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Issue 3
2011
University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences
Dixon Springs SummerInternship Program
On August 25th, at Dixon Springs, the interns participating in the 2011 Summer Internship Program presented the results of
their research. The audience included representatives of the UIUC College of ACES, members of the Dixon Springs
Advisory Board, and, we were particularly happy to see, some local stakeholders, who became involved in the program for
the first time this year. They included:
Grover Webb, Farmer/Producer, Entrepreneur, owner of Tanglefoot Ranch,
Chris Evans, Coordinator of the River to River Cooperative Weed Management Area, a multi-agency partnership
to manage invasive plants in Southern Illinois,
Erik Rund, Farmer, CEO of Green Flame Energy, a Pesotum, IL based biomass company of Rund Farms
International AGtivities,
Shelee Padgett, United Sorghum Checkoff Program, Eastern Sales Field Services Director Keith Bell, USDA—
Natural Resources Conversation Services District Conservationist,
David Allen, District Forester for Dixon Springs State Park.
Thank you to all of you for helping the interns make their work more relevant to the local community!
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Billy Assaranurak looked at the effects of nitrogen and plant
density on the structure photoperiod-sensitive sorghum, a
biomass crop that is widely grown in Southern Illinois. His
objective was to determine the effects of plant density and
nitrogen on sorghum architecture and its yield, and to identify
the ideal architecture of photoperiod-sensitive sorghum.
For the first objective, the plants were grown using two nitrogen
rates (45 lbs N/acre and 120 lbs N/acre) and two plant densities
(50,000 seeds/acre and 1000,000 seeds/acre), for a total of four
treatments, for hybrid and inbred lines. He measured six
morphological traits – plant height, leaf angle, number of tillers,
number of leaves, stem diameter, dry harvest weight. He found
that nitrogen levels significantly affect every trait except tiller
number, plant densities significantly affect every trait, and all
traits vary across varieties. For the second objective, he will
analyze trait data with genetic data drawn from analysis of
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) to find associations
between traits and yield.
BIOENERGY
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Ron Revord looked at how nitrogen input affects the biomass yield of Miscanthus x giganteus
(MxG); the purpose of his research was to determine optimal nitrogen input. This information will be
used in determining whether MxG production is economically feasible. He conducted his research on
third year MxG using five different nitrogen rates (0, 50, 100, 150, and 200 N lbs/acre). He measured
height weekly and took SPAD data monthly. During the middle of the growth season, the optimum N
rate appeared to be 100 N lbs/acre. Total biomass production will be assessed after the killing frost,
allowing Ron to finalize his assessment of the most efficient nitrogen rate. In addition, Ron will
analyze nitrogen removal and feedstock quality this winter in Dr. D.K. Lee’s lab.
Margaret Jodlowski analyzed the potential for a miscanthus market to develop in Southern
Illinois by interviewing various local stakeholders from different sectors of the food and energy
industries, asking them about the benefits and costs of a growing miscanthus market to their
industry. She also compared Southern IL with the 5 national Biomass Crop Assistance Programs
(BCAP) areas and Central IL for six variables: percent marginality, Conservation Resource
Program (CRP) acres, average CRP payment per acre, average erodibility, average annual corn
yield, average annual soybean yield.
She found that areas most likely to have BCAP areas have low corn and soybean yield and low
average CRP payment per acre. Southern Illinois is, on average, very similar to the BCAP areas,
demonstrating its suitability for receiving BCAP status, although production facilities for
miscanthus are necessary. Currently, the simplest end use for biomass grasses is as an on-farm
heating fuel source. There are, however, concerns to growing miscanthus on a large scale in
Southern IL, specifically: the perceived threat to the coal industry, its potential invasiveness, and
the fact that no one is willing to invest in growing miscanthus until they are sure that there will be
a market (and there is no market until someone starts growing it). DSAC could play a crucial role
in raising local awareness of the potential of miscanthus. A pilot pelletizer and greenhouse
heating program at DSAC could serve as a demonstration of on-farm uses of biomass.
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Animal Nutrition
Lauren Welker looked at whether feeding dried distiller’s
grains (DDGS) to growing heifers could have a de-worming
effect or even prevent the animal from getting parasites. She
used 16 pastures with ten growing heifers in each pen, the cattle
are divided into four groups (four pens each), each of which
received a different diet: Four pens receive three pounds DDGS
per day, four receive six pounds; four received three pounds of
corn and four received six pounds. She measured weight gain,
parasite load, and the effects of each feed on cyclicity. She
weighed the cattle and collected fecal samples three times (Day
1, 37, 73). She drew blood twice (Day 64 to determine
cyclicity, Day 73 to determine cyclicity and packed cell volume
levels).
