College of Agriculture

Permanent URI for this communityhttps://scholarworks.montana.edu/handle/1/4

As the foundation of the land grant mission at Montana State University, the College of Agriculture and the Montana Agricultural Experiment Station provide instruction in traditional and innovative degree programs and conduct research on old and new challenges for Montana’s agricultural community. This integration creates opportunities for students and faculty to excel through hands-on learning, to serve through campus and community engagement, to explore unique solutions to distinct and interesting questions and to connect Montanans with the global community through research discoveries and outreach.

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    Improvement of Endosperm Hydration Counter the Negative Relationship Between Dormancy and Malt Quality in Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
    (Wiley, 2024-08) Jensen, Joseph; Uhlmann, Hannah; Lachowiec, Jennifer; Lutgen, Greg; Cook, Jason P.; Yin, Xiang S.; Kephart, Ken; Sherman, Jamie
    Dormancy in barley has been thoroughly studied and shown to negatively impact malt quality, resulting in selection against dormancy. However, reduced dormancy coincides with increased preharvest sprout (PHS) risk, thus sparking a new interest in integrating dormancy back into American barley lines if the negative effects of dormancy on malt quality can be overcome. We evaluated the dormancy and hydration index (HYI) in a biparental mapping population to determine the genotypes that would protect against PHS but have good malt quality. We found 4 HYI QTLs and 4 dormancy QTLs, one of which was near the well-described SD2 QTL. The HYI QTLs were pleiotropically related to seed size (1H), dormancy (5H) and malt quality (2H). Lines with dormancy (5H) and increased HYI (2H and 3H) had malt quality similar to nondormant lines while maintaining PHS resistance, suggesting improvements in HYI could be the key to overcoming the negative effects of dormancy in malting.
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    Genetic dissection of endosperm hydration in malting barley (Hordeum vulgare)
    (Wiley, 2023-08) Jensen, Joseph; Turner, Hannah; Lachowiec, Jennifer; Lutgen, Greg; Yin, Xiang S.; Sherman, Jamie
    Hydration of the endosperm is a critical part of the malting process that ensures proper modification of the grain. However, little is known about the genetic controls of endosperm hydration and its relationship to agronomic and malt quality traits. The extent of endosperm hydration is estimated through hydration index (HYI). We measured HYI, agronomic, and malt quality traits on a 169-line subset of the NSGC Barley Core Panel, which includes global malt lines, some dating from the inception of European breeding programmes. Utilizing GWAS, 61 QTLs were identified for HYI, dormancy, agronomic, and malt quality traits. Of these, six were found to be related to HYI and were located on 1H, 2H, 3H, 6H, and 7H. We found HYI QTLs cosegregating with kernel size and hardness (1H and 3H), malting quality (2H and 6H), and dormancy (2H and 6H). These results indicate that endosperm hydration after steeping can be improved by selecting high HYI alleles on 2H, 6H, and 7H, positively impacting malting quality without negatively impacting kernel size or dormancy.
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    Aboveground and belowground responses to cyanobacterial biofertilizer supplement in a semi-arid, perennial bioenergy cropping system
    (Wiley, 2021-08) Goemann, Hannah M.; Gay, Justin D.; Mueller, Rebecca C.; Brookshire, E. N. Jack; Miller, Perry; Poulter, Benjamin; Peyton, Brent M.
    The need for sustainable agricultural practices to meet the food, feed, and fuel demands of a growing global population while reducing detrimental environmental impacts has driven research in multi‐faceted approaches to agricultural sustainability. Perennial cropping systems and microbial biofertilizer supplements are two emerging strategies to increase agricultural sustainability that are studied in tandem for the first time in this study. During the establishment phase of a perennial switchgrass stand in SW Montana, USA, we supplemented synthetic fertilization with a nitrogen‐fixing cyanobacterial biofertilizer (CBF) and were able to maintain aboveground crop productivity in comparison to a synthetic only (urea) fertilizer treatment. Soil chemical analysis conducted at the end of the growing season revealed that late‐season nitrogen availability in CBF‐supplemented field plots increased relative to urea‐only plots. High‐throughput sequencing of bacterial/archaeal and fungal communities suggested fine‐scale responses of the microbial community and sensitivity to fertilization among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Given their critical role in plant productivity and soil nutrient cycling, soil microbiome monitoring is vital to understand the impacts of implementation of alternative agricultural practices on soil health.
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