Research Project: Expanding Resiliency and Utility of Alfalfa in Agroecosystems

Location: Plant Science Research

Publications (Clicking on the reprint icon will take you to the publication reprint.)

A 3D printed grinder adaptor for streamlined sample processing - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Heuschele, O.L., Jeo, R.T., Heuschele, D.J. 2025. A 3D printed grinder adaptor for streamlined sample processing. HardwareX. 24. Article e00699. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ohx.2025.e00699.

Toward the development and validation of diagnostic assays for fungal pathogens of Northern wild rice (Zizania palustris L.) in North America - (Abstract Only)

Conquering the devastating diseases of alfalfa - (Trade Journal)
Samac, D.A. 2025. Conquering the devastating diseases of alfalfa. Forage Focus. May 2025:16-17.

Assessing seed treatments for management of pathogens causing seed rot, seedling damping-off, and seedling root rot in alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) - (Peer Reviewed Journal)

Perspective: Impacts of dairy forage management on soil carbon change and net zero accounting - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Gamble, J.D., Alexander, J.R. 2025. Perspective: Impacts of dairy forage management on soil carbon change and net zero accounting. Journal of Dairy Science. 108(5):4479-4484. https://doi.org/10.3168/jds.2024-25796.

Foliar fungi-imposed costs to plant productivity moderate shifts in composition of the rhizosphere microbiome - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Lane, B.R., Kuhs, M.A., Zaret, M.M., Song, Z., Borer, E.T., Seabloom, E.W., Schlatter, D.C., Kinkel, L.L. 2025. Foliar fungi-imposed costs to plant productivity moderate shifts in composition of the rhizosphere microbiome. Frontiers in Plant Science. 16. Article 1558191. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2025.1558191.

SNPs vs. microhaplotypes: challenges and advantages in alfalfa breeding - (Abstract Only)
Medina, C.M., Heuschele, D.J., Zhao, D., Lin, M., Beil, C.T., Sheehan, M.J., Xu, Z. 2025. SNPs vs. microhaplotypes: challenges and advantages in alfalfa breeding. Plant and Animal Genome Conference. San Diego, California, January 10-15, 2025.

Confluence between association mapping and genomic selection to increase stem digestibility in alfalfa - (Abstract Only)
Medina, C.M., Heuschele, D.J., Zhao, D., Lin, M., Beil, C.T., Sheehan, M.J., Xu, Z. 2025. Confluence between association mapping and genomic selection to increase stem digestibility in alfalfa. Plant and Animal Genome Conference. San Diego, California, January 10-15, 2025.

Seasonal nonstructural carbohydrates in the crowns and rhizomes of in situ populations of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and the hybrid Bohemian knotweed (F. x bohemica) - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Becker, R.L., Mentz, R.S., Smith, A.G., Annor, G.G., Singh, N., Sarangi, D., Anderson, N.O., Heuschele, D.J., Katovich, J., Clark, M.D. 2025. Seasonal nonstructural carbohydrates in the crowns and rhizomes of in situ populations of Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica) and the hybrid Bohemian knotweed (F. x bohemica). Weed Science. 73. Article e73. https://doi.org/10.1017/wsc.2025.11.

Stabilization and extraction of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) protein following multiple post-harvest processing techniques coupled with protease inactivation - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Smovzhenko, A., Heuschele, D.J., Ismail, P.B. 2025. Stabilization and extraction of alfalfa (Medicago sativa) protein following multiple postharvest processing techniques coupled with protease inactivation. Food Research International. 201. Article 115588. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodres.2024.115588.

First report of Bipolaris zeicola causing leaf spot on Northern Wild Rice (Zizania palustris L.) in Minnesota - (Research Notes)
Castell-Miller, C.V., Samac, D.A., Kimball, J.A. 2025. First report of Bipolaris zeicola causing leaf spot on Northern Wild Rice (Zizania palustris L.) in Minnesota. Plant Disease. 109(3):720. https://doi.org/10.1094/PDIS-10-24-2252-PDN.

