A dry spring in portions of the Midwest is expected to result in the second-smallest Gulf of Mexico "dead zone" on record in 2012, according to a University of Michigan forecast released today.
The American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), and Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) applaud the U.S. Senate's passage today of the 2012 Farm Bill.
Sweet and biomass sorghum would meet the need for next-generation biofuels to be environmentally sustainable, easily adopted by producers and take advantage of existing agricultural infrastructure.
When a virgin male moth gets a whiff of female sex attractant, he’s quicker to start shivering to warm up his flight muscles, and then takes off prematurely when he’s still too cool for powerful flight. So his headlong rush to reach the female first may cost him the race.
New edge of extinction research is creating a revival of conservation and interest in what these old wild relatives of current crops mean to the future.
The nation's food supply may be vulnerable to rapid groundwater depletion from irrigated agriculture, according to a new study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study paints the highest resolution picture yet of how groundwater depletion varies across space and time in California's Central Valley and the High Plains of the central U.S.
A Kansas State University professor is getting support for his research to develop a novel class of natural antibiotics for the treatment of mastitis in dairy cattle.
Listening to squawks and other chicken "vocalizations" using digital signal processing techniques may help farmers better manage growing conditions, contributing to both healthier birds and more productive poultry operations.
University of Wisconsin-Madison plant breeders have developed a new oat variety that’s significantly higher in the compound that makes this grain so cardio-friendly.
The American West has a drinking problem. On farms and in cities, we are guzzling water at an alarming rate. Scientists say that to live sustainably, we should use no more than 40 percent of the water from the Colorado River Basin. As it is now, we use 76 percent.
The University of Delaware's Janine Sherrier is part of a team that has been awarded $6.8 million from the National Science Foundation to study the legume Medicago truncatula and the protein-to-protein interactions essential for the development of its symbiotic relationships with beneficial microbes.
The 1930s Dust Bowl proved what a disastrous effect wind can have on dry, unprotected topsoil. Now a new study has uncovered a less obvious, but equally troubling, impact of wind: Not only can it carry away soil particles, but also agriculturally important bacteria that build soil and recycle nutrients.
The combination of an unusually warm March and sub-freezing temperatures in late April in the Northeast, has led to potentially devastating damage to apples, cherries, grapes and other of the region’s vital agricultural crops. Cornell University researchers and Extension specialists can comment on what this might mean for producers and consumers.
With its two newest raspberry releases, “Big Red” Cornell University is going gold and crimson. “Double Gold” and “Crimson Night” offer small-scale growers and home gardeners showy, flavorful raspberries on vigorous, disease resistant plants.
Witchweed, a parasitic weed that can strangle crops, has been nearly extinguished in the United States. But in Africa and Asia, it still grows rampantly, posing a threat to crops and forests. One estimate places agricultural losses due to a single variety of witchweed at $1 billion per year.
Bruce Akey, veterinarian and director of the Animal Health Diagnostic Center/New York State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is an expert on animal diseases, including those that can spread to the human population, such as Mad Cow disease.
An independent commission of scientific leaders from 13 countries today released a detailed set of recommendations to policymakers on how to achieve food security in the face of climate change.
A Kansas State University researcher was part of a collaborative effort that recently discovered a genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS. The discovery may improve animal health and save the U.S. pork industry millions of dollars each year.
Brian Chabot, professor of ecology at Cornell University, was the lead author of the section of the 2011 NYSERDA ClimAID report dealing with the future of the maple sugar industry. Here he comments on how the unusually mild winter could affect regional production.
A team of Australian scientists involving the University of Adelaide has bred salt tolerance into a variety of durum wheat that shows improved grain yield by 25% on salty soils.
On March 9, the House Agriculture Committee will have a public hearing in NY on the 2012 Farm Bill, one of only a handful of such hearings scheduled. Cornell University has several experts available to talk about the implications of the Farm Bill for producers, consumers and the American economy.
Fifteen years of studying two experimental wetlands has convinced Bill Mitsch that turning the reins over to Mother Nature makes the most sense when it comes to this area of ecological restoration.
