Feature Channels: Agriculture

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In climate change scenarios, abiotic stresses, such as drought and heat stress, become intensified, leading to severe crop loss. The “Physiological Traits for High Throughput Phenotyping of Abiotic Stress Tolerance” symposium planned at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Alaska is the topic of two important presentations at this year’s Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL.

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Breeding the next great grape is getting a boost thanks to new funding for a Cornell-led project that uses genomic technology to create varieties that are more flavorful and sustainable.

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COLLEGE STATION – Finding sustainable markets for gin trash, wood chips and other waste products could be viable in producing more electrical power for a growing global population, according to researchers. A demonstration was held recently on the campus of Texas A&M University in College Station showcasing a biomass-fueled fluidized bed gasifier, utilizing cotton gin trash and wood chips to power an electric generator. The fluidized bed gasification system was developed in the 1980s when a patent was issued to Drs. Calvin Parnell Jr. and W.A. Lepori, who were both part of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station now Texas A&M AgriLife Research.

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Most people are familiar with antibiotic resistant bacteria – and the same has happened with herbicides. Decades of research has shown that resistant weed varieties have adapted, and other weed-control tools will be necessary. The “Future of Weed Science: Thinking Beyond Herbicides in the Agricultural Landscape” symposium planned at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Agricultural practices in the Lower Mississippi River Basin's Delta region can affect how much carbon is stored in the soil. Because carbon dioxide is a key greenhouse gas associated with climate change, knowing those impacts is important. Researchers have created a network of research towers that can share continuous, high-quality data about carbon dioxide flux in different conditions.

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A $2.4 million award from the National Science Foundation will enable a multidisciplinary team of researchers at the University of Arkansas and their colleagues at two other institutions to develop a chemical process that converts nitrogen and phosphorous from wastewater into commercial fertilizer.

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4R nutrient stewardship is an agricultural industry guideline that refers to “right source, at the right rate, at the right time, and in the right place.The “Lab to Field: CCA 4R Nutrient Management and Soil Health Working Together” symposium planned at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL will cover this important topic.

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What can frozen soils teach us? The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) September 1 Soils Matter blog post explains how Alaskan soils are increasing our understanding of soils, water movement, and climate change.

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Fungal diseases are increasing in animals, which might have serious consequences for wildlife living in a hotter world, said a University of Florida scientist. A new study published in the international journal Scientific Reports shows that fungal infections reduced the heat tolerance of frogs by up to 4 degrees Celsius.

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A new $180,000 Challenge Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to a consortium that includes The University of Vermont and three partners aims to paint a more nuanced picture of who is farming in Vermont today -- beyond dairy stereotypes.

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Traditional ways of analyzing soil texture are slow. Danish researchers have shown a new, high-tech method that is fast, cost-effective, and portable. This technique could make it much easier to understand the soil texture of a particular area—or even large areas across the globe.

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There might be a new and improved way to rid contaminated soil of toxins and pollutants: zap it with lasers. By directly breaking down pollutants, researchers say, high-powered lasers can now be more efficient and cheaper than conventional decontamination techniques. They have shown how such a laser system could work, describing the proof-of-principle results this week in the Journal of Applied Physics.

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Soils can be extraordinarily biodiverse and differ widely in the kinds of microbial communities that inhabit them. Without a vibrant soil microbial community, humans would not be able to depend on soil for food and other ecosystem services. The “Life Underground: Who, Where, Why?” lecture planned at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Catherine Woteki, former Under Secretary of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will be the opening speaker for the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL. The presentation will be held Sunday, October 22, 2017, at 6:15 PM. The meeting is sponsored by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and the Soil Science Society of America.

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Resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus is one of the characteristics researchers hope to transfer from sea wheatgrass, a distant relative of wheat, into bread wheat.

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Genetic and agronomic potential do not result in yield without adequate soil fertility. Crops need to grow in nutrient-rich soil, with available nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus. Recent research also shows the importance of micronutrients. The “Plant Nutrients: The Disconnect Between Local Needs and Global Production” lecture planned at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL, will address this important topic.

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Maize is one of the three most important crops in the world. CIMMYT (International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement) and its international research partners have developed hybrids that will expand production even further. The lectureship entitled “Partitioning and Passion, Pothole and Partnerships: A Journey with Tropical Maize,” will address this topic at the Managing Global Resources for a Secure Future ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Tampa, FL.

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Texas potato growers may be few in number, but their spuds hit a market window that brings a premium each year at harvest. Now, a new potato scientist for Texas A&M AgriLife Research plans to pack even more value into the commodity through traditional and molecular breeding.

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As the global climate changes and temperatures continue to rise, heat stress is becoming a major limiting factor for pea cultivation. A new study indicates that pea plants with some specific traits – such as longer flowering time and higher pod numbers – may be more resistant to heat stress. The researchers also gained new insights into the genetics of heat tolerance in pea.

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UGA researchers pinpoint a mutation that triggered the development of the modern tomato from its tiny berry-sized ancestor

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Portland, ME—Biodiversity Research Institute (BRI) has confirmed today that the translocation of loon chicks from Maine to Massachusetts has resulted in at least one loon returning to its release lake. In its fifth year of a five-year initiative funded by the Ricketts Conservation Foundation, Restore the Call is the largest Common Loon conservation study ever conducted. Research efforts have focused in three key U.S. breeding population areas from the western mountains to the Atlantic seaboard.

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Iowa State University scientists are contributing to a multi-institutional effort to help corn stand up to stress brought on by drought and disease by using viruses and aphids to activate desirable traits. It’s speculative research that could yield new insight into how viruses, insects and plants interact.

