, Oryza sativa and Zea mays protein sequences. The data collection including metadata for proteins and published studies can be accessed through a search portal http://crop-PAL.org. The subcellular localization information housed in cropPAL helps to depict plant cells as compartmentalized protein networks that can be investigated for improving crop yield and quality, and developing new biotechnological solutions to agricultural challenges. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Japanese Society of Plant Physiologists. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

New oilseed crops on the horizon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Princen, L.H.

Fats and oils for food uses are now plentiful on a worldwide basis. Tallow, lard and fish oils, as well as vegetable oils, such as those derived from soybean, sunflower, palm, rapeseed, peanut and cottonseed, are often overproduced. Although many of these products are also used for industrial chemicals, they often are not of the most favorable composition for nonfood applications. A search for new oilseed crops with more advantageous oil composition has led to the development of excellent candidates that are now close to commercial acceptance. Among them are Crambe, Limnanthes, Vernonia, Sapium and Simmondsia. Other crops are atmore » a much lower stage of development but also have excellent potential. They include Cuphea, Foeniculum, Stokesia, Lesquerella and Lunaria. One new oilseed crop which is being considered for hydrocarbon-like fuel is the Chinese tallow tree (Sapium Sebiferum). Recent research estimates predict that seed yield could amount to 10,000 lbs. per acre. At 40% seed lipid levels, this can translate to 4000 lbs. per acre of fuel, more than any other plant species now growing in the US. 24 references, 6 figures, 5 tables.« less

Climate change and world food supply, demand, and trade

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fischer, G.; Frohberg, K.; Parry, M.L.

This chapter summarizes the findings of a major interdisciplinary research effort by scientists in 25 countries. The study examined the potential biophysical responses of major food crops to changing atmospheric composition and climate, and projected potential socio-economic consequences. In a first step, crop models were used to estimate how changing climatic conditions may alter yields of major crops at a number of sites representing both major production areas and vulnerable regions at low, mid, and high latitudes. Then socio-economic impacts were assessed for the period 1990 up to the Year 2060 with a dynamic recursive model of the world foodmore » system. The results of the assessment suggest that a doubling of the atmospheric CO{sub 2} concentration will have little effect on global food production levels. Globally, impacts on crop production will be small compared to the required production increases between now and the middle of the next century. But, under all simulated scenarios possible negative impacts were mostly observed in low latitudes thus tending to increase the disparity between developed and developing countries.« less

An Interoperable, Agricultural Information System Based on Satellite Remote Sensing Data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Teng, William; Chiu, Long; Doraiswamy, Paul; Kempler, Steven; Liu, Zhong; Pham, Long; Rui, Hualan

2005-01-01

Monitoring global agricultural crop conditions during the growing season and estimating potential seasonal production are critically important for market development of US. agricultural products and for global food security. The Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Data and Information Services Center Distributed Active Archive Center (GES DISC DAAC) is developing an Agricultural Information System (AIS), evolved from an existing TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS), which will operationally provide satellite remote sensing data products (e.g., rainfall) and services. The data products will include crop condition and yield prediction maps, generated from a crop growth model with satellite data inputs, in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service. The AIS will enable the remote, interoperable access to distributed data, by using the GrADS-DODS Server (GDS) and by being compliant with Open GIS Consortium standards. Users will be able to download individual files, perform interactive online analysis, as well as receive operational data flows. AIS outputs will be integrated into existing operational decision support systems for global crop monitoring, such as those of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service and the U.N. World Food Program.

A roadmap for breeding orphan leafy vegetable species: a case study of Gynandropsis gynandra (Cleomaceae).

PubMed

Sogbohossou, E O Deedi; Achigan-Dako, Enoch G; Maundu, Patrick; Solberg, Svein; Deguenon, Edgar M S; Mumm, Rita H; Hale, Iago; Van Deynze, Allen; Schranz, M Eric

2018-01-01

Despite an increasing awareness of the potential of "orphan" or unimproved crops to contribute to food security and enhanced livelihoods for farmers, coordinated research agendas to facilitate production and use of orphan crops by local communities are generally lacking. We provide an overview of the current knowledge on leafy vegetables with a focus on Gynandropsis gynandra , a highly nutritious species used in Africa and Asia, and highlight general and species-specific guidelines for participatory, genomics-assisted breeding of orphan crops. Key steps in genome-enabled orphan leafy vegetables improvement are identified and discussed in the context of Gynandropsis gynandra breeding, including: (1) germplasm collection and management; (2) product target definition and refinement; (3) characterization of the genetic control of key traits; (4) design of the 'process' for cultivar development; (5) integration of genomic data to optimize that 'process'; (6) multi-environmental participatory testing and end-user evaluation; and (7) crop value chain development. The review discusses each step in detail, with emphasis on improving leaf yield, phytonutrient content, organoleptic quality, resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses and post-harvest management.

Historical Research Preliminary to National Register Assessments of 719 Historic Sites at Fort Hood, Bell and Coryell Counties, Texas.

DTIC Science & Technology

1999-06-01

and savannah, and 5 percent is developed urban area (Espey, Huston and Associates 1979). Numerous plant types—267 varieties—have been identified...settlers cleared land along river bottoms and planted subsistence crops. Very little cotton was grown in this region. Most cotton production that...possession of the 236 acres to J. D. Brown, Jr., after he gathered all of the crops he had planted on the land in that year (CC, DCM L:199). Brown

Strengthening Agricultural Decisions in Countries at Risk of Food Insecurity: The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor for Early Warning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker-Reshef, I.; Barker, B.; McGaughey, K.; Humber, M. L.; Sanchez, A.; Justice, C. O.; Rembold, F.; Verdin, J. P.

2016-12-01

Timely, reliable information on crop conditions, and prospects at the subnational scale, is critical for making informed policy and agricultural decisions for ensuring food security, particularly for the most vulnerable countries. However, such information is often incomplete or lacking. As such, the Crop Monitor for Early Warning (CM for EW) was developed with the goal to reduce uncertainty and strengthen decision support by providing actionable information on a monthly basis to national, regional and global food security agencies through timely consensus assessments of crop conditions. This information is especially critical in recent years, given the extreme weather conditions impacting food supplies including the most recent El Nino event. This initiative brings together the main international food security monitoring agencies and organizations to develop monthly crop assessments based on satellite observations, meteorological information, field observations and ground reports, which reflect an international consensus. This activity grew out of the successful Crop Monitor for the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), which provides operational monthly crop assessments of the main producing countries of the world. The CM for EW was launched in February 2016 and has already become a trusted source of information internationally and regionally. Its assessments have been featured in a large number of news articles, reports, and press releases, including a joint statement by the USAID's FEWS NET, UN World Food Program, European Commission Joint Research Center, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organziation, on the devastating impacts of the southern African drought due to El Nino. One of the main priorities for this activity going forward is to expand its partnership with regional and national monitoring agencies, and strengthen capacity for national crop condition assessments.

Soil Water Improvements with the Long Term Use of a Winter Rye Cover Crop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basche, A.; Kaspar, T.; Archontoulis, S.; Jaynes, D. B.; Sauer, T. J.; Parkin, T.; Miguez, F.

2015-12-01

The Midwestern United States, a region that produces one-third of maize and one-quarter of soybeans globally, is projected to experience increasing rainfall variability with future climate change. One approach to mitigate climate impacts is to utilize crop and soil management practices that enhance soil water storage, reducing the risks of flooding and runoff as well as drought-induced crop water stress. While some research indicates that a winter cover crop in a maize-soybean rotation increases soil water, producers continue to be concerned that water use by cover crops will reduce water for a following cash crop. We analyzed continuous in-field soil moisture measurements over from 2008-2014 at a Central Iowa research site that has included a winter rye cover crop in a maize-soybean rotation for thirteen years. This period of study included years in the top third of wettest years on record (2008, 2010, 2014) as well as years in the bottom third of driest years (2012, 2013). We found the cover crop treatment to have significantly higher soil water storage from 2012-2014 when compared to the no cover crop treatment and in most years greater soil water content later in the growing season when a cover crop was present. We further found that the winter rye cover crop significantly increased the field capacity water content and plant available water compared to the no cover crop treatment. Finally, in 2012 and 2013, we measured maize and soybean biomass every 2-3 weeks and did not see treatment differences in crop growth, leaf area or nitrogen uptake. Final crop yields were not statistically different between the cover and no cover crop treatment in any of the years of this analysis. This research indicates that the long-term use of a winter rye cover crop can improve soil water dynamics without sacrificing cash crop growth.

Using remote sensing to calculate plant available nitrogen needed by crops on swine factory farm sprayfields in North Carolina

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Christenson, Elizabeth; Serre, Marc

2015-10-01

North Carolina (NC) is the second largest producer of hogs in the United States with Duplin county, NC having the densest population of hogs in the world. In NC, liquid swine manure is generally stored in open-air lagoons and sprayed onto sprayfields with sprinkler systems to be used as fertilizer for crops. Swine factory farms, termed concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), are regulated by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) based on nutrient management plans (NMPs) having balanced plant available nitrogen (PAN). The estimated PAN in liquid manure being sprayed must be less than the estimated PAN needed crops during irrigation. Estimates for PAN needed by crops are dependent on crop and soil types. Objectives of this research were to develop a new, time-efficient method to identify PAN needed by crops on Duplin county sprayfields for years 2010-2014. Using remote sensing data instead of NMP data to identify PAN needed by crops allowed calendar year identification of which crops were grown on sprayfields instead of a five-year range of values. Although permitted data have more detailed crop information than remotely sensed data, identification of PAN needed by crops using remotely sensed data is more time efficient, internally consistent, easily publically accessible, and has the ability to identify annual changes in PAN on sprayfields. Once PAN needed by crops is known, remote sensing can be used to quantify PAN at other spatial scales, such as sub-watershed levels, and can be used to inform targeted water quality monitoring of swine CAFOs.

Navigating a Transdisciplinary Research Project with a Non-Traditional Academic Background: Climate Change, Soil Health and Sustainability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Basche, A.

2014-12-01

The Climate and Corn-based Cropping Systems Coordinated Agriculture Project (CSCAP) is a collaboration of 150+ team members spanning a range of scientific disciplinary backgrounds. The project goal is to produce collaborative research, education and extension aimed at mitigating and adapting Midwest cropping systems to climate variability and change. My PhD work in Agronomy and Sustainable Agriculture is a part of the CSCAP although my prior academic background was in applied climate science and biology, thus proposing a potential challenge to the new academic landscape. Further, graduate students within CSCAP are a part of a natural experiment in how the next generation of scientists operates in a transdisciplinary environment. As part of my leadership in the CSCAP, I helped to develop a "roadmap" document outlining the learning opportunities available to students. This document was meant to underscore the skills and experiences that will aid us in future collaborative research projects. Through these leadership experiences, I believe that the underpinning of any successful collaborative research project requires time: to develop relationships, earn trust and develop shared understandings and respect for different academic backgrounds.

Impact of molecular genetic research on peanut cultivar development

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) has lagged other crops on use of molecular genetic technology for cultivar development in part due to lack of investment, but also because of low levels of molecular polymorphism among cultivated varieties. Recent advances in molecular genetic technology have allowed res...

Surrogate species selection for assessing potential adverse environmental impacts of genetically engineered insect-resistant plants on non-target organisms

PubMed Central

Carstens, Keri; Cayabyab, Bonifacio; De Schrijver, Adinda; Gadaleta, Patricia G; Hellmich, Richard L; Romeis, Jörg; Storer, Nicholas; Valicente, Fernando H; Wach, Michael

2014-01-01

Most regulatory authorities require that developers of genetically engineered insect-resistant (GEIR) crops evaluate the potential for these crops to have adverse impacts on valued non-target organisms (NTOs), i.e., organisms not intended to be controlled by the trait. In many cases, impacts to NTOs are assessed using surrogate species, and it is critical that the data derived from surrogates accurately predict any adverse impacts likely to be observed from the use of the crop in the agricultural context. The key is to select surrogate species that best represent the valued NTOs in the location where the crop is going to be introduced, but this selection process poses numerous challenges for the developers of GE crops who will perform the tests, as well as for the ecologists and regulators who will interpret the test results. These issues were the subject of a conference “Surrogate Species Selection for Assessing Potential Adverse Environmental Impacts of Genetically Engineered Plants on Non-Target Organisms” convened by the Center for Environmental Risk Assessment, ILSI Research Foundation. This report summarizes the proceedings of the conference, including the presentations, discussions and the points of consensus agreed to by the participants. PMID:24637519

Research and development of transgenic plants in Malaysia: an example from an Asian developing country.

PubMed

Hashim, Marzukhi; Osman, Mohamad; Abdullah, Ruslan; Pillai, Vilasini; Abu Bakar, Umi K; Hashim, Habibuddin; Daud, Hassan Mat

2002-12-01

In 2000, agriculture contributed 13% to the national gross domestic product of Malaysia. The country of 23 million people has created a competitive program coordinated by the Ministry of Science, Technology and the Environment, research institutions, and universities to undertake biotechnology research in several areas. Intensified research efforts are under way on oil palm, rubber, rice, papaya, and orchids. Although the most progress has been made in rice and papaya, no transgenic crop is ready for field trials. Nonetheless, preliminary steps have been taken to prepare for the trials, and detailed testing protocols are being developed.

Analysis of Subak Landuse Change Due to Tourism Accomodation Development in North Kuta Sub-district, Badung Regency, Indonesia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lanya, I.; Dibia, I. N.; Diara, I. W.; Suarjaya, D. G.

2017-12-01

Subak is a traditional irrigation management system in Bali which governs the distribution of irrigation water into rice fields. The problems that occur in Subak in North Kuta Subdistrict is the high landuse change of rice field due to the rapid development of tourism and in the Region Spatial Plan is mostly designated as land for non agriculture. The aim of the research is to find out the Subak landuse change into tourism accommodation during the last five years, as well as knowing the area of Subak which located in the area of agricultural lands food crops related to landuse planning regulation of Badung Regency.The research methods included analysis of satellite imagery, literature studies, field survey, analysis of Subak landuse change, analysis of the subak in the area of the agricultural land food crop. Subak landuse change into non rice fields in the North of Kuta as uch as 538.88 ha during the last five years. The change of rice fields into tourist accommodation as much as 92 accommodation. Subak which is within the area of farmland of food crops 548.35 ha and outside the area of farmland 459.04ha.

Winter rye cover crop effect on corn seedling pathogens

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cover crops have been grown successfully in Iowa, but sometimes a cereal rye cover crop preceding corn can reduce corn yields. Our research examines the effect of a rye cover crop on infections of the succeeding corn crop by soil fungal pathogens. Plant measurements included: growth stage, height, r...

Regulating transgenic crops sensibly: lessons from plant breeding, biotechnology and genomics.

PubMed

Bradford, Kent J; Van Deynze, Allen; Gutterson, Neal; Parrott, Wayne; Strauss, Steven H

2005-04-01

The costs of meeting regulatory requirements and market restrictions guided by regulatory criteria are substantial impediments to the commercialization of transgenic crops. Although a cautious approach may have been prudent initially, we argue that some regulatory requirements can now be modified to reduce costs and uncertainty without compromising safety. Long-accepted plant breeding methods for incorporating new diversity into crop varieties, experience from two decades of research on and commercialization of transgenic crops, and expanding knowledge of plant genome structure and dynamics all indicate that if a gene or trait is safe, the genetic engineering process itself presents little potential for unexpected consequences that would not be identified or eliminated in the variety development process before commercialization. We propose that as in conventional breeding, regulatory emphasis should be on phenotypic rather than genomic characteristics once a gene or trait has been shown to be safe.

[Phthalic acid esters (PAEs) pollution in farmland soils: a review].

PubMed

Wang, Kai-Rong; Cui, Ming-Ming; Shi, Yan-Xi

2013-09-01

The environmental pollution and food safety problems caused by phthalic acid esters (PAEs) have been attracted 'extensive attention around the world. As a large PAEs producer and consumer, China is facing severe PAEs environmental pollution problems. This paper reviewed the present pollution status of six PAEs classified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the priority pollutants in China farmland soils, analyzed the sources of these six PAEs in this country, and discussed the absorption and accumulation characteristics of the PAEs in different crops as well as the bio-toxic effects of PAEs pollutants. The PAEs concentrations in China farmland soils are significantly higher those in the farmland soils of the United States and European countries. The main sources of PAEs in China farmland soils are atmospheric deposition, agricultural films, sewage sludge application, and wastewater irrigation. There exist significant differences in the characteristics of PAEs absorption, accumulation, and distribution among different crops. PAEs not only have negative effects on soil quality, crop growth, and crop physiological and biochemical properties, but also possess bio-accumulative characteristics. The weaknesses in current researches were pointed out, and the suggestions for the further researches were given, e. g., to expand the scope of PAEs pollution survey, to explore the toxic mechanisms of PAEs on crops, and to develop the techniques for in situ remediation of PAEs-polluted soils.

Agricultural Energy Curriculum Development Project. Research and Development Project in Career Education, Vocational. Final Project.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wacholz, Marlin

A project was conducted to develop energy instructional units which would fit into each year of a three-year farm business management curriculum. Four curriculum units which focus on fertilizer management in crop production were developed. The first unit was designed to develop farmers' awareness of energy as a vital resource to their businesses…

Initial closed operation of the CELSS Test Facility Engineering Development Unit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kliss, M.; Blackwell, C.; Zografos, A.; Drews, M.; MacElroy, R.; McKenna, R.; Heyenga, A. G.

2003-01-01

As part of the NASA Advanced Life Support Flight Program, a Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Test Facility Engineering Development Unit has been constructed and is undergoing initial operational testing at NASA Ames Research Center. The Engineering Development Unit (EDU) is a tightly closed, stringently controlled, ground-based testbed which provides a broad range of environmental conditions under which a variety of CELSS higher plant crops can be grown. Although the EDU was developed primarily to provide near-term engineering data and a realistic determination of the subsystem and system requirements necessary for the fabrication of a comparable flight unit, the EDU has also provided a means to evaluate plant crop productivity and physiology under controlled conditions. This paper describes the initial closed operational testing of the EDU, with emphasis on the hardware performance capabilities. Measured performance data during a 28-day closed operation period are compared with the specified functional requirements, and an example of inferring crop growth parameters from the test data is presented. Plans for future science and technology testing are also discussed. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of COSPAR.

U.S. effort in the development of new crops (Lesquerella, Pennycress and Cuphea)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The U.S. effort for the development of New Crops is directed toward the development of crops that can be grown in rotation with traditional commodity crops, off-season production and utilization of acreage not currently under cultivation. This effort is intended to have no or minimal impact on crop...

Rice crop mapping and change prediction using multi-temporal satellite images in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C. R.; Chen, C. F.; Nguyen, S. T.

2014-12-01

The rice cropping systems in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta (VMD) has been undergoing major changes to cope with developing agro-economics, increasing population and changing climate. Information on rice cropping practices and changes in cropping systems is critical for policymakers to devise successful strategies to ensure food security and rice grain exports for the country. The primary objective of this research is to map rice cropping systems and predict future dynamics of rice cropping systems using the MODIS time-series data of 2002, 2006, and 2010. First, a phenology-based classification approach was applied for the classification and assessment of rice cropping systems in study region. Second, the Cellular Automata-Markov (CA-Markov) models was used to simulate the rice-cropping system map of VMD for 2010. The comparisons between the classification maps and the ground reference data indicated satisfactory results with overall accuracies and Kappa coefficients, respectively, of 81.4% and 0.75 for 2002, 80.6% and 0.74 for 2006 and 85.5% and 0.81 for 2010. The simulated map of rice cropping system for 2010 was extrapolated by CA-Markov model based on the trend of rice cropping systems during 2002~2006. The comparison between predicted scenario and classification map for 2010 presents a reasonably closer agreement. In conclusion, the CA-Markov model performs a powerful tool for the dynamic modeling of changes in rice cropping systems, and the results obtained demonstrate that the approach produces satisfactory results in terms of accuracy, quantitative forecast and spatial pattern changes. Meanwhile, the projections of the future changes would provide useful inputs to the agricultural policy for effective management of the rice cropping practices in VMD.

Optimization on Paddy Crops in Central Java (with Solver, SVD on Least Square and ACO (Ant Colony Algorithm))

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parhusip, H. A.; Trihandaru, S.; Susanto, B.; Prasetyo, S. Y. J.; Agus, Y. H.; Simanjuntak, B. H.

2017-03-01

Several algorithms and objective functions on paddy crops have been studied to get optimal paddy crops in Central Java based on the data given from Surakarta and Boyolali. The algorithms are linear solver, least square and Ant Colony Algorithms (ACO) to develop optimization procedures on paddy crops modelled with Modified GSTAR (Generalized Space-Time Autoregressive) and nonlinear models where the nonlinear models are quadratic and power functions. The studied data contain paddy crops from Surakarta and Boyolali determining the best period of planting in the year 1992-2012 for Surakarta where 3 periods for planting are known and the optimal amount of paddy crops in Boyolali in the year 2008-2013. Having these analyses may guide the local agriculture government to give a decision on rice sustainability in its region. The best period for planting in Surakarta is observed, i.e. the best period is in September-December based on the data 1992-2012 by considering the planting area, the cropping area, and the paddy crops are the most important factors to be taken into account. As a result, we can refer the paddy crops in this best period (about 60.4 thousand tons per year) as the optimal results in 1992-2012 where the used objective function is quadratic. According to the research, the optimal paddy crops in Boyolali about 280 thousand tons per year where the studied factors are the amount of rainfalls, the harvested area and the paddy crops in 2008-2013. In this case, linear and power functions are studied to be the objective functions. Compared to all studied algorithms, the linear solver is still recommended to be an optimization tool for a local agriculture government to predict paddy crops in future.

Spectral variations of canopy reflectance in support of precision agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kancheva, Rumiana; Georgiev, Georgi; Borisova, Denitsa; Nikolov, Hristo

2014-05-01

Agricultural monitoring is an important and continuously spreading activity in remote sensing and applied Earth observations. It supplies precise, reliable and valuable information on current crop condition and growth processes. In agriculture, the timing of seasonal cycles of crop activity is important for species classification and evaluation of crop development, growing conditions and potential yield. The correct interpretation of remotely sensed data, however, and the increasing demand for data reliability require ground-truth knowledge of the seasonal spectral behavior of different species and their relation to crop vigor. For this reason, we performed ground-based study of the seasonal response of winter wheat reflectance patterns to crop growth patterns. The goal was to quantify crop seasonality by establishing empirical relationships between plant biophysical and spectral properties in main ontogenetic periods. Phenology and agro-specific relationships allow assessing crop condition during different portions of the growth cycle and thus effectively tracking plant development, and finally make yield predictions. The applicability of a number of vegetation indices (VIs) for monitoring crop seasonal dynamics, its health condition, and yield potential was examined. Special emphasis we put on narrow-band indices as the availability of data from hyperspectral imagers is unavoidable future. The temporal behavior of vegetation indices revealed increased sensitivity to crop growth. The derived spectral-biophysical relationships allowed extraction of quantitative information about crop variables and yield at different stages of the phenological development. Relating plant spectral and biophysical variables in a phenology-based manner allows crop monitoring, that is crop diagnosis and predictions to be performed multiple times during plant ontogenesis. During active vegetative periods spectral data was highly indicative of plant growth trends and yield potential. The VIs values contributed to reliable yield prediction and showed very good correspondence with the estimates from biophysical models. For dates before full maturity most of the examined VIs proved to be meaningful statistical predictors of crop state-indicative biophysical variables. High correlations were obtained for canopy cover fraction, LAI, and biomass. Sensitivity to red, near-infrared and green reflectance showed both vigorous and stressed plants. As crops attained advanced growth stages, decreased sensitivity of VIs and weaker correlations with bioparameters were observed, yet still significant in a statistical sense. The results highlight the capability of the presented approach to track the dynamics of crop growth from multitemporal spectral data, and illustrate the prediction accuracy of the spectral models. The results are useful in assessing the efficiency of various spectral band ratios and other vegetation indices often used in remote sensing studies of natural and agricultural vegetation. They suggest that the used algorithm for data processing is particularly suitable for airborne cropland monitoring and could be expanded to sites at farm or municipality scale. The results reported are from pilot study carried out on a plot located in one of the established polygons for experimental crop monitoring. In the mentioned research GIS database is established for supporting the experiments and modelling process. Recommendations on good farming practices for medium sized farms for monitoring stress conditions such as drought and overfertilizing are developed.

Effect of Mixed Systems on Crop Productivity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Senturklu, Songul; Landblom, Douglas; Cihacek, Larry; Brevik, Eric

2017-04-01

The goals of this non-irrigated research has been to determine the effect of mixed systems integration on crop, soil, and beef cattle production in the northern Great Plains region of the United States. Over a 5-year period, growing spring wheat (HRSW-C) continuously year after year was compared to a 5-year crop rotation that included spring wheat (HRSW-R), cover crop (dual crop consisting of winter triticale/hairy vetch seeded in the fall and harvested for hay followed by a 7-species cover crop that was seeded in June after hay harvest), forage corn, field pea/barley, and sunflower. Control 5-year HRSW yield was 2690 kg/ha compared to 2757 kg/ha for HRSW grown in rotation. Available soil nitrogen (N) is often the most important limitation for crop production. Expensive fertilizer inputs were reduced in this study due to the mixed system's complementarity in which the rotation system that included beef cattle grazing sustained N availability and increased nutrient cycling, which had a positive effect on all crops grown in the rotation. Growing HRSW continuously requires less intensive management and in this research was 14.5% less profitable. Whereas, when crop management increased and complementing crops were grown in rotation to produce crops and provide feed for grazing livestock, soil nutrient cycling improved. Increased nutrient cycling increased crop rotation yields and yearling beef cattle steers that grazing annual forages in the rotation gain more body weight than similar steers grazing NGP native range. Results of this long-term research will be presented in a PICO format for participant discussion.

