The College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse, N.Y., has become a designated pollinator-friendly campus by agreeing to avoid the use of bee-toxic pesticides.
This good news comes as Florida growers head into the heart of blueberry season.
The St. Gallen-based Empa biotech spin-off, MycoSolutions AG, has developed a new fungal product that improves the soil and controls pest fungi in an environmentally friendly way. Wooden poles remain in use much longer, leading to cost savings of millions for operators. A "Proof-of-Concept" is now available for the integrated wood preservation method.
Beck's, the largest family-owned retail seed company in the United States, announced today a collaboration with Indiana State University to train pilots to operate unmanned aerial vehicles within the new legal structure established by the Federal Aviation Administration.
Can organic growers fight weeds and increase soil health? To grow crops organically, farmers fight weeds with chemical-free weapons. But it takes heavy tractors to efficiently turn soil and rip out weeds, compressing the soil. And after a field is turned, heavy rains and wind can erode the exposed soil. Researchers are working to get the best of both worlds.
A new University of Delaware study is one of the first to show that tree trunks in forests in high or hilly lands emit methane rather than store it, representing a previously unaccounted source of the powerful greenhouse gas. Because of methane’s global warming potential, identifying the greenhouse gas source is key to understanding its impact.
Encouraging more high school students to pursue careers in agriculture—that’s the idea behind USDA iLEARN professional development workshops for science and ag teachers.
Growers who time their strawberries to bloom just after apples do can reap a better harvest, according to new Cornell University research.
Environmentally, proper lawn care can help prevent nutrients from flowing into nearby waterways, said Jason Kruse, a UF/IFAS associate professor of environmental horticulture. Mowing helps increase canopy density, increases soil stability and prevents soil erosion. These changes in the lawn will help limit fertilizer and other nutrients from flowing into waterways, Kruse said.
Cornell University scientists have discovered a new high-definition system that allows electrons to travel through soil farther and more efficiently than previously thought.
Growers who time their strawberries to bloom just after apples do, can reap a better harvest, according to new research.
Ever heard of a bed that gets tired? The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) April 1 Soils Matter blog post explains how to wake up raised garden bed soils and keep them healthy.
We tend to assume that domestication is a one-way street and that, once domesticated, crop plants stay domesticated. A new study of rice shows, however, that different methods of farming change the evolutionary pressures on crop plants, and the plants easily "de-domesticate," evolving to take advantage of these opportunities.
Using the flowering mustard plant Boechera stricta, a team including researchers at the DOE Joint Genome Institute and Duke University offers the first direct evidence showing that QTLs, genome regions on chromosomes to which genetic traits can be mapped, are a driving force behind speciation.
Spraying cyanide near coral reefs teeming with tropical creatures can quickly and cheaply stun ornamental fish that can then be scooped up and sold around the world. The practice supplies pet stores but often leaves behind damaged coral and dead fish exposed to too much of the toxin.
History and overview of agriculture in space.
"UF/IFAS is making a difference with our limited water resources,” said Laura Warner, a UF/IFAS assistant professor of agricultural education and communication. “Seemingly small drops in the bucket really add up when we look at the big picture across the state and over time.”
Masdar Institute’s Novel 3-in-One Treatment Method Removes over 90% of Zinc and 60% of Copper from Biosolids, Creating a High-Value Fertilizer for UAE’s Soils and Agriculture Industry
It makes sense that a 1,200 pound Angus cow would place quite a lot of pressure on the ground on which it walks. But a new study shows that even these heavy beasts can’t do much to compact common soils—if they’re grazed responsibly.
Researchers based their assessment on responses to a survey of 1,052 respondents. The poll shows 46 percent are “water considerate;” 44 percent of the participants are what researchers classified as “water savvy conservationists” and 9 percent are not concerned about water conservation.
The team analyzed soil samples from 11 dairy farms in the United States, and found that the amount of antibiotic resistant genes was 200 times greater in soil near manure piles compared with soil that wasn’t.
Tiny strands of fungi weave through the roots of an estimated nine out of 10 plants on Earth, an underground symbiosis in which the plant gives the fungus pre-made sugars and the fungus sends the plant basic nutrients in return. Scientists are interested in enhancing this mechanism as a way to help plants grow on nutrient-poor lands.
Research undertaken by scientists in China reveals that ants are hardworking and beneficial insects. In the activities of their daily lives, ants help increase air, water flow, and organic matter in soil. The work done by ants even forms a type of mulch that helps hold water in the soil.
The University of Delaware's Lindsay Naylor studied fair trade in the southernmost Mexican state of Chiapas and found that the marketing practice hasn't done much for indigenous Mayas working on coffee plots. Naylor found that labor prices have been flat and producers have been marching in place.
