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Sowing a more sustainable future

By Guest PostJune 3, 2013Generalbetter nutrition, cereal crops, common beans, consumption, country, cowpeas, drought, Economy, ecuador, farmers, food sources, Gerardine Mukeshimana, Health, high altitude zones, hilly terrain, Jim Kelly, knowledge, lima beans, Michigan State, millions of Rwandans, people of Rwanda, root, Rwanda Agriculture Board, rwandan genocide, sources of carbohydrates, united states, Widows

One of the keys to better nutrition and health for the people of Rwanda fits in the palm of a hand: legumes. But despite their nutritional punch, legumes—including common beans, cowpeas, and lima beans—are highly susceptible to drought and disease. That’s what brought MSU scientists to Rwanda, which has the world’s highest bean consumption per capita, to work on breeding heartier varieties that can sustain the people and economy of the country.

To increase yields, MSU’s Jim Kelly, a professor of crop and soil sciences who has been developing bean varieties for more than 30 years, is introducing new varieties as well as educational materials to help farmers grow them successfully. Using traditional methods that don’t require genetic manipulation, Kelly has bred climbing beans, as opposed to bush-like beans, that already have improved yields from a quarter ton per acre to four tons per acre in the country’s high-altitude, steep, hilly terrain. (more…)

Reaching more farmers

By Guest PostMay 12, 2013Environmentag professionals, corn, cropping system, economic activity, environmental impacts, expert, farmers, hancock, herbicide issues, insect pests, jeff gunsolus, john dosdall, minnesota, paul groneberg, pests in field, production of food, soybean aphid, soybeans, u extension, university of minnesota, weed science, western minnesota

Since its inception in 1909, University of Minnesota Extension has worked with farmers to find solutions to their biggest challenges. And, since we all eat—our biggest challenges. For the past 25 years, Extension has shared the U’s expertise by educating agriculture professionals, who in turn have the most influence on crop farmers today.

Keeping agriculture professionals on top of current research helps ensure economically and environmentally responsible cropping decisions are made throughout the state. (more…)

Malawi’s Bountiful Harvests and Healthier Children

By Guest PostFebruary 25, 2013Environment, Generalboston, bountiful harvests, bushy legumes, crop diversity, crop yields, ekwendi, farmers, fertilizers, field trials, healthier children, initiative, malawi, michigan state university, msu ecologist, nitrogen, northern malawi, nutrients, on farm experimentation, pigeonpea mixtures, productivity, rotating corn, secrets, shrubby legume, sieglinde snapp, soil health, success, truly sustainable project, usaid, villages

In Malawi, the fields are full – and so are the children.

Through research led by Michigan State University, crop yields have increased dramatically. The children of Ekwendi, Malawi, also have gained weight and are taller. These improvements bring smiles to Sieglinde Snapp, MSU ecologist, and other researchers who have worked in Malawi for many years.

Snapp, a crop and soil scientist at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station, shared the secrets of the initiative’s success at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Feb. 14-18 in Boston. (more…)

UA Entomologists Partner with China to Thwart Bollworm Resistance to Bt Cotton

By Guest PostFebruary 21, 2013Environment, Sciencearizona, arizona cotton growers, bacillus thuringiensis, bacterium, battle against bollworms, bruce tabashnik, bt, bt toxin, caterpillars, China, chinese academy, chinese scientists, combat insect resistance, cotton bollworm, cotton crops, cotton farms, cotton in china, cotton plants, entomologists, farmers, genetically engineered, kongming wu, new weapon, pink bollworm, pink bollworm moths, spraying insecticides, university of arizona, xianchun li

Researchers at the UA are studying resistance in pink bollworm in China and working to develop strategies against it.

University of Arizona entomologists are joining forces with scientists on the other side of the globe to protect cotton in China from potentially devastating insect pests.

Xianchun Li, associate professor of entomology in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Bruce Tabashnik, head of the department of entomology, both members of the UA BIO5 Institute, are partnering with Chinese scientists to combat insect resistance to genetically engineered cotton plants. (more…)

After the Storm, Haiti’s Food Situation Looks Bleak

By Guest PostDecember 11, 2012Economy, Environment, Politicsafter the storm, aftermath, agriculture, athena kolbe, bleak outlook, chronic underdevelopment, destruction, economic efforts, Economy, education, employment, farmers, financial assistance, food crisis, food insecurity, haiti leaders, households, hurricane sandy, marie puccio, michigan, natural disaster, natural disasters, political scienc, rain triggered mudslides, robert muggah, southern haiti, university, urban center, village market, violent crime

ANN ARBOR — The aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, which ripped through southern Haiti in October, will extend beyond destruction and injury. The current and future food security looks bleak barring significant intervention during the next year, according to a University of Michigan report.

Rain-triggered mudslides throughout the country from the hurricane has not only washed out homes, but also roadways and bridges—bringing transportation to a near standstill, says Athena Kolbe, the report’s lead author and a U-M doctoral candidate in social work and political science. The natural disaster compounded Haiti’s long struggles to transport enough produce from the countryside to village markets and major urban centers. (more…)

Barley getting by

By Guest PostNovember 4, 2012Sciencebarley genome, crops, cycle, disease resistance, drought, euphrates, farmers, fertile crescent, food security, function, fungus, fusarium, gary muehlbauer, genes, heat tolerance, idaho, malting quality, mediterranean coast, mesopotamia, minnesota, montana, nile valley, nitrogen use, nomads, north dakota, persian gulf, pests, planet, plant genetics, sequencing, tigris, university, valley, western world, yield

Sequencing the barley genome will sow many benefits

Some 10,000 years ago, people found they didn’t have to live as nomads, hunting and gathering all their food. In the Fertile Crescent, they started planting crops.

The Fertile Crescent extended from the Nile Valley and along the eastern Mediterranean Coast, through the Tigris and Euphrates valleys of Mesopotamia and down to the Persian Gulf. There, the foundation crops of the Western World were first domesticated. (more…)

Increasing Predator-Friendly Land Can Help Farmers Reduce Costs

By Guest PostMay 17, 2012Environmentcrop pests, crops, doug landis, farmers, farming areas, insecticides, ladybugs, landscape scale, megan woltz, michigan state university, natural habitat, natural killer, pest control, pests, predatory insects, rufus isaacs, soybean aphids, soybean fields, soybean pest, united states

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Having natural habitat in farming areas that supports ladybugs could help increase their abundance in crops where they control pests and help farmers reduce their costs, says a Michigan State University study.

Ladybugs and other predatory insects eat crop pests, saving farmers an estimated $4.6 billion a year on insecticides. Non-crop plants provide these predatory insects with food and shelter, helping them to survive and thrive in areas where they are needed. In an attempt to increase benefits from predatory insects, researchers have often planted strips of flowers along the edges of crop fields. (more…)

MSU Professor’s Invention Analyzes Plant Diseases without Leaving the Field

By Guest PostNovember 7, 2011Science, Technologyandroid based tablet, crops, farmers, field scientists, gene z, gene z device, genetic analysis, ipod touch, james tiedje, michigan state university, plant pathogen, plants, robert stedtfeld, smartphone technology, syed hashsham, united states

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Farmers and field scientists can now instantly identify diseases attacking crops and plants, thanks to a Michigan State University professor’s new invention.

Syed Hashsham, professor of civil and environmental engineering, has developed the Gene-Z device, which performs genetic analysis using a low-cost handheld device and is operated using smartphone technology. (more…)

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