She found that all cattle gained weight. All packed cell volume
levels are in a normal range and no heifers are experiencing
anemia. The corn-fed cattle receiving three pounds per head per
day had a higher average daily gain than the groups receiving
six pounds per head per day. The cattle receiving six pounds of
DDGS had the fewest fecal eggs; the difference was close to
being statistically significant.
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Ashley Kloth researched the effects of feeding a co-product supplementation, 70% DDGS and 30%
soybean hulls, to cows during their final trimester of gestation. The study involved three different
treatment groups. The diet for each treatment was formulated to be deficient, meet, or exceed the net
energy requirements for energy and protein. Animals in the control group did not receive any supplement,
but were allowed to graze freely. The low supplementation group received five pounds per head per day.
The supplement was weighed and bucket fed once daily in a bunk setting. The high supplementation
group received 20 pounds per head per day, in addition to the fescue forages. These groups were fed with
a feed truck, equipped with a scale, once daily.
To monitor the overall performance of the cows, weights and body condition scores (BCS) were collected
three times: Once before beginning treatment, 57 days after implementing the feed program, and lastly
after parturition. BCS were evaluated on a scale of one to nine, one being emaciated and nine being obese.
Body fat reserve is believed to be a determining factor in reproductive health.
Average weights went up, regardless of treatment, due to gestation and fetal growth, with the greatest
increase in both weight and BCS in the high supplement groups. The low supplement groups showed
moderate improvement. Minimal improvements were observed in the control groups. Although average
weight gains were consistent with what was expected, weight ranges and change in individual body
weight were not conclusive. The large standard deviation for weight is due to large differences in cow
frame size and is also distorted by fetal growth. This makes BCS the better measure for monitoring cow
performance during gestation. She will collect more data, including third weights, lactation, and calf
performance, following parturition this fall.
With the growing expansion of ethanol production, co-product feeds have become more available.
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Resource Conservation
The focus of Anne Logisz’s research was to find strategies using
reduced herbicide while effectively controlling Japanese Stiltgrass
(Microstegium vimineum), a non-native invasive species found in
southern Illinois. She looked at two herbicides, sethoxydim (Poast Plus)
and clethodim (Envoy Plus). She had two locations for each product,
each with eight test plots. Plots were randomly assigned to one of four
treatments: recommended level, one third of recommended
concentration, two thirds of recommended concentration, or no
treatment. She found that a 1/3 reduction in active ingredient
concentration for both sethoxydim and clethodim is effective in
inducing stiltgrass mortality.
Land Management
Rachel Welch’s objective was to observe the impact of continuous
corn, continuous soybean, perennial biograsses, grass waterway and
forests on soil quality through physical, chemical and biological
indicators, using tests outlined in the Natural Resources Conservation
Service Soil Quality Kit (respiration, infiltration, electrical conductivity,
pH, temperature, nitrate content, slake test, bulk density, physical
observation and water aggregate stability). Moisture content, soil
organic matter and texture analysis were also measured for each of the
five management types. She used the data to calculate a quantitative soil
quality index on all five management systems. Overall, the hypothesis
for this study was that the least disruptive management type will lead to
the highest soil quality. Her results suggest that there are measureable
quantitative differences between different management systems, and
that the least disruptive management system has the highest score on the
soil quality index.
Resource Conservation &
Land Management
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Specialty Crops
Carmen Au’s original plan was to compare tomatoes grown in high tunnels with those grown in open fields. Her hypothesis
was that the high tunnel tomatoes would be of better quality, and have higher lycopene content and antioxidant capacity, than
the tomatoes from open fields. However, open field tomatoes were not ready for harvest at the end of the summer due to
delayed planting in the field caused by heavy rain and storms, so she chose six cultivars for physical and chemical comparison.
Three tomatoes per variety were picked randomly at the pink stage and ripened until red. There were no significant differences
in any physical qualities or ascorbic acid content between the six high tunnel varieties, but there were significant differences in
pH, titratable acidity, and total soluble solids. In further analysis at UIUC, she measured the antioxidant capacity of the tomato
samples. Currently, she is extracting the pulped tomato to analyze carotenoid and lycopene content. Further analyses will be
done when all of the data have been gathered.
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Lily Benner proposed to compare vine-ripened hydroponic
tomatoes with conventionally grown vine ripened tomatoes.
