Fall 2021 Seminars
Fall seminars will be presented live in Keim Hall 150 and via Zoom beginning at 3:30 p.m. CST/CDT, unless noted otherwise. Maximum occupancy of 25 will be allowed in Keim Hall, Room 150, for the in-person presentation.
Join via Zoom at: https://go.unl.edu/agrohortseminar
BIOCHAR – What Do We Really Know About Its Benefits?
HUMBERTO BLANCO
Professor of Soil Management and Applied Soil Physics, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Can biochar restore the declining soil ecosystem services including food security, water conservation, water quality, climate regulation, and others? Can biochar be a strategy to address current agricultural and environmental concerns in the region? This presentation will address the questions above and discuss the challenges and opportunities of biochar use in agricultural systems.
Precision Conservation: Optimizing Agricultural Production and Natural Resource Conservation
ANDREW LITTLE
Assistant Professor of Landscape and Habitat Management, School of Natural Resources, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Humans are facing global challenges to meet food production, provide environmental protection, adapt to climate change, and address economic risk for farmers in the 21st century. Little will discuss new precision technologies and strategic conservation planning frameworks to optimize agricultural production, leading to increased profits while simultaneously reducing negative environmental impacts.
Note: This presentation will be via Zoom only.
Challenges of Developing a Resilient Cropping System in a Semi-arid Environment
CODY CREECH
Associate Professor and Dryland Cropping Systems Specialist, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
Agricultural crop production in water limited environments has extreme variability from year to year. The lack of precipitation requires crop producers to use increasingly complex and novel strategies to mitigate losses and become more resilient in the face of an ever changing climate.
Note: This presentation will be via Zoom only.
Increasing Pasture Productivity and Quality to Support Grazing Livestock
JOHN GURETSKY
Associate Professor of Grassland Systems Ecology, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
This seminar will describe the structure and function of cool-season grass pastures in the Midwest including those dominated by perennials and seeded with annuals. Strategies and knowledge gaps to enhancing pasture productivity and quality through cultivar introductions, interseeding, and planting of simple to complex mixtures will be emphasized.
Greenhouse Gas Fluxes Under Different Agricultural Practices — Is Climate-smart Agriculture Possible?
ERI SAIKAWA
Associate Professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta
Although agriculture contributes substantially to climate change, there is little discussion on how to mitigate the three major greenhouse gases and ammonia simultaneously from agricultural soils. This seminar presents findings from a project that aims to tackle this question in a corn field, while keeping the yield intact.
New Insight in the Mode of Action of Glufosinate
FRANCK DAYAN
Professor of Weed Science, Department of Agricultural Biology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
The effect of glufosinate on glutamine synthetase and ammonia accumulation have been known for many years. However, our understanding of the contact action of this herbicide could not be accounted for by these effects. Our detailed investigation elucidated the biochemical mechanism leading to the rapid ROS-driven burn-down effect of glufosinate. During this research, we stumbled upon a physiological connection between glufosinate and PPO inhibitors that led to new synergistic herbicide mixtures.
Using Cover Crops for Weed Suppression Across Kansas
ANITA DILLE
Professor of Weed Ecology and Assistant Head for Teaching, Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan
Using cover crops as a component of weed management continues to be adopted despite diverse growing environments and cropping systems from east to west across Kansas. Research outcomes focused on managing cover crops for weed suppression will be presented.
Soil Mining in Cropping Systems in Argentina
JUAN PABLO MONZON
Research Assistant Professor, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
The growing global demand for food, a competitive agricultural sector, and an intermediate yield gap level put Argentina in an excellent position to intensify crop production for the next 10 years. Higher yields have a higher nutrient requirement, and it is unclear whether current nutrient use in Argentina is enough to close the yield gap in a sustainable way.
How to Model GxE and Use It For Plant Breeding: Examples From Our Researches
HIROYOSHI IWATA
Associate Professor, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo
Modeling genotype-environment interactions (GxE) and the use of GxE for genetic improvement have long been an important topic in breeding. We have been working on modeling GxE in rice and soybean. We are developing models to utilize high-throughput phenotyping data and historical breeding data. In this talk, I will introduce our modeling approaches and present future perspectives on the potential use of GxE for genetic improvement.
Note: This presentation video will not be recorded.
Searching for Short, Bald and Golden: The Modern Pursuit of Genes Underlying Soybean Traits
BOB STUPAR
Professor of Legume Molecular Genetics, Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul
The emergence of soybean genome sequence resources and new biotechnology and bioinformatic methodologies is accelerating the cloning and characterization of DNA polymorphisms that cause phenotypic variation. This presentation will focus on the ongoing pursuit of genes underlying important soybean phenotypes, including plant architecture and abiotic stress traits.
The Wheat We Grow Versus the Wheat We Could Grow: Quantifying and Assessing Causes of Wheat Yield Gaps in the U.S.
ROMULO LOLLATO
Associate Professor of Wheat and Forages Production, Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan
This presentation will summarize years of research quantifying and assessing causes of yield gaps in wheat using Kansas, the largest US winter wheat producer, as a case-study. Data presented will range from on-farm assessments of management and weather determinants of wheat yield, to detailed field experiments establishing the physiological determinants of yield and potential avenues to sustainably improve wheat production though optimization of genotype by management by environment interactions.
SOTIRIOS ARCHONTOULIS
Associate Professor of Integrated Cropping Systems, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, Ames
JAY PARSONS
Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, University of Nebraska–Lincoln