A 3-yr study (2009-2011) was conducted to examine the spatial and temporal dynamics of stink bugs in three commercial farmscapes. Study locations were replicated in South Carolina and Georgia, in an agriculturally diverse region known as the southeastern coastal plain. Crops included wheat, Triticum aestivum (L.), corn, Zea mays (L.), soybean, Glycine max (L.), cotton, Gossypium hirsutum (L.), ...

Perennial grasses have been proposed as viable bioenergy crops because of their potential to yield harvestable biomass on marginal lands annually without displacing food and to contribute to greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction by storing carbon in soil. Switchgrass, miscanthus, and restored native prairie are among the crops being considered in the corn and agricultural regions of the Midwest and ea...

in order to evaluate radiation capture and use efficiency and productivity in sole and intercropping of three crops, rapeseed (brassica napus l.), bean (phaseolus vulgaris l.) and corn (zea mays l.), an experiment was conducted in mashhad region during the growing season of 2007-2008. in this study six treatments including three sole cropping of the crops (rapeseed sown in 22 september 2007, co...

Worldwide occurrences of honey bee colony losses have raised concerns about bee health and the sustainability of pollination-dependent crops. While multiple causal factors have been identified, seed coating with insecticides of the neonicotinoid family has been the focus of much discussion and research. Nonetheless, few studies have investigated the impacts of these insecticides under field con...

Physical, chemical, and biological factors of soil may reduce damage caused by plant-parasitic nematodes. Suppression of plant-parasitic nematodes is particularly challenging in soils in which there are short crop sequences, sequential susceptible host crops, or infestations of multiple nematode species. In southern Indiana, a watermelon production system involving rotations with soybean and co...

Crops are one of the main factors affecting soil erosion in sloping fields. To determine the characteristics of splash erosion under crop canopies, corn, soybean, millet, and winter wheat were collected, and the relationship among splash erosion, rainfall intensity, and throughfall intensity under different crop canopies was analyzed through artificial rainfall experiments. The results showed t...

Beekeepers who use honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) for crop pollination services, or have colonies making honey on or in close proximity to agricultural crops, are concerned about the reductions of colony foragers and ultimate weakening of their colonies. Pesticide exposure is a potential factor in the loss of foragers. During 2009-2010, we assessed changes in the field force populations of 9-10...

We evaluated the biogeochemical cycling and relative greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation potential of proposed biofuel feedstock crops by modeling growth dynamics of Miscanthus 9 giganteus Greef et Deuter (miscanthus), Panicum virgatum L. (switchgrass), Zea mays L. (corn), and a mixed prairie community under identical field conditions. DAYCENT model simulations for miscanthus were parameterized wit...

Prior to the 2000 planting season, some industry obsemers predicted acreage of genetically modified crops would decline dramatically. However, actual 2000 plantings presented a puzzle. Farmers reduced their acreage of genetically modified corn, but concurrently increased their acreage of genetically modified soybeans. We demonstrate that it may be theoretically optimal for risk-averse farmers t...

Hay and silage crops are integral parts of beef production in the Great Plains. In the southern Great Plains, a growing dairy industry is adding demand for silage and hay. Corn silage has long served the region well, producing consistent high quality silage. However, many areas of the southern Great Plains no longer have the irrigation capacity to successfully produce corn silage. Forage sorghu...