William Thatcher, an active emeritus UF/IFAS faculty member, is considered one of the world’s leading experts in animal reproduction. He played a key role in establishing links between the intake of fatty acids by dairy cows and their effects on improving reproduction.
Peat is currently a major component of many potting soil blends. Peat is the layered accumulation of partially degraded organic material over hundreds of years. But in some parts of the world, peatland habitats are shrinking. The harvest of peat may also release additional carbon, contributing to climate change. Efforts are underway to find suitable replacements—a considerable challenge given the airy, absorptive nature of peat that is ideal for plant growth.
Wheat is vulnerable. Among the most damaging diseases that affect wheat crops across the world are rusts. These parasites cannot grow without infecting a host plant, and are responsible for some of the greatest destructions of crops in human history. Breeders have recently released a cultivar of winter wheat – TAM 305 – that is resistant to many of the rust fungi.
A new ISU study of sorghum explores the genetics of heterosis, the process by which hybrid plants perform better than the parent varieties used to create them.
The “Upper Midwest Organic Agriculture Tour” planned at the Synergy in Science ASA, CSSA, SSSA International Annual Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, will highlight the Twin Cities’ thriving local and organic food system.
Kansas State University wheat scientists have completed the first study of a chromosome in a tertiary gene pool and have called it a breakthrough in exploring wheat wild relatives for future crop improvement.
The next time a storm tears up your yard, let an expert assess the damage to any trees. A study from the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences shows that homeowners perceive the risk of a damaged tree differently than trained professionals.
“Participants will walk away with knowledge of how to establish, manage and market fruits and vegetables in Central Florida,” said Orange County Extension Director Richard Tyson, one of the event’s organizers. “They will also obtain a better understanding of local food systems.”
Asian guava orchards can bring nine times the profit as mango and avocado, all staples of South Florida’s agricultural sector, a new University of Florida study shows. But Edward “Gilly” Evans, a UF/IFAS associate professor of food and resource economics, cautioned that guava is a niche market that can easily be oversupplied.
Researchers find cover crop decomposition and nitrogen release vary with type of cover crop used and addition of poultry litter.
In between seasons of corn, peanut, and cotton, North Florida farmers were interested in growing a rotation crop that could withstand the wilting heat of summer and be harvested by machine.
Packing some pinto bean seeds would increase his chances of survival.
Most of our food, many everyday objects that we use, depend on soil
A study led by U geography professor Kathryn Grace found that a pregnant woman's exposure to reduced precipitation and an increased number of hot days result in lower birth weight. A first of its kind, the study is the first time researchers utilized fine-resolution precipitation and temperature data alongside birth data to analyze how weather impacts birth weight. The study examined 70,000 births across two decades in 19 African countries.
Wheat farmers have reason to celebrate, as the Canadian Triticum Applied Genomics (CTAG2) project is about to step up its contribution to the global effort to decipher the wheat genome, led by the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC). The expected outcome is a new generation of wheat cultivars with higher yields and better resistance to stresses.
Research conducted by UD alumna Karin Burghardt and Doug Tallamy, professor of entomology in the University’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, found that non-native plants are compounding the problem of declining species diversity by supporting fewer herbivores across landscapes.
Collecting genetic information from crop wild relatives may preserve valuable traits but takes cooperation
Instead of freezing unwanted crested floatinghearts and bringing them to a local landfill, many homeowners toss them into canals, said Lyn Gettys, an assistant professor of agronomy with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. For about a year, Gettys has been compiling data to quantify the seriousness that crested floatingheart poses for canals. Crested floatinghearts reproduce mostly by way of ramets, an asexual form of multiplying. Gettys is trying to find out how many “babies” a single plant can make.
A new University of Iowa study documents that biomass burning has significant environmental and public-health effects. Co-firing oat hulls with coal reduced emissions of carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and heavy metals compared with burning coal alone. Results appear in the journal Fuel.
With deer hunting season under way in the state, University of Florida Extension Agent Derek Barber has some tips for North Florida hunters on planting the right forages in food plots to help attract deer and wild turkey.
A low-cost method of removing phosphates from tile drainage water developed at South Dakota State University may help protect lakes and streams. Assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering Guanghui Hua is using steel byproducts to trap phosphates in simulated tile drainage water. He collaborates with assistant professor of agricultural and biosystems engineering and SDSU Extension water management engineer Chris Hay, who has been testing woodchip bioreactors since 2011. Hay envisions installing a steel-containing cartridge as an add-on to nitrate-capturing bioreactors.
New research from an Iowa State University ecologist shows that agricultural inputs such as nitrogen and phosphorous alter soil microbial communities, which may have unintended environmental consequences.
