Faculty Profile
Ozzie Abaye, Ph.D.
Dr. Abaye
Professor of Agronomy
Appointment
Teaching : 70%
Research : 0%
Extension : 30%
Web
Education
- B.S. Physical & Life Sciences, Wilson College, 1984
- M.S. Animal & Dairy Science, Penn State, 1986
- Ph.D. Agronomy, Virginia Tech, 1992
Professional Activities and Interests
- Member Virginia Tech Academy of Teaching Excellence.
- Coached the Virginia Tech Crops Team since 1992-present.
- Crops Contest Coordinator for Virginia Chapter/ Future Farmers of America. 1992-present.
- Co-Advisor - Agronomy Club.
- Chair- CAL's Diversity Committee.
- Member of the French and Pickering Creeks Conservation Trust - Pennsylvania.
- Member of the Grayson Landcare (South West Virginia) Group.
- Member of National and International Goat Association.
- Interested and Involved in the Reseach and Promotion of Grass Fed Beef.
- Interested and Involved in International Research and Education
Courses
| Course Number | Course Name |
|---|---|
| CSES 1054 | Introduction to CSES Laboratory |
| CSES 2434 | Crop Evaluation |
| CSES/ ENSC 3644 | Plant Materials for Environmental Restoration |
| CSES 4544 | Forage Crop Ecology |
| CSES 4984 | Advanced Topics in Seed Analysis and Grain Grading |
Current Projects
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Evaluate drought tolerant forage species for the summer months. Relying on pasture to satisfy the nutritional needs of livestock throughout a growing season is risky. Environmental extremes can create deficits in forage supply and drive producers to rely on conserved feed or costly supplements. The most common environmental “extreme” is drought. To reduce risk of having a forage deficit, producers can diversify their systems with warm-season annual forages. Teff (Erogrostis tef (Zucc.)), is a new, drought tolerant, warm-season crop to the Southeatern US that can help diversify grazing systems. Additionally, Teff hay is sought after by horse owners because of its high quality and has the potential to provide a substantial source of income to the producer. The research proposed will focus on buffering the ability of Teff used with mixed-cool season pasture to meet nutritional needs of grazing cattle and produce hay for retail sale.
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Biological control of invasive species. The proliferation of non-native invasive species is a problem throughout the southeast. Reclaimed mined-lands have been successfully used for forage production in the Appalachian region. However, the encroachment of undesirable invasive plant species reduces the utilization of these pasturelands by cattle and conventional control methods are not environmentally safe and cost-effective. The ongoing project will further explore the postnatal feed and anthelmintic values of tannin containing invasive species. Control of gastrointestinal parasites (GIP) in the past 50 years has relied exclusively on the use of anthelmintic drugs, or de-wormers. However, parasite resistance to these drugs is increasing rapidly in small ruminant parasites. A number of studies have shown that ingestion of forages containing moderate levels of CT results in reduced levels of GIP.
Current Extension Programs
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Grazing goats on high-investment pasture is not economical. Instead, goats can be grazed with cattle to control unwanted brush and weeds. Goats will consume trouble-some plants such as multiflora rose, thistles, blackberry, stinging nettle, and many more that cattle will not, while increasing the vegetative cover by favorable grasses and legumes. Using goats as biological control agents will decrease the need for costly mechanical cutting and herbicide application. Since we established the experiment 3 years ago, we have used the project for various extension activities (field days, demonstration, etc.)
- In search of a "good" grass. Description: Early spring, mid summer, and late fall are periods in Virginia where there is frequently low forage productivity. A forage crop that could stretch the grazing season by providing additional high quality feed in early spring, mid summer, and late fall when the productivity of typical cool-season forages is low would provide livestock producers with lower feed costs and increased animal performance. The summer period specially is where feed shortage is observed the most. Teff (Erogrostis tef (Zucc.) is a warm-season annual grass adapted to various climatic conditions. Where commonly grown, Teff can be used for both human consumption and as animal feed. Teff is a relatively new crop in the US. Therefore, limited information is available on cultural practices such as seeding rates, fertilization and planting dates. The outcome of the 2006 trials showed that Teff can be an excellent emergency crop for the summer where it established rapidly and produced excellent yield with in 4-6 weeks. Currently, I am working with over 10 extension agents in Virginia as well as neighboring states to provide educational programs related to the production and maintenance of Teff.