Root Structure and Functioning for Efficient Acquisition of Phosphorus: Matching Morphological and Physiological Traits

PubMed Central

LAMBERS, HANS; SHANE, MICHAEL W.; CRAMER, MICHAEL D.; PEARSE, STUART J.; VENEKLAAS, ERIK J.

2006-01-01

• Background Global phosphorus (P) reserves are being depleted, with half-depletion predicted to occur between 2040 and 2060. Most of the P applied in fertilizers may be sorbed by soil, and not be available for plants lacking specific adaptations. On the severely P-impoverished soils of south-western Australia and the Cape region in South Africa, non-mycorrhizal species exhibit highly effective adaptations to acquire P. A wide range of these non-mycorrhizal species, belonging to two monocotyledonous and eight dicotyledonous families, produce root clusters. Non-mycorrhizal species with root clusters appear to be particularly effective at accessing P when its availability is extremely low. • Scope There is a need to develop crops that are highly effective at acquiring inorganic P (Pi) from P-sorbing soils. Traits such as those found in non-mycorrhizal root-cluster-bearing species in Australia, South Africa and other P-impoverished environments are highly desirable for future crops. Root clusters combine a specialized structure with a specialized metabolism. Native species with such traits could be domesticated or crossed with existing crop species. An alternative approach would be to develop future crops with root clusters based on knowledge of the genes involved in development and functioning of root clusters. • Conclusions Root clusters offer enormous potential for future research of both a fundamental and a strategic nature. New discoveries of the development and functioning of root clusters in both monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous families are essential to produce new crops with superior P-acquisition traits. PMID:16769731

Manual LANDSAT data analysis for crop type identification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hay, C. M. (Principal Investigator)

1979-01-01

The process of manual identification of crop type by human analysts and problems associated in LACIE that were associated with manual crop identification measurement procedures are described. Research undertaken in cooperation with LACIE operations by the supporting research community to effect solutions to, or obtain greater understanding of the problems is discussed.

Mobile Phenotyping System Using an Aeromotively Stabilized Cable-Driven Robot

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Newman, M. B.; Zygielbaum, A. I.

2017-12-01

Agricultural researchers are constantly attempting to generate superior agricultural crops. Whether this means creating crops with greater yield, crops that are more resilient to disease, or crops that can tolerate harsh environments with fewer failures, test plots of these experimental crops must be studied in real-world environments with minimal invasion to determine how they will perform in full-scale agricultural settings. To monitor these crops without interfering with their natural growth, a noninvasive sensor system has been implemented. This system, instituted by the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL), uses a system of poles, cables, and winches to support and maneuver a sensor platform above the crops at an outdoor phenotyping site. In this work, we improve upon the UNL outdoor phenotyping system presenting the concept design for a mobile, cable-driven phenotyping system as opposed to a permanent phenotyping facility. One major challenge in large-scale, cable-driven robots is stability of the end-effector. As a result, this mobile system seeks to use a novel method of end-effector stabilization using an onboard rotor drive system, herein referred to as the Instrument Platform Aeromotive Stabilization System (IPASS). A prototype system is developed and analyzed to determine the viability of IPASS.

Automatic rice crop height measurement using a field server and digital image processing.

PubMed

Sritarapipat, Tanakorn; Rakwatin, Preesan; Kasetkasem, Teerasit

2014-01-07

Rice crop height is an important agronomic trait linked to plant type and yield potential. This research developed an automatic image processing technique to detect rice crop height based on images taken by a digital camera attached to a field server. The camera acquires rice paddy images daily at a consistent time of day. The images include the rice plants and a marker bar used to provide a height reference. The rice crop height can be indirectly measured from the images by measuring the height of the marker bar compared to the height of the initial marker bar. Four digital image processing steps are employed to automatically measure the rice crop height: band selection, filtering, thresholding, and height measurement. Band selection is used to remove redundant features. Filtering extracts significant features of the marker bar. The thresholding method is applied to separate objects and boundaries of the marker bar versus other areas. The marker bar is detected and compared with the initial marker bar to measure the rice crop height. Our experiment used a field server with a digital camera to continuously monitor a rice field located in Suphanburi Province, Thailand. The experimental results show that the proposed method measures rice crop height effectively, with no human intervention required.

Biotechnological advances for combating Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin contamination in crops.

PubMed

Bhatnagar-Mathur, Pooja; Sunkara, Sowmini; Bhatnagar-Panwar, Madhurima; Waliyar, Farid; Sharma, Kiran Kumar

2015-05-01

Aflatoxins are toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, teratogenic and immunosuppressive byproducts of Aspergillus spp. that contaminate a wide range of crops such as maize, peanut, and cotton. Aflatoxin not only affects crop production but renders the produce unfit for consumption and harmful to human and livestock health, with stringent threshold limits of acceptability. In many crops, breeding for resistance is not a reliable option because of the limited availability of genotypes with durable resistance to Aspergillus. Understanding the fungal/crop/environment interactions involved in aflatoxin contamination is therefore essential in designing measures for its prevention and control. For a sustainable solution to aflatoxin contamination, research must be focused on identifying and improving knowledge of host-plant resistance factors to aflatoxin accumulation. Current advances in genetic transformation, proteomics, RNAi technology, and marker-assisted selection offer great potential in minimizing pre-harvest aflatoxin contamination in cultivated crop species. Moreover, developing effective phenotyping strategies for transgenic as well as precision breeding of resistance genes into commercial varieties is critical. While appropriate storage practices can generally minimize post-harvest aflatoxin contamination in crops, the use of biotechnology to interrupt the probability of pre-harvest infection and contamination has the potential to provide sustainable solution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Adverse weather impacts on arable cropping systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gobin, Anne

2016-04-01

Damages due to extreme or adverse weather strongly depend on crop type, crop stage, soil conditions and management. The impact is largest during the sensitive periods of the farming calendar, and requires a modelling approach to capture the interactions between the crop, its environment and the occurrence of the meteorological event. The hypothesis is that extreme and adverse weather events can be quantified and subsequently incorporated in current crop models. Since crop development is driven by thermal time and photoperiod, a regional crop model was used to examine the likely frequency, magnitude and impacts of frost, drought, heat stress and waterlogging in relation to the cropping season and crop sensitive stages. Risk profiles and associated return levels were obtained by fitting generalized extreme value distributions to block maxima for air humidity, water balance and temperature variables. The risk profiles were subsequently confronted with yields and yield losses for the major arable crops in Belgium, notably winter wheat, winter barley, winter oilseed rape, sugar beet, potato and maize at the field (farm records) to regional scale (statistics). The average daily vapour pressure deficit (VPD) and reference evapotranspiration (ET0) during the growing season is significantly lower (p < 0.001) and has a higher variability before 1988 than after 1988. Distribution patterns of VPD and ET0 have relevant impacts on crop yields. The response to rising temperatures depends on the crop's capability to condition its microenvironment. Crops short of water close their stomata, lose their evaporative cooling potential and ultimately become susceptible to heat stress. Effects of heat stress therefore have to be combined with moisture availability such as the precipitation deficit or the soil water balance. Risks of combined heat and moisture deficit stress appear during the summer. These risks are subsequently related to crop damage. The methodology of defining meteorological risks and subsequently relating the risk to the cropping calendar will be demonstrated for major arable crops in Belgium. Physically based crop models assist in understanding the links between adverse weather events, sensitive crop stages and crop damage. Financial support was obtained from Belspo under research contract SD/RI/03A.

Development of New Energy Cane Culitvars

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research into alternative energy sources has been on the rise since the 1970s. Novel sources of carbon-neutral energy are currently in high demand, but can pose different challenges in their development. Energy cane is a relatively new generation crop being bred as a source for biofuel feedstock and...

The Unified Plant Growth Model (UPGM): software framework overview and model application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Since the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model was developed in 1989, the EPIC plant growth component has been incorporated into other erosion and crop management models (e.g., WEPS, WEPP, SWAT, ALMANAC, and APEX) and modified to meet model developer research objectives. This has re...

Peering into the Secrets of Food and Agricultural Co-products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Scanning electron microscopy is a useful tool for directing product development and is equally important for developing products from food crops and co-products from the agricultural waste after harvest. The current trend in food research is to produce foods that are fast to prepare and/or ready to ...

Sandia National Laboratories: Bumper crop of partnerships

Science.gov Websites

of IR Dynamics LLC of Santa Fe, is working with Sandia's Nelson Bell (1815) through a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement. IR Dynamics is developing thermochromic materials to control infrared analysis of human visual perception and cognition with dynamic content. IR Dynamics LLC: The Santa Fe

Registration of maize inbred line GT603

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

GT603 (Reg. No. xxxx, PI xxxxxx) is a yellow dent maize (Zea mays L.) inbred line developed and released by the USDA-ARS Crop Protection and Management Research Unit in cooperation with the University of Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station in 2010. GT603 was developed through seven generations ...

The GRIN-Global Information Management System – A Preview and Opportunity for Public User Input

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The GRIN-Global Information Management System, under development for the past two years, will provide the world's crop genebanks and plant genetic resource (PGR) users with a powerful, flexible, easy-to-use PGR information management system. Developed jointly by the USDA Agricultural Research Servi...

The GRIN-Global Information Management System – Public Interface Demonstration and Input Opportunity

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The GRIN-Global (GG) Information Management System, under development for the past three years, provides the world's crop genebanks and plant genetic resource (PGR) users with a powerful, flexible, easy-to-use PGR information management system. Developed jointly by the USDA Agricultural Research Ser...

Using the GRIN-Global System to Identify Useful Plant Genetic Resources & Information

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The GRIN-Global (GG) System has been developed to provide the world's crop genebanks and plant genetic resource (PGR) users with a powerful, flexible, easy-to-use PGR information management system. Developed jointly by the USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bioversity International and the Global C...

Development of an analytical method to measure insoluble and soluble starch in sugarcane and sweet sorghum products

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A rapid, quantitative research method using microwave-assisted probe ultrasonication was developed to facilitate the determination of total insoluble, and soluble starch in various sugar crop products. Several variables that affect starch solubilization were evaluated, 1) conductive boiling time, 2...

Modeling cotton (Gossypium spp) leaves and canopy using computer aided geometric design (CAGD)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The goal of this research is to develop a geometrically accurate model of cotton crop canopies for exploring changes in canopy microenvironment and physiological function with leaf structure. We develop an accurate representation of the leaves, including changes in three-dimensional folding and orie...

Comparing the refuge strategy for managing the evolution of insect resistance under different reproductive strategies.

PubMed

Crowder, David W; Carrière, Yves

2009-12-07

Genetically modified (GM) crops are used extensively worldwide to control diploid agricultural insect pests that reproduce sexually. However, future GM crops will likely soon target haplodiploid and parthenogenetic insects. As rapid pest adaptation could compromise these novel crops, strategies to manage resistance in haplodiploid and parthenogenetic pests are urgently needed. Here, we developed models to characterize factors that could delay or prevent the evolution of resistance to GM crops in diploid, haplodiploid, and parthenogenetic insect pests. The standard strategy for managing resistance in diploid pests relies on refuges of non-GM host plants and GM crops that produce high toxin concentrations. Although the tenets of the standard refuge strategy apply to all pests, this strategy does not greatly delay the evolution of resistance in haplodiploid or parthenogenetic pests. Two additional factors are needed to effectively delay or prevent the evolution of resistance in such pests, large recessive or smaller non-recessive fitness costs must reduce the fitness of resistance individuals in refuges (and ideally also on GM crops), and resistant individuals must have lower fitness on GM compared to non-GM crops (incomplete resistance). Recent research indicates that the magnitude and dominance of fitness costs could be increased by using specific host-plants, natural enemies, or pathogens. Furthermore, incomplete resistance could be enhanced by engineering desirable traits into novel GM crops. Thus, the sustainability of GM crops that target haplodiploid or parthenogenetic pests will require careful consideration of the effects of reproductive mode, fitness costs, and incomplete resistance.

Water-food-energy nexus index: analysis of water-energy-food nexus of crop's production system applying the indicators approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

El-Gafy, Inas

2017-10-01

Analysis the water-food-energy nexus is the first step to assess the decision maker in developing and evaluating national strategies that take into account the nexus. The main objective of the current research is providing a method for the decision makers to analysis the water-food-energy nexus of the crop production system at the national level and carrying out a quantitative assessment of it. Through the proposed method, indicators considering the water and energy consumption, mass productivity, and economic productivity were suggested. Based on these indicators a water-food-energy nexus index (WFENI) was performed. The study showed that the calculated WFENI of the Egyptian summer crops have scores that range from 0.21 to 0.79. Comparing to onion (the highest scoring WFENI,i.e., the best score), rice has the lowest WFENI among the summer food crops. Analysis of the water-food-energy nexus of forty-two Egyptian crops in year 2010 was caried out (energy consumed for irrigation represent 7.4% of the total energy footprint). WFENI can be applied to developed strategies for the optimal cropping pattern that minimizing the water and energy consumption and maximizing their productivity. It can be applied as a holistic tool to evaluate the progress in the water and agricultural national strategies. Moreover, WFENI could be applied yearly to evaluate the performance of the water-food-energy nexus managmant.

A novel mobile dual-wavelength laser altimetry system for improved site-specific Nitrogen fertilizer applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eitel, J.; Magney, T. S.; Vierling, L. A.; Brown, T. T.; Huggins, D. R.

2012-12-01

Reducing fertilizer inputs while maintaining yield would increase farmer's profits and similarly lessen the adverse environmental effects of production agriculture. The development of technologies that allow precise, site-specific application of Nitrogen (N) fertilizer has thus been an important research goal over the past decades. Remote sensing of foliar crop properties and function with tractor-mountable optical sensors has thought to be useful to optimize N fertilizer applications. However, on-the-go sensing of foliar crop properties and function has proven difficult, particularly during early crop growth stages when fertilizer decisions are often made. This difficulty arises from the fact that the spectral signal measured by on-the-go sensors is dominated by soil reflectance during early crop growth stages. Here, we present the basic principles behind a novel, dual-wavelength, tractor mountable laser altimetry system that measures the laser return intensity of the reflected green and red laser light. The green (532 nm) and the red (660 nm) wavelength combination allows calculation of a modified Photochemical Reflectance Index (mPRI) that have shown to be sensitive to both crop function and foliar chemistry. The small field of view of the laser points (diameter: 4 mm) combined with its high sampling rate (1000 points sec-1) allows vegetation returns to be isolated from ground returns by using simple thresholds. First tests relating foliar N of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) with laser derived mPRI are promising (r2 = 0.72). Further research is needed to test the relationship between laser derived spectral indices and crop function.

Infection processes of xylem-colonizing pathogenic bacteria: possible explanations for the scarcity of qualitative disease resistance genes against them in crops.

PubMed

Bae, Chungyun; Han, Sang Wook; Song, Yu-Rim; Kim, Bo-Young; Lee, Hyung-Jin; Lee, Je-Min; Yeam, Inhwa; Heu, Sunggi; Oh, Chang-Sik

2015-07-01

Disease resistance against xylem-colonizing pathogenic bacteria in crops. Plant pathogenic bacteria cause destructive diseases in many commercially important crops. Among these bacteria, eight pathogens, Ralstonia solanacearum, Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae, X. campestris pv. campestris, Erwinia amylovora, Pantoea stewartii subsp. stewartii, Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. michiganensis, Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae, and Xylella fastidiosa, infect their host plants through different infection sites and paths and eventually colonize the xylem tissues of their host plants, resulting in wilting symptoms by blocking water flow or necrosis of xylem tissues. Noticeably, only a relatively small number of resistant cultivars in major crops against these vascular bacterial pathogens except X. oryzae pv. oryzae have been found or generated so far, although these pathogens threaten productivity of major crops. In this review, we summarize the lifestyles of major xylem-colonizing bacterial pathogens and then discuss the progress of current research on disease resistance controlled by qualitative disease resistance genes or quantitative trait loci against them. Finally, we propose infection processes of xylem-colonizing bacterial pathogens as one of possible reasons for why so few qualitative disease resistance genes against these pathogens have been developed or identified so far in crops.

Sustainable sunlight to biogas is via marginal organics.

PubMed

Shilton, Andy; Guieysse, Benoit

2010-06-01

Although biogas production from algae offers higher sunlight to biomass energy conversion efficiencies its production costs simply cannot compete with terrestrial plants. Unfortunately terrestrial plant cropping for biogas production is, in its own right, neither particularly sustainable nor profitable and its ongoing application is only driven by energy security concerns resulting in taxpayer subsidies. By comparison, scavenging the organic energy residual/wastes from food production offers a far more profitable and sustainable proposition and has an energy potential that dwarfs anything biogas production from dedicated energy crops can realistically offer. Thus researchers wanting to assist the development of sustainable biogas systems with viable process economics should forget about terrestrial and algal energy cropping and focus on the realm of scavengers. Copyright 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Boosting innate immunity to sustainably control diseases in crops.

PubMed

Nicaise, Valerie

2017-10-01

Viruses cause epidemics in all major crops, threatening global food security. The development of efficient and durable resistance able to withstand viral attacks represents a major challenge for agronomy, and relies greatly on the understanding of the molecular dialogue between viral pathogens and their hosts. Research over the last decades provided substantial advances in the field of plant-virus interactions. Remarkably, the advent of studies of plant innate immunity has recently offered new strategies exploitable in the field. This review summarizes the recent breakthroughs that define the mechanisms underlying antiviral innate immunity in plants, and emphasizes the importance of integrating that knowledge into crop improvement actions, particularly by exploiting the insights related to immune receptors. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

HKT transporters mediate salt stress resistance in plants: from structure and function to the field

DOE PAGES

Hamamoto, Shin; Horie, Tomoaki; Hauser, Felix; ...

2014-12-18

Plant cells are sensitive to salinity stress and do not require sodium as an essential element for their growth and development. Saline soils reduce crop yields and limit available land. The research shows that HKT transporters provide a potent mechanism for mediating salt tolerance in plants. Knowledge of the molecular ion transport and regulation mechanisms and the control of HKT gene expression are crucial for understanding the mechanisms by which HKT transporters enhance crop performance under salinity stress. Our review focuses on HKT transporters in monocot plants and in Arabidopsis as a dicot plant, as a guide to efforts towardmore » improving salt tolerance of plants for increasing the production of crops and bioenergy feedstocks.« less

Development of agricultural biotechnology and biosafety regulations used to assess the safety of genetically modified crops in Iran.

PubMed

Mousavi, Amir; Malboobi, Mohammad A; Esmailzadeh, Nasrin S

2007-01-01

Rapid progress in the application of biotechnological methodologies and development of genetically modified crops in Iran necessitated intensive efforts to establish proper organizations and prepare required rules and regulations at the national level to ensure safe application of biotechnology in all pertinent aspects. Practically, preparation of a national biotechnology strategic plan in the country coincided with development of a national biosafety framework that was the basis for the drafted biosafety law. Although biosafety measures were observed by researchers voluntarily, the establishment of national biosafety organizations since the year 2000 built a great capacity to deal with biosafety issues in the present and future time, particularly with respect to food and agricultural biotechnology.

7 CFR 1219.5 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HASS AVOCADO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1219.5 Crop year...

7 CFR 1219.5 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HASS AVOCADO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1219.5 Crop year...

7 CFR 1219.5 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HASS AVOCADO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1219.5 Crop year...

7 CFR 1219.5 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HASS AVOCADO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1219.5 Crop year...

7 CFR 1219.5 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... AND ORDERS; MISCELLANEOUS COMMODITIES), DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE HASS AVOCADO PROMOTION, RESEARCH, AND INFORMATION Hass Avocado Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1219.5 Crop year...

Online irrigation service for fruit und vegetable crops at farmers site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Janssen, W.

2009-09-01

Online irrigation service for fruit und vegetable crops at farmers site by W. Janssen, German Weather Service, 63067 Offenbach Agrowetter irrigation advice is a product which calculates the present soil moisture as well as the soil moisture to be expected over the next 5 days for over 30 different crops. It's based on a water balance model and provides targeted recommendations for irrigation. Irrigation inputs according to the soil in order to avoid infiltration and, as a consequence thereof, the undesired movement of nitrate and plant protectants into the groundwater. This interactive 'online system' takes into account the user's individual circumstances such as crop and soil characteristics and the precipitation and irrigation amounts at the user's site. Each user may calculate up to 16 different enquiries simultaneously (different crops or different emergence dates). The user can calculate the individual soil moistures for his fields with a maximum effort of 5 minutes per week only. The sources of water are precipitation and irrigation whereas water losses occur due to evapotranspiration and infiltration of water into the ground. The evapotranspiration is calculated by multiplying a reference evapotranspiration (maximum evapotranspiration over grass) with the so-called crop coefficients (kc values) that have been developed by the Geisenheim Research Centre, Vegetable Crops Branch. Kc values depending on the crop and the individual plant development stage. The reference evapotranspiration is calculated from a base weather station user has chosen (out of around 500 weather stations) using Penman method based on daily values. After chosen a crop and soil type the user must manually enter the precipitation data measured at the site, the irrigation water inputs and the dates for a few phenological stages. Economical aspects can be considered by changing the values of soil moisture from which recommendations for irrigation start from optimal to necessary plant supply. Previous comparative measurements carried out by the Agricultural Administration of Baden-Württemberg relating to potatoes, onions, vine stocks, and strawberries agreed very well with the calculations.

An evaluation of time-series MODIS 250-meter vegetation index data for crop mapping in the United States Central Great Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wardlow, Brian Douglas

The objectives of this research were to: (1) investigate time-series MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) 250-meter EVI (Enhanced Vegetation Index) and NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) data for regional-scale crop-related land use/land cover characterization in the U.S. Central Great Plains and (2) develop and test a MODIS-based crop mapping protocol. A pixel-level analysis of the time-series MODIS 250-m VIs for 2,000+ field sites across Kansas found that unique spectral-temporal signatures were detected for the region's major crop types, consistent with the crops' phenology. Intra-class variations were detected in VI data associated with different land use practices, climatic conditions, and planting dates for the crops. The VIs depicted similar seasonal variations and were highly correlated. A pilot study in southwest Kansas found that accurate and detailed cropping patterns could be mapped using the MODIS 250-m VI data. Overall and class-specific accuracies were generally greater than 90% for mapping crop/non-crop, general crops (alfalfa, summer crops, winter wheat, and fallow), summer crops (corn, sorghum, and soybeans), and irrigated/non-irrigated crops using either VI dataset. The classified crop areas also had a high level of agreement (<5% difference) with the USDA reported crop areas. Both VIs produced comparable crop maps with only a 1-2% difference between their classification accuracies and a high level of pixel-level agreement (>90%) between their classified crop patterns. This hierarchical crop mapping protocol was tested for Kansas and produced similar classification results over a larger and more diverse area. Overall and class-specific accuracies were typically between 85% and 95% for the crop maps. At the state level, the maps had a high level of areal agreement (<5% difference) with the USDA crop area figures and their classified patterns were consistent with the state's cropping practices. In general, the protocol's performance was relatively consistent across the state's range of environmental conditions, landscape patterns, and cropping practices. The largest areal differences occurred in eastern Kansas due to the omission of many small cropland areas that were not resolvable at MODIS' 250-m resolution. Notable regional deviations in classified areas also occurred for selected classes due to localized precipitation patterns and specific cropping practices.

Combining Remote Sensing imagery of both fine and coarse spatial resolution to Estimate Crop Evapotranspiration and quantifying its Influence on Crop Growth Monitoring.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sepulcre-Cantó, Guadalupe; Gellens-Meulenberghs, Françoise; Arboleda, Alirio; Duveiller, Gregory; Piccard, Isabelle; de Wit, Allard; Tychon, Bernard; Bakary, Djaby; Defourny, Pierre

2010-05-01

This study has been carried out in the framework of the GLOBAM -Global Agricultural Monitoring system by integration of earth observation and modeling techniques- project whose objective is to fill the methodological gap between the state of the art of local crop monitoring and the operational requirements of the global monitoring system programs. To achieve this goal, the research aims to develop an integrated approach using remote sensing and crop growth modeling. Evapotranspiration (ET) is a valuable parameter in the crop monitoring context since it provides information on the plant water stress status, which strongly influences crop development and, by extension, crop yield. To assess crop evapotranspiration over the GLOBAM study areas (300x300 km sites in Northern Europe and Central Ethiopia), a Soil-Vegetation-Atmosphere Transfer (SVAT) model forced with remote sensing and numerical weather prediction data has been used. This model runs at pre-operational level in the framework of the EUMETSAT LSA-SAF (Land Surface Analysis Satellite Application Facility) using SEVIRI and ECMWF data, as well as the ECOCLIMAP database to characterize the vegetation. The model generates ET images at the Meteosat Second Generation (MSG) spatial resolution (3 km at subsatellite point),with a temporal resolution of 30 min and monitors the entire MSG disk which covers Europe, Africa and part of Sud America . The SVAT model was run for 2007 using two approaches. The first approach is at the standard pre-operational mode. The second incorporates remote sensing information at various spatial resolutions going from LANDSAT (30m) to SEVIRI (3-5 km) passing by AWIFS (56m) and MODIS (250m). Fine spatial resolution data consists of crop type classification which enable to identify areas where pure crop specific MODIS time series can be compiled and used to derive Leaf Area Index estimations for the most important crops (wheat and maize). The use of this information allowed to characterize the type of vegetation and its state of development in a more accurate way than using the ECOCLIMAP database. Finally, the CASA method was applied using the evapotranspiration images with FAPAR (Fraction of Absorbed Photosynthetically Active Radiation) images from LSA-SAF to obtain Dry Matter Productivity (DMP) and crop yield. The potential of using evapotranspiration obtained from remote sensing in crop growth modeling is studied and discussed. Results of comparing the evapotranspiration obtained with ground truth data are shown as well as the influence of using high resolution information to characterize the vegetation in the evapotranspiration estimation. The values of DMP and yield obtained with the CASA method are compared with those obtained using crop growth modeling and field data, showing the potential of using this simplified remote sensing method for crop monitoring and yield forecasting. This methodology could be applied in an operative way to the entire MSG disk, allowing the continuous crop growth monitoring.

