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A novel approach for determining the effectiveness of conservation practices in reducing nitrate losses.

ARS scientists in collaboration with Israeli partners, developed a new formulation to protect beneficial fungi and nematodes from UV radiation.

A team from ARS and the University of Minnesota tested soil additives containing nitrogen-fixing microorganisms in a 3-year field study.

Pumping groundwater from local aquifers to irrigate crops has increased yields but is steadily reducing the supply of available water for future use.

An ARS research team along with the Southwest Climate Hub in Las Cruces, NM, developed a resource called The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas.

ARS researchers tested natamycin as a postharvest treatment to control and reduce fruit rot in blueberries.

A team of ARS researchers is providing farmers in Hawaii with new apps to help manage threats to their crops.

Scientific Discoveries highlights the national and international impact of ARS research on agriculture from the farmer's field to the consumer's table.

ARS scientists are examining one of the things that makes sorghum naturally resistant to weeds — a natural herbicide the plant secretes from its roots.

Study finds ammonium nitrate had 34% lower yield compared to poultry litter treated with alum.

ARS researchers and the USDA Southwest Climate Hub developed a new set of tools aiming at helping farmers, ranchers, and other stakeholders plan for serious environmental challenges.

Grass-Cast uses historical data about weather and vegetation growth to predict how much grass will be available for livestock grazing during the upcoming summer.

The "Haney Test" is an award-winning soil health tool that major soil testing laboratories are quickly adopting to determine optimal soil fertilizer rates.

Researchers are developing techniques to trap and transfer earwigs from stone fruit orchards to the pome fruit orchards where they are beneficial.

Developed by ARS's researchers, symbiont technology can be delivered to citrus trees in the field and is scalable from a few to millions of trees.

Researchers worked with the Quapaw tribe to create high-resolution digital maps of soil properties for their tribal lands.

ARS researchers have developed a tool that can provide more precise answers that lead to healthier plants and greater yields.

Researchers used the Lawson Aerator to evaluate the effectiveness of a mechanical treatment to renovate rangelands.

To support efficient water management, ARS researchers developed an open-source model, pyfao56, for precise crop water management.

Scientists at the Application Technology Research Unit in Wooster, OH, are discovering that silicon could be a key contributor to agriculture.

A team of researchers has combined satellite data with virtual fencing to turn ordinary livestock grazing into a powerful tool to reduce wildfire risk.

ARS researchers are developing new strategies to combat citrus greening

Scientists are investigating the effects of land use management practices on wildfires as part of USDA’s Long-Term Agroecosystem Research program.

ARS researchers recently developed and released three new pea cultivars that can be grown in the cooler months.

ARS scientists are sounding out a new way to improve biogas production and help the environment.

In recent years, farmers in the southeastern United States have struggled with the invasive guava root-knot nematode.

ARS researchers discovered that bees collect pollen from centipedegrass flower heads.

Scientists investigated practices that might help smallholder farmers increase sustainability of their lands and adapt to a changing climate.

ARS researchers examined rhododendron plants growing in native stands, looking for microbes that cause diseases that affect other plants.

Researchers developed a forecast tool to determine which areas have the highest probability of a large rangeland fire.

ARS researchers investigated whether vegetative filter strips could remove excess nitrogen from runoff.

Researchers have developed a new, easier way to find the answer to the question, "How much carbon is stored in soil?"

A long-term honey bee monitoring network helps researchers to better understand colony performance and survivorship over multiple seasons.

ARS researchers found that keeping plants in drainage ditches can benefit the aquatic ecosystem

ARS and University of California-Berkeley scientists are evaluating the potential of a parasitoid wasp to control the fruit fly, spotted wing drosophila.

ARS researchers are studying genetics and breeding to make honey bees more resilient.

Scientists are producing new strains of cotton that offer both quality and abundance.

ARS scientists are investigating ways to ensure agriculture can produce renewable fuels that will help diminish our carbon footprint.

ARS scientists are combatting pests and diseases affecting avocado production in the U.S.

Scientists conducted research on how farm management practices could maximize elephant grass’s utility as a bioethanol feedstock.

