Agricuture News - March 2010 Archives

Keeping cattle cool and stress-free is goal of ARS study (3/31/2010)

Identifying the causes of heat stress in cattle and finding ways to manage it are the goals of Agricultural Research Service scientists and cooperators who are helping producers deal with this significant production problem. ...> Full Article

Researchers look at reducing yield loss for crops under stress (3/31/2010)

Research being done at Iowa State University's Plant Sciences Institute could show how plants in dry areas of the world can overcome the stress of the environment and produce profitable crops. Understanding and eventually curbing crop susceptibility to certain stresses could allow for higher yields during drought years in the agricultural areas of the world. It may also allow drier areas of the planet to support sustainable yields and profitable crops. ...> Full Article

Sugarcane okay in standing water, helps protect Everglades (3/31/2010)

A study by Agricultural Research Service scientists shows that sugarcane can tolerate flooded conditions for up to two weeks. That's good news for growers who are using best management practices for controlling phosphorous runoff into the Everglades. ...> Full Article

Even soil feels the heat (3/30/2010)

Twenty years of field studies reveal that as the Earth has gotten warmer, plants and microbes in the soil have given off more carbon dioxide. So-called soil respiration has increased about one-tenth of 1 percent per year since 1989, according to an analysis of past studies in today's issue of Nature. ...> Full Article

How will tree diseases react to climate change? (3/30/2010)

Scientists synthesize information about interactions of climate change, plant pathogens and forests in a new report for managers titled "Review of Literature on Climate Change and Forest Diseases of Western North America." This project includes an online "Annotated Bibliography of Climate and Forest Diseases of Western North America." Citations and summaries for over 1000 records of journal articles and working papers on forest pathogens and climate are retrievable by author, topic, species or geographic area. ...> Full Article

'A-maize-ing' discovery could lead to higher corn yields for food, feed and fuel (3/29/2010)

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. ...> Full Article

Bringing better grapes a step closer to reality (3/29/2010)

A team of Agricultural Research Service researchers has found a way to speed up grape breeding by developing a way to identify genetic markers in the grapevine's genome that can be linked with specific traits, such as fruit quality, environmental adaptation, and disease and pest resistance. ...> Full Article

Scientists take animal breeding to the next level (3/28/2010)

University of Alberta scientists have successfully sequenced the genome of two influential bulls, one beef and one dairy, the first animals to have been fully sequenced in Canada. ...> Full Article

The quality of the tomato depends more on temperature than on natural light (3/28/2010)

A team from the Basque Institute for Agricultural Research and Development has questioned the generally held belief that the quality of tomatoes depends primarily on their exposure to natural light and states that the most determining factor is temperature. ...> Full Article

Chicken house attics can be tapped to warm broilers (3/27/2010)

Reducing the cost of keeping broiler chickens warm could result from research by Agricultural Research Service scientists and university cooperators. ...> Full Article

An organic approach to pest control -- releasing super-sexed (but sterile) male insects (3/26/2010)

An improved method for sustainable pest control using "super-sexed" but sterile male insects to copulate with female ones is being developed by agricultural researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The scientists thus hope to offer yet another efficient and promising avenue for supplying produce to the market by eliminating pests without damage to the environment. ...> Full Article

Giant sequoias yield longest fire history from tree rings (3/25/2010)

A 3,000-year record from 52 of the world's oldest trees shows that California's western Sierra Nevada was droughty and often fiery from 800 to 1300, according to new research. Scientists reconstructed the region's history of fire by dating fire scars on ancient giant sequoia trees, Sequoiadendron giganteum, in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park. Individual giant sequoias can live more than 3,000 years and are considered the world's largest trees by volume. ...> Full Article

Prior herbicide use - not irrigation - is critical to herbicide efficacy (3/24/2010)

Crop and herbicide use history are more critical to herbicide efficacy and environmental safety than the timing and amount of irrigation water used, according to Agricultural Research Service scientists. ...> Full Article

Estimating ethanol yields from CRP croplands (3/23/2010)

The scramble to find sufficient land for biofuel production has experts eyeing marginal croplands that have been placed in the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Now a study by Agricultural Research Service scientists indicates that plant species diversity and composition are key factors in potential energy yield per acre from biomass harvested from CRP land. ...> Full Article

New biotech advance to add heart healthy omega-3s to US diet (3/23/2010)

A new heart-healthy, essential omega-3 fatty acid is about to improve an American pantry staple: soybean oil. US soybean farmers are applying this scientific advance and other biotechnology to benefit the environment, human health and feed the world. ...> Full Article

