(USDA/ARS) — Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their colleagues have discovered a gene that can be used to develop varieties of wheat that will be more resistant to Fusarium Head Blight (FHB), a disease that is a major threat both overseas and to the nation’s $10 billion annual wheat crop. A paper reporting the discovery and the cloning of …
Researchers Put Cornstarch to Use Fighting Pests
(USDA/ARS) — Add yet another use for cornstarch—besides thickening soups and gravies, making adhesives, soothing skin and removing stains. Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Peoria, Illinois, are now using the versatile commodity to make products that can fight insect pests, prevent disease and decay and impart water resistance to surfaces. Underpinning that effort is the team’s use of patented …
New Test Identifies Poisonous Mushrooms
(USDA/ARS) — A simple, portable test that can detect the deadliest of the mushroom poisons in minutes has been developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their colleagues. Eating toxic mushrooms causes more than 100 deaths a year, globally, and leaves thousands of people in need of urgent medical assistance. Amanitin is the class of mushroom toxins that cause …
Researchers Fortify Queen of the Forages with Disease Defense
(USDA/ARS) — Alfalfa is often called the “Queen of the Forages” due to its high yield, feed quality for ruminant animals, nitrogen fixation and pollinator habitat among other environmental services. But this royal member of the legume family is no match against the host of microbes that cause the disease complex known as “crown rot.” Chemical controls aren’t effective against …
Survey Reveals Crucial Data on Fusarium Head Blight
(USDA/ARS) — A national U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) survey, published recently in Plant Disease, provides the first large-scale, systematic insight into how wheat and barley growers manage Fusarium head blight (FHB), also known as scab, and where they get information on how to control this destructive disease. FHB can reduce a farmer’s yield and affect quality, lowering the price of …
Research Probe Ways to Increase Yields of Grain Crops
(USDA/ARS) — Scientists with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) are working on field trials and genetic studies that could one day double the yields of sorghum, which is one of the world’s most important sources of food, animal feed and biofuel.  The efforts follow recent discoveries by ARS scientist Zhanguo Xin, who is based in …
World’s First True Red Spinach Variety Released
(USDA/ARS) — USDA Red, the world’s first true red spinach variety has been developed and released by the Agricultural Research Service. Spinach has always been known as a green leafy vegetable. There are leafy vegetables often called red spinach. But these are actually red-leaf amaranths (Amaranthus spp.) or other plants such as Red Goosefoot (Blitum rubrum), not true spinach (Spinacia …
Deformed Wing Virus Genetic Diversity in U.S. Honey Bees Complicates Search For Remedies
(USDA/ARS) — Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), one of the leading causes of honey bee colony losses, is much more genetically diverse in the United States than previously thought, according to a study published by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in PLoS Biology. The diverse lineages of this virus are all equally bad for bees, and they make it more complicated to …
ARS and U.S. Army Join Forces to Revitalize Soil with Paper
(USDA/ARS-Oct. 2, 2019) — The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is helping to arm the U.S. military with a solution to two major environmental problems: the disposal of paper waste and revegetating damaged training grounds. Under federal regulations, U.S. Army classified papers must be pulverized to a fine consistency, which leaves the material unsuitable for recycling. Continued disposal of this waste …
New Tool Improves Beekeepers’ Overwintering Odds and Bottom Line
TUCSON, ARIZONA (ARS – September 18, 2019) — A new tool from the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) can predict the odds that honey bee colonies overwintered in cold storage will be large enough to rent for almond pollination in February. Identifying which colonies will not be worth spending dollars to overwinter can improve beekeepers’ bottom line. Beekeepers have been losing …