Recent Honors
- Winner of the Andy Swiger Land Grant Award – June, 2007
- Ag. Women of the Year – Sigma Alpha – February, 2007
- Alumni Achievement Award by the Owen J. Roberts Education Foundation, Pottstown, Pennsylvania. 2003
- Outstanding Young Alumnae Award from Wilson College, PA. 2001.
- Certificate of Appreciation from the Black Caucus of Virginia Tech in Recognition of an Outstanding Professional Achievements.
- University Alumnae Teaching Award 2001.
- Certificate of Appreciation from the Black Caucus of Virginia Tech for Outstanding Professional Achievement at Virginia Tech, in 2000.
- A recipient of the Certificate of Teaching Excellence Award in 1999.
- Certificate of Appreciation for Outstanding Dedication and Support from Sigma Alpha (A Professional Organization for Women in Agricultural Fields), in 1995.
- Gamma Sigma Delta (Agricultural Honorary), inducted in 1992 Sigma Xi (Scientific Honorary), inducted in 1992.
- American Forage and Grassland Council Outstanding Young Scientist First Place Award (National award), 1991.
Recent Publications
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Rotz* J. D., A. O. Abaye1, R. H. Wynne2, E. B. Rayburn3*, G. Scaglia4, and R. D. Phillips. 2008. Assessment of Ground-Based Digital Aerial Photography as a Viable Means to Measure Productive Ground Cover. Journal of Rangeland Ecology & Management. 61: 245–248.
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Guay*, J. F., Abaye, A. O., Fontenot, J. P., and Peterson, P. R. 2007. Compatibility, yield and nutritive value of matua prairie grass with interseeded legumes. Online. Forage and Grazinglands Published 17 December 2007.
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Belesky D. P., J. M. Ruckle and A. O. Abaye. (2007) Seasonal distribution of herbage mass and nutritive value of Prairiegrass (Bromus catharticus Vahl). Grass and Forage Science 62:3, 301–311.
- Boland, H. T.,* G. Scaglia, PAS, J. P. Fontenot,* PAS, A. O. Abaye, R. L. Stewart Jr. and S. R. Smith. 2007 .CASE STUDY: Grazing Behavior of Beef Steers Consuming Different Tall Fescue Types and Lakota Prairie Grass. The Professional Animal Scientist. 23:721-727.
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Yarber*, E., O. Abaye, C.D. Teutsch, M. Alley and G. Scaglia. 2007. Effect of nitrogen source and rate on yield and quality of stockpiled fescue. In Proc. American Forage and Grassland Council Proceedings. State college, PA.
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Webb*, D. M., A. O. Abaye, C. Teutsch and G. Scaglia. 2007. Assessing the potential of co-grazing small ruminants with beef cattle to improve utilization of marginal pasturelands in Virginia. In Proc. American Forage and Grassland Council Proceedings. State college, PA.
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Clapham, W.M., J.M. Fedders, A.O. Abaye and E.B. Rayburn. 2007. Forage pasture production, risk analysis and the buffering capacity of Triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack).Agron. J.
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Abaye A.. O., J. Green, E. Rayburn. 2006. Plant morphology and its effects on management. Ithaca, NY: Natural Resource, Agriculture, and Engineering Service.
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Abaye A., D. Herbert, J. Faircloth. 2006. Boll removal studies provide insights into compensation ability of Virginia cotton: A necessary step for further improvement of insect management strategies. Description: Journal of Entomol. Sci.
- Abaye A.. O., J. Fike, G. Scaglia, J. Rotz*, R. Smith, E. Rayburn. 2006. Comparison of different pasture evaluation techniques for biomass and ground cover. Description: Proc American Forage and Grassland Council. March 10-14. San Antonio, TX.
Personal Activities and Interests
Cooking