In the search for natural enemies of the emerald ash borer, one promising candidate is a tiny 5-7 millimeter-long parasitic wasp that lays its eggs on EAB larvae.

ARS scientists found that methyl benzoate can repel, and even kill, other insects and pests, including the spotted wing drosophila fly.

ARS researchers in Temple, TX, employed adaptive nutrient management to determine preferred balances on farms.

A team of researchers and their partners have found another way to conserve water: late planted corn.

Often viewed as pests, grasshoppers may have a larger environmental role to play.

ARS researchers have developed a unique mobile system that assesses and maps out soil carbon to a depth of 30 centimeters (the plow layer) – all in real time.

ARS scientists are investigating ways to ensure agriculture can produce renewable fuels that will help diminish our carbon footprint.

Beef producers in the western United States have been searching for alternatives to nitrogen-rich fertilizers .

ARS scientists are investigating ways to ensure agriculture can produce renewable fuels that will help diminish our carbon footprint.

A new variety of sugarcane has high fiber content, excellent regrowth ability, high stalk population, cold tolerance, disease resistance, and excellent biomass yield.

ARS scientists created a new potato variety with greater yields and better processing qualities, especially for making chips and fries.

Combining the biofumigant with an herbicide seems to curb infestations of purple nutsedge as well as reduce nematodes and the tomato wilt bacterium.

Researchers with the ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research Unit have identified a region of the honey bee genome linked to reduced colony defensiveness.

A new protocol addresses sources of variability and uncertainty in measuring microbial community composition and its connection with agricultural management and changing climate.

Scientists conducted research on how farm management practices could maximize elephant grass’s utility as a bioethanol feedstock.

ARS scientists studied Puerto Rican fungal strains as possible biological control agents for managing the coffee berry borer in an environmentally sustainable manner.

ARS is working with the Washington State Departments of Health and Agriculture and USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service to prevent the northern giant hornet, formerly known as Asian giant hornet, from becoming established in the United States.

Researchers discovered that sending cattle to feedlots earlier than the traditional timing of October may provide a two- fold benefit.

Scientists are looking into how they can improve upon the grass cattle put in their bellies and you put in your tank.

Planting cover crops and not tilling the soil improves the soil’s carbon balance with minimal impact on the water balance.

Researchers determined that winter camelina and pennycress are effective in reducing excess nitrogen and preventing its escape from farmland.

Promoting “manuresheds” to combat nutrient pollution while taking advantage of manure’s productive uses.

ARS scientists successfully used tung oil as the starting material for a new additive to improve the performance of diesel fuel.

ARS researchers released two new varieties of blackberry: ‘Twilight’ and ‘Hall’s Beauty.’

Intercropping perennial herbaceous crops with trees successfully increased organic soil carbon levels.

A team of ARS scientists in cooperation with Pacific Biosciences published the first genome of the invasive spotted lanternfly.

ARS researchers helped the United Kingdom improve the accuracy of its widely used weather-forecasting models.

Putting honey bees into indoor cold storage in October rather than November increases their chances of surviving the winter.

ARS is helping lead the mapping of the first complete genome of the Asian giant hornet.

Learn about the Keepsake strawberry developed by ARS

Scientists are using dogs to sniff out citrus orchards for the devastating pathogen HBL, also known as Citrus Greening.

ARS scientists have developed 'Liberty' a new switchgrass that is well adapted to the Upper Midwest and produces 530 gallons of bioethanol per acre.

Researchers found a way to distinguish between two citrus diseases that are similar in appearance, but dangerously different.

ARS researchers and their collaborator have demonstrated that an areawide mating disruption approach could control peach tree pests.

ARS scientists are looking into “attractive” ways to kill brown marmorated stink bugs.

A way to control mold while keeping the strawberries fresh and tasty.

Electrodialysis may not only benefit farmers, but also the environment by reducing nitrogen runoff from farms.

Cheatgrass outcompetes native plants for nutrients and water and deprives animals of dietary variety and quality as well as habitat.

ARS scientists recently released “Contender” peanut, which is high in oleic fatty acids.

ARS researchers are working to counter Emerald Ash borers with releases of the parasitic wasp Tetrastichus planipennisi and gene-based control.