Tryptophan-enriched diet reduces pig aggression (3/22/2010)

Feeding the amino acid tryptophan to young female pigs as part of their regular diet makes them less aggressive and easier to manage, according to a study by Agricultural Research Service scientists and cooperators. ...> Full Article

Major report reveals the environmental and social impact of the 'livestock revolution' (3/22/2010)

Global meat production has tripled in the past three decades and could double its present level by 2050, according to a major report on the livestock industry by an international team of scientists and policy experts. The impact of this "livestock revolution" is likely to have significant consequences for human health, the environment and the global economy, the authors conclude. ...> Full Article

Researchers introducing sustainable agriculture practices to improve food security (3/21/2010)

Two Virginia Tech professors are leading research teams that will work with scientists and small-scale farmers in South America and the Caribbean to increase food production, improve soil quality, and reduce risks associated with climate change. Central to both projects are conservation agriculture techniques. ...> Full Article

Smithsonian hosts 2010 International CAM Workshop in Panama (3/20/2010)

Researchers from nine countries will discuss one system that plants use to cope with stress at the 2010 International CAM Workshop, hosted by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute at the Earl S. Tupper Research and Conference Center in Panama City, Panama, from March 22-24, 2010. ...> Full Article

Wine vine: Microscopic photography reveals bacteria destroying grape plant cell wall (3/20/2010)

Like a band of detectives surveying the movement of a criminal, researchers using photographic technology have caught at least one culprit in the act. In this case, electron microscopy was used to watch a deadly bacteria breakdown cell walls in wine grape plants -- an image that previously had not been witnessed. ...> Full Article

Plants discover the benefits of good neighbors in strategy against herbivores (3/19/2010)

Scandinavian Scientists have discovered that a species of tree defends itself from herbivore attack by using chemicals emitted by neighboring plants. The study, published today in New Phytologist, reveals how species of Birch tree absorb chemical compounds from neighboring Marsh tea plants, Rhondodendron tomentosum, in a unique "defense by neighbor strategy." ...> Full Article

The effect of landscape position on biomass crop yield (3/19/2010)

Scientists investigate differences in woody and herbaceous crop productivity and biomass yield as a function of landscape position at the field scale. ...> Full Article

First parasitic nematodes reported in biofuel crops (3/18/2010)

Researchers at the Energy Biosciences Institute at the University of Illinois have discovered widespread occurrence of plant-parasitic nematodes in the first reported nematode survey of Miscanthus and switchgrass plants used for biofuels. ...> Full Article

Geraniums could help control devastating Japanese beetle (3/18/2010)

Geraniums may hold the key to controlling the devastating Japanese beetle, which feeds on nearly 300 plant species and costs the ornamental plant industry $450 million in damage each year, according to scientists with the Agricultural Research Service. ...> Full Article

Sea lice treatment increased in Norwegian fish breeding in 2009 (3/18/2010)

A large increase in sales of agents used in sea lice infestations was seen in 2009. There was also a smaller increase in the use of antibacterials and anesthetics for fish. Sales of anthelmintics and fungicides were lower than in 2008. Increasing resistance to sea lice treatment has led to the reintroduction of many older drugs that have not been used for many years. ...> Full Article

New lentil being readied for market (3/17/2010)

"Essex," a new lentil variety developed by Agricultural Research Service scientists, has a lot to offer: high seed yields for growers, nitrogen-fixing bacteria for wheat crops, and a tasty source of protein for consumers to add to soups, salads and other fare. ...> Full Article

Arctic Seed Vault becomes world's most diverse collection of crop diversity (3/17/2010)

Days after celebrating its second anniversary, the Svalbard "Doomsday" Global Seed Vault is receiving this week thousands of new seeds that will push its collection to more than half a million unique samples, making it the most diverse assemblage of crop diversity ever amassed anywhere in the world. ...> Full Article

Plants in mining areas can cure soil affected by contamination in very short time (3/16/2010)

When conditions become complicated, there is no choice but to adapt to them. Plants have to do the same. Some of them growing in mining areas have unusual strengths, accustomed as they are to living in a toxic environment and knowing how to deal with this. Based on this capacity to adapt, researcher Ms. Lur Epelde used these plants as medicinal herbs for contaminated soils. ...> Full Article

UC Riverside to host 3-day international meeting on drought (3/15/2010)

To compare drought impact and mitigation at the international level, UC Riverside has organized a meeting that will bring together senior drought experts and policy makers from five drought-plagued regions: Spain, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and California. The "International Drought Symposium: Integrating Science and Policy" will take place March 24-26, 2010, at the Riverside Marriott Hotel, 3400 Market St., Riverside, Calif. Topics to be covered include economics, agronomy, hydrology, ecology, technology, policy and water management. ...> Full Article