Almost 80 percent of current farmland in the U.S. would have to be devoted to raising corn for ethanol production in order to meet current biofuel production targets with existing technology, a new study has found. An alternative, according to a study in ACS’ journal Environmental Science & Technology, would be to convert 60 percent of existing rangeland to biofuels.
A 28-year comparative study of wild emmer wheat and wild barley populations has revealed that these progenitors of cultivated wheat and barley, which are the best hope for crop improvement, have undergone changes over this period of global warming.
About Weed Technology
Weed Technology presents (1) original research on weed/crop management systems, herbicides, weed resistance to herbicides, and weed biology; (2) reports of new weed problems, weed-related surveys, and new technologies for weed management; and (3) special articles emphasizing technology transfer to improve weed control. The journal is a publication of the Weed Science Society of America. To learn more about the society, please visit: http://www.wssa.net/.
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A team of researchers has found a way to ensure that your evening glass of wine will continue to be available, despite the potential attack of Xylella fastidiosa (Xf), a bacterium that causes Pierce's Disease and poses a significant threat to the California wine industry's valuable grapevines.
Aquaculture researcher Andy Danylchuk and colleagues are melding building design, fish ecology and aquaculture engineering techniques into a first-of-its-kind “building-integrated aquaculture” (BIAq) model to offer an affordable, more holistic and sustainable approach to indoor fish production.
Martin Wiedmann and Rob Ralyea, Cornell University researchers and experts on food safety, comment and the danger presented to farmers and consumers by the raw milk movement.
If your golf game isn’t up to par, you may be able to blame it on those tufts of weeds on the course. Annual bluegrass is a problematic winter weed on many U.S. golf courses. After years of management with the herbicide glyphosate, resistant biotypes of this weed have developed, which will make keeping a clean fairway more challenging.
Range of Methods Considered Standard is Inadequate for Today's Research. A new and first of its kind book provides a practical guide for the use of modern statistical methods within agricultural and natural resources sciences.
The widely used farm practice of grafting watermelon and other melon plants onto squash or pumpkin rootstocks results in larger amounts of certain pesticides in the melon fruit, scientists are reporting in a new study.
University of Arkansas law professor Susan Schneider calls for a major transformation of U.S. agricultural law and policy. The central goal of both should focus on sustainable production and delivery of healthy food to consumers.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture will unveil its long-awaited new “Plant Hardiness Zone Map” expected to reflect changing climate patterns Cornell University has several experts available to discuss the significance of the changes.
The producers say “Fish Meat” will soon be available for academic purchase and they hope it will also be picked up by a national media or cable network for presentation to general audiences.
Scientists at NYU’s Center for Genomics and Systems Biology, the American Museum of Natural History, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, and the New York Botanical Garden have created the largest genome-based tree of life for seed plants to date. Their findings plot the evolutionary relationships of 150 different species of plants based on advanced genome-wide analysis of gene structure and function. This new approach, called “functional phylogenomics,” allows scientists to reconstruct the pattern of events that led to the vast number of plant species and could help identify genes used to improve seed quality for agriculture.
Killing a weed isn’t as simple as spraying herbicide on it when you consider the unintended consequences in agricultural systems. While the herbicide may kill the weed as intended, it also may contaminate ground and surface waters or kill field edge vegetation that is beneficial in creating a barrier against invading plants. Considering multiple variables and effects of agricultural practices leads to better management decisions.
A University of Utah biologist and an international research team decoded the genetic blueprint of the two-spotted spider mite, raising hope for new ways to attack the major pest, which resists pesticides and destroys crops and ornamental plants worldwide.
Most people aren’t huge fans of bees, but without them we would go hungry pretty fast. The common honeybee pollinates 130 different crops within the U.S. alone including fruit, vegetables, and tree nuts to name a few.
Scientists at South Dakota State University will help subsistence livestock owners in West Africa respond to climate change and emerging land use patterns with USAID and National Science Foundation funding.
A $2.5 million grant, awarded by the U.S. Department of Energy to Kansas State University, Oregon State University, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee, allows collaborators to investigate how the soil microbial community responds to changes in rainfall patterns and if that response will affect how carbon is stored and cycled in the soil.