A team of ARS and Boyce Thompson Institute researchers in Ithaca, NY, may have found a weak link in the citrus-greening disease cycle.

ARS researchers decided to examine the genetics that underpin broccoli's ability to cope with heat stress.

ARS researchers have created silver nanoparticles whose antimicrobial properties can be passed directly into the cotton fibers that make up fabrics and textiles.

Collaboration between ARS scientists and more than 30 national and international institutions resulted in two new pollinator bee genome sequences.

"Grass Roots", an exhibit developed by ARS scientists, educates the public on the importance, diversity, and benefits of turfgrass and their crop relatives.

Farmers can better determine how much or how little nitrogen to apply for optimal crop yields by using "Soil-Test Biological Activity" approach.

ARS researchers in New Orleans, LA, looked for an environmentally friendly, biobased alternative for cleaning cotton.

ARS Electron and Confocal Microscopy Research Unit helps expand the scientific understanding of microbes, pests, and pathogens that attack crops, infect livestock, and sicken thousands of people each year.

Researchers are exploring the use of robots to take on hazardous duties related to studying wind erosion of soils and the expansion of deserts.

35 years of research in turfgrass breeding and genetics has improved the very surface of the earth we walk on.

Researchers developed state-of-the-art sensors that estimate soil water levels using readings from electromagnetic pulses.

ARS researchers in Oregon have bred more than 20 varieties of hops since the 1950s.

A team led by ARS scientists in Wooster, OH, developed and tested the smarter sprayer technology.

Researchers have developed a self-propelled apple-harvest and in-field-sorting prototype machine.

ARS scientists investigated using a robotic vision system, RoTSE, to prune fruit trees during the winter.

ARS scientists are exploring ways to convert household waste into methane and ethanol that can be used to power trucks or generators

ARS scientists have come up with a game-changing water purification technology to remove nitrogen from wastewater at one-third the cost of existing technologies.

Work by the U.S. Wheat and Barley Scab Initiative, an ARS-led coalition, has reduced scab losses eightfold since 2004.

In an effort to reduce cooking time, ARS scientists discovered that genetic differences exist among beans that determine how long it takes the bean to cook.

Scientists have saved millions of gallons of water by developing an automated irrigation scheduling system that targets water to where and when it is needed most.

ARS scientists have developed management strategies that reduce the buildup of dry plant material that fuels large wildfires.

ARS scientists are working with satellite imagery in collaboration with grape growers to improve irrigation water management on vineyards that stretch across thousands of acres.

Two oilseed crops that are good for pollinators—pennycress and camelina—can fit into profitable rotations with corn and soybeans.

ARS scientists have shown that anaerobic soil disinfestation is a promising alternative to methyl bromide fumigation.

ARS scientists have made breakthroughs in producing passenger tires with guayule rubber.

ARS has developed the LandPKS app to help farmers better monitor their soil and crop conditions to make better decisions about irrigating, weeding, and fertilizing crops.

ARS scientists released two new varieties of potatoes—'Clearwater Russet' and 'Blazer Russet'—that will be used by McDonald's for French fries.

Reducing tillage timing and frequency on 4 million acres of low-precipitation-zone wheat can save 1.75 million gallons of diesel fuel annually.

ARS, in collaboration with NASA, developed the iSnobal model--a new technology for forecasting water supply derived from melting snow.

Collaboration between ARS scientists and more than 30 national and international institutions resulted in two new pollinator bee genome sequences.

ARS scientists have developed and released "Hidden Valley" meadow fescue.

A new garbage-processing technology reduces the municipal solid waste disposal in landfills and generates a co-product that can be used to reclaim damaged soils.

ARS researchers developed a new heat treatment for use during the sugarcane juice clarification process to eliminate microbial contamination.

ARS researchers are improving bioenergy production to advance the economic feasibility of producing high-quality biodiesel and jet fuels from renewable biomass.

ARS scientists and collaborators developed and released the new OLé peanut.

ARS scientists and collaborators have developed two new tools to improve water hyacinth control.

ARS scientists made significant enhancements to the Soil and Water Assessment Tool.

ARS helped the National Aeronautics and Space Administration with the launch of SMAP , a new satellite measuring the amount of water in top soil layers around the world.