The spring 2016 “Agronomy and Horticulture Seminar Series” begins with “Important and Emerging Disease Concerns of Corn” at 3:30 p.m. Jan. 22 in Keim Hall, Room 150.
Tamra Jackson-Ziems, an associate professor with Nebraska Extension, plant pathology and agronomy and horticulture, will lead the opening seminar. Jackson-Ziems is responsible for statewide programming and research on established and emerging diseases of corn and sorghum. She is interested in applied research leading to improved disease diagnostics and management strategies to minimize loss of yield and quality. Her talk will focus on corn diseases in Nebraska, which is the third largest corn-producing state in the United States.
The seminars are free and open to the public. Other talks in the series are:
Jan. 29, 1-5 pm — UAVs in Agriculture: Half-Day Mini Symposium. This mini-symposium will feature three to four talks from UNL faculty and two talks from external speakers from the unmanned aerial vehicle industry. The talks will cover a wide range of material from technical aspects of UAV usage to data analysis and applications in agriculture. The talks will be followed by a brief panel discussion.
Feb. 5, 3:30 pm — Humberto Blanco, associate professor, soil management and applied soil physics, UNL, will present “Cover Crops and Soil Ecosystem Services.” This presentation will discuss how cover crops impact soil physical quality, soil organic C storage, and other soil ecosystem services under different scenarios of management. It will also highlight ongoing cover crop experiments established to answer some of the unresolved questions through interdisciplinary efforts.
Feb. 12, 3:30 pm — Josh Davis, IANR assistant vice chancellor for global engagement, will present “Internationalizing the Land-Grant Mission —Opportunities and Challenges.” Davis will discuss trends in the globalization of higher education, describe specific IANR initiatives already underway, and highlight tools and opportunities for those interested to become more involved.
Feb. 19, 1:30 pm — Ignacio Ciampitti, assistant professor, crop production and cropping systems specialist, Kansas State University, will present “Unmanned Aerial Systems in Agriculture: State of the Art.” Global food security must address the dual challenges of closing yield gaps while improving environmental sustainability. The use of new technologies, such as uses of unmanned aerial systems, can play a critical role in addressing challenges. Kansas State University research on the diverse uses of unmanned aerial systems for agricultural applications will be discussed.
Feb. 19, 3:30 pm — Ignacio Ciampitti, assistant professor, crop production and cropping systems specialist, Kansas State University, will present “Social Media: A Revolution in Modern Agricultural Communication.” Ciampitti will talk about the use of social media by Department of Agronomy and Cropping Systems group at Kansas State University to provide unbiased and science-based ag information. The information shared via social media quickly reaches the target audience, providing timely educational and outreach contents. The most successful examples have been infographics, timely pictures of production issues, presentations and papers uploaded, and information on the use of new technologies.
Feb. 26, 3:30 pm — Keenan Amundsen, assistant professor, turfgrass genetics, UNL, will present “Buffalograss — Native with Unique Challenges.” Buffalograss, like many specialty crops, has limited publicly available genomic data, complicating genetic-based breeding strategies. Amundsen will discuss how modern RNA sequencing applications are advancing buffalograss cultivar development. He will also dispel myths of buffalograss management and discuss advancements in the understanding of seed and winter dormancy mechanisms.
March 4, 3:30 pm — Tim Shaver, associate professor, agronomy and nutrient management specialist, UNL, will present “Corn Residue Grazing and Baling Effects on Soil Physical Properties.” Corn residue grazing and baling can provide a valuable and cost effective means of feeding cattle and is a common practice Nebraska. However, there are concerns about the effects of residue removal on corn yields and soil physical properties. The results of a long-term study concerning this issue will be presented.
March 11, 3:30 pm — Patricio Grassini, assistant professor, agronomy and horticulture and fellow at the Water for Food Institute, will present “Leveraging on the Power of Farmer Data to Empower Agricultural Research.” Increased regulatory pressures on the environmental influence of agriculture and requirements for farm reporting on factors affecting environmental impact will likely increase. Grassini will show how on-farm data provide an unprecedented opportunity to benchmark the impact of management practices on yield and efficiencies of water and fertilizer applications and to orient high-cost, multi-year, multi-site field studies.
March 18, 3:30 pm — Laura Thompson, assistant extension educator, Southeast Research and Extension Center, will present “Nebraska On-Farm Research Network: Using Data to Drive Decisions.” Nebraska Extension has been working with farmers to conduct on-farm research for over 26 years. Farmers participating in the on-farm research network take an active role in the research, addressing questions that impact productivity, profitability, and long-term sustainability. Thompson will discuss the recent growth of this program, tools the network has developed, results from 2015 research studies, and future directions for the network.
April 1, 3:30 pm — Douglas Soldat, associate professor, soil science, University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present “Ecosystem Services and Environmental Consequences of Lawns and turfgrass management.” Turfgrass is the predominant ground cover in urban land uses, covering approximately one-third of developed land in the United States. Therefore it is important to understand the environmental consequences and the urban ecosystem services provided. This seminar will summarize the state of the science of turfgrass in the urban environment with respect to ecosystem services, soil quality and management and socioeconomic concerns of turfgrass management.
April 8, 3:30 pm — Rebecca Roston, assistant professor, biochemistry, UNL, will present “Freezing Damage Requires Membrane Remodeling and Photosynthesis Requires Thylakoid Dynamics.” Out-of-season cold snaps are increasing with changes in weather patterns, and resultant crop and landscape damage can have large economic impacts. Roston will review mechanisms to withstand cold and freezing in plants and recent data on a critical post-translational signals, which control membrane responses to freezing. She will also discuss the relevance of thylakoidal membrane dynamics to efficient plant growth and development.
April 15, 3:30 pm — Leah Sandall, assistant professor of practice, agronomy and horticulture, UNL, will present “Online Education Isn’t Taxing…We’re Here to Help!” Sandall will provide an overview of the current activities in the online education program in agronomy and horticulture and ways to participate in developing online learning materials. She will share examples of collaborations between research, teaching and extension faculty to create online learning opportunities for students.
April 22, 3:30 pm — Shawn Conley, professor, agronomy, University of Wisconsin-Madison, will present “Coolbeans…The Musings of A Soybean Agronomist.”
April 29, 3:30 pm — George Graef, professor, soybean breeding and genetics, UNL, will present “Improving Soybean Yield Under Drought.” In Nebraska, water is the main limiting factor in soybean yield. Soybean yield response to water is linear, and soybean genotypes differ in their water use efficiency as measured by yield per unit water applied. I will discuss options to improve soybean yield response to water and implications for both irrigated and rain-fed production systems.