Feature Channels: Agriculture

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Study looks at the effect of increased warming and nitrogen on soil microbes through an entire season.

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South Dakota State University research shows a traditional Asian flatbread called chapathi, or chapati, gets a big boost in protein and fiber when fortified with food-grade distillers grains.

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Carbon dioxide emissions from agricultural activity in the United States can now be tracked with unprecedented resolution because of a method developed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Improved soil mapping analysis helps land managers better predict soil carbon sinks across varying landscapes.

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To help tomorrow’s cut flowers and potted plants stay fresh longer, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant physiologist Cai-Zhong Jiang is investigating the gene-controlled mechanisms of plants' aging.

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Using cover crops to prevent nitrogen leaching into waterways and reduce soil erosion; future research points to integration of legume cover crops with synthetic fertilizer.

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Scientists use genetic fingerprints to protect maize farmers from mistaken or stolen seed identity by distinguishing strains of open pollinated varities from each other.

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Sweet corn growers will lose their principal method of weed control and be faced with increased expenses if use of the herbicide atrazine is eliminated as a result of a comprehensive re-evaluation being carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency.

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Potatoes come in all shapes, sizes and colors-including tubers with red, yellow, orange and purple flesh. This diversity also applies to phytonutrients, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Prosser, Wash., are discovering.

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Conventional wisdom has long held that grazing livestock on rangelands in good to excellent condition is the most productive, both ecologically and economically. However, ranchers generally maintain a lower level of range condition and neither profitability nor sustainability have been negatively affected.

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Study finds benefits of cover crops in preventing soil erosion in the winter and the following year when compared to rough tillage

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are tapping into the biochemistry of one of the world’s most damaging insect pests to develop a biocontrol agent that may keep the pest away from gardens and farms.

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A team of scientists estimated net global warming potential for three grazing management systems located in central North Dakota. The results indicate that grazinglands are strong sinks of soil organic carbon and minor sinks of methane, but small to moderate sources of nitrous oxide.

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New book chapter highlights critical agricultural research areas receiving federal funding, including food, nutrition, and natural resource sciences.

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Algae--already being eyed for biofuel production--could be put to use right away to remove nitrogen and phosphorus in livestock manure runoff, according to an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist.

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A North Carolina State University study shows that out-of-work agricultural laborers from small farms that do not provide unemployment insurance spend fewer weeks unemployed and then earn less than other workers when rehired.

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Using herbicides to sterilize rather than to kill weedy grasses might be a more economical and environmentally sound weed control strategy, according to a study by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and a cooperator.

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Stem canker caused by a fungus, can severely create losses in soybean crop yield. Midwestern and north central regions of the United States and Ontario, Canada were plagued by the northern fungus in the late 1940s and early 1950s that was eradicated. Southern stem canker arose in the 1970s and continues to be a significant problem. The northern fungus now appears to have returned.

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Bayer CropScience announces a $7.5 million contribution to the Texas Tech University Department of Plant and Soil Sciences, Lubbock, Texas.

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The Titan Arum, known as the Corpse Flower, housed in the Western Illinois University Botany Greenhouse began blooming during the afternoon and evening hours Sunday, May 2.

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Researchers investigate the use of fossil fuels in different cropping systems. Two-rotations of corn/soybean are compared to more diverse three and four-year rotations. Fossil energy is reduced with more diverse cropping systems and manure application, but labor costs increase.

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Plant breeders look to genetic markers to protect their research investments and unique plant varieties.

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Scientists use a new version of the Root Zone Water Quality Model to estimate unsaturated zone nitrogen mass balances at four agricultural fields. The new version of the model can make predictions down to 30 meters, enabling estimation of water quality effects well beyond the root zone.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are taking a careful look at how grazing cattle affect sage-grouse habitat on high desert rangelands.

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Losses of managed honey bee colonies nationwide totaled 33.8 percent from all causes from October 2009 to April 2010, according to a survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

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A weed calculator developed by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist tells ranchers the number of additional cows they could raise if they eliminated one or two widespread exotic invasive weeds.

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A team of scientists from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and the University of Florida’s Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) have turned an ornamental plant into a tool for combating a bacterial disease that threatens the world’s citrus crop.

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Researchers studied the impact of grass and grass/tree buffer strips on three herbicides commonly used in agriculture. The scientists studied the transport of the herbicides in both surface runoff and subsurface infiltration during two growing seasons.

