While invasive plant species continue to grow like—well, weeds—costing millions of dollars in damage and control attempts, the field of weed science is not keeping pace. There is demand for further knowledge of herbicide persistence, movement, and toxicity in the environment, and the biology and ecology of weeds. But the numbers of weed science researchers, educators, and extension agents are few.
The sagebrush rangeland of Park Valley, Utah, has seen its share of land-use demonstration projects. One hundred years ago, an experimental farm was created there to display “dry farming” and encourage settlers to come to this semi-arid land. Today, demonstration sites seek to show ecologically based invasive plant management strategies. Ironically, it was the dry farming experiment that first introduced the weeds that ranchers are struggling against today.
In the May-June 2011 issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality, scientists report how natural plant compounds known as tannins cut both the amount of nitrogen cows excrete in urine, and the action of a microbial enzyme in manure that converts nitrogen into ammonia on the barn floor. In their study, ammonia emissions dropped by up to 30%.
While demand for food is soaring, the soil’s ability to sustain and enhance agricultural productivity is becoming increasingly diminished and unreliable. A new book, Soil Management: Building a Stable Base for Agriculture, is now calling for renewed investment in soil management, restoration and science-based soil practices.
Discovery of a new class of insect repellant raises the possibility of formulations that are thousands of times more effective than current repellants.
Plant science professor Sharon Clay breaks ground literally every growing season when she begins a new set of studies of how weeds interfere with crop growth, reduce yield, and compete for nutrients, water and sunlight. This year she has broken ground in a different way — as the first woman ever chosen as president-elect of the American Society of Agronomy.
Scientists have reviewed state-of-the-art association mapping of maize, and the factors that will allow for the maximum impact of this new tool in gene discovery studies and practical maize improvement programs.
South Dakota State University has released soybean germplasm lines to help plant breeders elsewhere incorporate desirable qualities such as high protein and low linolenic acid into their own soybean varieties.
Scientists made 20 collections of Searls prairie clover in an attempt to characterize their potential for agronomic seed production, flowering date and biomass, inherent population relationships, and phenotypic correlation.
ISU researchers have discovered a new arm of the pathway by which plants activate a response to environmental stress caused by adverse environmental conditions, such as drought, flood and heat. These stresses affect yield more than crop pests and diseases. Finding a way to maintain high yields for plants under stress is a goal of plant breeders and other agriculture stakeholders.
Weeds are hard to kill; they seem to come back no matter what steps people take to eradicate them. One reason is because of the persistence of weed seeds in the soil. Organic farming and conventional farming systems both have their methods of taking on weed seeds, but does one show better results than the other?
Scientists at the Johannes Gutenberg University at Mainz, Germany, recently examined the mobility of arsenic and copper found in dendrites of a local limestone.
Paul Curtis, an expert on wildlife-human conflicts and a professor of Natural Resources at Cornell University, comments on the spread of feral hogs into New York state.
Invasive Plant Science and Management –Invasive plant species do not make good neighbors. Aside from their obvious disrespect for fence lines, weeds can continue to edge out native species even after the invaders have been plucked or controlled.
A gene newly discovered by Eve Wurtele and Ling Li introduced into soybean plants has increased the amount of protein in the plant's seed by 30 to 60 percent. People with protein-starved diets around the world could benefit.
Scientists at USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and Penn State used computer simulated farms with the support of field research to compare the environmental impact and economic efficacy of using alternative manure application methods in farming systems.
As rice farmers across the southern U.S. prepare to plant their crop this month, evolutionary geneticist Ana Caicedo and others have begun a major new study of how weeds evolve in general and of invasive weedy rice in particular, a prime threat to a staple that feeds millions worldwide every year.
Analysis published this week in the journal Science shows how declines of bat populations caused by a new wildlife disease and fatalities at industrial-scale wind turbines could lead to substantial economic losses on the farm.
In the first report on the uptake and internal processing of triclocarban (TCC) in fish, scientists today reported strong evidence that TCC — the source of environmental health concerns because of its potential endocrine-disrupting effects — has a “strong” tendency to bioaccumulate in fish. They presented the findings here today at the 241st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society.
Scientists investigate the distribution of contaminants in the roots of ryegrass. Recent studies had indicated that contaminated fungi attached to the root of plants were responsible for the plant’s uptake of toxic contaminants.
A collaborative study was carried out between University of Copenhagen and University of Aarhus, Denmark, to investigate the influence of dairy slurry on leaching of manure nutrient components.
Scientists test the effectiveness of removing solids from dairy manure to improve yield by increasing the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio and reducing the loss of nitrogen by hastening soil infiltration.
Five major scientific societies cautioned today that global production of phosphorus fertilizer could peak and decline later this century, causing shortages and price spikes that jeopardizing world food production. The white paper, Chemistry for a Sustainable Global Society, also cautioned about the supply of other natural resources where monopolies or political instability affect supplies or inflate prices.
