Tag: USDA
-
New Measure Developed of Irrigation Water Requirements
The Agricultural Research Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has devised a new method for measuring the water requirements of crops, based on the yield per drop of water actually taken in by the crops. A company is now developing instruments and software to measure and manage the amounts of water absorbed…
-
USDA Develops Cooked Corn-Soy Meal Supplement Product
The Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed a fully cooked food-aid product called Instant Corn Soy Blend that supplements meals, particularly for young children. The work was led by food technologist Charles Onwulata at the USDA’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania. A nutritionally fortified and processed corn-soy blend…
-
Surfactants Discovered Among Naturally Occurring Yeasts
Scientists with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Peoria, Illinois have found naturally-grown yeasts that can produce molecules with surfactant properties. Surfactants are wetting agents that lower a liquid’s surface tension, used in a variety of consumer and industrial products, and normally derived from petroleum. Surfactants work by enabling the cleaning solution to fully wet…
-
Grant Funds Research on Developing Corn for Warmer Climate
A $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will fund Iowa State University researchers in Ames developing a corn variety that maintains the region’s high yields as temperatures rise. Professor Alan Myers and Tracie Hennen-Bierwagen, associate scientist, will join with colleagues from University of Wisconsin, Madison and the University of Florida, Gainesville on…
-
Grant Funds Research on Dairy Production Efficiency
Michigan State University in East Lansing has received a $5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to study the genetics of cattle breeding to develop cows that can produce more milk on less feed. The grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture is funded under the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative.…
-
International Consortium Sequences Wheat Pathogen Genome
A group of agricultural scientists has sequenced the genome of a pathogen that causes the wheat disease septoria tritici blotch, responsible for severe crop losses. Their findings appeared 9 June 2011 in the journal PLoS Genetics. The consortium, led by USDA plant pathologist Steven Goodwin included researchers from the U.S., Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Iran,…
-
Initiative Aims to Improve Honey Bee Health
An initiative led by several universities and supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture seeks to establish a nationwide network to monitor and maintain honey bee health. The program, called the Bee Informed Partnership, is funded by a $5 million grant from USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture. Beekeeping is not only an industry…
-
Software Helps Farmers Determine Pesticide Spray Dates
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has developed software that helps farmers decide on the best days to spray pesticides on their fields. The software was developed by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service at its Fort Collins, Colorado research facility. The software, called PhenologyMMS (Modular Modeling System), was developed by agronomist Greg McMaster and plant science technician…
-
U.S. Meat, Poultry Found with Drug-Resistant Staph Bacteria
A study in five cities by the Translational Genomics Research Institute in Phoenix, Arizona finds drug-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) in meat and poultry from U.S. grocery stores at unexpectedly high rates. The study’s findings appear in today in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases. S. aureus is a bacteria linked to a wide…
-
Elm Variety Discovered with Possible Disease Resistance
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists believe they have found a missing variety of American elm tree with genes that carry resistance to Dutch elm disease. Botanist Alan Whittemore and geneticist Richard Olsen, with the USDA’s National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., will publish their findings in the April edition of the American Journal of…