Ask most anyone what hay is, and they will tell you something like “dried grass that is fed to cows and horses during the winter.” Everyone has seen, either in real-life or […]
What is the difference between square and round hay bales?
What is the value of using crop wild relatives in potato breeding?
It may surprise you to learn that wild potatoes grow like weeds in South America. While farmers in the United States battle weeds like pigweed and lamb’s quarters, farmers in the Andes […]
What are the types of crops based on nutrition?
Plants-based foods are a major part of human nutrition and health. Human nutrients can be put into two main categories: macronutrients and micronutrients. The key to maintaining good health is to balance […]
How do plant partnerships help sustainability?
We are all familiar with human partnerships of many kinds, both mundane and fictional. In the mundane category is your typical carpool. In the fictional category are superheroes working together to save […]
Flavorful crops and their breeding challenges
When we think of food crops, we usually think of the basics. Wheat, corn, soy, potato and vegetable crops. These staple foods help sustain us for needed calories and nutrition. But, what […]
How are scientists making wheat more climate resilient?
Like humans, plants experience stress. One of those stresses is temperature changes. And, to continue having food security in a changing climate, scientists are working to make more heat resilient crops. Wheat […]
Polyploidy – or how do we get seedless fruit?
It’s quite possible that you have seen a commercial for “23 and Me”, advertising an ancestral DNA test. The “23” represents the DNA in a human being, contained in 23 chromosomes. Now […]
What are cover crops?
Cash crops like corn, soybean, wheat, rice, and cotton are responsible for most of the food and fiber consumed by humans and animals around the globe1. These annual crops and others are […]
The future of plant disease management
Just like human beings, plants get sick. Microorganisms such as fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses and nematodes (tiny worm like organisms) can infect their plant hosts, with deadly consequences. This might not be […]
Does it really matter when growers irrigate their crops?
Yes it does! Various crops are sensitive to water stress at different growth stages. The rule of thumb is that reproduction is sensitive to low moisture. The amount of moisture available at […]