Agricultural Productivity Forecasts for Improved Drought Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Limaye, Ashutosh; McNider, Richard; Moss, Donald; Alhamdan, Mohammad

2010-01-01

Water stresses on agricultural crops during critical phases of crop phenology (such as grain filling) has higher impact on the eventual yield than at other times of crop growth. Therefore farmers are more concerned about water stresses in the context of crop phenology than the meteorological droughts. However the drought estimates currently produced do not account for the crop phenology. US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have developed a drought monitoring decision support tool: The U.S. Drought Monitor, which currently uses meteorological droughts to delineate and categorize drought severity. Output from the Drought Monitor is used by the States to make disaster declarations. More importantly, USDA uses the Drought Monitor to make estimates of crop yield to help the commodities market. Accurate estimation of corn yield is especially critical given the recent trend towards diversion of corn to produce ethanol. Ethanol is fast becoming a standard 10% ethanol additive to petroleum products, the largest traded commodity. Thus the impact of large-scale drought will have dramatic impact on the petroleum prices as well as on food prices. USDA's World Agricultural Outlook Board (WAOB) serves as a focal point for economic intelligence and the commodity outlook for U.S. WAOB depends on Drought Monitor and has emphatically stated that accurate and timely data are needed in operational agrometeorological services to generate reliable projections for agricultural decision makers. Thus, improvements in the prediction of drought will reflect in early and accurate assessment of crop yields, which in turn will improve commodity projections. We have developed a drought assessment tool, which accounts for the water stress in the context of crop phenology. The crop modeling component is done using various crop modules within Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT). DSSAT is an agricultural crop simulation system, which integrates the effects of soil, crop phenotype, weather, and management options. It has been in use for more than 15 years by researchers, growers and has become a de-facto standard in crop modeling communities spanning over 100 countries. The meteorological forcings to DSSAT are provided by NASA s National Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) datasets. NLDAS is a framework that incorporates atmospheric forcing and land parameter values along with land surface models to diagnose and predict the state of the land surface.

Introducing non-flooded crops in rice-dominated landscapes: Impact on carbon, nitrogen and water budgets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jauker, Frank; Wassmann, Reiner; Amelung, Wulf; Breuer, Lutz; Butterbach-Bahl, Klaus; Conrad, Ralf; Ekschmitt, Klemens; Goldbach, Heiner; He, Yao; John, Katharina; Kiese, Ralf; Kraus, David; Reinhold-Hurek, Barbara; Siemens, Jan; Weller, Sebastian; Wolters, Volkmar

2013-04-01

Rice production consumes about 30% of all freshwater used worldwide and 45% in Asia. Turning away from permanently flooded rice cropping systems for mitigating future water scarcity and reducing methane emissions, however, will alter a variety of ecosystem services with potential adverse effects to both the environment and agricultural production. Moreover, implementing systems that alternate between flooded and non-flooded crops increases the risk of disruptive effects. The multi-disciplinary DFG research unit ICON aims at exploring and quantifying the ecological consequences of altered water regimes (flooded vs. non-flooded), crop diversification (irrigated rice vs. aerobic rice vs. maize), and different fertilization strategies (conventional, site-specific, and zero N fertilization). ICON particularly focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of carbon and nitrogen, green-house gas (GHG) emissions, water balance, soil biotic processes and other important ecosystem services. The overarching goal is to provide the basic process understanding that is necessary for balancing the revenues and environmental impacts of high-yield rice cropping systems while maintaining their vital ecosystem services. To this aim, a large-scale field experiment has been established at the experimental farm of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, Philippines). Ultimately, the experimental results are analyzed in the context of management scenarios by an integrated modeling of crop development (ORYZA), carbon and nitrogen cycling (MoBiLE-DNDC), and water fluxes (CMF), providing the basis for developing pathways to a conversion of rice-based systems towards higher yield potentials under minimized environmental impacts. In our presentation, we demonstrate the set-up of the controlled large-scale field experiment for simultaneous assessment of carbon and nitrogen fluxes and water budgets. We show and discuss first results for: - Quantification and assessment of the net-fluxes of CH4, N2O and CO2 from rice-rice and rice-maize rotations. The conversion of flooded to non-flooded cropping systems resulted in pollution swapping of greenhouse gas emissions, shifting from CH4 under wet conditions to N2O under dry conditions. - Quantification and assessment of water budgets and nutrient loss in rice-rice and rice-maize rotations. Switching from rice-rice dominated growing systems to upland rice or maize-rice cropping systems resulted in reduced water use efficiency and increased nitrogen loss. - Quantification and assessment of soil functions affected by soil fauna community structure in flooded and non-flooded cropping rotations. In contrast to temperate soils, earthworms reduced the peaks of microbial C and N decomposition depending on soil water content.

Limited irrigation of corn-based no-till crop rotations in West Central Great Plains

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Due to numerous alternatives in crop sequence and changes in crop yield and price, finding the most profitable crop rotation for an area is a continuous research challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate 1-, 2-, 3-, and 4-yr limited irrigation corn (Zea mays L.)-based crop rotations for...

Weeds in a Changing Climate: Vulnerabilities, Consequences, and Implications for Future Weed Management

PubMed Central

Ramesh, Kulasekaran; Matloob, Amar; Aslam, Farhena; Florentine, Singarayer K.; Chauhan, Bhagirath S.

2017-01-01

Whilst it is agreed that climate change will impact on the long-term interactions between crops and weeds, the results of this impact are far from clear. We suggest that a thorough understanding of weed dominance and weed interactions, depending on crop and weed ecosystems and crop sequences in the ecosystem, will be the key determining factor for successful weed management. Indeed, we claim that recent changes observed throughout the world within the weed spectrum in different cropping systems which were ostensibly related to climate change, warrant a deeper examination of weed vulnerabilities before a full understanding is reached. For example, the uncontrolled establishment of weeds in crops leads to a mixed population, in terms of C3 and C4 pathways, and this poses a considerable level of complexity for weed management. There is a need to include all possible combinations of crops and weeds while studying the impact of climate change on crop-weed competitive interactions, since, from a weed management perspective, C4 weeds would flourish in the increased temperature scenario and pose serious yield penalties. This is particularly alarming as a majority of the most competitive weeds are C4 plants. Although CO2 is considered as a main contributing factor for climate change, a few Australian studies have also predicted differing responses of weed species due to shifts in rainfall patterns. Reduced water availability, due to recurrent and unforeseen droughts, would alter the competitive balance between crops and some weed species, intensifying the crop-weed competition pressure. Although it is recognized that the weed pressure associated with climate change is a significant threat to crop production, either through increased temperatures, rainfall shift, and elevated CO2 levels, the current knowledge of this effect is very sparse. A few models that have attempted to predict these interactions are discussed in this paper, since these models could play an integral role in developing future management programs for future weed threats. This review has presented a comprehensive discussion of the recent research in this area, and has identified key deficiencies which need further research in crop-weed eco-systems to formulate suitable control measures before the real impacts of climate change set in. PMID:28243245

Weeds in a Changing Climate: Vulnerabilities, Consequences, and Implications for Future Weed Management.

PubMed

Ramesh, Kulasekaran; Matloob, Amar; Aslam, Farhena; Florentine, Singarayer K; Chauhan, Bhagirath S

2017-01-01

Whilst it is agreed that climate change will impact on the long-term interactions between crops and weeds, the results of this impact are far from clear. We suggest that a thorough understanding of weed dominance and weed interactions, depending on crop and weed ecosystems and crop sequences in the ecosystem, will be the key determining factor for successful weed management. Indeed, we claim that recent changes observed throughout the world within the weed spectrum in different cropping systems which were ostensibly related to climate change, warrant a deeper examination of weed vulnerabilities before a full understanding is reached. For example, the uncontrolled establishment of weeds in crops leads to a mixed population, in terms of C 3 and C 4 pathways, and this poses a considerable level of complexity for weed management. There is a need to include all possible combinations of crops and weeds while studying the impact of climate change on crop-weed competitive interactions, since, from a weed management perspective, C 4 weeds would flourish in the increased temperature scenario and pose serious yield penalties. This is particularly alarming as a majority of the most competitive weeds are C 4 plants. Although CO 2 is considered as a main contributing factor for climate change, a few Australian studies have also predicted differing responses of weed species due to shifts in rainfall patterns. Reduced water availability, due to recurrent and unforeseen droughts, would alter the competitive balance between crops and some weed species, intensifying the crop-weed competition pressure. Although it is recognized that the weed pressure associated with climate change is a significant threat to crop production, either through increased temperatures, rainfall shift, and elevated CO 2 levels, the current knowledge of this effect is very sparse. A few models that have attempted to predict these interactions are discussed in this paper, since these models could play an integral role in developing future management programs for future weed threats. This review has presented a comprehensive discussion of the recent research in this area, and has identified key deficiencies which need further research in crop-weed eco-systems to formulate suitable control measures before the real impacts of climate change set in.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service research in application technology for pest management.

PubMed

Smith, L A; Thomson, S J

2003-01-01

A research summary is presented that emphasizes ARS achievements in application technology over the past 2-3 years. Research focused on the improvement of agricultural pesticide application is important from the standpoint of crop protection as well as environmental safety. Application technology research is being actively pursued within the ARS, with a primary focus on application system development, drift management, efficacy enhancement and remote sensing. Research on application systems has included sensor-controlled hooded sprayers, new approaches to direct chemical injection, and aerial electrostatic sprayers. For aerial application, great improvements in on-board flow controllers permit accurate field application of chemicals. Aircraft parameters such as boom position and spray release height are being altered to determine their effect on drift. Other drift management research has focused on testing of low-drift nozzles, evaluation of pulsed spray technologies and evaluation of drift control adjuvants. Research on the use of air curtain sprayers in orchards, air-assist sprayers for row crops and vegetables, and air deflectors on aircraft has documented improvements in application efficacy. Research has shown that the fate of applied chemicals is influenced by soil properties, and this has implications for herbicide efficacy and dissipation in the environment. Remote sensing systems are being used to target areas in the field where pests are present so that spray can be directed to only those areas. Soil and crop conditions influence propensity for weeds and insects to proliferate in any given field area. Research has indicated distinct field patterns favorable for weed growth and insect concentration, which can provide further assistance for targeted spraying.

Crop candidates for the bioregenerative life support systems in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chunxiao, Xu; Hong, Liu

The use of plants for life support applications in space is appealing because of the multiple life support functions by the plants. Research on crops that were grown in the life support system to provide food and oxygen, remove carbon dioxide was begun from 1960. To select possible crops for research on the bioregenerative life support systems in China, criteria for the selection of potential crops were made, and selection of crops was carried out based on these criteria. The results showed that 14 crops including 4 food crops (wheat, rice, soybean and peanut) and 7 vegetables (Chinese cabbage, lettuce, radish, carrot, tomato, squash and pepper) won higher scores. Wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.), rice ( Oryza sativa L.), soybean ( Glycine max L.) and peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) are main food crops in China. Chinese cabbage ( Brassica campestris L. ssp. chinensis var. communis), lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia Lam.), radish ( Raphanus sativus L.), carrot ( Daucus carota L. var. sativa DC.), tomato ( Lycopersicon escalentum L.), squash ( Cucurbita moschata Duch.) and pepper ( Capsicum frutescens L. var. longum Bailey) are 7 vegetables preferred by Chinese. Furthermore, coriander ( Coriandum sativum L.), welsh onion ( Allium fistulosum L. var. giganteum Makino) and garlic ( Allium sativum L.) were selected as condiments to improve the taste of space crew. To each crop species, several cultivars were selected for further research according to their agronomic characteristics.

NASA Earth Science Research Results for Improved Regional Crop Yield Prediction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mali, P.; O'Hara, C. G.; Shrestha, B.; Sinclair, T. R.; G de Goncalves, L. G.; Salado Navarro, L. R.

2007-12-01

National agencies such as USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Production Estimation and Crop Assessment Division (PECAD) work specifically to analyze and generate timely crop yield estimates that help define national as well as global food policies. The USDA/FAS/PECAD utilizes a Decision Support System (DSS) called CADRE (Crop Condition and Data Retrieval Evaluation) mainly through an automated database management system that integrates various meteorological datasets, crop and soil models, and remote sensing data; providing significant contribution to the national and international crop production estimates. The "Sinclair" soybean growth model has been used inside CADRE DSS as one of the crop models. This project uses Sinclair model (a semi-mechanistic crop growth model) for its potential to be effectively used in a geo-processing environment with remote-sensing-based inputs. The main objective of this proposed work is to verify, validate and benchmark current and future NASA earth science research results for the benefit in the operational decision making process of the PECAD/CADRE DSS. For this purpose, the NASA South American Land Data Assimilation System (SALDAS) meteorological dataset is tested for its applicability as a surrogate meteorological input in the Sinclair model meteorological input requirements. Similarly, NASA sensor MODIS products is tested for its applicability in the improvement of the crop yield prediction through improving precision of planting date estimation, plant vigor and growth monitoring. The project also analyzes simulated Visible/Infrared Imager/Radiometer Suite (VIIRS, a future NASA sensor) vegetation product for its applicability in crop growth prediction to accelerate the process of transition of VIIRS research results for the operational use of USDA/FAS/PECAD DSS. The research results will help in providing improved decision making capacity to the USDA/FAS/PECAD DSS through improved vegetation growth monitoring from high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing datasets; improved time-series meteorological inputs required for crop growth models; and regional prediction capability through geo-processing-based yield modeling.

Decision Support Systems To Manage Water Resources At Irrigation District Level In Southern Italy Using Remote Sensing Information. An Integrated Project (AQUATER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinaldi, M.; Castrignanò, A.; Mastrorilli, M.; Rana, G.; Ventrella, D.; Acutis, M.; D'Urso, G.; Mattia, F.

2006-08-01

An efficient management of water resources is crucial point for Italy and in particular for southern areas characterized by Mediterranean climate in order to improve the economical and environmental sustainability of the agricultural activity. A three-year Project (2005-2008) has been funded by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Policies; it involves four Italian research institutions: the Agricultural Research Council (ISA, Bari), the National Research Council (ISSIA, Bari) and two Universities (Federico II-Naples and Milan). It is focused on the remote sensing, the plant and the climate and, for interdisciplinary relationships, the project working group consists of agronomists, engineers and physicists. The aims of the Project are: a) to produce a Decision Support System (DSS) combining remote sensing information, spatial data and simulation models to manage water resources in irrigation districts; b) to simulate irrigation scenarios to evaluate the effects of water stress on crop yield using agro-ecological indicators; c) to identify the most sensitive areas to drought risk in Southern Italy. The tools used in this Project will be: 1. Remote sensing images, topographic maps, soil and land use maps; 2. Geographic Information Systems; 3. Geostatistic methodologies; 4. Ground truth measurements (land use, canopy and soil temperatures, soil and plant water status, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, Crop Water Stress Index, Leaf Area Index, actual evapotranspiration, crop coefficients, crop yield, agro-ecological indicators); 5. Crop simulation models. The Project is structured in four work packages with specific objectives, high degree of interaction and information exchange: 1) Remote Sensing and Image Analysis; 2) Cropping Systems; 3) Modelling and Softwares Development; 4) Stakeholders. The final product will be a DSS with the purpose of integrating remote sensing images, to estimate crop and soil variables related to drought, to assimilate these variables into a simulation model at district scale and, finally, to estimate evapotranspiration, plant water status and drought indicators. A project Web home page, a technical course about DSS for the employers of irrigation authorities and dissemination of results (meetings, publications, reports), are also planned.

AgRISTARS: Agriculture and Resources Inventory Surveys Through Aerospace Remote Sensing. Enumerator's manual, 1981 ground data survey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

General information and administrative instructions are provided for individuals gathering ground truth data to support research and development techniques for estimating crop acreage and production by remote sensing by satellite. Procedures are given for personal safety with regards to organophosphorus insecticides, for conducting interviews for periodic observations, for coding the crops identified and their growth stages, and for selecting sites for placing rain gages. Forms are included for those citizens agreeing to monitor the gages and record the rainfall. Segment selection is also considered.

7 CFR 1221.6 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Crop year. 1221.6 Section 1221.6 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... INFORMATION ORDER Sorghum Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1221.6 Crop year. Crop year...

7 CFR 1221.6 - Crop year.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 7 Agriculture 10 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Crop year. 1221.6 Section 1221.6 Agriculture Regulations of the Department of Agriculture (Continued) AGRICULTURAL MARKETING SERVICE (MARKETING AGREEMENTS... INFORMATION ORDER Sorghum Promotion, Research, and Information Order Definitions § 1221.6 Crop year. Crop year...

Systems biology-based approaches toward understanding drought tolerance in food crops.

PubMed

Jogaiah, Sudisha; Govind, Sharathchandra Ramsandra; Tran, Lam-Son Phan

2013-03-01

Economically important crops, such as maize, wheat, rice, barley, and other food crops are affected by even small changes in water potential at important growth stages. Developing a comprehensive understanding of host response to drought requires a global view of the complex mechanisms involved. Research on drought tolerance has generally been conducted using discipline-specific approaches. However, plant stress response is complex and interlinked to a point where discipline-specific approaches do not give a complete global analysis of all the interlinked mechanisms. Systems biology perspective is needed to understand genome-scale networks required for building long-lasting drought resistance. Network maps have been constructed by integrating multiple functional genomics data with both model plants, such as Arabidopsis thaliana, Lotus japonicus, and Medicago truncatula, and various food crops, such as rice and soybean. Useful functional genomics data have been obtained from genome-wide comparative transcriptome and proteome analyses of drought responses from different crops. This integrative approach used by many groups has led to identification of commonly regulated signaling pathways and genes following exposure to drought. Combination of functional genomics and systems biology is very useful for comparative analysis of other food crops and has the ability to develop stable food systems worldwide. In addition, studying desiccation tolerance in resurrection plants will unravel how combination of molecular genetic and metabolic processes interacts to produce a resurrection phenotype. Systems biology-based approaches have helped in understanding how these individual factors and mechanisms (biochemical, molecular, and metabolic) "interact" spatially and temporally. Signaling network maps of such interactions are needed that can be used to design better engineering strategies for improving drought tolerance of important crop species.

7 CFR 2.68 - Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... committees concerned with agricultural science, education, and development activities, including library and... Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics § 2.68 Administrator, National Agricultural..., Education, and Economics to the Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service: (1) Prepare crop...

7 CFR 2.68 - Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... committees concerned with agricultural science, education, and development activities, including library and... Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics § 2.68 Administrator, National Agricultural..., Education, and Economics to the Administrator, National Agricultural Statistics Service: (1) Prepare crop...

Rice, Japonica (Oryza sativa L.).

PubMed

Main, Marcy; Frame, Bronwyn; Wang, Kan

2015-01-01

The importance of rice, as a food crop, is reflected in the extensive global research being conducted in an effort to improve and better understand this particular agronomic plant. In regard to biotechnology, this has led to the development of numerous genetic transformation protocols. Over the years, many of these methods have become increasingly straightforward, rapid, and efficient, thereby making rice valuable as a model crop for scientific research and functional genomics. The focus of this chapter is on one such protocol that uses Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of Oryza sativa L. ssp. Japonica cv. Nipponbare with an emphasis on tissue desiccation. The explants consist of callus derived from mature seeds which are cocultivated on filter paper postinfection. Hygromycin selection is used for the recovery of subsequent genetically engineered events.

Conflicts of Interest in GM Bt Crop Efficacy and Durability Studies

PubMed Central

Lombaert, Eric

2016-01-01

Public confidence in genetically modified (GM) crop studies is tenuous at best in many countries, including those of the European Union in particular. A lack of information about the effects of ties between academic research and industry might stretch this confidence to the breaking point. We therefore performed an analysis on a large set of research articles (n = 672) focusing on the efficacy or durability of GM Bt crops and ties between the researchers carrying out these studies and the GM crop industry. We found that ties between researchers and the GM crop industry were common, with 40% of the articles considered displaying conflicts of interest (COI). In particular, we found that, compared to the absence of COI, the presence of a COI was associated with a 50% higher frequency of outcomes favorable to the interests of the GM crop company. Using our large dataset, we were able to propose possible direct and indirect mechanisms behind this statistical association. They might notably include changes of authorship or funding statements after the results of a study have been obtained and a choice in the topics studied driven by industrial priorities. PMID:27977705

Farm Crops: Unit Manual Eleven. Curriculum Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lewis, Ann; And Others

This is number 11 in a series of resource manuals consisting of 11 sequenced curriculum guides developed by the Demonstration and Research Center for Early Education (DARCEE) for use in early childhood education programs. Emphasis is placed on the development of sensory, abstracting and mediating, and response skills. The projected order of the…

Advanced Breeding, Development, and Release of High Biomass Energy Cane Cultivars in Florida

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Research into alternative energy sources has been on the rise since the 1970s. Novel sources of carbon-neutral energy are currently in high demand, but can pose different challenges in their development. Energy cane is a relatively new generation crop being bred as a source for biofuel feedstock and...

Big agronomic data validates an oxymoron: Sustainable intensification under climate change

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Crop science is increasingly embracing big data to reconcile the apparent rift between intensification of food production and sustainability of a steadily stressed production base. A strategy based on long-term agroecosystem research and modeling simulation of crops, crop rotations and cropping sys...

Statistical modeling of yield and variance instability in conventional and organic cropping systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cropping systems research was undertaken to address declining crop diversity and verify competitiveness of alternatives to the predominant conventional cropping system in the northern Corn Belt. To understand and capitalize on temporal yield variability within corn and soybean fields, we quantified ...

Crop classification modelling using remote sensing and environmental data in the Greater Platte River Basin, USA

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, Daniel M.; Wylie, Bruce K.; Tieszen, Larry L.

2012-01-01

With an ever expanding population, potential climate variability and an increasing demand for agriculture-based alternative fuels, accurate agricultural land-cover classification for specific crops and their spatial distributions are becoming critical to researchers, policymakers, land managers and farmers. It is important to ensure the sustainability of these and other land uses and to quantify the net impacts that certain management practices have on the environment. Although other quality crop classification products are often available, temporal and spatial coverage gaps can create complications for certain regional or time-specific applications. Our goal was to develop a model capable of classifying major crops in the Greater Platte River Basin (GPRB) for the post-2000 era to supplement existing crop classification products. This study identifies annual spatial distributions and area totals of corn, soybeans, wheat and other crops across the GPRB from 2000 to 2009. We developed a regression tree classification model based on 2.5 million training data points derived from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cropland Data Layer (CDL) in relation to a variety of other relevant input environmental variables. The primary input variables included the weekly 250 m US Geological Survey Earth Observing System Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer normalized differential vegetation index, average long-term growing season temperature, average long-term growing season precipitation and yearly start of growing season. An overall model accuracy rating of 78% was achieved for a test sample of roughly 215 000 independent points that were withheld from model training. Ten 250 m resolution annual crop classification maps were produced and evaluated for the GPRB region, one for each year from 2000 to 2009. In addition to the model accuracy assessment, our validation focused on spatial distribution and county-level crop area totals in comparison with the NASS CDL and county statistics from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Census of Agriculture. The results showed that our model produced crop classification maps that closely resembled the spatial distribution trends observed in the NASS CDL and exhibited a close linear agreement with county-by-county crop area totals from USDA census data (R 2 = 0.90).

International Global Crop Condition Assessments in the framework of GEOGLAM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. O.; Vermote, E.; Whitcraft, A. K.; Claverie, M.

2013-12-01

The Group on Earth Observations (partnership of governments and international organizations) developed the Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) initiative in response to the growing calls for improved agricultural information. The goal of GEOGLAM is to strengthen the international community's capacity to produce and disseminate relevant, timely and accurate forecasts of agricultural production at national, regional and global scales through the use of Earth observations. This initiative is designed to build on existing agricultural monitoring initiatives at national, regional and global levels and to enhance and strengthen them through international networking, operationally focused research, and data/method sharing. GEOGLAM was adopted by the G20 as part of the action plan on food price volatility and agriculture and is being implemented through building on the extensive GEO Agricultural Community of Practice (CoP) that was initiated in 2007 and includes key national and international agencies, organizations, and universities involved in agricultural monitoring. One of the early GEOGLAM activities is to provide harmonized global crop outlooks that offer timely qualitative consensus information on crop status and prospects. This activity is being developed in response to a request from the G-20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and is implemented within the global monitoring systems component of GEOGLAM. The goal is to develop a transparent, international, multi-source, consensus assessment of crop growing conditions, status, and agro-climatic conditions, likely to impact global production. These assessments are focused on the four primary crop types (corn, wheat, soy and rice) within the main agricultural producing regions of the world. The GEOGLAM approach is to bring together international experts from global, regional and national monitoring systems that can share and discuss information from a variety of independent complementary sources in order to reach a convergence of evidence based assessment. Information types include earth observations (EO) data and products, agro-meteorological data, crop models and field reports. To date, representatives from close to 20 different agencies have participated in these outlook assessments, which are submitted to AMIS on a monthly basis as well as shared with the international community. This talk will discuss the process, operational R&D, and progress towards developing these harmonized global crop assessments.

