We compared the effects of wood-, manure-, and blend-derived biochar (BC) saturated/unsaturated with dairy effluents on and performance and soil characteristics in a greenhouse pot study. Plant samples were assayed for herbage and root dry weight and N and C percentages. Soil samples were assayed for nutrients, pH, and conductivity.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStudies have determined the separate effects of biochar (BC) and manure application on forage species and soil, but few examined the effects of BCs made from different feedstock applied along with dairy manure. We compared the effect of wood- and manure-derived feedstock BC as well as dairy manure amendment application on performance and soil properties in sandy loam and clay loam soils in a greenhouse pot study. Plant samples were assayed for herbage and root dry weight as well as herbage and root N and C percent and yield.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrevious presence/absence studies have indicated a correlation between the presence of the pathogenic amoeba Naegleria fowleri and the presence of bacteria, such as the fecal indicator Escherichia coli, in environmental surface waters. The objective of this study was to use quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) methodologies to measure N. fowleri and E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEpidemiological studies of Pierce's disease (PD) can be confounded by a lack of taxonomic detail on the bacterial causative agent, Xylella fastidiosa (Xf). PD in grape is caused by strains of Xylella fastidiosa subsp. fastidiosa, but is not caused by other subspecies of Xf that typically colonize plants other than grape.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOptimal flowering time is critical to the success of modern agriculture. Sorghum is a short-day tropical species that exhibits substantial photoperiod sensitivity and delayed flowering in long days. Genotypes with reduced photoperiod sensitivity enabled sorghum's utilization as a grain crop in temperate zones worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe report an inexpensive, high-throughput method for isolating DNA from insect and plant samples for the purpose of detecting Xylella fastidiosa infection. Existing methods often copurify inhibitors of DNA polymerases, limiting their usefulness for PCR-based detection assays. When compared to commercially available kits, the method provides enhanced pathogen detection at a fraction of the cost.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEscherichia coli labeled with a green fluorescent protein was inoculated into sterile dairy manure at 7.0 log cfu/g. Approximately 125 black soldier fly larvae were placed in manure inoculated and homogenized with E.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe have conducted a large-scale study of gene expression in the C4 monocot sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) L. Moench cv BTx623 in response to the signaling compounds salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and the ethylene precursor aminocyclopropane carboxylic acid. Expression profiles were generated from seedling root and shoot tissue at 3 and 27 h, using a microarray containing 12,982 nonredundant elements.
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