Quantifying potassium requirement and removal across crop species - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Carciochi, W.D., Dobermann, A., Menza, N., Brouder, S.M., Donough, C., Heuschele, D.J., Oberthur, T., Sandana, P., Shehu, B.M., Pereira, J.S., Soratto, R.P., Volenec, J.J., Wandri, R., Wang, Y., Win, S., He, P., Grassini, P. 2025. Quantifying potassium requirement and removal across crop species. Field Crops Research. 322. Article 109717. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fcr.2024.109717.

Constructing the alfalfa pangenome: Insights into structural variation and genomic complexity in an autopolyploid crop - (Abstract Only)
Kaur, H., Shannon, L.M., Samac, D.A. 2025. Constructing the alfalfa pangenome: Insights into structural variation and genomic complexity in an autopolyploid crop. Plant and Animal Genome Conference Proceedings. Plant and Animal Genome Conference, January 10-15, 2025, San Diego, California.

A stepwise guide for pangenome development in crop plants: An alfalfa (Medicago sativa) case study - (Review Article)
Kaur, H., Shannon, L.M., Samac, D.A. 2024. A stepwise guide for pangenome development in crop plants: An alfalfa (Medicago sativa) case study. BMC Genomics. 25. Article 1022. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12864-024-10931-w.

Plant community richness and foliar fungicides impact soil Streptomyces inhibition, resistance, and resource use phenotypes - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Michalska-Smith, M., Schlatter, D.C., Pombubpa, N., Castle, S.C., Grandy, S., Borer, E.T., Seabloom, E.W., Kinkel, L.L. 2024. Plant community richness and foliar fungicides impact soil Streptomyces inhibition, resistance, and resource use phenotypes. Frontiers in Microbiology. 15. Article 1452534. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2024.1452534.

Development of universal DaRTag markers for alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and use in mapping resistance to Aphanomyces root rot - (Abstract Only)

Phenotyping alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) root structure architecture via integrating confident machine learning with ResNet-18 - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Weihs, B.J., Tang, Z., Tian, Z., Heuschele, D.J., Siddique, A., Terrill, T., Zhang, Z., York, L., Zhang, Z., Xu, Z. 2024. Phenotyping alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) root structure architecture via integrating confident machine learning with ResNet-18. Plant Phenomics. https://doi.org/10.34133/plantphenomics.0251.

Multi-trait modeling and machine learning discover new markers associated with stem traits in alfalfa - (Peer Reviewed Journal)
Medina, C.A., Heuschele, D.J., Zhao, D., Lin, M., Beil, C., Sheehan, M.J., Xu, Z. 2024. Multi-trait modeling and machine learning discover new markers associated with stem traits in alfalfa. Frontiers in Plant Science. 15. Article 1429976. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2024.1429976.

Bacterial Stem Blight: A re-emerging disease of alfalfa caused by Pseudomonas syringae phylogroup (PG) 2b and PG7a - (Abstract Only)
Samac, D.A., Lipps, S.M., Morris, C.E., Ishii, S. 2024. Bacterial Stem Blight: A re-emerging disease of alfalfa caused by Pseudomonas syringae phylogroup (PG) 2b and PG7a. Plant Pathogenic Bacteria International Conference, July 8-12, 2024, Blacksburg, Virginia.

Alfalfa nutrient concentrate provides benefits to diets for rainbow trout - (Trade Journal)
Deng, D.F., Samac, D.A. 2024. Alfalfa nutrient concentrate provides benefits to diets for rainbow trout. Forage Focus (May 2024):8-9.

Plasticity in root attributes and belowground interactions between a perennial legume and a grass companion - (Abstract Only)
Nosshi, M., Gamble, J.D., Russelle, M., Samac, D.A. 2024. Plasticity in root attributes and belowground interactions between a perennial legume and a grass companion. Ecological Society of America, August 4-9, 2024, Long Beach, California.

Identification of SNP markers associated with resistance to Aphanomyces root rot race 2 - (Abstract Only)
Samac, D.A., Lin, M., Zhao, D., Tang, X., Yu, L., Beil, C., Sheehan, M. 2024. Identification of SNP markers associated with resistance to Aphanomyces root rot race 2. North American Alfalfa Improvement Conference, June 24-26, 2024, Pasco, Washington.