Ecoclimatic indicators to study climate suitability of areas for the cultivation of specific crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caubel, J.; Garcia de Cortazar Atauri, I.; Cufi, J.; Huard, F.; Launay, M.; Ripoche, D.; Graux, A.; deNoblet, N.

2013-12-01

Climatic conditions play a fundamental role in the suitability of geographical areas for cropping. In the context of climate change, we could expect changes in overall climatic conditions and so, on the suitability for cropping. Therefore, assessing the future climate suitability of areas for cropping is decisive for anticipating agriculture in a given area. Moreover, it is crucial to have access to the split up information concerning the effect of climate on the achievement of the main ecophysiological processes and cultural practices taking place during the crop cycle. In this way, stakeholders can envisage land use adaptations under climate change conditions, such as changes in cultural practices or development of new varieties for example. We proposed an aggregation tool of ecoclimatic indicators to design evaluation trees of climate suitability of areas for cropping, GETARI (Generic Evaluation Tool of Ecoclimatic Indicators). It calculates an overall climate suitability index at the annual scale, from a designed evaluation tree. This aggregation tool allows to characterize climate suitability according to crop ecophysiology, grain/fruit quality or crop management. GETARI proposes the major ecophysiological processes and cultural practices taking place during phenological periods, together with the climatic effects that are known to affect their achievement. The climatic effects on the ecophysiological processes (or cultural practices) during phenological periods are captured by the ecoclimatic indicators, which are agroclimatic indicators calculated over phenological periods. They give information about crop response to climate through ecophysiological or agronomic thresholds. Those indices of suitability are normalized and aggregated according to aggregation rules in order to compute an overall climate index. In order to illustrate how GETARI can be used, we designed evaluation trees in order to study the climate suitability for maize cropping regarding ecophysiology, for wheat cropping regarding its management and for grape cropping regarding its quality. The designed evaluation trees were developed in accordance with expert assessment and were applied in some past climatic conditions in France to verify their consistence. To conclude, the use of indicators does not replace models but represent additional tools for understanding and spatializing some results obtained by models. Their use can provide information about suitability of geographical areas for cropping in future climatic conditions and can enable to minimize the risk of crop failure. This work is carried out under the research program ORACLE (Opportunities and Risks of Agrosystems & forests in response to CLimate, socio-economic and policy changEs in France (and Europe).

Conservation Agriculture Improves Soil Quality, Crop Yield, and Incomes of Smallholder Farmers in North Western Ghana

PubMed Central

Naab, Jesse B.; Mahama, George Y.; Yahaya, Iddrisu; Prasad, P. V. V.

2017-01-01

Conservation agriculture (CA) practices are being widely promoted in many areas in sub-Saharan Africa to recuperate degraded soils and improve ecosystem services. This study examined the effects of three tillage practices [conventional moldboard plowing (CT), hand hoeing (MT) and no-tillage (NT)], and three cropping systems (continuous maize, soybean–maize annual rotation, and soybean/maize intercropping) on soil quality, crop productivity, and profitability in researcher and farmer managed on-farm trials from 2010 to 2013 in northwestern Ghana. In the researcher managed mother trial, the CA practices of NT, residue retention and crop rotation/intercropping maintained higher soil organic carbon, and total soil N compared to conventional tillage practices after 4 years. Soil bulk density was higher under NT than under CT soils in the researcher managed mother trails or farmers managed baby trials after 4 years. In the researcher managed mother trial, there was no significant difference between tillage systems or cropping systems in maize or soybean yields in the first three seasons. In the fourth season, crop rotation had the greatest impact on maize yields with CT maize following soybean increasing yields by 41 and 49% compared to MT and NT maize, respectively. In the farmers’ managed trials, maize yield ranged from 520 to 2700 kg ha-1 and 300 to 2000 kg ha-1 for CT and NT, respectively, reflecting differences in experience of farmers with NT. Averaged across farmers, CT cropping systems increased maize and soybean yield ranging from 23 to 39% compared with NT cropping systems. Partial budget analysis showed that the cost of producing maize or soybean is 20–29% cheaper with NT systems and gives higher returns to labor compared to CT practice. Benefit-to-cost ratios also show that NT cropping systems are more profitable than CT systems. We conclude that with time, implementation of CA practices involving NT, crop rotation, intercropping of maize and soybean along with crop residue retention presents a win–win scenario due to improved crop yield, increased economic return, and trends of increasing soil fertility. The biggest challenge, however, remains with producing enough biomass and retaining same on the field. PMID:28680427

HKT transporters mediate salt stress resistance in plants: from structure and function to the field.

PubMed

Hamamoto, Shin; Horie, Tomoaki; Hauser, Felix; Deinlein, Ulrich; Schroeder, Julian I; Uozumi, Nobuyuki

2015-04-01

Plant cells are sensitive to salinity stress and do not require sodium as an essential element for their growth and development. Saline soils reduce crop yields and limit available land. Research shows that HKT transporters provide a potent mechanism for mediating salt tolerance in plants. Knowledge of the molecular ion transport and regulation mechanisms and the control of HKT gene expression are crucial for understanding the mechanisms by which HKT transporters enhance crop performance under salinity stress. This review focuses on HKT transporters in monocot plants and in Arabidopsis as a dicot plant, as a guide to efforts toward improving salt tolerance of plants for increasing the production of crops and bioenergy feedstocks. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Rye cover crop effects on soil properties in no-till corn silage/soybean agroecosystems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Farmers in the U.S. Corn Belt are showing increasing interest in winter cover crops. Known benefits of winter cover crops include reductions in nutrient leaching, erosion mitigation, and weed suppression, however little research has investigated the effects of winter cover crops on soil properties. ...

Cover crop options and mixes for the upper midwest

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The implementation of cover crops in Iowa has the potential to decrease soil erosion, weed populations, and the loss of nutrients. Currently, less than 1% of all Iowa farmland is planted to cover crops, most of which is winter rye. This research explores 16 different cover crop treatments planted a...

PCPPI: a comprehensive database for the prediction of Penicillium-crop protein-protein interactions.

PubMed

Yue, Junyang; Zhang, Danfeng; Ban, Rongjun; Ma, Xiaojing; Chen, Danyang; Li, Guangwei; Liu, Jia; Wisniewski, Michael; Droby, Samir; Liu, Yongsheng

2017-01-01

Penicillium expansum , the causal agent of blue mold, is one of the most prevalent post-harvest pathogens, infecting a wide range of crops after harvest. In response, crops have evolved various defense systems to protect themselves against this and other pathogens. Penicillium -crop interaction is a multifaceted process and mediated by pathogen- and host-derived proteins. Identification and characterization of the inter-species protein-protein interactions (PPIs) are fundamental to elucidating the molecular mechanisms underlying infection processes between P. expansum and plant crops. Here, we have developed PCPPI, the Penicillium -Crop Protein-Protein Interactions database, which is constructed based on the experimentally determined orthologous interactions in pathogen-plant systems and available domain-domain interactions (DDIs) in each PPI. Thus far, it stores information on 9911 proteins, 439 904 interactions and seven host species, including apple, kiwifruit, maize, pear, rice, strawberry and tomato. Further analysis through the gene ontology (GO) annotation indicated that proteins with more interacting partners tend to execute the essential function. Significantly, semantic statistics of the GO terms also provided strong support for the accuracy of our predicted interactions in PCPPI. We believe that all the PCPPI datasets are helpful to facilitate the study of pathogen-crop interactions and freely available to the research community. : http://bdg.hfut.edu.cn/pcppi/index.html. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

The challenges of commercializing second-generation transgenic crop traits necessitate the development of international public sector research infrastructure.

PubMed

Rothstein, Steven J; Bi, Yong-Mei; Coneva, Viktoriya; Han, Mei; Good, Allen

2014-10-01

It has been 30 years since the first transformation of a gene into a plant species, and since that time a number of biotechnology products have been developed, with the most important being insect- and herbicide-resistant crops. The development of second-generation products, including nutrient use efficiency and tolerance to important environmental stressors such as drought, has, up to this time, been less successful. This is in part due to the inherent complexities of these traits and in part due to limitations in research infrastructure necessary for public sector researchers to test their best ideas. Here we discuss lessons from previous work in the generation of the first-generation traits, as well as work from our labs and others on identifying genes for nitrogen use efficiency. We then describe some of the issues that have impeded rapid progress in this area. Finally, we propose the type of public sector organization that we feel is necessary to make advances in important second-generation traits such as nitrogen use efficiency. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Reevaluating the conceptual framework for applied research on host-plant resistance.

PubMed

Stout, Michael J

2013-06-01

Applied research on host-plant resistance to arthropod pests has been guided over the past 60 years by a framework originally developed by Reginald Painter in his 1951 book, Insect Resistance in Crop Plants. Painter divided the "phenomena" of resistance into three "mechanisms," nonpreference (later renamed antixenosis), antibiosis, and tolerance. The weaknesses of this framework are discussed. In particular, this trichotomous framework does not encompass all known mechanisms of resistance, and the antixenosis and antibiosis categories are ambiguous and inseparable in practice. These features have perhaps led to a simplistic approach to understanding arthropod resistance in crop plants. A dichotomous scheme is proposed as a replacement, with a major division between resistance (plant traits that limit injury to the plant) and tolerance (plant traits that reduce amount of yield loss per unit injury), and the resistance category subdivided into constitutive/inducible and direct/indirect subcategories. The most important benefits of adopting this dichotomous scheme are to more closely align the basic and applied literatures on plant resistance and to encourage a more mechanistic approach to studying plant resistance in crop plants. A more mechanistic approach will be needed to develop novel approaches for integrating plant resistance into pest management programs. © 2012 Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Rapid detection of proteins in transgenic crops without protein reference standards by targeted proteomic mass spectrometry.

PubMed

Schacherer, Lindsey J; Xie, Weiping; Owens, Michaela A; Alarcon, Clara; Hu, Tiger X

2016-09-01

Liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry is increasingly used for protein detection for transgenic crops research. Currently this is achieved with protein reference standards which may take a significant time or efforts to obtain and there is a need for rapid protein detection without protein reference standards. A sensitive and specific method was developed to detect target proteins in transgenic maize leaf crude extract at concentrations as low as ∼30 ng mg(-1) dry leaf without the need of reference standards or any sample enrichment. A hybrid Q-TRAP mass spectrometer was used to monitor all potential tryptic peptides of the target proteins in both transgenic and non-transgenic samples. The multiple reaction monitoring-initiated detection and sequencing (MIDAS) approach was used for initial peptide/protein identification via Mascot database search. Further confirmation was achieved by direct comparison between transgenic and non-transgenic samples. Definitive confirmation was provided by running the same experiments of synthetic peptides or protein standards, if available. A targeted proteomic mass spectrometry method using MIDAS approach is an ideal methodology for detection of new proteins in early stages of transgenic crop research and development when neither protein reference standards nor antibodies are available. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

Breeding aflatoxin-resistant maize lines using recent advances in technologies - a review.

PubMed

Brown, Robert L; Menkir, Abebe; Chen, Zhi-Yuan; Bhatnagar, Deepak; Yu, Jiujiang; Yao, Haibo; Cleveland, Thomas E

2013-01-01

Aflatoxin contamination caused by Aspergillus flavus infection of corn is a significant and chronic threat to corn being used as food or feed. Contamination of crops at levels of 20 ng g(-1) or higher (as regulated by the USFDA) by this toxin and potent carcinogen makes the crop unsalable, resulting in a significant economic burden on the producer. This review focuses on elimination of this contamination in corn which is a major US crop and the basis of many products. Corn is also "nature's example" of a crop containing heritable resistance to aflatoxin contamination, thereby serving as a model for achieving resistance to aflatoxin contamination in other crops as well. This crop is the largest production grain crop worldwide, providing food for billions of people and livestock and critical feedstock for production of biofuels. In 2011, the economic value of the US corn crop was US$76 billion, with US growers producing an estimated 12 billion bushels, more than one-third of the world's supply. Thus, the economics and significance of corn as a food crop and the threat to food safety due to aflatoxin contamination of this major food crop have prompted the many research efforts in many parts of the world to identify resistance in corn to aflatoxin contamination. Plant breeding and varietal selection has been used as a tool to develop varieties resistance to disease. This methodology has been employed in defining a few corn lines that show resistance to A. flavus invasion; however, no commercial lines have been marketed. With the new tools of proteomics and genomics, identification of resistance mechanisms, and rapid resistance marker selection methodologies, there is an increasing possibility of finding significant resistance in corn, and in understanding the mechanism of this resistance.

Changes in the potential multiple cropping system in response to climate change in China from 1960-2010.

PubMed

Liu, Luo; Xu, Xinliang; Zhuang, Dafang; Chen, Xi; Li, Shuang

2013-01-01

The multiple cropping practice is essential to agriculture because it has been shown to significantly increase the grain yield and promote agricultural economic development. In this study, potential multiple cropping systems in China are calculated based on meteorological observation data by using the Agricultural Ecology Zone (AEZ) model. Following this, the changes in the potential cropping systems in response to climate change between the 1960s and the 2010s were subsequently analyzed. The results indicate that the changes of potential multiple cropping systems show tremendous heterogeneity in respect to the spatial pattern in China. A key finding is that the magnitude of change of the potential cropping systems showed a pattern of increase both from northern China to southern China and from western China to eastern China. Furthermore, the area found to be suitable only for single cropping decreased, while the area suitable for triple cropping increased significantly from the 1960s to the 2000s. During the studied period, the potential multiple cropping index (PMCI) gap between rain-fed and irrigated scenarios increased from 18% to 24%, which indicated noticeable growth of water supply limitations under the rain-fed scenario. The most significant finding of this research was that from the 1960s to the 2000s climate change had led to a significant increase of PMCI by 13% under irrigated scenario and 7% under rain-fed scenario across the whole of China. Furthermore, the growth of the annual mean temperature is identified as the main reason underlying the increase of PMCI. It has also been noticed that across China the changes of potential multiple cropping systems under climate change were different from region to region.

Genome engineering and plant breeding: impact on trait discovery and development.

PubMed

Nogué, Fabien; Mara, Kostlend; Collonnier, Cécile; Casacuberta, Josep M

2016-07-01

New tools for the precise modification of crops genes are now available for the engineering of new ideotypes. A future challenge in this emerging field of genome engineering is to develop efficient methods for allele mining. Genome engineering tools are now available in plants, including major crops, to modify in a predictable manner a given gene. These new techniques have a tremendous potential for a spectacular acceleration of the plant breeding process. Here, we discuss how genetic diversity has always been the raw material for breeders and how they have always taken advantage of the best available science to use, and when possible, increase, this genetic diversity. We will present why the advent of these new techniques gives to the breeders extremely powerful tools for crop breeding, but also why this will require the breeders and researchers to characterize the genes underlying this genetic diversity more precisely. Tackling these challenges should permit the engineering of optimized alleles assortments in an unprecedented and controlled way.

Revisiting the Role of Plant Transcription Factors in the Battle against Abiotic Stress.

PubMed

Khan, Sardar-Ali; Li, Meng-Zhan; Wang, Suo-Min; Yin, Hong-Ju

2018-05-31

Owing to diverse abiotic stresses and global climate deterioration, the agricultural production worldwide is suffering serious losses. Breeding stress-resilient crops with higher quality and yield against multiple environmental stresses via application of transgenic technologies is currently the most promising approach. Deciphering molecular principles and mining stress-associate genes that govern plant responses against abiotic stresses is one of the prerequisites to develop stress-resistant crop varieties. As molecular switches in controlling stress-responsive genes expression, transcription factors (TFs) play crucial roles in regulating various abiotic stress responses. Hence, functional analysis of TFs and their interaction partners during abiotic stresses is crucial to perceive their role in diverse signaling cascades that many researchers have continued to undertake. Here, we review current developments in understanding TFs, with particular emphasis on their functions in orchestrating plant abiotic stress responses. Further, we discuss novel molecular mechanisms of their action under abiotic stress conditions. This will provide valuable information for understanding regulatory mechanisms to engineer stress-tolerant crops.

Sugarcane Water Stress Tolerance Mechanisms and Its Implications on Developing Biotechnology Solutions

PubMed Central

Ferreira, Thais H. S.; Tsunada, Max S.; Bassi, Denis; Araújo, Pedro; Mattiello, Lucia; Guidelli, Giovanna V.; Righetto, Germanna L.; Gonçalves, Vanessa R.; Lakshmanan, Prakash; Menossi, Marcelo

2017-01-01

Sugarcane is a unique crop with the ability to accumulate high levels of sugar and is a commercially viable source of biomass for bioelectricity and second-generation bioethanol. Water deficit is the single largest abiotic stress affecting sugarcane productivity and the development of water use efficient and drought tolerant cultivars is an imperative for all major sugarcane producing countries. This review summarizes the physiological and molecular studies on water deficit stress in sugarcane, with the aim to help formulate more effective research strategies for advancing our knowledge on genes and mechanisms underpinning plant response to water stress. We also overview transgenic studies in sugarcane, with an emphasis on the potential strategies to develop superior sugarcane varieties that improve crop productivity in drought-prone environments. PMID:28690620

Wireless sensor networks for canopy temperature sensing and irrigation management

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

For researchers, canopy temperature measurements have proven useful in characterizing crop water stress and developing protocols for irrigation management. Today, there is heightened interest in using remote canopy temperature measurements for real-time irrigation scheduling. However, without the us...

Rainwater harvesting potential for farming system development in a hilly watershed of Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tariqul Islam, Md.; Mohabbat Ullah, Md.; Mostofa Amin, M. G.; Hossain, Sahadat

2017-09-01

Water resources management is an important part in farming system development. Agriculture in Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh is predominantly rainfed with an average 2210 mm monsoonal rain, but rainfall during dry winter period (December-February) is inadequate for winter crop production. The natural soil water content (as low as 7 %) of hillslope and hilltop during the dry season is not suitable for shallow-rooted crop cultivation. A study was conducted to investigate the potential of monsoonal rainwater harvesting and its impact on local cropping system development. Irrigation facilities provided by the managed rainwater harvesting reservoir increased research site's cropping intensity from 155 to 300 %. Both gravity flow irrigation of valley land and low lift pumping to hillslope and hilltop from rainwater harvesting reservoir were much more economical compared to forced mode pumping of groundwater because of the installation and annual operating cost of groundwater pumping. To abstract 7548 m3 of water, equivalent to the storage capacity of the studied reservoirs, from aquifer required 2174 kWh energy. The improved water supply system enabled triple cropping system for valley land and permanent horticultural intervention at hilltop and hillslope. The perennial vegetation in hilltop and hillslope would also conserve soil moisture. Water productivity and benefit-cost ratio analysis show that vegetables and fruit production were more profitable than rice cultivation under irrigation with harvested rainwater. Moreover, the reservoir showed potentiality of integrated farming in such adverse area by facilitating fish production. The study provides water resource managers and government officials working with similar problems with valuable information for formulation of plan, policy, and strategy.

Response to the Letter to the Editor of Crop Science from Donald R. Davis regarding our research article published in Crop Science (2011: 51:2721-2727)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This letter serves as a response to the Letter to the Editor submitted by Donald R. Davis regarding our research article entitled “Mineral Concentration of Broccoli Florets in Relation to Year of Cultivar Release” published in Crop Science (2011, 51:2721-2727). In our manuscript, we clearly stated ...

Innovations in LED lighting for reduced-ESM crop production in space

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massa, Gioia; Mitchell, Cary; Bourget, C. Michael; Morrow, Robert

In controlled-environment crop production such as will be practiced at the lunar outpost and Mars base, the single most energy-demanding aspect is electric lighting for plant growth, including energy costs for energizing lamps as well as for removing excess heat. For a variety of reasons, sunlight may not be a viable option as the main source of crop lighting off-Earth and traditional electric lamps for crop lighting have numerous drawbacks for use in a space environment. A collaborative research venture between the Advanced Life Support Crops Group at Purdue University and the Orbital Technologies Corporation (ORBITEC) has led to the development of efficient, reconfigurable LED lighting technologies for crop growth in an ALSS. The light sources use printed-circuit red and blue LEDs, which are individually tunable for a range of photosynthetic photon fluxes and photomorphogenic plant responses. Initial lighting arrays have LEDs that can be energized from the bottom upward when deployed in a vertical, intracanopy configuration, allowing the illumination to be tailored for stand height throughout the cropping cycle. Preliminary testing with the planophile crop cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp, breeding line IT87D-941-1), resulted in optimizing internal reflectance of growth compartments by lining walls, floor, and a movable ceiling with white Poly film, as well as by determining optimal planting density and plant positioning. Additionally, these light strips, called "lightsicles", can be configured into an overhead plane of light engines. When intracanopy and overhead-LED-lit cowpea crop production was compared, cowpea plants grown with intracanopy lighting had much greater understory leaf retention and produced more dry biomass per kilowatt-hour of lighting energy than did overhead-lit plants. The efficiency of light capture is reduced in overhead-lit scenarios due to mutual shading of lower leaves by upper leaves in closed canopies leading to premature abscission of lower leaves. One system modification has led to lightsicles of different lengths, allowing a wider array of intracanopy lighting configurations. Another development is an adaptive system in which each light engine can be operated independently, and photodiodes can detect reflectance patterns off of leaves from flashing green LEDs, thereby indicating positions of leaves within the foliar canopy relative to any given light engine on a lightsicle. When this advanced hardware is coupled to tailored software, the reflectance can be used to auto-detect changes in plant growth and adjust the lighting accordingly. These lighting systems have been tested with cowpea, pepper (Capsicum annuum L. cv. Triton) and Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. cv. Waldmanns Green) with limited testing of other ALS candidate crop species. The versatility of these LED lighting systems will allow energy-efficient light delivery to a wide variety of crops with different growth habits, including planophile, erectophile, and rosette species. This research has been supported by NASA grants NAG5-12686 (NSCORT) and NNK05OA20C (SBIR Phase 1) and NNK06OM01C (SBIR Phase 2).

75 FR 55944 - Walnuts Grown in California; Decreased Assessment Rate

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-09-15

... Expenses/Annual Audit.. 161,000 208,000 Office Expenses 123,750 118,850 Program Expenses Including Research: Controlled Purchases 5,000 20,000 Crop Acreage Survey 0 95,000 Crop Estimate 120,000 105,000 Production Research Director.... 80,000 88,500 Production Research 725,000 1,042,000 Grades and Standards Research...

Progress and challenges for abiotic stress proteomics of crop plants.

PubMed

Barkla, Bronwyn J; Vera-Estrella, Rosario; Pantoja, Omar

2013-06-01

Plants are continually challenged to recognize and respond to adverse changes in their environment to avoid detrimental effects on growth and development. Understanding the mechanisms that crop plants employ to resist and tolerate abiotic stress is of considerable interest for designing agriculture breeding strategies to ensure sustainable productivity. The application of proteomics technologies to advance our knowledge in crop plant abiotic stress tolerance has increased dramatically in the past few years as evidenced by the large amount of publications in this area. This is attributed to advances in various technology platforms associated with MS-based techniques as well as the accessibility of proteomics units to a wider plant research community. This review summarizes the work which has been reported for major crop plants and evaluates the findings in context of the approaches that are widely employed with the aim to encourage broadening the strategies used to increase coverage of the proteome. © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service research on managing insect resistance to insecticides.

PubMed

Elzen, Gary W; Hardee, Dick D

2003-01-01

Insecticide resistance has developed within many classes of pesticide, and over 500 species of insects and mites are resistant to one or more insecticides. Insecticide resistance and the consequent losses of food and fiber caused by failure to control insect and mite pests causes economic losses of several billion dollars worldwide each year. It is the goal of insect resistance management (IRM) to preserve useful pesticides by slowing, preventing or reversing development of resistance in pests. Important aspects of this goal are understanding the development of resistance and monitoring to determine ways to prevent its development. We describe programs specific to missions of the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, which are designed to characterize insecticide resistance in insects and mites with the goal of managing pests in an ecologically acceptable manner. Resistance management of cotton, potatoes, vegetables, melons, ornamentals, greenhouse crops, corn, stored grains, livestock, honeybees and mites, as well as management of transgenic crops are evaluated. We conclude that IRM is a vital part of stewardship of any pest management product and must be a combined effort of manufacturers, growers, consultants, extension services and grower organizations, working closely with regulators, to achieve logistically and economically feasible systems that prolong the effectiveness of all pest-control products.

U.S. Effort in the Development of New Crops (Lesquerella, Pennycress, Coriander, and Cuphea)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The U.S. effort for the development of New Crops is directed toward the advancement of crops that can be grown in rotation with traditional commodity crops, off-season production and utilization of acreage not currently under cultivation. This effort is intended to have no or minimal impact on crop...

Improvement of Alternative Crop Phenology Detection Algorithms using MODIS NDVI Time Series Data in US Corn Belt Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Kang, S.; Seo, B.; Lee, K.

2017-12-01

Predicting crop phenology is important for understanding of crop development and growth processes and improving the accuracy of crop model. Remote sensing offers a feasible tool for monitoring spatio-temporal patterns of crop phenology in region and continental scales. Various methods have been developed to determine the timing of crop phenological stages using spectral vegetation indices (i.e. NDVI and EVI) derived from satellite data. In our study, it was compared four alternative detection methods to identify crop phenological stages (i.e. the emergence and harvesting date) using high quality NDVI time series data derived from MODIS. Also we investigated factors associated with crop development rate. Temperature and photoperiod are the two main factors which would influence the crop's growth pattern expressed in the VI data. Only the effect of temperature on crop development rate was considered. The temperature response function in the Wang-Engel (WE) model was used, which simulates crop development using nonlinear models with response functions that range from zero to one. It has attempted at the state level over 14 years (2003-2016) in Iowa and Illinois state of USA, where the estimated phenology date by using four methods for both corn and soybean. Weekly crop progress reports produced by the USDA NASS were used to validate phenology detection algorithms effected by temperature. All methods showed substantial uncertainty but the threshold method showed relatively better agreement with the State-level data for soybean phenology.