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Higher demand for organically grown foods has farmers seeking new methods to increase crop yields and reduce weeds without the use of chemicals. One very practical solution uses a readily available resource and requires no additional costs or time-consuming weeding and cultivating. It is, simply, maximizing the light of the sun.

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An Agricultural Research Service (ARS ) scientist may have found a way to cut the amount of ammonia produced by cattle, using a key ingredient of the brewer’s art: hops.

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NU announced a $50 million founding gift commitment from the Robert B. Daugherty Charitable Foundation for a global Water for Food Institute. The gift, one of the largest in NU’s history, will create a center for research, education and policy analysis on the use of water for agriculture.

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Incoming raw poultry is the primary source of Listeria monocytogenes contamination in commercial chicken cooking plants, according to a 21-month study conducted by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their collaborators at the University of Georgia.

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Small but mighty, a beneficial microbe called Muscodor albus may help protect fresh grapes from troublesome gray mold. Experiments conducted over the past several years by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant pathologist Joseph L. Smilanick and his ARS and industry colleagues have shown that M. albus can combat Botrytis cinerea, the organism that causes gray mold.

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Commercial growers and home gardeners nowadays have many great strawberry varieties to choose from, thanks to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists have long-term studies under way to examine growing camelina as a bioenergy crop for producing jet fuel for the military and the aviation industry.

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Instructors at Colorado State University implement case studies into a course on World Agriculture Issues. The results demonstrate the benefits of case studios in improving higher order learning and motivating students.

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Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists are figuring out how to turn wheat straw into ethanol “gold,” and learning more about the bacteria that can “infect” ethanol plants and interfere with fuel production.

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Rangelands—Exotic plant species are invading the world’s rangelands at an unprecedented rate, imposing both ecological and economic costs. Identifying the causes of invasive plant expansion can contribute to the planning and execution of successful management techniques. Collaboration between resource managers and research scientists is needed to offer future generations more effective strategies to prevent and control invasive plant species.

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Self-pollinating almond trees that can produce a bountiful harvest without insect pollination are being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists.

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A new review of scientific literature finds that removal of crop residue for biofuels can adversely impact soil and environmental quality. Conversely, dedicated energy crops can increase soil organic carbon concentration while providing biofuel feedstock.

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Scientists investigate kernel development in a large-seeded sorghum line and its hybrid in comparison with normal-seeded lines and hybrids. They examine pre-fertilization floret and ovary development and analyzed post-fertilization kernel-filling characteristics. The goal is to determine what factors influence the development of large seeded sorghum, in order to develop higher grain-yielding varieties.

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Tomorrow's fragrant bouquets and colorful potted plants might last longer, thanks to ARS floriculture research.

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An Agricultural Research Service (ARS) plant molecular biologist says Asian wheat may offer novel genes for shoring up the defenses of U.S. varieties against Fusarium graminearum fungi that cause Fusarium head blight disease.

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A unique collection of St. John’s wort (Hypericum) curated by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Ames, Iowa, is providing university collaborators with genetically diverse, well-documented sources of this herb to use in studies examining its medicinal potential.

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Two new articles in the March/April 2010 issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal look back on the challenges, impact, and lessons the Soil Science Society of America learned from bringing an often misunderstood and underrepresented science to a museum that sees over six million visitors a year. “Dig it!” encourages non-traditional soil education techniques, increased public outreach, and new partnerships.

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Scientists present a new methodology that offers a reliable measurement of the biodegradable organic matter content in organic solid materials, useful for researchers and industrial operators.

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Can native or introduced grasses offer sustainable harvest for biofuels?

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Forget top-to-bottom only. New Cornell University evolutionary biology research shows how plants at the bottom of the food chain have evolved mechanisms that influence ecosystem dynamics as well.

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Scientists may have made a discovery that could lead to higher corn yields in the United States. In research published in the March 2010 issue of the journal GENETICS, scientists used tropical maize from Mexico and Thailand to discover chromosome regions responsible for detecting seasonal changes in flowering time. This discovery may lead to higher crop yields, improved disease resistance, and heartier plants able to withstand severe weather.

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Weeds often thrive in noncrop areas such as levees, roadsides, and field borders, but they can be suppressed by planting native grasses and treating the area with herbicides, according to an article in the January–March 2010 issue of Invasive Plant Science and Management.