Texas A&M Study Investigates Strip Tillage

Kelly MarshallFruit, Research, Tillage

Drs. Daniel Leskovar, Yahia Othman and Xuejun Dong at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center have been researching conservation tillage methods that may offer benefits to high-value crops and the effect of strip tillage on soil biological activity. The study, titled “Strip tillage improves soil biological activity, fruit yields and sugar content of triploid watermelon,” investigated the influence of … Read More

Nufarm’s Mycoshield Showing Positive Results

Kelly MarshallAudio, Fruit, Nufarm

The Potato Expo in San Fansisco earlier this month gave Chuck Zimmerman a chance to talk to Nufarm Manager of Tech Services, Alan Haack about an issue affecting the home state of AgWired’s world headquarters. Citrus greening has devastated the citrus industry of Florida, affecting half of the state’s fruit production. Last year the Florida Commissioner of Agriculture declared a … Read More

NR Gene Assembles Strawberry Genome

Joanna SchroederFruit, Genotyping

NRGene has successfully assembled the strawberry genome. While most plant, animal and human genomes are diploid with two variant for each gene, the strawberry has eight nearly identical copies of each gene. According to NRGene, this has made accurate phasing difficult, until the company used its DeNovoMAGICTM 3.0. In only two weeks, the octoploid, heterozygous strawberry genome was assembled using … Read More

High Tunnel Farming Means More Fresh Produce

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Fruit, Local, Vegetables

Consumers in Tennessee don’t often find freshly grown local vegetables year round, but that’s exactly what Falcon Ride Farm is producing.  Their popular CSA program provides the local community with fruit and vegetables throughout the year, thanks to the new high tunnel greenhouse design that lets farm owner, Bart Gilmer regulate interior temperatures more easily. “We are very excited about … Read More

Forecast Calls for Dormex

Cindy ZimmermanFruit, Grapes

The strongest El Nino on record is causing serious rainfall across the country and growers are more concerned than ever about proper application timing to get the best results from their plant growth regulator (PGR) and Dormex® can help. Dormex® growth regulator is a chemical “dormancy breaking” agent and has proven to be rainfast within as little as 4 hours. … Read More

Feed A Bee Plants Over 65M Flowers In 2015

Taylor TruckeyBayer CropScience, Bees, environment, Food, Fruit, Honeybees

Bayer’s Feed A Bee campaign successfully planted over 65 million flowers in 2015 thanks to the support and contributions of consumers and industry partners. More than 250,000 consumers joined the initiative to feed pollinators as the Feed a Bee website and #FeedABee hashtag went viral. By the end of the year, more than 70 organizations joined the fight pledging thousands … Read More

Cambridge Consultants Develops Breakthrough Robot

Kelly MarshallAgribusiness, Fruit, Robot, Vegetables

The product design and development firm, Cambridge Consultants, has created a breakthrough in the food chain.  The team there has created a robot designed to handle complex tasks like sorting fruits and vegetables or removing specific weeds from a field. “Traditional robots struggle when it comes to adapting to deal with uncertainty,” said Chris Roberts, head of industrial robotics at … Read More

Harvest After Rain Enhances Food Safety

John DavisAgribusiness, Fruit, Vegetables

New research shows that waiting to harvest after a rain enhances food safety. This news release from Cornell University says rain or irrigation creates soil conditions that are more hospitable to Listeria monocytogenes, which when ingested may cause the human illness Listeriosis. Waiting to harvest crops reduces the risk of exposure to the pathogen, which could land on fresh produce. … Read More

Cornell Proves Honeybee Hives May Be Unnecessary

Kelly MarshallFruit, Honeybees, Research, University

Researchers from the Cornell Horticlutrue Section of the School of Intergrative Plant Science and the Department of Entomology have experimented with a rather surprising subject. The Cornell orchards in Ithaca are producing crisp apples– all without the aid of commercial hives of honeybees. “This is a food security issue,” said entomology professor Bryan Danforth. “We need to know if growers … Read More

USDA Test Measures Healthy Compounds

John DavisFruit, Research, USDA, Vegetables

A new test developed by U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists is now measuring the health-promoting compounds in fruits and vegetables. This story from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS) says the new analytical method is better for detecting and measuring concentrations of phytochemicals called “polyphenols” in plant materials. At the ARS Eastern Regional Research Center (ERRC) in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, … Read More