7 CFR 407.9 - Area risk protection insurance policy.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... FCIC, whose research or occupation is related to the specific crop or practice for which such expertise... following organizations: Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas, Sustainable Agriculture Research... other persons approved by FCIC, whose research or occupation is related to the specific organic crop or...

Monitoring Global Crop Condition Indicators Using a Web-Based Visualization Tool

Treesearch

Bob Tetrault; Bob Baldwin

2006-01-01

Global crop condition information for major agricultural regions in the world can be monitored using the web-based application called Crop Explorer. With this application, U.S. and international producers, traders, researchers, and the public can access remote sensing information used by agricultural economists and scientists who predict crop production worldwide. For...

Disease risks associated with cover crops in corn and soybean production

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cover crops have numerous environmental and soil health benefits and are being more widely used by farmers in Iowa. Still some farmers are reluctant to use cover crops because of increased risks to crop yields in part because of increased disease potential. The goal of our research is to understand ...

Limited irrigation of corn-based no-till crop rotations in west central Great Plains.

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Identifying the most profitable crop rotation for an area is a continuous research challenge. The objective of this study was to evaluate 2, 3, and 4 yr. limited irrigation corn (Zea mays L.) based crop rotations for grain yield, available soil water, crop water productivity, and profitability in co...

Development of High Yield Feedstocks and Biomass Conversion Technology for Renewable Energy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hashimoto, Andrew G.; Crow, Susan; DeBeryshe, Barbara

2015-04-09

This project had two main goals. The first goal was to evaluate several high yielding tropical perennial grasses as feedstock for biofuel production, and to characterize the feedstock for compatible biofuel production systems. The second goal was to assess the integration of renewable energy systems for Hawaii. The project focused on high-yield grasses (napiergrass, energycane, sweet sorghum, and sugarcane). Field plots were established to evaluate the effects of elevation (30, 300 and 900 meters above sea level) and irrigation (50%, 75% and 100% of sugarcane plantation practice) on energy crop yields and input. The test plots were extensive monitored including:more » hydrologic studies to measure crop water use and losses through seepage and evapotranspiration; changes in soil carbon stock; greenhouse gas flux (CO 2, CH 4, and N 2O) from the soil surface; and root morphology, biomass, and turnover. Results showed significant effects of environment on crop yields. In general, crop yields decrease as the elevation increased, being more pronounced for sweet sorghum and energycane than napiergrass. Also energy crop yields were higher with increased irrigation levels, being most pronounced with energycane and less so with sweet sorghum. Daylight length greatly affected sweet sorghum growth and yields. One of the energy crops (napiergrass) was harvested at different ages (2, 4, 6, and 8 months) to assess the changes in feedstock characteristics with age and potential to generate co-products. Although there was greater potential for co-products from younger feedstock, the increased production was not sufficient to offset the additional cost of harvesting multiple times per year. The feedstocks were also characterized to assess their compatibility with biochemical and thermochemical conversion processes. The project objectives are being continued through additional support from the Office of Naval Research, and the Biomass Research and Development Initiative. Renewable energy assessments included: biomass feedstocks currently being produced by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., and possibilities of producing methane from agricultural and livestock wastes and the potential of photovoltaic systems for irrigation pumping at HC&S. Finally, the impact of a micro-hydroelectric system on a small-farm economics and the local community was assessed.« less

Estimating national crop yield potential and the relevance of weather data sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Van Wart, Justin

2011-12-01

To determine where, when, and how to increase yields, researchers often analyze the yield gap (Yg), the difference between actual current farm yields and crop yield potential. Crop yield potential (Yp) is the yield of a crop cultivar grown under specific management limited only by temperature and solar radiation and also by precipitation for water limited yield potential (Yw). Yp and Yw are critical components of Yg estimations, but are very difficult to quantify, especially at larger scales because management data and especially daily weather data are scarce. A protocol was developed to estimate Yp and Yw at national scales using site-specific weather, soils and management data. Protocol procedures and inputs were evaluated to determine how to improve accuracy of Yp, Yw and Yg estimates. The protocol was also used to evaluate raw, site-specific and gridded weather database sources for use in simulations of Yp or Yw. The protocol was applied to estimate crop Yp in US irrigated maize and Chinese irrigated rice and Yw in US rainfed maize and German rainfed wheat. These crops and countries account for >20% of global cereal production. The results have significant implications for past and future studies of Yp, Yw and Yg. Accuracy of national long-term average Yp and Yw estimates was significantly improved if (i) > 7 years of simulations were performed for irrigated and > 15 years for rainfed sites, (ii) > 40% of nationally harvested area was within 100 km of all simulation sites, (iii) observed weather data coupled with satellite derived solar radiation data were used in simulations, and (iv) planting and harvesting dates were specified within +/- 7 days of farmers actual practices. These are much higher standards than have been applied in national estimates of Yp and Yw and this protocol is a substantial step in making such estimates more transparent, robust, and straightforward. Finally, this protocol may be a useful tool for understanding yield trends and directing research and development efforts aimed at providing for a secure and stable future food supply.

Cooperation with Commodity Groups and Hands-On Demonstrations Improve the Effectiveness of Commodity-Focused Educational Programs

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kandel, Herman J.; Ransom, Joel K.; Torgerson, David A.; Wiersma, Jochum J.

2010-01-01

Wheat and soybean producers pay a small amount per bushel produced as a check-off. Funds are used for research, outreach, and crop promotion. Commodity organizations and Extension joined forces to develop multi-state educational outreach on spring wheat and soybean production. Participatory planning involved producers in developing these…

Carbon and Conservation: Cropping systems and greenhouse gases

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Quantifying and predicting soil carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural systems have been research goals for numerous institutions, especially since the turn of the millennium. Cost, time, and politics are variables that have limited the rapid development of robust quant...

Breeding and Selection of New Switchgrass Varieties for Increased Biomass Production

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Taliaferro, C.M.

2003-05-27

Switchgrass breeding and genetics research was conducted from 1992-2002 at the Oklahoma State University as part of the national DOE-Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program (BFDP) effort to develop the species as a bioenergy feedstock crop. The fundamental objective of the program was to implement and conduct a breeding program to increase biomass yield capability in switchgrass and develop cultivars for the central and southern United States. Supporting research objectives included: (1) switchgrass germplasm collection, characterization, and enhancement; (2) elucidation of cytogenetic and breeding behavior; and (3) identification of best breeding procedures.

Improving the use of crop models for risk assessment and climate change adaptation.

PubMed

Challinor, Andrew J; Müller, Christoph; Asseng, Senthold; Deva, Chetan; Nicklin, Kathryn Jane; Wallach, Daniel; Vanuytrecht, Eline; Whitfield, Stephen; Ramirez-Villegas, Julian; Koehler, Ann-Kristin

2018-01-01

Crop models are used for an increasingly broad range of applications, with a commensurate proliferation of methods. Careful framing of research questions and development of targeted and appropriate methods are therefore increasingly important. In conjunction with the other authors in this special issue, we have developed a set of criteria for use of crop models in assessments of impacts, adaptation and risk. Our analysis drew on the other papers in this special issue, and on our experience in the UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2017 and the MACSUR, AgMIP and ISIMIP projects. The criteria were used to assess how improvements could be made to the framing of climate change risks, and to outline the good practice and new developments that are needed to improve risk assessment. Key areas of good practice include: i. the development, running and documentation of crop models, with attention given to issues of spatial scale and complexity; ii. the methods used to form crop-climate ensembles, which can be based on model skill and/or spread; iii. the methods used to assess adaptation, which need broadening to account for technological development and to reflect the full range options available. The analysis highlights the limitations of focussing only on projections of future impacts and adaptation options using pre-determined time slices. Whilst this long-standing approach may remain an essential component of risk assessments, we identify three further key components: 1.Working with stakeholders to identify the timing of risks. What are the key vulnerabilities of food systems and what does crop-climate modelling tell us about when those systems are at risk?2.Use of multiple methods that critically assess the use of climate model output and avoid any presumption that analyses should begin and end with gridded output.3.Increasing transparency and inter-comparability in risk assessments. Whilst studies frequently produce ranges that quantify uncertainty, the assumptions underlying these ranges are not always clear. We suggest that the contingency of results upon assumptions is made explicit via a common uncertainty reporting format; and/or that studies are assessed against a set of criteria, such as those presented in this paper.

Tuber yield and quality characteristics of potatoes for off-season crops in a Mediterranean environment.

PubMed

Ierna, Anita

2010-01-15

There is little research on evaluating the compatibility of potatoes for double cropping in southern Italy. The aim of this investigation was to assess tuber yield and some qualitative traits of tubers such as skin colour, tuber dry matter content and tuber nitrate content, both in winter-spring and in summer-autumn crops, as influenced by genotype and harvest time. Yield, skin colour and dry matter content of tubers were higher in the winter-spring crop than in the summer-autumn crop, attributable to the advantageous lag time in spring between solar radiation and temperatures and the disadvantageous lag in autumn. Spunta and Arinda performed well within each crop season, whereas Ninfa showed an important yield loss in autumn. In both off-season crops, delaying tuber harvest until leaf senescence increased yield and improved quality attributes such as tuber dry matter content and skin colour, whereas nitrate contents significantly decreased in the winter-spring crop and increased in the summer-autumn crop. Ninfa showed less tendency than Arinda and Spunta to accumulate nitrate in tubers in both off-season crops. It might be advantageous to examine in further research which mechanisms sustain compatibility to the autumn and assess other quality characteristics for the fresh market in the contrasting climatic conditions of the two off-season crops. Copyright (c) 2009 Society of Chemical Industry.

Bibliography on Biomass Feedstock Research: 1978-2002

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cushman, J.H.

2003-05-01

This report provides bibliographic citations for more than 1400 reports on biomass feedstock development published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and its collaborators from 1978 through 2002. Oak Ridge National Laboratory is engaged in analysis of biomass resource supplies, research on the sustainability of feedstock resources, and research on feedstock engineering and infrastructure. From 1978 until 2002, Oak Ridge National Laboratory also provided technical leadership for the U.S. Department of Energy's Bioenergy Feedstock Development Program (BFDP), which supported research to identify and develop promising energy crops. This bibliography lists reports published by Oak Ridge National Laboratory and by its collaboratorsmore » in the BFDP, including graduate student theses and dissertations.« less

The complex nature of mixed farming systems requires multidimensional actions supported by integrative research and development efforts.

PubMed

González-García, E; Gourdine, J L; Alexandre, G; Archimède, H; Vaarst, M

2012-05-01

Mixed farming systems (MFS) have demonstrated some success by focusing on the use of integrative and holistic mechanisms, and rationally building on and using the natural and local resource base without exhausting it, while enhancing biodiversity, optimizing complementarities between crops and animal systems and finally increasing opportunities in rural livelihoods. Focusing our analysis and discussion on field experiences and empirical knowledge in the Caribbean islands, this paper discusses the opportunities for a change needed in current MFS research-development philosophy. The importance of shifting from fragile/specialized production systems to MFS under current global conditions is argued with an emphasis on the case of Small Islands Developing States (SIDS) and the Caribbean. Particular vulnerable characteristics as well as the potential and constraints of SIDS and their agricultural sectors are described, while revealing the opportunities for the 'richness' of the natural and local resources to support authentic and less dependent production system strategies. Examples are provided of the use of natural grasses, legumes, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products. We analyse the requirement for a change in research strategies and initiatives through the development of a complex but necessary multi-/inter-/trans-disciplinary teamwork spirit. We stress as essential the collaboration and active participation of local and regional actors, stakeholders and end-users in the identification of research priorities, as well as the generation, exchange and dissemination of knowledge and technology innovations, while strengthening the leadership roles in the conduct of integrative and participative research and development projects.

Soilborne Diseases of the Nursery Industry: USDA-ARS and OSU Team Up to Tackle this Pernicious Problem

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soilborne diseases are a serious problem affecting many crop plants of the ornamental nursery industry. Recently, the Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory (USDA-ARS) and Oregon State University received funding from the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative via the Horticultural Research I...

Development of techniques for producing static strata maps and development of photointerpretation methods based on multitemporal LANDSAT data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Colwell, R. N. (Principal Investigator); Hay, C. M.; Thomas, R. W.; Benson, A. S.

1976-01-01

The progress of research conducted in support of the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) is documented. Specific tasks include (1) evaluation of the static stratification procedure and modification of that procedure if warranted, and (2) the development of alternative photointerpretative techniques to the present LACIE procedures for the identification and selection of training fields (areas).

Wind Turbines Benefit Crops

ScienceCinema

Takle, Gene

2018-05-16

Ames Laboratory associate scientist Gene Takle talks about research into the effect of wind turbines on nearby crops. Preliminary results show the turbines may have a positive effect by cooling and drying the crops and assisting with carbon dioxide uptake.

Natural Products in the Discovery of Agrochemicals.

PubMed

Loiseleur, Olivier

2017-12-01

Natural products have a long history of being used as, or serving as inspiration for, novel crop protection agents. Many of the discoveries in agrochemical research in the last decades have their origin in a wide range of natural products from a variety of sources. In light of the continuing need for new tools to address an ever-changing array of fungal, weed and insect pests, new agricultural practices and evolving regulatory requirements, the needs for new agrochemical tools remains as critical as ever. In that respect, nature continues to be an important source for novel chemical structures and biological mechanisms to be applied for the development of pest control agents. Here we review several of the natural products and their derivatives which contributed to shape crop protection research in past and present.

Evaluation of Crops Moisture Provision by Space Remote Sensing Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ilienko, Tetiana

2016-08-01

The article is focused on theoretical and experimental rationale for the use of space data to determine the moisture provision of agricultural landscapes and agricultural plants. The improvement of space remote sensing methods to evaluate plant moisture availability is the aim of this research.It was proved the possibility of replacement of satellite imagery of high spatial resolution on medium spatial resolution which are freely available to determine crop moisture content at the local level. The mathematical models to determine the moisture content of winter wheat plants by spectral indices were developed based on the results of experimental field research and satellite (Landsat, MODIS/Terra, RapidEye, SICH-2) data. The maps of the moisture content in winter wheat plants in test sites by obtained models were constructed using modern GIS technology.

Breakthrough in chloroplast genetic engineering of agronomically important crops

PubMed Central

Daniell, Henry; Kumar, Shashi; Dufourmantel, Nathalie

2012-01-01

Chloroplast genetic engineering offers several unique advantages, including high-level transgene expression, multi-gene engineering in a single transformation event and transgene containment by maternal inheritance, as well as a lack of gene silencing, position and pleiotropic effects and undesirable foreign DNA. More than 40 transgenes have been stably integrated and expressed using the tobacco chloroplast genome to confer desired agronomic traits or express high levels of vaccine antigens and biopharmaceuticals. Despite such significant progress, this technology has not been extended to major crops. However, highly efficient soybean, carrot and cotton plastid transformation has recently been accomplished through somatic embryogenesis using species-specific chloroplast vectors. This review focuses on recent exciting developments in this field and offers directions for further research and development. PMID:15866001

GEOGLAM Crop Assessment Tool: Adapting from global agricultural monitoring to food security monitoring

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humber, M. L.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Nordling, J.; Barker, B.; McGaughey, K.

2014-12-01

The GEOGLAM Crop Monitor's Crop Assessment Tool was released in August 2013 in support of the GEOGLAM Crop Monitor's objective to develop transparent, timely crop condition assessments in primary agricultural production areas, highlighting potential hotspots of stress/bumper crops. The Crop Assessment Tool allows users to view satellite derived products, best available crop masks, and crop calendars (created in collaboration with GEOGLAM Crop Monitor partners), then in turn submit crop assessment entries detailing the crop's condition, drivers, impacts, trends, and other information. Although the Crop Assessment Tool was originally intended to collect data on major crop production at the global scale, the types of data collected are also relevant to the food security and rangelands monitoring communities. In line with the GEOGLAM Countries at Risk philosophy of "foster[ing] the coordination of product delivery and capacity building efforts for national and regional organizations, and the development of harmonized methods and tools", a modified version of the Crop Assessment Tool is being developed for the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET). As a member of the Countries at Risk component of GEOGLAM, FEWS NET provides agricultural monitoring, timely food security assessments, and early warnings of potential significant food shortages focusing specifically on countries at risk of food security emergencies. While the FEWS NET adaptation of the Crop Assessment Tool focuses on crop production in the context of food security rather than large scale production, the data collected is nearly identical to the data collected by the Crop Monitor. If combined, the countries monitored by FEWS NET and GEOGLAM Crop Monitor would encompass over 90 countries representing the most important regions for crop production and food security.

Discrimination of herbicide-resistant kochia with hyperspectral imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nugent, Paul W.; Shaw, Joseph A.; Jha, Prashant; Scherrer, Bryan; Donelick, Andrew; Kumar, Vipan

2018-01-01

A hyperspectral imager was used to differentiate herbicide-resistant versus herbicide-susceptible biotypes of the agronomic weed kochia, in different crops in the field at the Southern Agricultural Research Center in Huntley, Montana. Controlled greenhouse experiments showed that enough information was captured by the imager to classify plants as either a crop, herbicide-susceptible or herbicide-resistant kochia. The current analysis is developing an algorithm that will work in more uncontrolled outdoor situations. In overcast conditions, the algorithm correctly identified dicamba-resistant kochia, glyphosate-resistant kochia, and glyphosate- and dicamba-susceptible kochia with 67%, 76%, and 80% success rates, respectively.

Wheat signature modeling and analysis for improved training statistics: Supplement. Simulated LANDSAT wheat radiances and radiance components

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malila, W. A.; Cicone, R. C.; Gleason, J. M.

1976-01-01

Simulated scanner system data values generated in support of LACIE (Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment) research and development efforts are presented. Synthetic inband (LANDSAT) wheat radiances and radiance components were computed and are presented for various wheat canopy and atmospheric conditions and scanner view geometries. Values include: (1) inband bidirectional reflectances for seven stages of wheat crop growth; (2) inband atmospheric features; and (3) inband radiances corresponding to the various combinations of wheat canopy and atmospheric conditions. Analyses of these data values are presented in the main report.

AgRISTARS: Agriculture and resources inventory surveys through aerospace remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1981-01-01

The major objectives and FY 1980 accomplishments are described of a long term program designed to determine the usefulness, cost, and extent to which aerospace remote sensing data can be integrated into existing or future USDA systems to improve the objectivity, reliability, timeliness, and adequacy of information. A general overview, the primary and participating agencies, and the technical highlights of each of the following projects are presented: early warning/crop condition assessment; foreign commodity production forecasting; yield model development; supporting research; soil moisture; domestic crops and land cover; renewable resources inventory; and conservation and pollution.

From Crop Domestication to Super-domestication

PubMed Central

Vaughan, D. A.; Balázs, E.; Heslop-Harrison, J. S.

2007-01-01

Research related to crop domestication has been transformed by technologies and discoveries in the genome sciences as well as information-related sciences that are providing new tools for bioinformatics and systems' biology. Rapid progress in archaeobotany and ethnobotany are also contributing new knowledge to understanding crop domestication. This sense of rapid progress is encapsulated in this Special Issue, which contains 18 papers by scientists in botanical, crop sciences and related disciplines on the topic of crop domestication. One paper focuses on current themes in the genetics of crop domestication across crops, whereas other papers have a crop or geographic focus. One feature of progress in the sciences related to crop domestication is the availability of well-characterized germplasm resources in the global network of genetic resources centres (genebanks). Germplasm in genebanks is providing research materials for understanding domestication as well as for plant breeding. In this review, we highlight current genetic themes related to crop domestication. Impressive progress in this field in recent years is transforming plant breeding into crop engineering to meet the human need for increased crop yield with the minimum environmental impact – we consider this to be ‘super-domestication’. While the time scale of domestication of 10 000 years or less is a very short evolutionary time span, the details emerging of what has happened and what is happening provide a window to see where domestication might – and can – advance in the future. PMID:17940074

Investigate the Capabilities of Remotely Sensed Crop Indicators for Agricultural Drought Monitoring in Kansas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, J.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. O.

2013-12-01

Although agricultural production has been rising in the past years, drought remains the primary cause of crop failure, leading to food price instability and threatening food security. The recent 'Global Food Crisis' in 2008, 2011 and 2012 has put drought and its impact on crop production at the forefront, highlighting the need for effective agricultural drought monitoring. Satellite observations have proven a practical, cost-effective and dynamic tool for drought monitoring. However, most satellite based methods are not specially developed for agriculture and their performances for agricultural drought monitoring still need further development. Wheat is the most widely grown crop in the world, and the recent droughts highlight the importance of drought monitoring in major wheat producing areas. As the largest wheat producing state in the US, Kansas plays an important role in both global and domestic wheat markets. Thus, the objective of this study is to investigate the capabilities of remotely sensed crop indicators for effective agricultural drought monitoring in Kansas wheat-grown regions using MODIS data and crop yield statistics. First, crop indicators such as NDVI, anomaly and cumulative metrics were calculated. Second, the varying impacts of agricultural drought at different stages were explored by examining the relationship between the derived indicators and yields. Also, the starting date of effective agricultural drought early detection and the key agricultural drought alert period were identified. Finally, the thresholds of these indicators for agricultural drought early warning were derived and the implications of these indicators for agricultural drought monitoring were discussed. The preliminary results indicate that drought shows significant impacts from the mid-growing-season (after Mid-April); NDVI anomaly shows effective drought early detection from Late-April, and Late-April to Early-June can be used as the key alert period for agricultural drought early warning; and drought occurring in Early-May has the most significant agricultural impacts. This research intends to help prototype an agricultural drought alert system, which could alert crop analysts to agricultural drought vulnerable areas/periods and provide tools for assessing crop outlooks in these regions.

Genetically Engineered Crops and Certified Organic Agriculture for Improving Nutrition Security in Africa and South Asia.

PubMed

Pray, Carl; Ledermann, Samuel

2016-01-01

In Africa and South Asia, where nutrition insecurity is severe, two of the most prominent production technologies are genetically modified (GM) crops and certified organic agriculture. We analyze the potential impact pathways from agricultural production to nutrition. Our review of data and the literature reveals increasing farm-level income from cash crop production as the main pathway by which organic agriculture and GM agriculture improve nutrition. Potential secondary pathways include reduced prices of important food crops like maize due to GM maize production and increased food production using organic technology. Potential tertiary pathways are improvements in health due to reduced insecticide use. Challenges to the technologies achieving their impact include the politics of GM agriculture and the certification costs of organic agriculture. Given the importance of agricultural production in addressing nutrition security, accentuated by the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, the chapter concludes by stressing the importance of private and public sector research in improving the productivity and adoption of both GM and organic crops. In addition, the chapter reminds readers that increased farm income and productivity require complementary investments in health, education, food access and women's empowerment to actually improve nutrition security. © 2016 S. Karger AG, Basel.

AgRISTARS: Supporting research. US crop calendars in support of the early warning project

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hodges, T. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The crop calendars produced for the Large Area Crop Inventory Experiment (LACIE) and crop calendar samples for Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Texas are presented. These calendars are based on weekly crop reporting district level observations of the percentage of various crops at several growth stages. A sample of the statistical treatments of the weekly data is provided. Four to five years of 50-percent dates for stages on a crop reporting district level for Arkansas, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio and Wisconsin are also given.

Soil microbiome characteristics and soilborne disease development associated with long-term potato cropping system practices

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Potato cropping system practices substantially affect soil microbial communities and the development of soilborne diseases. Cropping systems incorporating soil health management practices, such as longer rotations, disease-suppressive crops, reduced tillage, and/or organic amendments can potentially...

Research on agricultural ecology and environment analysis and modeling based on RS and GIS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Wensheng; Chen, Hongfu; Wang, Mingsheng

2009-07-01

Analysis of agricultural ecology and environment is based on the data of agricultural resources, which are obtained by RS monitoring. The over-exploitation of farmlands will cause structural changes of the soil composition, and damage the planting environment and the agro-ecosystem. Through the research on the dynamic monitoring methods of multitemporal RS images and GIS technology, the crop growth status, crop acreage and other relevant information in agricultural production are extracted based on the monitor and analysis of the conditions of the fields and crop growth. The agro-ecological GIS platform is developed with the establishment of the agricultural resources management database, which manages spatial data, RS data and attribute data of agricultural resources. Using the RS, GIS analysis results, the reasons of agro-ecological destruction are analyzed and the evaluation methods are established. This paper puts forward the concept of utilization capacity of farmland, which describes farmland space for development and utilization that is influenced by the conditions of the land, water resources, climate, pesticides and chemical fertilizers and many other agricultural production factors. Assessment model of agricultural land use capacity is constructed with the help of Fuzzy. Assessing the utilization capacity of farmland can be helpful to agricultural production and ecological protection of farmland. This paper describes the application of the capacity evaluation model with simulated data in two aspects, namely, in evaluating the status of farmland development and utilization and in optimal planting.

Research and technology annual report, FY 1990

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1990-01-01

Given here is the annual report of the John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), a NASA center responsible for testing NASA's large propulsion systems, developing supporting test technologies, conducting research in a variety of earth science disciplines, and facilitating the commercial uses of NASA-developed technologies. Described here are activities of the Earth Sciences Research Program, the Technology Development Program, commercial programs, the Technology Utilization Program, and the Information Systems Program. Work is described in such areas as forest ecosystems, land-sea interface, wetland biochemical flux, thermal imaging of crops, gas detectors, plume analysis, synthetic aperture radar, forest resource management, applications engineering, and the Earth Observations Commercial Applications Program.