Crafting oat varieties suitable for horses and other livestock is priority for plant breeders at South Dakota State University. But horses are having to make room at the trough for humans as scientists continue to learn more about the health benefits of oats in human diets.
A joint study between local oyster growers and researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggests that moving farmed oysters into saltier waters just prior to harvest nearly eliminates the presence of a bacterium that can sicken humans.
Scientists at Lincoln University in New Zealand conducted an experiment over an 86-day spring/summer period to determined the effect of incorporating biochar into the soil on nitrous oxide emissions produced by cattle urine.
Saint Michael’s College receives $766,000 NSF grant as part of a 5-year $6.6 million Plant Genome Grant allocated to 4 universities and Saint Michael's; Project could lead to better quality corn plants.
As misperceptions about modern food production and technology become increasingly common, a new alliance has formed to better articulate how our food is produced. Today the Alliance to Feed the Future is announcing its formation and its new website, www.alliancetofeedthefuture.org.
The greater the amount of marbling in beef, the higher its grade because marbling makes beef more tender, flavorful and juicy. This study is unique in that it focuses on marbling development in cattle during the stocker phase.
If a foal doesn’t ingest colostrum within its first 12 hours of life, the animal likely will have a compromised immune system. Colostrum is provided in the mare's milk. For orphan foals, a suitable replacement must be administered.
In recent years, amphibian populations around the world have been declining. For example, the Iberian newt has become rare in Spain and Portugal. Simultaneously, human populations have increased, and along with them agricultural demand and the use of chemical fertilizers have increased. Runoff from fields brings chemical compounds such as ammonium nitrate into ponds and streams where they can be toxic to amphibians.
Scientists at the Netherlands’ Center for Genetic Resources have examined the extent of the problem of non-authenticity of old cultivars in genebank collections using a large lettuce collection from a Dutch genebank.
You are invited to a reception in celebration of the“Agriculture, Food, Nutrition, and Natural Resources Round Table: Showcasing Exemplary R&D Collaborations.”
A team of ARS-USDA scientistsexamined a series of commercial, anaerobic, swine wastewater lagoons in North and South Carolina for genes involved in the nitrogen cycling process.
Key elements of successful collaborations between federal agencies and partner organizations are the focus of the Agriculture, Food, Nutrition and Natural Resources R&D Round Table.
First global map suggests climate change will have greatest impact on the populations least responsible for causing the problem - those in the low-latitude hot regions of the world, places like Central South America, the Arabian Peninsula and much of Africa.
Maintaining a yard of grass can require repeated mowing and application of herbicides. When your “yard” is miles and miles of roadsides throughout a state, that effort and expense become a big factor. More efficient equipment to apply herbicides and reduce the need for mowing roadside grasses could cut costs for state transportation departments.
The release of methane into the atmosphere by cattle and other large grazing mammals is estimated to account for 12 to 17% of the total global methane release. Scientists have now developed a new methane release measuring technique.
A visionary plan for a “Desert Development Corridor” in Egypt, researched and created by Boston University geologist Dr. Farouk El-Baz, has been adopted by the country’s interim government as its flagship program. According to El-Baz, the plan – which includes the construction, along 1,200 kilometers, of a new eight-lane superhighway, a railway, a water pipeline, and a power line – would open new land for urban development, commerce, agriculture, tourism and related jobs.
Invasive plant species have long had a reputation as being bad for a new ecosystem when they are introduced. As it turns out, they aren't any more abundant away from home than they are at home.
Plants under snow cover are exposed to fewer drastic temperature changes, which can be more damaging than continued cold, says botanist Karen Snetselaar, Ph.D., chair and professor of biology at Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia. However, this year’s insulating snow cover may have come too late, Snetselaar notes.
The United Kingdom’s Department of International Development and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation today announced they will invest $40 million in a global project led by Cornell University to combat deadly strains of Ug99, an evolving wheat pathogen that poses a dangerous threat to global food security.
A former Kansas State University faculty member is leading the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Arthropod-Borne Animal Disease Research Unit. The unit studies animal diseases -- including Rift Valley fever, bluetongue virus -- in hopes of developing a vaccine.
Study attempts to establish cost-effective approaches when reducing tillage in transitional and organic hay and forage production.
Unlike most other crops, wheat is disproportionally dependent on public research. Wheat has a genome larger than that of humans. More than three-quarters of wheat varieties used today came from public research.
Story details reasons why cattle operations and beef markets are in flux because of two winter storms that hit that hit a week apart in February.
The latest edition offers information on the latest strategies for alfalfa establishment, production, and harvest, including how to go from a 3-ton-yield to a 9-ton-yield per acre.
What is the difference is between one variety of honey and another? Which kinds are better for cooking? Eating? City Tech's Claire Stewart, who is a beekeeper answers these questions and more, and explains her love of bees.
The President's budget increases funding for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) from $262 to $325 million.
With global warming comes increased levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which benefits at least one species—weeds. Carbon dioxide acts as a fertilizer to invasive exotic grasses, resulting in higher growth rates and larger leaves.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right