The use of cover crops in vineyards can help control the yield and quality of grapes and wine (3/15/2010)

Correct management of soil and irrigation is a vital factor in modern viticulture, due to the influence of the water balance of the vineyard on wine quality and the environmental impact of agricultural practices on vineyard soils. ...> Full Article

Plant hormone increases cotton yields in drought conditions (3/14/2010)

A naturally occurring class of plant hormones called cytokinins has been found to help increase cotton yields during drought conditions. ...> Full Article

Development of more muscular trout could boost commercial aquaculture (3/13/2010)

A 10-year effort by a URI scientist to develop transgenic rainbow trout with enhanced muscle growth has yielded fish with what have been described as six-pack abs and muscular shoulders that could provide a boost to the commercial aquaculture industry. ...> Full Article

Healing native rangeland may require combination of burning and rotational grazing (3/12/2010)

The application of summer patch burning to heal native rangeland may be best accomplished using rotational grazing, according to a Texas AgriLife Research range ecologist. Dr. Richard Teague recently completed a study of native rangeland vegetation and soils subjected to summer patch burns followed by cattle being allowed to graze either continuously or using a rotational grazing system. ...> Full Article

Researchers examine plant's ability to identify, block invading bacteria (3/11/2010)

Understanding how plants defend themselves from bacterial infections may help researchers understand how people and other animals could be better protected from such pathogens. That's the idea behind a study to observe a specific bacteria that infects tomatoes but normally does not bother the common laboratory plant arabidopsis. ...> Full Article

Creating a dream breed (3/10/2010)

Blackspot seabream is a prized fish on many Spanish tables but it grows slowly at sea, is heavily overfished and is incredibly diffcult to farm. No European company had successfully bred it until one Galician company teamed up with a a local partner and Norwegian nutritionists to develop a method as a EUREKA project. ...> Full Article

Asexual plant reproduction may seed new approach for agriculture (3/9/2010)

An HHMI scientist has moved a step closer to turning sexually-reproducing plants into asexual reproducers, a finding that could have profound implications for agriculture. ...> Full Article

Can corn be taught to fix its own nitrogen? (3/8/2010)

Nitrogen fertilization is essential for profitable corn production. It also is a major cost of production and can contribute to degradation of the environment. Is it possible to "teach" corn to fix its own nitrogen, thus eliminating the need for nitrogen fertilizer applications? University of Illinois agricultural engineer Kaustubh Bhalerao believes it may be, through research in an emerging area of engineering called synthetic biology. ...> Full Article

Assessing antibiotic breakdown in manure (3/7/2010)

Agricultural Research Service scientist Scott Yates is studying how oxytetracycline, an antibiotic that is administered to animals, breaks down in cattle manure. ...> Full Article

Cows like leaves their tongues can wrap around easily (3/6/2010)

Lots of leaves growing in easy reach of a cow's tongue means less time and less land needed to raise beef cattle. ...> Full Article

Tough new spuds take on double trouble (3/5/2010)

Five new potato breeding lines being tested by Agricultural Research Service scientists and collaborators could open the door to new varieties of the crop that resist powdery scab and black dot diseases. ...> Full Article

International team of scientists to meet in Panama to discuss future of the world's forests (3/4/2010)

To monitor forests' response to change requires massive data sets. The Smithsonian's Center for Tropical Forest Science and Earthwatch train volunteers to measure trees -- giving them a new perspective on life and resulting in new insights into biodiversity and climate change. ...> Full Article

Discovery in legumes could reduce fertilizer use, aid environment: Stanford researchers (3/3/2010)

Escalating use of nitrogen fertilizer is increasing algal blooms and global warming, but a discovery by Stanford researchers could begin to reverse that. They have revealed a key step in how symbiotic bacteria living in legumes turn nitrogen into plant food, which could be used to improve the process in some plants, reducing the need for chemical fertilizers. ...> Full Article

What is the 'grand challenge' facing the future of agriculture? (3/2/2010)

What are the top research questions facing agriculture? Earlier this year, the American Society of Agronomy sought out the opinions of its members and leadership to develop a Grand Challenge statement, key questions and expected outcomes. ...> Full Article

Log exports down, lumber exports up in Washington and Oregon in 2009 (3/1/2010)

A total of 697.3 million board feet of softwood logs was exported from Washington and Oregon in 2009, according to data released by the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station. During the same period, the two states exported a total of 344.2 million board feet of softwood lumber. ...> Full Article