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It’s not every day United States history mixes with microbes in the soil. But when the turf on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. was replaced, it offered scientists the opportunity to study changes in the soil microbiome underneath.

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Researchers from the University of Delaware have joined a team from Western Sydney University in Australia to examine the addition of silicon to the soil in which plants are grown to help strengthen plants against potential predators.

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The city of the future could start with a village – Missouri University of Science and Technology's Solar Village, to be exact. S&T researchers will study the Solar Village and its residents as their living laboratory over the next three years thanks to an $800,000 grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, funded as part of the National Science Foundation’s Cyber-Physical System initiative. The research team is led by Dr. Simone Silvestri, principal investigator and assistant professor of computer science, and Dr. Denise Baker, co-principal investigator and assistant professor of psychological science

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University of Adelaide researchers have shown that it may be possible to eradicate populations of invasive pest animals through the inheritance of a negative gene – a technique known as gene drive.

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Two new web-based tools funded by DHS S&T are making it easier for public officials and livestock farmers to predict cattle shipments and prepare for potential disease outbreaks: The U.S. Animal Movement Model -Shiny App and the CADENCE What-If Tool.

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Plots of foliage thicken in Cornell University’s Climate Change Demonstration Garden. Located at the Cornell Botanic Gardens, these raised beds provide a living illustration of how future temperature conditions may affect plants.

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With the launch of the revamped Cornell Fruit Resources website, New York growers have a new resource this season to help keep them productive and profitable.

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After nearly a decade of work, a small Guatemalan village can now count on clean drinking water thanks to a group of student volunteers from Missouri University of Science and Technology. The Missouri S&T student chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) first traveled to Nahualate, Guatemala, in 2008 as part of a volunteer project to design and build a public water system. On Wednesday, Aug. 2, a delegation from EWB’s S&T chapter is scheduled to return to Central America to mark the project’s official completion.

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New research from an ISU biologist provides an explanation for why citizen scientists taking censuses of monarch butterfly populations didn’t note the same drops in population recorded in Mexico, where the monarchs spend their winters. The research supports previous studies suggesting that an increase in available milkweed could help the monarch population rebound.

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Producers sometimes face challenges that go deep into the soil. They need answers to help the soil, on site. A portable field sensor can accurately measure minerals in soils more easily and efficiently than existing methods. And a research team, including a middle school student and her scientist father, can confirm it.

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University of Florida experts know all too well about laurel wilt, the pathogen endangering the state’s $100 million-a-year avocado industry – and they’re trying to find ways to prevent it from spreading. Now, they’re taking their data to California to talk to scientists, growers and regulators.

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Are your plants waxing poetic? The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) August 1 Soils Matter blog post explains how plants and soil communicate—even without the advantage of words.

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Cornell University’s Climate Smart Farming program has added a new online tool – the New York State/Northeast Drought Atlas – to help farmers adapt to a warming world.

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Shrinking the annual Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" down to the size of Delaware will require a 59-percent reduction in the amount of nitrogen runoff that flows down the Mississippi River from as far away as the Corn Belt

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An international team of researchers has shown in unprecedented detail that prehistoric farmers took their animals away from permanent settlements to graze in more fertile areas – probably because of high demand for land locally.

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Urban residents value their lawns through their own prisms, and those values lead to a range of efficiency in how they irrigate and fertilize, a new University of Florida study shows.

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A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has recently completed a global study on the trade-offs between the benefits provided by tropical forests and its conversion for agricultural use. The team examined deforestation activities of more than 50 countries in the tropics between 2000 to 2012, and identified regions where deforestation is most and least beneficial.

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In 2014, Murray’s Cheese in New York City had an idea for a clothbound cheddar modeled on classic British versions. And this year, after two years of development, the company has launched Murray’s Cavemaster Reserve Ezra – a bright, lemony flavored cheddar named with a nod to Cornell University’s founder.

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New research could help claypan farmers improve yields while saving costs.

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In a paper published today in Scientific Reports, a team led by Adler Dillman, assistant professor of parasitology in UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, has shown how nematodes use smell to seek out uninfected insects, which they then enter and kill. The findings support the group’s long-term goal of improving how gardeners and the agricultural industry use nematodes in biological pest management.

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By bringing the genomic revolution into corn fields, Genomes2Fields aims to improve the nation’s corn crop by uncovering how genomes — the blueprints for plants — are turned into yield, stress resistance, and all manner of different traits.

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After a century of markets dominated by a few types of wheat and white flour, ancient and heritage wheat varieties are making a comeback. Restaurants and bakeries that promote organic and local agriculture have sprouted up across the country in the last decade, meeting a rising consumer demand for tasty and nutritious foods that support an ethic of sustainability.

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Because of key partnerships, Clarkson University Professor David Mitlin's work on agricultural-derived carbons is an example of new science being translated into a potential commercial product.

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Our economy, livelihood and wellbeing depend on food and its supply chains. Supply chains may break if a natural disaster destroys a crop in its primary production region, or if someone tampers with food to cause harm or raise profits. In such cases we need to find out quickly about these incidents and find alternative sources of food ingredients and supplies.

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University of Florida researchers are sounding a warning bell that fresh produce may be hard to come by in the future. Scientists with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences cite changes in our climate, loss of fresh water and competition for resources as major threats in farmers’ ability to increase production of fruits and vegetables.

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A new research tool to safeguard drinking water is now keeping a watchful eye on Lake Erie. This week, a robotic lake-bottom laboratory began tracking the levels of dangerous toxins produced by cyanobacteria that bloom each summer in the lake's western basin.