Florida’s winters are usually dry, but the wet winter of 2015-2016 helped spread pathogens that destroyed ornamental plants in Miami-Dade County. That’s a problem in an area where the industry generated an estimated $998 million annually in sales in 2015, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers say.
The study, led by doctoral student Rachel Rubin, determined bacteria could play a significant role in increasing crop yields in the future, even in times of drought
The Department of Plant Science has planted 13 different varieties of coffee from Honduras and El Salvador in a secluded spot on campus as part of a research trial to see which types can tolerate the range of temperatures in the Pomona area.
A corn gene identified in a new study resists a virus that has led to steep yield losses in most corn-cultivating countries. An Iowa State University agronomists said the research could lead to corn varieties that can fight off sugarcane mosaic virus.
Forest fires can be frightening, destructive events. The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) March 15 Soils Matter blog post explains the effects of forest fires on soil ecosystems—and how they bounce back.
Oral health of modern day African tribe transitioning from hunting and gathering to agricultural diet challenges long held presumptions about our Stone Age ancestors.
BGSU photochemist Dr. Alexis Ostrowski and her lab are venturing into a whole new world of materials with properties as yet unknown, but that offer the promise of beneficial applications in health, industry, agriculture and other fields.
Annually, diseases, weeds, and insects are estimated to cause more than $1.3 billion in losses for sunflower growers. To combat this, researchers are preserving the genetic diversity of wild sunflowers. Wild plants retain the genes needed to resist pests and survive in different environments.
According to a national survey conducted by UF/IFAS researcher Joy Rumble, consumers could be more aware of Florida's growing peach population. But Rumble also found consumers like to eat peaches as a snack, which she sees as a marketing opportunity.
For something that engages all the senses, this should be abundantly clear: food and all things associated with it is, in a word, sexy. Yes, sexy as in exciting and appealing. Seriously
Michigan State University and Indian media company Ramoji Film City are partnering to help farmers better produce food for India. The project involves the university’s communication and agriculture experts and the Ramoji Media Group, a multi-media giant that reaches some 620 million Indians with television stations, films, newspapers and online media.
For decades, phosphorous has accumulated in Wisconsin soils. Though farmers have taken steps to reduce the quantity of the agricultural nutrient applied to and running off their fields, a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison reveals that a "legacy" of abundant soil phosphorus in the Yahara watershed of Southern Wisconsin has a large, direct and long-lasting impact on water quality.
Study models soil-pore features that hold or release carbon dioxide.
Soils could release much more CO2 than expected into the atmosphere as the climate warms, according to new research by Berkeley Lab scientists. Their findings are based on a field experiment that, for the first time, explored what happens to organic carbon trapped in soil when all soil layers are warmed, which in this case extend to a depth of 100 centimeters.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory scientists have released a new global, centralized database of plant root traits, or identifying characteristics, that can advance our understanding of how the hidden structure of plants belowground may interact with and relate to life aboveground.
Montrealers have cultivated not only a love for food, but also a love for food grown locally. The city’s growth in this field yields lessons for urban agriculture elsewhere.
Researchers at The Ohio State University have discovered that food waste can partially replace the petroleum-based filler that has been used in manufacturing tires for more than a century. In tests, rubber made with the new fillers exceeds industrial standards for performance, which may ultimately open up new applications for rubber.
Scores of American chestnut seedlings growing in upstate New York are the vanguard in the restoration of what was once the most dominant tree in the eastern forests. The trees carry one gene, added by scientists, that makes them capable of withstanding the invasive blight that wiped out billions of their ancestors a century ago.
This infographic presents the latest numbers of wheat production, yield, cultivated area, value and consumption in the European Union.
University of Arkansas at Little Rock Biology Professor Mariya Khodakovskaya, her collaborators, and her graduate students are among a handful of scientists around the world pioneering research on the potential benefits of nanotechnology for crops. Their research was recently published in a book by Springer International Publishing, “Plant Nanotechnology: An Overview on Concepts, Strategies, and Tools.”
Assistant Professor of Biology Kirsten Deane-Coe investigates the drivers of diversity in an ecologically important clade of dryland mosses.
Water conservation will be one of many topics at this year’s UF/IFAS Urban Landscape Conference, scheduled for March 16-17 in Gainesville, Florida. Protecting the water Floridians will need for the 15 million additional residents projected to live here 50 years from now means getting today’s 20 million Floridians to conserve water, says University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences professor Michael Dukes.
Don’t forget winter snows when considering the water cycle! The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) March 1 Soils Matter blog post explains how winter snowpack helps recharge groundwater.
New Iowa State University research shows nitrogen fertilizer plays an essential role in maintaining soil carbon in corn and soybean fields. Adequate soil carbon is one of the most important metrics of soil health.
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