Root zone soil water dynamics and its effects on above ground biomass in cellulosic and grain based bioenergy crops of Midwest USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhardwaj, A. K.; Hamilton, S. K.; van Dam, R. L.; Diker, K.; Basso, B.; Glbrc-Sustainability Thrust-4. 3 Biogeochemistry

2010-12-01

Root-zone soil moisture constitutes an important variable for hydrological and agronomic models. In agriculture, crop yields are directly related to soil moisture, levels that are most important in the root zone area of the soil. One of the most accurate in-situ methods that has established itself as a recognized standard around the world uses Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) to determine volumetric water content of the soil. We used automated field-to-desk TDR based systems to monitor temporal (1-hr interval) soil moisture variability in 10 different bioenergy cropping systems at the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center’s (GLBRC) sustainability research site in south western Michigan, U.S.A. These crops range from high-diversity, low-input grass mixes to low-diversity, high-input crop monocultures. We equipped the 28 x 40 m vegetation plots with 30 cm long TDR probes at seven depths from 10 cm to 1.25 m below surface. The parent material at the site consists of coarse sandy glacial tills in which a soil with an approximately 50cm thick A-Bt horizon has developed. Additional equipment permanently installed for each system includes soil moisture access tubes, multi-depth temperature sensors, and multi-electrode resistivity arrays. The access tubes were monitored using a portable TDR system at bi-weekly intervals. 2D dipole-dipole electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data are collected in 4-week intervals, while a subset of the electrodes is used for bi-hourly monitoring. The continuous scans (1 hr) provided us the real time changes in water content, replenishment and depletion, providing indications of water uptake by plant roots and potential seasonal water limitation of biomass accumulation. The results show significant seasonal variations between the crops and cropping systems. Significant relationships were observed between soil moisture stress, above-ground biomass and rooting characteristics. The overall goal of the study is to quantify the components of water balance, and identify water quality and water use implications of these cropping systems.Key Words

Cassava: constraints to production and the transfer of biotechnology to African laboratories.

PubMed

Bull, Simon E; Ndunguru, Joseph; Gruissem, Wilhelm; Beeching, John R; Vanderschuren, Hervé

2011-05-01

Knowledge and technology transfer to African institutes is an important objective to help achieve the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. Plant biotechnology in particular enables innovative advances in agriculture and industry, offering new prospects to promote the integration and dissemination of improved crops and their derivatives from developing countries into local markets and the global economy. There is also the need to broaden our knowledge and understanding of cassava as a staple food crop. Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a vital source of calories for approximately 500 million people living in developing countries. Unfortunately, it is subject to numerous biotic and abiotic stresses that impact on production, consumption, marketability and also local and country economics. To date, improvements to cassava have been led via conventional plant breeding programmes, but with advances in molecular-assisted breeding and plant biotechnology new tools are being developed to hasten the generation of improved farmer-preferred cultivars. In this review, we report on the current constraints to cassava production and knowledge acquisition in Africa, including a case study discussing the opportunities and challenges of a technology transfer programme established between the Mikocheni Agricultural Research Institute in Tanzania and Europe-based researchers. The establishment of cassava biotechnology platform(s) should promote research capabilities in African institutions and allow scientists autonomy to adapt cassava to suit local agro-ecosystems, ultimately serving to develop a sustainable biotechnology infrastructure in African countries.

Satellite Estimation of Fractional Cover in Several California Specialty Crops

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnson, Lee; Cahn, Michael; Rosevelt, Carolyn; Guzman, Alberto; Farrara, Barry; Melton, Forrest S.

2016-01-01

Past research in California and elsewhere has revealed strong relationships between satellite NDVI, photosynthetically active vegetation fraction (Fc), and crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Estimation of ETc can support efficiency of irrigation practice, which enhances water security and may mitigate nitrate leaching. The U.C. Cooperative Extension previously developed the CropManage (CM) web application for evaluation of crop water requirement and irrigation scheduling for several high-value specialty crops. CM currently uses empirical equations to predict daily Fc as a function of crop type, planting date and expected harvest date. The Fc prediction is transformed to fraction of reference ET and combined with reference data from the California Irrigation Management Information System to estimate daily ETc. In the current study, atmospherically-corrected Landsat NDVI data were compared with in-situ Fc estimates on several crops in the Salinas Valley during 2011-2014. The satellite data were observed on day of ground collection or were linearly interpolated across no more than an 8-day revisit period. Results will be presented for lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, and strawberry. An application programming interface (API) allows CM and other clients to automatically retrieve NDVI and associated data from NASA's Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) web service. The SIMS API allows for queries both by individual points or user-defined polygons, and provides data for individual days or annual timeseries. Updates to the CM web app will convert these NDVI data to Fc on a crop-specific basis. The satellite observations are expected to play a support role in Salinas Valley, and may eventually serve as a primary data source as CM is extended to crop systems or regions where Fc is less predictable.

Satellite Estimation of Fractional Cover in Several California Specialty Crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, L.; Cahn, M.; Rosevelt, C.; Guzman, A.; Lockhart, T.; Farrara, B.; Melton, F. S.

2016-12-01

Past research in California and elsewhere has revealed strong relationships between satellite NDVI, photosynthetically active vegetation fraction (Fc), and crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Estimation of ETc can support efficiency of irrigation practice, which enhances water security and may mitigate nitrate leaching. The U.C. Cooperative Extension previously developed the CropManage (CM) web application for evaluation of crop water requirement and irrigation scheduling for several high-value specialty crops. CM currently uses empirical equations to predict daily Fc as a function of crop type, planting date and expected harvest date. The Fc prediction is transformed to fraction of reference ET and combined with reference data from the California Irrigation Management Information System to estimate daily ETc. In the current study, atmospherically-corrected Landsat NDVI data were compared with in-situ Fc estimates on several crops in the Salinas Valley during 2011-2014. The satellite data were observed on day of ground collection or were linearly interpolated across no more than an 8-day revisit period. Results will be presented for lettuce, spinach, celery, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peppers, and strawberry. An application programming interface (API) allows CM and other clients to automatically retrieve NDVI and associated data from NASA's Satellite Irrigation Management Support (SIMS) web service. The SIMS API allows for queries both by individual points or user-defined polygons, and provides data for individual days or annual timeseries. Updates to the CM web app will convert these NDVI data to Fc on a crop-specific basis. The satellite observations are expected to play a support role in Salinas Valley, and may eventually serve as a primary data source as CM is extended to crop systems or regions where Fc is less predictable.

Winter Crop Mapping for Improving Crop Production Estimates in Argentina Using Moderation Resolution Satellite Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Humber, M. L.; Copati, E.; Sanchez, A.; Sahajpal, R.; Puricelli, E.; Becker-Reshef, I.

2017-12-01

Accurate crop production data is fundamental for reducing uncertainly and volatility in the domestic and international agricultural markets. The Agricultural Estimates Department of the Buenos Aires Grain Exchange has worked since 2000 on the estimation of different crop production data. With this information, the Grain Exchange helps different actors of the agricultural chain, such as producers, traders, seed companies, market analyst, policy makers, into their day to day decision making. Since 2015/16 season, the Grain Exchange has worked on the development of a new earth observations-based method to identify winter crop planted area at a regional scale with the aim of improving crop production estimates. The objective of this new methodology is to create a reliable winter crop mask at moderate spatial resolution using Landsat-8 imagery by exploiting bi-temporal differences in the phenological stages of winter crops as compared to other landcover types. In collaboration with the University of Maryland, the map has been validated by photointerpretation of a stratified statistically random sample of independent ground truth data in the four largest producing provinces of Argentina: Buenos Aires, Cordoba, La Pampa, and Santa Fe. In situ measurements were also used to further investigate conditions in the Buenos Aires province. Preliminary results indicate that while there are some avenues for improvement, overall the classification accuracy of the cropland and non-cropland classes are sufficient to improve downstream production estimates. Continuing research will focus on improving the methodology for winter crop mapping exercises on a yearly basis as well as improving the sampling methodology to optimize collection of validation data in the future.

The GRIN-Taxonomy Crop Wild Relative Inventory. Pp 453-457 in Maxted, N., Mulloo, M.E., Ford-Lloyd, B.V. Enhancing crop genepool use: capturing wild relative and landrace diversity for crop improvement

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In order to provide an informational tool for assessing and prioritizing germplasm needs for ex situ conservation in the U.S. National Plant Germplasm System (NPGS), the USDA Agricultural Research Service in 2008 initiated a project to identify crop wild relatives (CWR) of major and minor crops. Eac...

Nitrogen and phosphorus exports from high rainfall zone cropping in Australia: issues and opportunities for research.

PubMed

Mathers, Nicole J; Nash, David M; Gangaiya, Philomena

2007-01-01

Cropping is one of the many industries contributing to the excessive loading of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) to rivers and lakes in Australia. Nitrogen and P exports from cropping systems have not been systematically investigated to the same extent as those from other agricultural sectors, such as dairy pastures. Therefore, this review relies heavily on information derived from agronomy and other fundamental studies on soil-nutrient interactions to determine the potential for nutrient export from high rainfall zone (HRZ) cropping. There is a great deal of variation in environmental and management strategies across cropping in the HRZ, which suggests that nutrient exports could occur under a range of scenarios. The potential for exports is therefore discussed within a conceptual framework of nutrient sources, mechanisms for mobilization, and transport pathways in HRZ cropping. Transport refers to nutrient movement by flowing water after it has been mobilized, and export refers to the transfer of nutrients from one landscape compartment (e.g., a soil) to another (e.g., a stream or lake). The transport of nutrients from HRZ cropping can occur through surface and/or subsurface pathways depending on factors such as landform and infiltration and nutrient sorption characteristics of the soil profile. Surface pathways are likely to be more significant for phosphorus. For N, subsurface movement is likely to be as significant as surface movement because nitrates are generally not bound by most soils. Information about mechanisms of nutrient mobilization is essential for developing management strategies to control nutrient exports from HRZ cropping.

Maximizing root/rhizosphere efficiency to improve crop productivity and nutrient use efficiency in intensive agriculture of China.

PubMed

Shen, Jianbo; Li, Chunjian; Mi, Guohua; Li, Long; Yuan, Lixing; Jiang, Rongfeng; Zhang, Fusuo

2013-03-01

Root and rhizosphere research has been conducted for many decades, but the underlying strategy of root/rhizosphere processes and management in intensive cropping systems remain largely to be determined. Improved grain production to meet the food demand of an increasing population has been highly dependent on chemical fertilizer input based on the traditionally assumed notion of 'high input, high output', which results in overuse of fertilizers but ignores the biological potential of roots or rhizosphere for efficient mobilization and acquisition of soil nutrients. Root exploration in soil nutrient resources and root-induced rhizosphere processes plays an important role in controlling nutrient transformation, efficient nutrient acquisition and use, and thus crop productivity. The efficiency of root/rhizosphere in terms of improved nutrient mobilization, acquisition, and use can be fully exploited by: (1) manipulating root growth (i.e. root development and size, root system architecture, and distribution); (2) regulating rhizosphere processes (i.e. rhizosphere acidification, organic anion and acid phosphatase exudation, localized application of nutrients, rhizosphere interactions, and use of efficient crop genotypes); and (3) optimizing root zone management to synchronize root growth and soil nutrient supply with demand of nutrients in cropping systems. Experiments have shown that root/rhizosphere management is an effective approach to increase both nutrient use efficiency and crop productivity for sustainable crop production. The objectives of this paper are to summarize the principles of root/rhizosphere management and provide an overview of some successful case studies on how to exploit the biological potential of root system and rhizosphere processes to improve crop productivity and nutrient use efficiency.

Estimation of crop water requirements using remote sensing for operational water resources management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vasiliades, Lampros; Spiliotopoulos, Marios; Tzabiras, John; Loukas, Athanasios; Mylopoulos, Nikitas

2015-06-01

An integrated modeling system, developed in the framework of "Hydromentor" research project, is applied to evaluate crop water requirements for operational water resources management at Lake Karla watershed, Greece. The framework includes coupled components for operation of hydrotechnical projects (reservoir operation and irrigation works) and estimation of agricultural water demands at several spatial scales using remote sensing. The study area was sub-divided into irrigation zones based on land use maps derived from Landsat 5 TM images for the year 2007. Satellite-based energy balance for mapping evapotranspiration with internalized calibration (METRIC) was used to derive actual evapotranspiration (ET) and crop coefficient (ETrF) values from Landsat TM imagery. Agricultural water needs were estimated using the FAO method for each zone and each control node of the system for a number of water resources management strategies. Two operational strategies of hydro-technical project development (present situation without operation of the reservoir and future situation with the operation of the reservoir) are coupled with three water demand strategies. In total, eight (8) water management strategies are evaluated and compared. The results show that, under the existing operational water resources management strategies, the crop water requirements are quite large. However, the operation of the proposed hydro-technical projects in Lake Karla watershed coupled with water demand management measures, like improvement of existing water distribution systems, change of irrigation methods, and changes of crop cultivation could alleviate the problem and lead to sustainable and ecological use of water resources in the study area.

Food biotechnology: benefits and concerns.

PubMed

Falk, Michael C; Chassy, Bruce M; Harlander, Susan K; Hoban, Thomas J; McGloughlin, Martina N; Akhlaghi, Amin R

2002-06-01

Recent advances in agricultural biotechnology have highlighted the need for experimental evidence and sound scientific judgment to assess the benefits and risks to society. Nutrition scientists and other animal biologists need a balanced understanding of the issues to participate in this assessment. To date most modifications to crop plants have benefited producers. Crops have been engineered to decrease pesticide and herbicide usage, protect against stressors, enhance yields and extend shelf life. Beyond the environmental benefits of decreased pesticide and herbicide application, consumers stand to benefit by development of food crops with increased nutritional value, medicinal properties, enhanced taste and esthetic appeal. There remains concern that these benefits come with a cost to the environment or increased risk to the consumer. Most U.S. consumers are not aware of the extent that genetically modified foods have entered the marketplace. Consumer awareness of biotechnology seems to have increased over the last decade, yet most consumers remain confused over the science. Concern over the impact on the safety of the food supply remains low in the United States, but is substantially elevated in Europe. Before a genetically engineered crop is introduced into commerce it must pass regulatory scrutiny by as many as four different federal regulatory bodies to ensure a safe food supply and minimize the risk to the environment. Key areas for more research are evaluation of the nutritional benefits of new crops, further investigation of the environmental impact, and development of better techniques to identify and track genetically engineered products.

Advances in Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated genetic transformation of graminaceous crops.

PubMed

Singh, Roshan Kumar; Prasad, Manoj

2016-05-01

Steady increase in global population poses several challenges to plant science research, including demand for increased crop productivity, grain yield, nutritional quality and improved tolerance to different environmental factors. Transgene-based approaches are promising to address these challenges by transferring potential candidate genes to host organisms through different strategies. Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer is one such strategy which is well known for enabling efficient gene transfer in both monocot and dicots. Due to its versatility, this technique underwent several advancements including development of improved in vitro plant regeneration system, co-cultivation and selection methods, and use of hyper-virulent strains of Agrobacterium tumefaciens harbouring super-binary vectors. The efficiency of this method has also been enhanced by the use of acetosyringone to induce the activity of vir genes, silver nitrate to reduce the Agrobacterium-induced necrosis and cysteine to avoid callus browning during co-cultivation. In the last two decades, extensive efforts have been invested towards achieving efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation in cereals. Though high-efficiency transformation systems have been developed for rice and maize, comparatively lesser progress has been reported in other graminaceous crops. In this context, the present review discusses the progress made in Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system in rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, sugarcane, Brachypodium, millets, bioenergy and forage and turf grasses. In addition, it also provides an overview of the genes that have been recently transferred to these graminaceous crops using Agrobacterium, bottlenecks in this technique and future possibilities for crop improvement.

Collecting Lesquerella for conservation and research on comparative seed dormancy among wild populations

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Lesquerella (Brassicaceae) collecting explorations remain paramount in getting diverse germplasm for continuing efforts in developing promising new crop varieties. Exploration activities in Southwestern states were conducted in April to June 2010 to obtain seeds from wild populations of two species ...

GiNA, an efficient and high-throughput software for horticultural phenotyping

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Traditional methods for trait phenotyping have been a bottleneck for research in many crop species due to their intensive labor, high cost, complex implementation, lack of reproducibility and propensity to subjective bias. Recently, multiple high-throughput phenotyping platforms have been developed,...

Economic Development Through Biomass Systems Integration in Central Florida: Final Report; May 5, 1995

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stricker, J. A.; Smith, W. H.

Reclaimed phosphate mined land in central Florida has been identified as an area with potential for growing biomass crops. Approximately 73,000 acres of land could be available for production. Additional research is needed to define the possibilities.

Editorial: Plant organ abscission: from models to crops

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The shedding of plant organs is a highly coordinated process essential for both vegetative and reproductive development (Addicott, 1982; Sexton and Roberts, 1982; Roberts et al., 2002; Leslie et al., 2007; Roberts and Gonzalez-Carranza, 2007; Estornell et al., 2013). Research with model plants, name...

Land-use change in Indian tropical agro-ecosystems: eco-energy estimation for socio-ecological sustainability.

PubMed

Nautiyal, Sunil; Kaechele, Harald; Umesh Babu, M S; Tikhile, Pavan; Baksi, Sangeeta

2017-04-01

This study was carried out to understand the ecological and economic sustainability of floriculture and other main crops in Indian agro-ecosystems. The cultivation practices of four major flower crops, namely Jasminum multiflorum, Crossandra infundibuliformis, Chrysanthemum and Tagetes erecta, were studied in detail. The production cost of flowers in terms of energy was calculated to be 99,622-135,996 compared to 27,681-69,133 MJ ha -1 for the main crops, namely Oryza sativa, Eleusine coracana, Zea mays and Sorghum bicolor. The highest-energy input amongst the crops was recorded for Z. mays (69,133 MJ ha -1 ) as this is a resource-demanding crop. However, flower cultivation requires approximately twice the energy required for the cultivation of Z. mays. In terms of both energy and monetary inputs, flower cultivation needs two to three times the requirements of the main crops cultivated in the region. The monetary inputs for main crop cultivation were calculated to be ₹ 27,349 to ₹ 46,930 as compared to flower crops (₹ 62,540 to ₹ 144,355). Floriculture was found to be more efficient in monetary terms when compared to the main crops cultivated in the region. However, the energy efficiency of flower crops is lower than that of the main crops, and the energy output from flower cultivation was found to be declining in tropical agro-ecosystems in India. Amongst the various inputs, farmyard manure accounts for the highest proportion, and for its preparation, most of the raw material comes from the surrounding ecosystems. Thus, flower cultivation has a direct impact on the ecosystem resource flow. Therefore, keeping the economic and environmental sustainability in view, this study indicates that a more field-based research is required to frame appropriate policies for flower cultivation to achieve sustainable socio-ecological development.

Manipulating microRNAs for improved biomass and biofuels from plant feedstocks.

PubMed

Trumbo, Jennifer Lynn; Zhang, Baohong; Stewart, Charles Neal

2015-04-01

Petroleum-based fuels are nonrenewable and unsustainable. Renewable sources of energy, such as lignocellulosic biofuels and plant metabolite-based drop-in fuels, can offset fossil fuel use and reverse environmental degradation through carbon sequestration. Despite these benefits, the lignocellulosic biofuels industry still faces many challenges, including the availability of economically viable crop plants. Cell wall recalcitrance is a major economic barrier for lignocellulosic biofuels production from biomass crops. Sustainability and biomass yield are two additional, yet interrelated, foci for biomass crop improvement. Many scientists are searching for solutions to these problems within biomass crop genomes. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are involved in almost all biological and metabolic process in plants including plant development, cell wall biosynthesis and plant stress responses. Because of the broad functions of their targets (e.g. auxin response factors), the alteration of plant miRNA expression often results in pleiotropic effects. A specific miRNA usually regulates a biologically relevant bioenergy trait. For example, relatively low miR156 overexpression leads to a transgenic feedstock with enhanced biomass and decreased recalcitrance. miRNAs have been overexpressed in dedicated bioenergy feedstocks such as poplar and switchgrass yielding promising results for lignin reduction, increased plant biomass, the timing of flowering and response to harsh environments. In this review, we present the status of miRNA-related research in several major biofuel crops and relevant model plants. We critically assess published research and suggest next steps for miRNA manipulation in feedstocks for increased biomass and sustainability for biofuels and bioproducts. © 2015 Society for Experimental Biology, Association of Applied Biologists and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Application of Near-Surface Remote Sensing and computer algorithms in evaluating impacts of agroecosystem management on Zea mays (corn) phenological development in the Platte River - High Plains Aquifer Long Term Agroecosystem Research Network field sites.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Okalebo, J. A.; Das Choudhury, S.; Awada, T.; Suyker, A.; LeBauer, D.; Newcomb, M.; Ward, R.

2017-12-01

The Long-term Agroecosystem Research (LTAR) network is a USDA-ARS effort that focuses on conducting research that addresses current and emerging issues in agriculture related to sustainability and profitability of agroecosystems in the face of climate change and population growth. There are 18 sites across the USA covering key agricultural production regions. In Nebraska, a partnership between the University of Nebraska - Lincoln and ARD/USDA resulted in the establishment of the Platte River - High Plains Aquifer LTAR site in 2014. The site conducts research to sustain multiple ecosystem services focusing specifically on Nebraska's main agronomic production agroecosystems that comprise of abundant corn, soybeans, managed grasslands and beef production. As part of the national LTAR network, PR-HPA participates and contributes near-surface remotely sensed imagery of corn, soybean and grassland canopy phenology to the PhenoCam Network through high-resolution digital cameras. This poster highlights the application, advantages and usefulness of near-surface remotely sensed imagery in agroecosystem studies and management. It demonstrates how both Infrared and Red-Green-Blue imagery may be applied to monitor phenological events as well as crop abiotic stresses. Computer-based algorithms and analytic techniques proved very instrumental in revealing crop phenological changes such as green-up and tasseling in corn. This poster also reports the suitability and applicability of corn-derived computer based algorithms for evaluating phenological development of sorghum since both crops have similarities in their phenology; with sorghum panicles being similar to corn tassels. This later assessment was carried out using a sorghum dataset obtained from the Transportation Energy Resources from Renewable Agriculture Phenotyping Reference Platform project, Maricopa Agricultural Center, Arizona.

Assessment and Monitoring of Nutrient Management in Irrigated Agriculture for Groundwater Quality Protection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harter, T.; Davis, R.; Smart, D. R.; Brown, P. H.; Dzurella, K.; Bell, A.; Kourakos, G.

2017-12-01

Nutrient fluxes to groundwater have been subject to regulatory assessment and control only in a limited number of countries, including those in the European Union, where the Water Framework Directive requires member countries to manage groundwater basis toward achieving "good status", and California, where irrigated lands will be subject to permitting, stringent nutrient monitoring requirements, and development of practices that are protective of groundwater. However, research activities to rigorously assess agricultural practices for their impact on groundwater have been limited and instead focused on surface water protection. For groundwater-related assessment of agricultural practices, a wide range of modeling tools has been employed: vulnerability studies, nitrogen mass balance assessments, crop-soil-system models, and various statistical tools. These tools are predominantly used to identify high risk regions, practices, or crops. Here we present the development of a field site for rigorous in-situ evaluation of water and nutrient management practices in an irrigated agricultural setting. Integrating groundwater monitoring into agricultural practice assessment requires large research plots (on the order of 10s to 100s of hectares) and multi-year research time-frames - much larger than typical agricultural field research plots. Almonds are among the most common crops in California with intensive use of nitrogen fertilizer and were selected for their high water quality improvement potential. Availability of an orchard site with relatively vulnerable groundwater conditions (sandy soils, water table depth less than 10 m) was also important in site selection. Initial results show that shallow groundwater concentrations are commensurate with nitrogen leaching estimates obtained by considering historical, long-term field nitrogen mass balance and groundwater dynamics.

Variation in Biomass Composition Components among Forage, Biomass, Sorghum-Sudangrass, and Sweet Sorghum Types

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stefaniak, T. R.; Dahlberg, J. A.; Bean, B. W.

2012-07-01

Alternative biomass sources must be developed if the United States is to meet the goal in the U.S. Energy Security Act of 2007 to derive 30% of its petroleum from renewable sources, and several different biomass crops are currently in development. Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is one such crop that will be an important feedstock source for biofuel production. As composition influences productivity, there exists a need to understand the range in composition observed within the crop. The goal of this research was to assess the range in dietary fiber composition observed within different types of biomass sorghums. Amore » total of 152 sorghum samples were divided into the four end-use types of sorghum: biomass, forage, sorghum-sudangrass, and sweet. These samples were analyzed chemically using dietary fiber analysis performed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory using published protocols. Significant variation among the groups was detected for glucan and ash. Positive and highly significant correlations were detected between structural carbohydrates in the biomass and sweet sorghums while many of these correlations were negative or not significant in the forage and sorghum-sudangrass types. In addition, a wide range of variation was present within each group indicating that there is potential to manipulate the composition of the crop.« less

A bioinformatics approach for identifying transgene insertion sites using whole genome sequencing data.