Hydroponically grown tomatoes grow more rapidly than those
grown in fields and have a longer growing season but
consumers tend to think that they are less nutritious and tasty.
Her plan was to assess the diameter, firmness, weight, soluble
solids content, pH, titratable acidity, and ascorbic acid content
of ripe hydroponic tomatoes from the Rocky Top, Tribeca,
Charger, Black Seaman, BHN 589, and Cabernet cultivars, and
then measure these parameters for the same varieties of field
tomatoes. Due to weather conditions, the field tomatoes could
not be harvested before the end of the Internship Program. She
returned to DSAC to conduct tests on field tomatoes as they
become ripe. Currently, the ORAC and HPLC tests are
underway on campus.
Donny Kwandindo looked at the effect of putting potassium
permanganate (KMn04), a strong oxidizing agent, with
tomatoes in their packaging to see if it slows them from
ripening. His hypothesis was that this will prevent ethylene gas
from forming, thus slowing down ripening and increasing the
tomatoes’ shelf life. His research compared the effectiveness of
the different amounts of KMnO4 (without KMn04, Pure KMnO4
crystals, Purafil sachet with 8% KMnO4) in two packaging
conditions (micro perforated bags and loose packaging), for a
total of six experimental groups. These were compared with a
control group that received no treatment. He found that, at 12
and 13 days, the untreated tomatoes had ripened the least. For
his second experiment, all tomatoes were placed in loose
packaging, with one, two or three Purafil sachets or with fine
grain KMnO4 crystals (1 tsp or 3 tsp). PURAFIL Sachets (up to
three sachets) did not retard ripening, while KMnO4 crystals (at
3 tsp / 24.0 g) slowed ripening slightly, but not at a statistically
significant level. He compared the pH of tomatoes grown under
different conditions and found very little difference. His results
provide convincing evidence that tomato growers should not
spend money on expensive packaging designed to slow
ripening.
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Agricultural and Consumer Economics
Margaret Jodlowski: “Biomass Market Analysis: Assessing the Potential Market Development for Biomass Feedstocks in Southern IL”
Advisor: Madhu Khanna Mentor: Steve Ebelhar Stakeholders: Eric Rund, Grover Wells
Animal Sciences
Ashley Kloth: “Co-Product Supplementation for Gestating Cows” Advisor: Dan Shike Mentor: Frank Ireland Stakeholders: Ron Duncan, Clint Smith
Lauren Welker: “Parasite Load in Growing Heifers” Advisor: Dan Faulkner Mentor: Frank Ireland Stakeholders: Ron Duncan, Clint Smith
Crop Sciences
Ithipong “Billy” Assaranurak “Identification of Ideal Architecture of Photoperiod-Sensitive Sorghum” Advisor: Patrick Brown Mentor: Steve Ebelhar Stakeholders: Shelee Padgett, Grover Webb
Ron Revord: “Miscanthus x giganteus Biomass Yield Response to Nitrogen Fertility in Southern Illinois Advisor: “D.K.” Lee Mentor: Steve Ebelhar Stakeholders: J.B. Gates, Grover Webb
Food Science and Human Nutrition
Carmen Au: “Physical and Chemical Comparison of Tomatoes Grown in Open Field and in High Tunnels” Advisor: Nicki Engeseth.
Mosbah Kushad Mentor: Jeff Kindhart Stakeholders: Dayna Conner, Carl Duewer, Steve Scates
Lily Benner: “Chemical and Physical Comparison of Hydroponic and Field-Grown Tomatoes” Advisors: Nicki Engeseth.,
Mosbah Kushad: Mentor: Jeff Kindhart Stakeholders: Dayna Conner, Carl Duewer, Steve Scates
Donny Kwandindo: The Use of Potassium Permanganate in Tomato Packaging” Advisor: Scott Morris Mentor: Jeff Kindhart Stakeholders: Dayna Conner, Carl Duewer, Steve Scates
Natural Resources and Environmental Sciences
Anne Logisz: “The Effect of Lowered Herbicide Treatments Rates on Microstegium viminieum” Advisor: Jay Hayek Mentor: Jim Kirkland Stakeholders: David Allen, Dan Connelly
Rachel Welch “Impact of Land Management on Soil Quality” Advisors: Robert
Darmody, Maria Vilamil Mentor: Steve Ebelhar Stakeholders: Keith Bell, Carl Hart, Scott Trovillion
Thank You!
Sponsored by: The ACES Office of Research 1301 W. Gregory 228 Mumford Hall Urbana, IL 61801
Phone: (217) 333-0240 Website: [email protected]