Undergraduate Research 2016

Undergraduate Research Fellows, Department of Agronomy and Horticulture Summer 2016
Undergraduate Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship participants are (left to right): Rebecca Johnson, Iowa State University; Becca Clay, ISU; Martina La Vallie, Augustana University; Sarah Morton, UNL; Natalie Holste, Missouri University of Science and Technology; Joey Geisler, UNL; Omar Muniz, University of Texas-El Paso and Andi Nichols, Oklahoma State University. (Photo by Fran Benne)

Developing Undergraduate Research and Extension Expertise in Integrated Agronomic Systems

November 2, 2016
Learn more about what eight college students learned about corn/soybean cropping systems, cover crops, and grassland systems this summer as part of their UNL Undergraduate Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowships in Integrated Agronomic Systems. The students conducted research and evaluated data, getting a snapshot of multiple aspects of their profession as they consider and prepare for graduate school.

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Cattle grazing cereal rye cover crop near Tecumseh on April 9, 2016. (Photo by Mary Drewnoski)
Cattle grazing cereal rye cover crop near Tecumseh on April 9, 2016. (Photo by Mary Drewnoski)

Student Research: Does the Grazing of Cover Crops by Cattle Compact Soil?

November 2, 2016
Undergraduate Rebecca Clay shares the results of her study on whether grazing cover crops contributed to soil compaction at four sites in west central and eastern Nebraska. Clay, an undergraduate student in the Iowa State University Department of Agronomy, conducted the study as part of a UNL Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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Student Research: What are the remnant effects of rye and oat cover crops on corn development?

November 2, 2016
Rebecca Johnson, an undergraduate student in the Department of Agronomy at Iowa State University, looked at potential effects of rye and oat cover crops on corn. Johnson conducted the study as part of her Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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Sarah Morton examining perennial grasses.
UNL agronomy student and researcher Sarah Morton examining perennial grasses.

Student Research: Do Winter Annual Small Grains Reduce Perennial Grass Establishment?

November 4, 2016
Undergraduate Sarah Morton shares the results of her study on whether planting perennial grasses into small grain residue after grain harvest has an effect on establishment. Morton, an undergraduate student in the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, conducted the study for her Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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Types of cover crops studied
Figure 1. Types of cover crops studied included hairy vetch, rye, collard, clover, pea and a mix of several varieties.

Student Research: Carbon and Nitrogen Content of Winter Cover Crop Biomass

October 5, 2016
Undergraduate Natalie Holste shares the results of her study on which of the cover crops studied provided the most N and optimum time for killing the cover crop to provide N. Holste, an undergraduate biological sciences student at University of Missouri Science and Technology, conducted the study as part of a UNL Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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Thick, dense, upper canopy of sorghum-sudangrass, taken in late September in Lincoln.
Figure 1. Thick, dense, upper canopy of sorghum-sudangrass, taken in late September in Lincoln. (Field photos by Martina LaVallie)

Student Research: Potential Benefits of Sorghum-Sudangrass as a Companion Crop to Establish Forage and Native Legume Species

October 5, 2016
Student research fellow Martina LaVallie shares the results of her study on the potential of using drought-tolerant sorghum-sudangrass as a companion crop to establish forage and legume species. LaVallie, who graduated from Augustana University in Sioux Falls, S.D., and is now a graduate student in the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, conducted the study as part of a UNL Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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Agronomy Student Joey Geisler checks plant growth stage (left) and uses a frequency frame to determine the number of tillers in switchgrass stand.
Agronomy Student Joey Geisler checks plant growth stage (left) and uses a frequency frame to determine the number of tillers in switchgrass stand.

Student Research: How Harvest Timing Influences Switchgrass Production

November 4, 2016
UNL undergraduate student Joey Geisler shares the results of his study to determine the optimum time for switchgrass harvest to acquire the most biomass. Geisler, an undergraduate student in the UNL Department of Agronomy and Horticulture, conducted the study for as part of his Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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Student Research: Cover Crop Effects on Soil Properties

October 5, 2016
Undergraduate Andi Nichols shares the results of her study on how cover crops may affect soil properties. Nichols, an undergraduate student in plant and soil sciences at the Oklahoma State University Department of Agronomy, conducted the study as part of a UNL Research and Extension Experiential Learning Fellowship in summer 2016.

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