PubMed

Park, Doori; Park, Su-Hyun; Ban, Yong Wook; Kim, Youn Shic; Park, Kyoung-Cheul; Kim, Nam-Soo; Kim, Ju-Kon; Choi, Ik-Young

2017-08-15

Genetically modified crops (GM crops) have been developed to improve the agricultural traits of modern crop cultivars. Safety assessments of GM crops are of paramount importance in research at developmental stages and before releasing transgenic plants into the marketplace. Sequencing technology is developing rapidly, with higher output and labor efficiencies, and will eventually replace existing methods for the molecular characterization of genetically modified organisms. To detect the transgenic insertion locations in the three GM rice gnomes, Illumina sequencing reads are mapped and classified to the rice genome and plasmid sequence. The both mapped reads are classified to characterize the junction site between plant and transgene sequence by sequence alignment. Herein, we present a next generation sequencing (NGS)-based molecular characterization method, using transgenic rice plants SNU-Bt9-5, SNU-Bt9-30, and SNU-Bt9-109. Specifically, using bioinformatics tools, we detected the precise insertion locations and copy numbers of transfer DNA, genetic rearrangements, and the absence of backbone sequences, which were equivalent to results obtained from Southern blot analyses. NGS methods have been suggested as an effective means of characterizing and detecting transgenic insertion locations in genomes. Our results demonstrate the use of a combination of NGS technology and bioinformatics approaches that offers cost- and time-effective methods for assessing the safety of transgenic plants.

Management of Yellowmargined Leaf Beetle Microtheca ochroloma (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Using Turnip as a Trap Crop.

PubMed

Balusu, Rammohan; Rhodes, Elena; Liburd, Oscar; Fadamiro, Henry

2015-12-01

The yellowmargined leaf beetle, Microtheca ochroloma Stål, is a major pest of cruciferous vegetable crops in organic production systems. Very few organically acceptable management options are currently available for this pest. Field studies were conducted at a research station in Alabama and at a commercial organic vegetable farm in Florida to investigate the effectiveness of turnip, Brassica rapa rapa, as a trap crop for M. ochroloma. In the research station trial with cabbage planted as the cash crop, perimeter planting of turnip as a trap crop effectively reduced beetle numbers and crop damage below levels recorded in the control. During the first season of our on-farm trial, with napa cabbage and mustard as the cash crops, using turnip as a trap crop effectively reduced both beetle numbers and cash crop damage below levels found in the control plots, but economic damage was still high. In the second season, beetle populations were too low for significant differences in damage levels to occur between the trap crop and control plots. Together, these results suggest that turnip planted as a trap crop can be an effective control tactic for cruciferous crops, like cabbage, that are much less attractive to M. ochroloma than turnip. In crops, like mustard and napa cabbage, that are equally or only slightly less attractive than turnip, planting turnip as a trap crop would have to be used in combination with other tactics to manage M. ochroloma. © The Authors 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Integrating Cost-effective Rollover Protective Structure Installation in High School Agricultural Mechanics: A Feasibility Study.

PubMed

Mazur, Joan; Vincent, Stacy; Watson, Jennifer; Westneat, Susan

2015-01-01

This study with three Appalachian county agricultural education programs examined the feasibility, effectiveness, and impact of integrating a cost-effective rollover protective structure (CROPS) project into high school agricultural mechanics classes. The project aimed to (1) reduce the exposure to tractor overturn hazards in three rural counties through the installation of CROPS on seven tractors within the Cumberland Plateau in the east region; (2) increase awareness in the targeted rural communities of cost-effective ROPS designs developed by the National Institution for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to encourage ROPS installations that decrease the costs of a retrofit; (3) test the feasibility of integration of CROPS construction and installations procedures into the required agricultural mechanics classes in these agricultural education programs; and (4) explore barriers to the implementation of this project in high school agricultural education programs. Eighty-two rural students and three agricultural educators participated in assembly and installation instruction. Data included hazard exposure demographic data, knowledge and awareness of CROPS plans, and pre-post knowledge of construction and assessment of final CROPS installation. Findings demonstrated the feasibility and utility of a CROPS education program in a professionally supervised secondary educational setting. The project promoted farm safety and awareness of availability and interest in the NIOSH Cost-effective ROPS plans. Seven CROPS were constructed and installed. New curriculum and knowledge measures also resulted from the work. Lessons learned and recommendations for a phase 2 implementation and further research are included.

Integrating NASA Earth Science Enterprise (ESE) Data Into Global Agricultural Decision Support Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teng, W.; Kempler, S.; Chiu, L.; Doraiswamy, P.; Liu, Z.; Milich, L.; Tetrault, R.

2003-12-01

Monitoring global agricultural crop conditions during the growing season and estimating potential seasonal production are critically important for market development of U.S. agricultural products and for global food security. Two major operational users of satellite remote sensing for global crop monitoring are the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) and the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP). The primary goal of FAS is to improve foreign market access for U.S. agricultural products. The WFP uses food to meet emergency needs and to support economic and social development. Both use global agricultural decision support systems that can integrate and synthesize a variety of data sources to provide accurate and timely information on global crop conditions. The Goddard Space Flight Center Earth Sciences Distributed Active Archive Center (GES DAAC) has begun a project to provide operational solutions to FAS and WFP, by fully leveraging results from previous work, as well as from existing capabilities of the users. The GES DAAC has effectively used its recently developed prototype TRMM Online Visualization and Analysis System (TOVAS) to provide ESE data and information to the WFP for its agricultural drought monitoring efforts. This prototype system will be evolved into an Agricultural Information System (AIS), which will operationally provide ESE and other data products (e.g., rainfall, land productivity) and services, to be integrated into and thus enhance the existing GIS-based, decision support systems of FAS and WFP. Agriculture-oriented, ESE data products (e.g., MODIS-based, crop condition assessment product; TRMM derived, drought index product) will be input to a crop growth model in collaboration with the USDA Agricultural Research Service, to generate crop condition and yield prediction maps. The AIS will have the capability for remotely accessing distributed data, by being compliant with community-based interoperability standards, enabling easy access to agriculture-related products from other data producers. The AIS? system approach will provide a generic mechanism for easily incorporating new products and making them accessible to users.

Winter wheat yield estimation of remote sensing research based on WOFOST crop model and leaf area index assimilation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yanling; Gong, Adu; Li, Jing; Wang, Jingmei

2017-04-01

Accurate crop growth monitoring and yield predictive information are significant to improve the sustainable development of agriculture and ensure the security of national food. Remote sensing observation and crop growth simulation models are two new technologies, which have highly potential applications in crop growth monitoring and yield forecasting in recent years. However, both of them have limitations in mechanism or regional application respectively. Remote sensing information can not reveal crop growth and development, inner mechanism of yield formation and the affection of environmental meteorological conditions. Crop growth simulation models have difficulties in obtaining data and parameterization from single-point to regional application. In order to make good use of the advantages of these two technologies, the coupling technique of remote sensing information and crop growth simulation models has been studied. Filtering and optimizing model parameters are key to yield estimation by remote sensing and crop model based on regional crop assimilation. Winter wheat of GaoCheng was selected as the experiment object in this paper. And then the essential data was collected, such as biochemical data and farmland environmental data and meteorological data about several critical growing periods. Meanwhile, the image of environmental mitigation small satellite HJ-CCD was obtained. In this paper, research work and major conclusions are as follows. (1) Seven vegetation indexes were selected to retrieve LAI, and then linear regression model was built up between each of these indexes and the measured LAI. The result shows that the accuracy of EVI model was the highest (R2=0.964 at anthesis stage and R2=0.920 at filling stage). Thus, EVI as the most optimal vegetation index to predict LAI in this paper. (2) EFAST method was adopted in this paper to conduct the sensitive analysis to the 26 initial parameters of the WOFOST model and then a sensitivity index was constructed to evaluate the influence of each parameter mentioned above on the winter wheat yield formation. Finally, six parameters that sensitivity index more than 0.1 as sensitivity factors were chose, which are TSUM1, SLATB1, SLATB2, SPAN, EFFTB3 and TMPF4. To other parameters, we confirmed them via practical measurement and calculation, available literature or WOFOST default. Eventually, we completed the regulation of WOFOST parameters. (3) Look-up table algorithm was used to realize single-point yield estimation through the assimilation of the WOFOST model and the retrieval LAI. This simulation achieved a high accuracy which perfectly meet the purpose of assimilation (R2=0.941 and RMSE=194.58kg/hm2). In this paper, the optimum value of sensitivity parameters were confirmed and the estimation of single-point yield were finished. Key words: yield estimation of winter wheat, LAI, WOFOST crop growth model, assimilation

GM biofortified crops: potential effects on targeting the micronutrient intake gap in human populations.

PubMed

De Steur, Hans; Mehta, Saurabh; Gellynck, Xavier; Finkelstein, Julia L

2017-04-01

Genetic engineering has been successfully applied to increase micronutrient content in staple crops. Nutrition evidence is key to ensure scale-up and successful implementation. Unlike conventional plant breeding efforts, research on the efficacy or effectiveness of GM biofortified crops on nutritional status in human populations is lacking. This review reports on the potential role of GM biofortified crops in closing the micronutrient gap - increasing the dietary intake of micronutrients in human populations. To date, one clinical trial in the United States reported a high bio-conversion rate of β-carotene in Golden Rice, and potential effects of GM biofortified crop consumption on dietary intake and nutritional outcomes are promising. However, further research needs to confirm the ex ante assessments in target regions. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A framework for developing research protocols for evaluation of microbial hazards and controls during production that pertain to the quality of agricultural water contacting fresh produce that may be consumed raw

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Agricultural water may contact fresh produce during irrigation and/or when crop protection sprays (e.g., cooling to prevent sunburn, frost protection, and agrochemical mixtures) are applied. This document provides a framework for designing research studies that would add to our understanding of preh...

Derived crop management data for the LandCarbon Project

USGS Publications Warehouse

Schmidt, Gail; Liu, Shu-Guang; Oeding, Jennifer

2011-01-01

The LandCarbon project is assessing potential carbon pools and greenhouse gas fluxes under various scenarios and land management regimes to provide information to support the formulation of policies governing climate change mitigation, adaptation and land management strategies. The project is unique in that spatially explicit maps of annual land cover and land-use change are created at the 250-meter pixel resolution. The project uses vast amounts of data as input to the models, including satellite, climate, land cover, soil, and land management data. Management data have been obtained from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) that provides information regarding crop type, crop harvesting, manure, fertilizer, tillage, and cover crop (U.S. Department of Agriculture, 2011a, b, c). The LandCarbon team queried the USDA databases to pull historic crop-related management data relative to the needs of the project. The data obtained was in table form with the County or State Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) and the year as the primary and secondary keys. Future projections were generated for the A1B, A2, B1, and B2 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) scenarios using the historic data values along with coefficients generated by the project. The PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment (IMAGE) modeling framework (Integrated Model to Assess the Global Environment, 2006) was used to develop coefficients for each IPCC SRES scenario, which were applied to the historic management data to produce future land management practice projections. The LandCarbon project developed algorithms for deriving gridded data, using these tabular management data products as input. The derived gridded crop type, crop harvesting, manure, fertilizer, tillage, and cover crop products are used as input to the LandCarbon models to represent the historic and the future scenario management data. The overall algorithm to generate each of the gridded management products is based on the land cover and the derived crop type. For each year in the land cover dataset, the algorithm loops through each 250-meter pixel in the ecoregion. If the current pixel in the land cover dataset is an agriculture pixel, then the crop type is determined. Once the crop type is derived, then the crop harvest, manure, fertilizer, tillage, and cover crop values are derived independently for that crop type. The following is the overall algorithm used for the set of derived grids. The specific algorithm to generate each management dataset is discussed in the respective section for that dataset, along with special data handling and a description of the output product.

75 FR 32736 - Notice of Solicitation for Members of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-09

... Science Society Category G. National Crop, Soil, Agronomy, Horticulture, or Weed Science Society Category... research, crop and animal science, land-grant institutions, non-land grant college or university with a historic commitment to research in the food and agricultural sciences, food retailing and marketing, rural...

Using thermal units for estimating critical period of weed competition in off-season maize crop.

PubMed

López-Ovejero, Ramiro Fernando; y Garcia, Axel Garcia; de Carvalho, Saul Jorge P; Christoffoleti, Pedro J; Neto, Durval Dourado; Martins, Fernando; Nicolai, Marcelo

2005-01-01

Brazilian off-season maize production is characterized by low yield due to several factors, such as climate variability and inadequate management practices, specifically weed management. Thus, the goal of this study was to determinate the critical period of weed competition in off-season maize (Zea mays L.) crop using thermal units or growing degree days (GDD) approach to characterize crop growth and development. The study was carried out in experimental area of the University of São Paulo, Brazil, with weed control (C), as well as seven coexistence periods, 2, 4, 6, 8, and 12 leaves, flowering, and all crop cycle; fourteen treatments were done. Climate data were obtained from a weather station located close to the experimental area. To determine the critical period for weed control (CPWC) logistic models were fitted to yield data obtained in both W and C, as a function of GDD. For an arbitrary maximum yield loss fixed in 2.5%, the CPWC was found between 301 and 484 GDD (7-8 leaves). Also, when the arbitrary loss yield was fixed in 5 and 10%, the period before interference (PBI) was higher than the critical weed-free period (CWFP), suggesting that the weeds control can be done with only one application, between 144 and 410 GDD and 131 and 444 GDD (3-8 leaves), respectively. The GDD approach to characterize crop growth and development was successfully used to determine the critical period of weeds control in maize sown off-season. Further works will be necessary to better characterize the interaction and complexity of maize sown off-season with weeds. However, these results are encouraging because the possibility of the results to be extrapolated and because the potential of the method on providing important results to researchers, specifically crop modelers.

Connecting Biochemical Photosynthesis Models with Crop Models to Support Crop Improvement

PubMed Central

Wu, Alex; Song, Youhong; van Oosterom, Erik J.; Hammer, Graeme L.

2016-01-01

The next advance in field crop productivity will likely need to come from improving crop use efficiency of resources (e.g., light, water, and nitrogen), aspects of which are closely linked with overall crop photosynthetic efficiency. Progress in genetic manipulation of photosynthesis is confounded by uncertainties of consequences at crop level because of difficulties connecting across scales. Crop growth and development simulation models that integrate across biological levels of organization and use a gene-to-phenotype modeling approach may present a way forward. There has been a long history of development of crop models capable of simulating dynamics of crop physiological attributes. Many crop models incorporate canopy photosynthesis (source) as a key driver for crop growth, while others derive crop growth from the balance between source- and sink-limitations. Modeling leaf photosynthesis has progressed from empirical modeling via light response curves to a more mechanistic basis, having clearer links to the underlying biochemical processes of photosynthesis. Cross-scale modeling that connects models at the biochemical and crop levels and utilizes developments in upscaling leaf-level models to canopy models has the potential to bridge the gap between photosynthetic manipulation at the biochemical level and its consequences on crop productivity. Here we review approaches to this emerging cross-scale modeling framework and reinforce the need for connections across levels of modeling. Further, we propose strategies for connecting biochemical models of photosynthesis into the cross-scale modeling framework to support crop improvement through photosynthetic manipulation. PMID:27790232

Connecting Biochemical Photosynthesis Models with Crop Models to Support Crop Improvement.

PubMed

Wu, Alex; Song, Youhong; van Oosterom, Erik J; Hammer, Graeme L

2016-01-01

The next advance in field crop productivity will likely need to come from improving crop use efficiency of resources (e.g., light, water, and nitrogen), aspects of which are closely linked with overall crop photosynthetic efficiency. Progress in genetic manipulation of photosynthesis is confounded by uncertainties of consequences at crop level because of difficulties connecting across scales. Crop growth and development simulation models that integrate across biological levels of organization and use a gene-to-phenotype modeling approach may present a way forward. There has been a long history of development of crop models capable of simulating dynamics of crop physiological attributes. Many crop models incorporate canopy photosynthesis (source) as a key driver for crop growth, while others derive crop growth from the balance between source- and sink-limitations. Modeling leaf photosynthesis has progressed from empirical modeling via light response curves to a more mechanistic basis, having clearer links to the underlying biochemical processes of photosynthesis. Cross-scale modeling that connects models at the biochemical and crop levels and utilizes developments in upscaling leaf-level models to canopy models has the potential to bridge the gap between photosynthetic manipulation at the biochemical level and its consequences on crop productivity. Here we review approaches to this emerging cross-scale modeling framework and reinforce the need for connections across levels of modeling. Further, we propose strategies for connecting biochemical models of photosynthesis into the cross-scale modeling framework to support crop improvement through photosynthetic manipulation.

The potential and biological test on cloned cassava crop remains on local sheep

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ginting, R.; Umar, S.; Hanum, C.

2018-02-01

This research aims at knowing the potential of cloned cassava crop remains dry matter and the impact of the feeding of the cloned cassava crop remains based complete feed on the consumption, the body weight gain, and the feed conversion of the local male sheep with the average of initial body weight of 7.75±1.75 kg. The design applied in the first stage research was random sampling method with two frames of tile and the second stage research applied Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with three (3) treatments and four (4) replicates. These treatments consisted of P1 (100% grass); P2 (50% grass, 50% complete feed pellet); P3 (100% complete feed from the raw material of cloned cassava crop remaining). Statistical tests showed that the feeding of complete feed whose raw material was from cloned cassava crop remains gave a highly significant impact on decreasing feed consumption, increasing body weight, lowering feed conversion, and increasing crude protein digestibility. The conclusion is that the cloned cassava crop remains can be used as complete sheep feed to replace green grass and can give the best result.

Preparation for Pick-and-Eat Food Production on the International Space Station: Flight Definition for the VEG-04 and VEG-05 Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, G. D.; Wheeler, R. M.; Romeyn, M. W.; Hummerick, M. E.; Spencer, L. E.; Morrow, R. C.; Mitchell, C. A.; Burgner, S.; Whitmire, A. M.; Young, M. H.;

Linking hydrology, ecosystem function, and livelihood sustainability in African papyrus wetlands using a Bayesian Network Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

van Dam, A.; Gettel, G. M.; Kipkemboi, J.; Rahman, M. M.

2011-12-01

Papyrus wetlands in East Africa provide ecosystem services supporting the livelihoods of millions but are rapidly degrading due to economic development. For ecosystem conservation, an integrated understanding of the natural and social processes driving ecosystem change is needed. This research focuses on integrating the causal relationships between hydrology, ecosystem function, and livelihood sustainability in Nyando wetland, western Kenya. Livelihood sustainability is based on ecosystem services that include plant and animal harvest for building material and food, conversion of wetlands to crop and grazing land, water supply, and water quality regulation. Specific objectives were: to integrate studies of hydrology, ecology, and livelihood activities using a Bayesian Network (BN) model and include stakeholder involvement in model development. The BN model (Netica 4.16) had 35 nodes with seven decision nodes describing demography, economy, papyrus market, and rainfall, and two target nodes describing ecosystem function (defined by groundwater recharge, nutrient and sediment retention, and biodiversity) and livelihood sustainability (drinking water supply, crop production, livestock production, and papyrus yield). The conditional probability tables were populated using results of ecohydrological and socio-economic field work and consultations with stakeholders. The model was evaluated for an average year with decision node probabilities set according to data from research, expert opinion, and stakeholders' views. Then, scenarios for dry and wet seasons and for economic development (low population growth and unemployment) and policy development (more awareness of wetland value) were evaluated. In an average year, the probability for maintaining a "good" level of sediment and nutrient retention functions, groundwater recharge, and biodiversity was about 60%. ("Good" is defined by expert opinion based on ongoing field research.) In the dry season, the probability was reduced to about 40% and in the wet season increased to about 85%. Both ecosystem functions and livelihood sustainability were most sensitive to flooding and the human pressure, notably the area of crop conversion, grazing pressure, and papyrus harvest. Flooded conditions limit cropping, livestock herding and vegetation harvesting but have a strong positive effect on ecosystem function. Preliminary results suggest that the effects of economic and policy development on ecosystem function and livelihood sustainability were negligible, but more data on these aspects will be included in further model development. The advantage of this modeling approach, which integrates data from hydrological, ecological, and socio-economic studies, is that it highlights the relative effect of hydrologic conditions and socio-economic pressures on ecosystem function. This model is static, however, with long-term changes in climate and exploitation levels superimposed on seasonal hydrology dynamics. Further work should address this issue as well as further constrain probabilities at each node as field research continues.

Metamorphosis of cisgenic insect resistance research in the transgenic crop era

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The biotechnological revolution has forever changed agricultural research and crop production worldwide. Commercial agriculture now includes plants that produce enhanced yield and quality, survival in hostile environmental conditions, manufacture and express defensive toxins, and yield grains with ...

Binary image classification

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Morris, Carl N.

1987-01-01

Motivated by the LANDSAT problem of estimating the probability of crop or geological types based on multi-channel satellite imagery data, Morris and Kostal (1983), Hill, Hinkley, Kostal, and Morris (1984), and Morris, Hinkley, and Johnston (1985) developed an empirical Bayes approach to this problem. Here, researchers return to those developments, making certain improvements and extensions, but restricting attention to the binary case of only two attributes.

[Growth and development of plants in a sequence of generations under the conditions of space flight (experiment Greenhouse-3)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levinskikh, M. A.; Sychev, V. N.; Signalova, O. B.; Derendiaeva, T. A.; Podol'skii, I. G.; Masgreiv, M. E.; Bingheim, G. E.; Musgrave, M. E. (Principal Investigator); Campbell, W. F. (Principal Investigator)

2001-01-01

The purpose was to study characteristic features of growth and development of several plant generations in space flight in experiment GREENHOUSE-3 as a part of the Russian-US space research program MIR/NASA in 1997. The experiment consisted of cultivation of Brassica rapa L. in board greenhouse Svet. Two vegetative cycles were fully completed and the third vegetation was terminated on day 13 on the phase of budding. The total duration of the space experiment was 122 days, i.e. same as in the ground controls. In the experiment with Brassica rapa L. viable seeds produced by the first crop were planted in space flight and yielded next crop. Crops raised from the ground and space seeds were found to differ in height and number of buds. Both parameters were lowered in the plants grown from the space seeds. The prime course for smaller size and reduced organogenic potential of plantTs reproductive system seems to be a less content of nutrients in seeds that had matured in the space flight. Experiment GREENHOUSE-3 demonstrated principle feasibility of plant reproduction in space greenhouse from seeds developed in microgravity.

The role of soil communities in improving ecosystem services in organic farming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zandbergen, Jelmer; Koorneef, Guusje; Veen, Cees; Schrama, Jan; van der Putten, Wim

2017-04-01

Worldwide soil fertility decreases and it is generally believed that organic matter (OM) addition to agricultural soils can improve soil properties leading to beneficial ecosystem services. However, it remains unknown under which conditions and how fast biotic, physical and chemical soil properties respond to varying quality and quantity of OM inputs. Therefore, the aims of this research project are (1) to unravel biotic, physical and chemical responses of soils to varying quantity and quality of OM addition; and (2) to understand how we can accelerate the response of soils in order to improve beneficial soil ecosystem services faster. The first step in our research project is to determine how small-scale spatio-temporal patterns in soil biotic, physical and chemical properties relate to crop production and quality. To do this we combine field measurements on soil properties with remote and proximate sensing measures on crop development and yield in a long-term farming systems experiment in the Netherlands (Vredepeel). We hypothesize that spatio-temporal variation in crop development and yield are strongly related to spatio-temporal variation in soil parameters. In the second step of our project we will use this information to identify biological interactions underlying improving soil functions in response to OM addition over time. We will specifically focus on the role of soil communities in driving nutrient cycling, disease suppression and the formation of soil structure, all crucial elements of key soil services in agricultural soils. The knowledge that will be generated in our project can be used to detect specific organic matter qualities that support the underlying ecological processes to accelerate the transition towards improved soil functioning thereby governing enhanced crop yields.

Biotech crops: imperative for achieving the millenium development goals and sustainability of agriculture in the climate change era.

PubMed

Husaini, Amjad M; Tuteja, Narendra

2013-01-01

Biotechnological intervention in the development of crops has opened new vistas in agriculture. Central to the accomplishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), biotech-agriculture is essential in meeting these targets. Biotech crops have already made modest contributions toward ensuring food and nutrition security by reducing losses and increasing productivity, with less pesticide input. These crops could help address some of the major challenges in agriculture-based economies created by climate change. Projections of global climate change expect the concentration of greenhouse gases to increase, aridization of the environment to increase, temperature fluctuations to occur sharply and frequently, and spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall to be disturbed-all of which will increase abiotic stress-related challenges to crops. Countering these challenges and to meet the food requirement of the ever-increasing world population (expected to reach 9 billion by 2030) we need to (1) develop and use biotech crops for mitigating adverse climatic changes; (2) develop biotech crops resilient to adverse environmental conditions; and (3) address the issues/non-issues raised by NGO's and educate the masses about the benefits of biotech crops.

Using electrical resistance probes for moisture determination in switchgrass windrows

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Determining moisture levels in windrowed biomass is important for both forage producers and researchers. Energy crops such as switchgrass have been troublesome when using the standard methods set for electrical resistance meters. The objectives of this study were to i) develop the methodologies need...

Sugarcane field residue and root allelopathic impact on weed seed germination

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Allelopathy, the chemical interaction between plants, may result in the inhibition of plant growth and development, which can include compounds released from a crop that adversely impact weed species. The objective of this research was to determine the allelopathic impact of sugarcane (Saccharum off...

Bushland Reference ET Calculator with QA/QC capabilities and iPhone/iPad application

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Accurate daily reference evapotranspiration (ET) values are needed to estimate crop water demand for irrigation management and hydrologic modeling purposes. The USDA-ARS Conservation and Production Research Laboratory at Bushland, Texas developed the Bushland Reference ET (BET) Calculator for calcul...