The insect – established in Panama and Costa Rica – is moving northward but has not yet arrived in the United States. Its potential arrival is a big concern among U.S. government agricultural officials.
The bread wheat genome is both extremely large and complex. It is more than five times larger than the human genome and comprises 21 chromosomes originating from three individual subgenomes with highly similar gene contents. To circumvent this complexity, the IWGSC adopted a chromosome by chromosome strategy to sequence the wheat genome.
“It was refreshing to see young consumers being interested in purchasing fruit and peaches in particular,” said Mercy Olmstead, assistant professor in horticultural sciences and lead author of the study. “Most of the breeding efforts here at UF have been directed toward peaches with non-melting, firmer texture, so having the younger generation prefer crisp, firm peaches was exciting.”
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers have taken a big step toward breeding tastier blueberries with a three-year study that examined the traits consumers desire. Now they have specific breeding targets to improve flavor.
Laboratory tests show that polymer molecules impregnated with imidacloprid use 200 times less of the insecticide, yet still kill as many insects that carry the devastating citrus greening bacterium.
A large-scale study shows that U.S. farmers are growing fewer types of crops than they were 34 years ago, which could have implications for how well farms fare as changes to the climate evolve. Less crop diversity may also be impacting the general ecosystem.
Local faculty experts from DePaul University are available to provide insight and commentary on the many different ways food impacts our lives, from filling your belly to filling your soul.
Researchers say diverse agroecosystems are more resilient to variable weather from climate change.
The forum is free and open to the public and is being held in the union’s grand ballroom from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Dozens of plastic tubs stacked in a room may look ordinary, but they store what could be the secrets to more rice to feed the world. The containers are the resting place for what’s known by scientists as a “core collection,” or fraction of all the known varieties of rice on Earth. Yet, even from their plastic vaults housed at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Beaumont, these grains are yielding data scientists say will help make better varieties for years to come.
Investors Gather in the Midwest to Focus on New Agriculture Solutions for Commercialization
A Kansas State University agronomist says a recent study on plant height in sorghum will likely be applicable to other economically important traits, such as crop yield.
D&D Ranch looks as if it would be located in Oklahoma or Texas, but it actually sits atop a reclaimed strip mine in Eastern Kentucky. The 1000 acre ranch is home to the East Kentucky Heifer Development Project, which has helped local farmers improve their cattle herds for the last 17 years.
About 1.52 million people worked full- or part-time in Florida’s agriculture, natural resources and food industries in 2013, an 8.7 percent increase in jobs over 2012, according to a new UF/IFAS economic report.
Paul Porter, a professor in the College of Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences at the University of Minnesota, rode a bicycle across Africa and South America while teaching students about issues like using plants for food and fuel, managing water, and the changing climate.
A recent study by a multi-disciplinary team of Baylor University researchers found that a popular herbicide does not appear to have a long-term, measurable impact on aquatic plant life.
An international team of researchers, including scientists at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at Virginia Tech, has identified key opportunities in nutrition science to address projected gaps in food availability.
Wheat farmers in Kazakhstan lose anywhere from from 10 percent to as much as 50 percent of their wheat crop due to tan spot and Septoria leaf blotch. Research scientist Zagipa Sapakhova of the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology will screen new wheat varieties to improve resistance to these common fungal diseases, thanks to techniques she learned at South Dakota State University.
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Cornfields with a more diverse insect population have fewer problems with pests, according to a study done by U.S. Department of Agriculture agroecologist Jonathan Lundgren and South Dakota State University economics professor Scott Fausti. The two-year USDA project is the first to use social network analysis to study insect communities in the corn production system to understand how large groups of organisms interact from an applied angle.
Scientists have discovered that wild blueberry extract could help prevent dental plaque formation.
A Kansas State University researcher has helped identify the last major vernalization gene in wheat. Vernalization genes define when the plant begins to flower and is critical for adaptation to different environments. The finding will help wheat breeders design wheat varieties that can adapt and thrive in changing environments around the world.
Phil Koehler sees his students as the reason he’s being inducted into the Pest Management Professional Hall of Fame. Koehler has provided opportunities for students, many of whom have stayed in entomology, and specifically pest management. Some will attend his hall of fame induction in Nashville, Tennessee, in October, an honor Koehler appreciates.
While this pathogen is not new to Florida, this is the first report of it infecting the wild date palm. The good news is that you can prevent the spread of F. oxysporum f. sp. canariensis most of the time by sterilizing pruning tools prior to pruning or by using a new pruning tool.
With the laurel wilt pathogen threatening the Florida avocado industry, a UF/IFAS tropical fruit scientist will lend his expertise at the September meeting in Lima, Peru. The avocado industry, which is estimated to have a $100 million dollar a year impact on Florida's economy, is in real danger, the scientist says.
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