Biological Networks Underlying Soybean Seed Oil Composition and Content

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Soybean is the most important oil crop in the United States. Production of soybean seed oil requires coordinated expression of many biological components and pathways, which is further regulated by seed development and phyto-hormones. A new research project is initiated in my laboratory to delineat...

Regenerating Longleaf Pine Naturally

Treesearch

Thomas C. Croker; William D. Boyer

1975-01-01

Research has developed guides for consistent natural regeneration of longleaf pine by a shelterwood system. Key measures include hardwood control by fire and other means, timely preparatory and seed cuts, seed crop monitoring, seedbed preparation, protection of established seedlings, prompt removal of parent trees when reproduction is adequate, and control of...

The pebbles that started the tea and ohelo berry projects in Hawaii

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Hawaii farmers face many challenges in production including high cost of operation, limitation of affordable land, infra-structure, energy and human resources. After World War II, success in agricultural research into new crops contributed to the economic development and stability in Hawaii. Some...

Epidemic classification of phytosanitary situations on cereal crops using mathematical modeling

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Most plant protection researchers and experts divide emerging phytosanitary situations into three classes: epidemic, moderate development of disease, and yield depression. The known principles and methods for estimating these situations (Van der Plank J.E., Kranz J. et al.) do not fully describe th...

Fueling the future with fungal genomics

Treesearch

Igor.V. Grigoriev; Daniel Cullen; Stephen B. Goodwin; David Hibbett; Thomas W. Jeffries; Christian P. Kubicek; Cheryl Kuske; Jon K. Magnuson; Francis Martin; Joseph W. Spatafora; Adrian Tsang; Scott E. Baker

2011-01-01

Fungi play important roles across the range of current and future biofuel production processes. From crop/feedstock health to plant biomass saccharification, enzyme production to bioprocesses for producing ethanol, higher alcohols, or future hydrocarbon biofuels, fungi are involved. Research and development are underway to understand the underlying biological processes...

Steam technology options for pre-plant and replant soil disinfestation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

This paper describes a development, testing, and commercialization program including a portfolio of three propane-fueled technologies that use pure steam or aerated steam to kill soil-borne pests prior to planting high-value crops. It includes research focused on laboratory and field evaluations of...

Scaling up high throughput field phenotyping of corn and soy research plots using ground rovers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peshlov, Boyan; Nakarmi, Akash; Baldwin, Steven; Essner, Scott; French, Jasenka

2017-05-01

Crop improvement programs require large and meticulous selection processes that effectively and accurately collect and analyze data to generate quality plant products as efficiently as possible, develop superior cropping and/or crop improvement methods. Typically, data collection for such testing is performed by field teams using hand-held instruments or manually-controlled devices. Although steps are taken to reduce error, the data collected in such manner can be unreliable due to human error and fatigue, which reduces the ability to make accurate selection decisions. Monsanto engineering teams have developed a high-clearance mobile platform (Rover) as a step towards high throughput and high accuracy phenotyping at an industrial scale. The rovers are equipped with GPS navigation, multiple cameras and sensors and on-board computers to acquire data and compute plant vigor metrics per plot. The supporting IT systems enable automatic path planning, plot identification, image and point cloud data QA/QC and near real-time analysis where results are streamed to enterprise databases for additional statistical analysis and product advancement decisions. Since the rover program was launched in North America in 2013, the number of research plots we can analyze in a growing season has expanded dramatically. This work describes some of the successes and challenges in scaling up of the rover platform for automated phenotyping to enable science at scale.

Monitoring corn and soybean crop development by remote sensing techniques

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tucker, C. J.; Elgin, J. H., Jr.; Mcmurtrey, J. E., III

1978-01-01

A system for spectrally monitoring the stages of crop development for corn and soybeans based upon red and photographic infrared spectral radiances is proposed. The red and photographic infrared spectral radiance, highly correlated with the green leaf area index or green leaf biomass, enable nondestructive monitoring of the crop canopy throughout the growing season. Five distinct periods are apparent which are related to crop development for corn and soybeans.

Biofortified Crops Generated by Breeding, Agronomy, and Transgenic Approaches Are Improving Lives of Millions of People around the World

PubMed Central

Garg, Monika; Sharma, Natasha; Sharma, Saloni; Kapoor, Payal; Kumar, Aman; Chunduri, Venkatesh; Arora, Priya

2018-01-01

Biofortification is an upcoming, promising, cost-effective, and sustainable technique of delivering micronutrients to a population that has limited access to diverse diets and other micronutrient interventions. Unfortunately, major food crops are poor sources of micronutrients required for normal human growth. The manuscript deals in all aspects of crop biofortification which includes—breeding, agronomy, and genetic modification. It tries to summarize all the biofortification research that has been conducted on different crops. Success stories of biofortification include lysine and tryptophan rich quality protein maize (World food prize 2000), Vitamin A rich orange sweet potato (World food prize 2016); generated by crop breeding, oleic acid, and stearidonic acid soybean enrichment; through genetic transformation and selenium, iodine, and zinc supplementation. The biofortified food crops, especially cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, are providing sufficient levels of micronutrients to targeted populations. Although a greater emphasis is being laid on transgenic research, the success rate and acceptability of breeding is much higher. Besides the challenges biofortified crops hold a bright future to address the malnutrition challenge. PMID:29492405

Biofortified Crops Generated by Breeding, Agronomy, and Transgenic Approaches Are Improving Lives of Millions of People around the World.

PubMed

Garg, Monika; Sharma, Natasha; Sharma, Saloni; Kapoor, Payal; Kumar, Aman; Chunduri, Venkatesh; Arora, Priya

2018-01-01

Biofortification is an upcoming, promising, cost-effective, and sustainable technique of delivering micronutrients to a population that has limited access to diverse diets and other micronutrient interventions. Unfortunately, major food crops are poor sources of micronutrients required for normal human growth. The manuscript deals in all aspects of crop biofortification which includes-breeding, agronomy, and genetic modification. It tries to summarize all the biofortification research that has been conducted on different crops. Success stories of biofortification include lysine and tryptophan rich quality protein maize (World food prize 2000), Vitamin A rich orange sweet potato (World food prize 2016); generated by crop breeding, oleic acid, and stearidonic acid soybean enrichment; through genetic transformation and selenium, iodine, and zinc supplementation. The biofortified food crops, especially cereals, legumes, vegetables, and fruits, are providing sufficient levels of micronutrients to targeted populations. Although a greater emphasis is being laid on transgenic research, the success rate and acceptability of breeding is much higher. Besides the challenges biofortified crops hold a bright future to address the malnutrition challenge.

Modeling the yield potential of dryland canola under current and future climates in California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, N.; Kaffka, S.; Beeck, C.; Bucaram, S.; Zhang, J.

2012-12-01

Models predict that the climate of California will become hotter, drier and more variable under future climate change scenarios. This will lead to both increased irrigation demand and reduced irrigation water availability. In addition, it is predicted that most common Californian crops will suffer a concomitant decline in productivity. To remain productive and economically viable, future agricultural systems will need to have greater water use efficiency, tolerance of high temperatures, and tolerance of more erratic temperature and rainfall patterns. Canola (Brassica napus) is the third most important oilseed globally, supporting large and well-established agricultural industries in Canada, Europe and Australia. It is an agronomically useful and economically valuable crop, with multiple end markets, that can be grown in California as a dryland winter rotation with little to no irrigation demand. This gives canola great potential as a new crop for Californian farmers both now and as the climate changes. Given practical and financial limitations it is not always possible to immediately or widely evaluate a crop in a new region. Crop production models are therefore valuable tools for assessing the potential of new crops, better targeting further field research, and refining research questions. APSIM is a modular modeling framework developed by the Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit in Australia, it combines biophysical and management modules to simulate cropping systems. This study was undertaken to examine the yield potential of Australian canola varieties having different water requirements and maturity classes in California using APSIM. The objective of the work was to identify the agricultural regions of California most ideally suited to the production of Australian cultivars of canola and to simulate the production of canola in these regions to estimate yield-potential. This will establish whether the introduction and in-field evaluation of better-adapted canola varieties can be justified, and the potential value of a California canola industry both now and in the future. Winter annual crops like canola use rainfall in a Mediterranean climate like California more efficiently than spring or summer crops. Our results suggest that under current production costs and seed prices, dry farmed canola will have good potential in certain areas of the California. Canola yields decline with annual winter precipitation, however economically viable yields are still achieved at relatively precipitation levels (200 mm). Results from simulation, combined with related economic modeling (reported elsewhere) suggest that canola will be viable in a variety of production systems in the northern Sacramento Valley and some coastal locations, even under drier future climate scenarios. The in-field evaluation of Australian canola varieties should contribute to maintain or improving resource use efficiency and farm profitability.

Enhancing crop yield with the use of N-based fertilizers co-applied with plant hormones or growth regulators.

PubMed

Zaman, Mohammad; Kurepin, Leonid V; Catto, Warwick; Pharis, Richard P

2015-07-01

Crop yield, vegetative or reproductive, depends on access to an adequate supply of essential mineral nutrients. At the same time, a crop plant's growth and development, and thus yield, also depend on in situ production of plant hormones. Thus optimizing mineral nutrition and providing supplemental hormones are two mechanisms for gaining appreciable yield increases. Optimizing the mineral nutrient supply is a common and accepted agricultural practice, but the co-application of nitrogen-based fertilizers with plant hormones or plant growth regulators is relatively uncommon. Our review discusses possible uses of plant hormones (gibberellins, auxins, cytokinins, abscisic acid and ethylene) and specific growth regulators (glycine betaine and polyamines) to enhance and optimize crop yield when co-applied with nitrogen-based fertilizers. We conclude that use of growth-active gibberellins, together with a nitrogen-based fertilizer, can result in appreciable and significant additive increases in shoot dry biomass of crops, including forage crops growing under low-temperature conditions. There may also be a potential for use of an auxin or cytokinin, together with a nitrogen-based fertilizer, for obtaining additive increases in dry shoot biomass and/or reproductive yield. Further research, though, is needed to determine the potential of co-application of nitrogen-based fertilizers with abscisic acid, ethylene and other growth regulators. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Nutritional and safety assessment of foods and feeds nutritionally improved through biotechnology--case studies by the International Food Biotechnology Committee of ILSI.

PubMed

Glenn, Kevin C

2008-01-01

During the last two decades, the public and private sectors have made substantial research progress internationally toward improving the nutritional value of a wide range of food and feed crops. Nevertheless, significant numbers of people still suffer from the effects of undernutrition. As newly developed crops with nutritionally improved traits come closer to being available to producers and consumers, scientifically sound and efficient processes are needed to assess the safety and nutritional quality of these crops. In 2004, a Task Force of international scientific experts, convened by the International Food Biotechnology Committee (IFBiC) of ILSI, published recommendations for the safety and nutritional assessment of foods and feeds nutritionally improved through modern biotechnology (J. Food Science, 2004, 69:CRH62-CRH68). The comparative safety assessment process is a basic principle in this publication and is the starting point, not the conclusion, of the analysis. Significant differences in composition are expected to be observed in the case of nutritionally enhanced crops and must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The Golden Rice 2 case study will be presented as an example of a food crop nutritionally enhanced through the application of modern biotechnology (i.e., recombinant DNA techniques) to illustrate how the 2004 recommendations provide a robust paradigm for the safety assessment of "real world" examples of improved nutrition crops.

Availability and utility of crop composition data.

PubMed

Kitta, Kazumi

2013-09-04

The safety assessment of genetically modified (GM) crops is mandatory in many countries. Although the most important factor to take into account in these safety assessments is the primary effects of artificially introduced transgene-derived traits, possible unintended effects attributed to the insertion of transgenes must be carefully examined in parallel. However, foods are complex mixtures of compounds characterized by wide variations in composition and nutritional values. Food components are significantly affected by various factors such as cultivars and the cultivation environment including storage conditions after harvest, and it can thus be very difficult to detect potential adverse effects caused by the introduction of a transgene. A comparative approach focusing on the identification of differences between GM foods and their conventional counterparts has been performed to reveal potential safety issues and is considered the most appropriate strategy for the safety assessment of GM foods. This concept is widely shared by authorities in many countries. For the efficient safety assessment of GM crops, an easily accessible and wide-ranging compilation of crop composition data is required for use by researchers and regulatory agencies. Thus, we developed an Internet-accessible food composition database comprising key nutrients, antinutrients, endogenous toxicants, and physiologically active substances of staple crops such as rice and soybeans. The International Life Sciences Institute has also been addressing the same matter and has provided the public a crop composition database of soybeans, maize, and cotton.

Yield and Economic Responses of Peanut to Crop Rotation Sequence

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

National Peanut Research Laboratory, Dawson, GA 39842. Proper crop rotation is essential to maintaining high peanut yield and quality. However, the economic considerations of maintaining or altering crop rotation sequences must incorporate the commodity prices, production costs, and yield responses...

Breeding and genomics of vegetable crops for climate-resilience traits

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Vegetable crop improvement is being pursued extensively and globally by seed companies, NGOs, universities, and governmental organizations, including several CGIAR research centers. Globally and regionally, many crops are identified as vegetables, and among them, breeding and genomics is well-develo...

Optimization of Southeastern Forest Biomass Crop Production: A Watershed Scale Evaluation of the Sustainability and Productivity of Dedicated Energy Crop and Woody Biomass Operations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chescheir, George M.; Nettles, Jami E,; Youssef, Mohamed

Growing switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) as an intercrop in managed loblolly pine (Pinus taeda L.) plantations has emerged as a potential source of bioenergy feedstock. Utilizing land resources between pine trees to produce an energy crop can potentially reduce the demand for land resources used to produce food; however, converting conventionally managed forest land to this new intercropping system constitutes changes in land use and associated management practices, which may affect the environmental and economic sustainability of the land. The overall objective of this project is to evaluate the environmental effects of large-scale forest bioenergy crop production and utilize thesemore » results to optimize cropping systems in a manner that protects the important ecosystem services provided by forests while contributing to the development of a sustainable and economically-viable biomass industry in the southeastern United States. Specific objectives are to: Quantify the hydrology of different energy crop production systems in watershed scale experiments on different landscapes in the southeast. Quantify the nutrient dynamics of energy crop production systems in watershed scale experiments to determine the impact of these systems on water quality. Evaluate the impacts of energy crop production on soil structure, fertility, and organic matter. Evaluate the response of flora and fauna populations and habitat quality to energy crop production systems. Develop watershed and regional scale models to evaluate the environmental sustainability and productivity of energy crop and woody biomass operations. Quantify the production systems in terms of bioenergy crop yield versus the energy and economic costs of production. Develop and evaluate best management practice guidelines to ensure the environmental sustainability of energy crop production systems. Watershed and plot scale studies formed the core of this research platform. Matched-watershed studies were established in North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama. A plot scale study was also established in North Carolina to more intensive examination of the effects of biomass production on hydrology, soil properties, productivity wildlife habitat, and biodiversity on replicate 0.8 ha plots. Studies were also conducted on selected sites to define and quantify the environmental effects of biomass production on wildlife habitat, biodiversity, soil properties and productivity, and carbon storage and flux. Treatments on the sub-watersheds and plots included potential operational systems ranging from monoculture switchgrass to interplanted switchgrass to conventional managed forests as a controls. The hydrology, water quality, soil property, and productivity data collected in the watershed and plot scale experiments were used to develop process based watershed scale models. Existing models (DRAINMOD and APEX) were modified to more effectively simulate the intercropped systems. More regional scale models (DRAINMOD-INTERCROP) with GIS interface and SWAT) were used to simulate the impacts of intercropping switchgrass in pine plantations on the hydrology and water quality of larger scale watersheds. Results from the watershed and plot scale studies, and the modeling studies were used to develop Best Management Practice (BMP) guidelines to ensure environmentally sustainable bioenergy production in the forestry setting. While the results of the environmental sustainability research for this project have become publically available, many of the planning decisions and operational trial results were not public. Personnel in management, planning, operations, and logistics were interviewed to capture the important economic and operational lessons from internal operational research on approximately 30 full-scale operational tracts. This project produced a very large database documenting the impact of interplanting switchgrass with pine trees on hydrology, water quality, soil quality, and biodiversity. Some environmental impacts were observed in response to additional operations required for interplanting, but these impacts were small and short lived. Given that existing forestry BMPs provide a flexible system that can be adapted to protect water quality and biodiversity in forestry settings, interplanting switchgrass with pine trees can be considered environmentally sustainable. The project also developed models that can simulate switchgrass growth when it is in competition with pine trees as well as the hydrology and nutrient dynamics that result from this interplanted system. The models predicted switchgrass production, water use, and the quality of the water leaving the system over a range of climatological and geographic conditions. These models can be used to guide decisions toward sustainability. The project also documented the limitations of switchgrass production in the forestry setting and the challenges and increased costs arising from this practice. These challenges led to the conclusion that intercropping switchgrass with pine trees is not economically feasible in the current economic climate. Despite the barriers obstructing use of this system at this point in time, economic and technological changes may occur that will make this a feasible system for bioenergy production in the future. The data, models, BMPs and experiences documented in this report and in publications resulting from this project will be highly valuable to those implementing this system.« less

Modelling impacts of second generation bioenergy production on Ecosystem Services in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Henner, Dagmar N.; Smith, Pete; Davies, Christian; McNamara, Niall P.

2015-04-01

Bioenergy crops are an important source of renewable energy and are a possible mechanism to mitigate global climate warming, by replacing fossil fuel energy with higher greenhouse gas emissions. There is, however, uncertainty about the impacts of the growth of bioenergy crops on ecosystem services. This uncertainty is further enhanced by the unpredictable climate change currently going on. The goal of this project is to develop a comprehensive model that covers as many ecosystem services as possible at a Continental level including biodiversity, water, GHG emissions, soil, and cultural services. The distribution and production of second generation energy crops, such as Miscanthus, Short Rotation Coppice (SRC) and Short Rotation Forestry (SRF), is currently being modelled, and ecosystem models will be used to examine the impacts of these crops on ecosystem services. The project builds on models of energy crop production, biodiversity, soil impacts, greenhouse gas emissions and other ecosystem services, and on work undertaken in the UK on the ETI-funded ELUM project (www.elum.ac.uk). In addition, methods like water footprint tools, tourism value maps and ecosystem valuation tools and models (e.g. InVest, TEEB database, GREET LCA Model, World Business Council for Sustainable Development corporate ecosystem valuation, Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the Ecosystem Services Framework) will be utilised. Research will focus on optimisation of land use change feedbacks on ecosystem services and biodiversity, and weighting of the importance of the individual ecosystem services. Energy crops will be modelled using low, medium and high climate change scenarios for the years between 2015 and 2050. We will present first results for GHG emissions and soil organic carbon change after different land use change scenarios (e.g. arable to Miscanthus, forest to SRF), and with different climate warming scenarios. All this will be complemented by the presentation of a matrix including all the factors and ecosystem services influenced by land use change to bioenergy crop production under different climate change scenarios.

Assessment of time-series MODIS data for cropland mapping in the U.S. central Great Plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masialeti, Iwake

This study had three general objectives. First, to explore ways of creating and refining a reference data set when reference data set is unobtainable. Second, extend work previously done in Kansas by Wardlow et al. (2007) to Nebraska, several exploratory approaches were used to further investigate the potential of MODIS NDVI 250-m data in agricultural-related land cover research other parts of the Great Plains. The objective of this part of the research was to evaluate the applicability of time-series MODIS 250-m NDVI data for crop-type discrimination by spectrally characterizing and discriminating major crop types in Nebraska using the reference data set collected and refined under research performed for the first objective. Third, conduct an initial investigation into whether time-series NDVI response curves for crops over a growing season for one year could be used to classify crops for a different year. In this case, time-series NDVI response curves for 2001 and 2005 were investigated to ascertain whether or not the 2001 data set could be used to classify crops for 2005. GIS operations, and reference data refinement using clustering and visual assessment of each crop's NDVI cluster profiles in Nebraska, demonstrated that it is possible to devise an alternative reference data set and refinement plan that redresses the unexpected loss of training and validation data. The analysis enabled the identification and removal of crop pattern outliers and sites atypical of crop phenology under consideration, and after editing, a total of 1,288 field sites remained, which were used as a reference data set for classification of Nebraska crop types. A pixel-level analysis of the time-series MODIS 250-m NDVI for 1,288 field sites representing each of the eight cover types under investigation across Nebraska found that each crop type had a distinctive MODIS 250-m NDVI profile corresponding to the crop calendar. A visual and statistical comparison of the average NDVI profiles showed that the crop types were separable at different times of the growing season based on their phenology-driven spectral-temporal differences. Winter wheat and alfalfa, winter wheat and summer crops, and alfalfa and summer crops were clearly separable. Specific summer crop types were not easily distinguishable from each other due to their similar crop calendars. Their greatest separability however occurred during the initial spring green up and/or senescence plant growth phases. In Kansas, an initial investigation revealed that there was near-complete agreement between the winter wheat crop profiles but that there were some minor differences in the crop profiles for alfalfa and summer crops between 2001 and 2005. However, the profiles of summer crops---corn, grain sorghum, and soybeans---displayed a shift to the right by at least 1 composite date, indicative of possible late crop planting and emergence. Alfalfa and summer crops, seem to suggest that time series NDVI response curves for crops over a growing period for one year of valid ground reference data may not be used to map crops for a different year without taking into account the climatic and/or environmental conditions of each year.

Engineering strategies for the design of plant nutrient delivery systems for use in space: approaches to countering microbiological contamination

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gonzales, A. A.; Schuerger, A. C.; Barford, C.; Mitchell, R.

1996-01-01

Microbiological contamination of crops within space-based plant growth research chambers has been postulated as a potentially significant problem. Microbial infestations; fouling of Nutrient Delivery System (NDS) fluid loops; and the formation of biofilms have been suggested as the most obvious and important manifestations of the problem. Strict sanitation and quarantine procedures will reduce, but not eliminate, microbial species introduced into plant growth systems in space habitats. Microorganisms transported into space most likely will occur as surface contaminants on spacecraft components, equipment, the crew, and plant-propagative materials. Illustrations of the potential magnitude of the microbiological contamination issue will be drawn from the literature and from documentation of laboratory and commercial field experience. Engineering strategies for limiting contamination and for the development of countermeasures will be described. Microbiological control technologies and NDS hardware will be discussed. Configurations appropriate for microgravity research facilities, as well as anticipated bio-regenerative life support system implementations, will be explored. An efficiently designed NDS, capable of adequately meeting the environmental needs of crop plants in space, is considered to be critical in both the research and operational domains. Recommended experiments, tests, and technology developments, structured to allow the development of prudent engineering solutions also will be presented.

Preparing for Veg-04 and Veg-05: Improving Pick-And-Eat Food Capabilities for the International Space Station

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Massa, G. D.; Wheeler, R. M.; Romeyn, M. W.; Hummerick, M. E.; Spencer, L. E.; Morrow, R. C.; Mitchell, C. A.; Burgner, S.; Williams, T. J.; Young, M. H.;

Useful to Usable (U2U): Transforming Climate Variability and Change Information for Cereal Crop Producers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niyogi, D.; Andresen, J.

2011-12-01

Corn and soybean production contributes over $100 billion annually to the U.S. economy, most of which comes from the intensely cultivated corn-belt region of the Midwest. Successful crop production in this region is highly dependent on favorable temperatures and appropriate precipitation patters, making this industry vulnerable to changes in climate patterns. Though predictive models are constantly improving, there are gaps in our understanding of how different management practices can be used to help farmers adapt to changes in climate while maintaining economic viability. Furthermore, currently available tools and models are not meeting producers' needs, and little is known about the types of information they would like to access. Useful to Usable (U2U): Transforming Climate Variability and Change Information for Cereal Crop Producers is an integrated research and extension project that seeks to improve the resilience and profitability of farms in the North Central Region amid variable climate change through the development and dissemination of improved decision support tools, resource materials, and training. The goal is to work closely with producers to help them make better long-term plans on what, when and where to plant, and also how to manage crops for maximum yields and minimum environmental damage. The U2U team is composed of a uniquely qualified group of climatologists, crop modelers, agronomists, economists, and social scientists from 10 partner universities across the Midwest. Over the span of 5 years, collaborators will complete tasks associated with 5 objectives that will enhance the usability of climate information for the agricultural community and lead to more sustainable farming operations. First the team will produce research on the biophysical and economic impacts of different climate scenarios on corn and soybean yields in the North Central Region (objective 1) and conduct complementary research to understand how producers and advisors are likely to use this information (objective 2). Based on these findings, decision support tools (DSTs) and training materials will be developed to effectively deliver climate information to stakeholders (objective 3). Next, DSTs will be piloted in a four-state region (Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Michigan) to help improve tools and evaluate effectiveness (objective 4). After several iterations with stakeholders to ensure the usability and utility of the tools, the program will be extended to all twelve states in the region (objective 5). Decision support tools, along with training products, surveys, feedback mechanisms and collaborative social tools, will be supported using the NSF-funded and Purdue University developed HUBzero web-based technology.

76 FR 42112 - Specialty Crop Committee Stakeholder Listening Sessions

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-18

... competitive position; and on measures designed to improve the competitiveness of research, extension and..., filing of petitions and applications and agency #0;statements of organization and functions are examples... Specialty Crop Committee Stakeholder Listening Sessions AGENCY: Research, Education, and Economics, USDA...

Monitoring Agricultural Cropping Patterns in the Great Lakes Basin Using MODIS-NDVI Time Series Data

EPA Science Inventory

This research examined changes in agricultural cropping patterns across the Great Lakes Basin (GLB) using the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) data. Specific research objectives were to characterize the distribut...