Food Science Commons^™

Cultural Practices To Maintain Soil Quality And Address Climate Change, Upendra Sainju, Dennis O’Brien

Agricultural Research Magazine

For decades, farmers in Montana and the Dakotas have produced impressive yields of barley and wheat. But that bounty has come at a cost. Tilling the soil in the region’s crop-fallow production systems has robbed the soil of nutrients and organic matter and reduced crop yields. In fact, the region’s soils have lost up to 50 percent of their organic matter in the last 50 to 100 years, and scientists say that current practices are unsustainable.

Agriculture also contributes about 25 percent of the human-made carbon dioxide and 70 percent of the human-made nitrous oxide being released into the atmosphere. …

Measuring The Potential Of Switchgrass Pellets, Paul Adler, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

President Barack Obama wants U.S. scientists to pursue an “all-of-the-above” strategy in developing new sources of domestic energy. Agricultural Research Service agronomist Paul Adler is providing complete cost-benefit breakdowns for using switch-grass pellets instead of fuel oil to heat homes and businesses in the Northeast.

“There have been a lot of studies on bioenergy potential,” says Adler, who works at the ARS Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Research Unit in University Park, Pennsylvania. “Most of them are focusing on transportation, but we still need a viable, commercial, bio-based fuel substitute for petroleum. In the meantime, our studies suggest that we …

Weight Loss, Cortisol, And Your Brain Scientists Explore Connections, Nancy L. Keim, Kevin D. Laugero, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Americans everywhere are struggling to lose weight—and to keep from putting those lost pounds right back on. For many, it’s discouraging to have their best efforts fail while those of other dieters succeed.

Researchers at the Agricultural Research Service’s Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, California, are conducting studies that may provide new insights into the underlying causes of this disparity in dieting success.

Given America’s obesity epidemic, such research is timely and relevant. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 35 percent of U.S. adults and 18 percent of kids and adolescents age 6 through …

Enhancing Yogurt With Healthful Fiber From Oats, Mukti Singh, Sanghoon Kim, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Adding about one-quarter teaspoon of a fiber-rich component of oats boosts the nutritional value of low-fat yogurt without noticeably affecting the taste or texture of this increasingly popular dairy food.

Oat fiber is of interest to foodmakers and nutritionists alike. Studies with volunteers have shown that it can lower serum cholesterol, which may help improve heart health.

Agricultural Research Service food technologist Mukti Singh, chemist Sanghoon Kim, and their colleagues experimented with adding fiber-containing oat beta-glucan to what’s known in the dairy industry as “low-fat yogurt mix.” It is made up of low-fat milk and a selection of common, safe-to-eat …

Temperament Plays Key Role In Cattle Health, Sandra Avant

Agricultural Research Magazine

Do you know someone who’s temperamental? What about an animal? Amazingly, cattle can be temperamental too, which influences how they should be handled, how they perform, and even how they react to viruses that cause diseases.

For cattle, temperament is defined as the reactivity or fear response to humans or handling. Terms used to describe temperamental animals include “flighty,” “excitable,” and “high strung.” These animals can potentially injure themselves or their handlers.

Beef cattle experience stressful events during routine management practices— weaning, transportation, social mixing, and vaccination. These practices have been shown to induce secretion of the stress-related hormones cortisol …

Rolling Out Cover Crops For Higher Yields And Improved Soil Quality, Ted S. Kornecki

Agricultural Research Magazine

Growers who use cover crops are increasingly turning to a tool that can flatten out their actively growing fields, usually in a single pass. Known as a “roller/ crimper,” the technology can help reduce and sometimes eliminate the need for herbicides and is ideal for organic farmers and growers interested in reducing herbicide use.

Cover crops can improve soil quality; and in organic operations, they play a major role in keeping weeds in check. Crimpers boost those benefits. They have been used for years in South America and are beginning to catch on in the United States, says Ted Kornecki, …

Identifying Compounds To Help Control Bed Bugs, Mark Feldlaufer

Agricultural Research Magazine

When planning an attack on bothersome pests, it’s a good idea to know your enemies, especially if they happen to be bed bugs. These small, flat, blood-feeding insects—an uncommon problem since the 1950s—have once again become a menace in homes, apartments, hotels, shelters, and even places of work in the last 10 years.

Despite extensive efforts to determine whether bed bugs transmit disease-causing pathogens, no evidence indicates that they are a problem other than their biting, blood feeding, and dirty habits. However, some people have severe reactions to bed bug bites, and getting rid of the insects can be costly. …

Lifting All Boats With Organic And Conventional Research, Matt Smith

Agricultural Research Magazine

At first glance, the divide between organic and conventional farming appears to be of Grand Canyon proportions. But when it comes to research, the distance between organic and conventional farming practices is not nearly so great.

The Agricultural Research Service has a national program that specifically carries out studies aimed at helping organic farmers to compete in the marketplace by finding ways to cost-effectively produce abundant amounts of high-quality, safe products to meet consumer demands.

Consumer demand for organically produced goods has shown double-digit growth for well over a decade, providing market incentives for U.S. farmers across a broad range …

Studying Manure In Cows, In Feedlots, And In Fields, Lisa M. Durso, John Gilley, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

Agricultural Research Service scientists at the Agroecosystems Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Nebraska, have been conducting some very thorough investigations on the microbes that dwell in cattle manure—what they are, where they thrive, where they struggle, and where they may end up. “When we look at potential pathogens that can cause foodborne illness, we need to look at the whole bacterial ecosystem,” says ARS microbiologist Lisa Durso. “For instance, some people used to think all cattle have the same bacteria in their gastrointestinal [GI] tracts. But we’ve found some big differences; so if we say, ‘Oh, it’s just manure,’ we …

State Department’S Gift Of Dogwoods To Japan In Honor Of 100th Anniversary Of Cherry Tree Gift, Richard Olsen, Sharon Durham

Agricultural Research Magazine

More than 100 years ago, the Japanese government presented flowering cherry trees as a gift to the U.S. government. Those wonderful living gifts have blossomed along the National Mall’s Tidal Basin, as well as at other locations around Washington, D.C., since then.

In April 2012, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced a gift of 3,000 flowering dogwood trees to Japan to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Japan’s gift of cherry trees to the United States.

The job of finding the right dogwoods belongs to scientists at the U.S. National Arboretum, in Washington, D.C. Agricultural Research Service plant geneticist Richard Olsen …

February 2013- Locations Featured In This Magazine Issue

Agricultural Research Magazine

The Agricultural Research Service has about 100 labs all over the country.

Locations Featured in This Magazine Issue

U.S. Agricultural Research Station, Salinas, California 1 research unit ■ 51 employees

Pullman, Washington 6 research units ■ 136 employees

Akron, Colorado 1 research unit ■ 28 employees

Cropping Systems Research Laboratory, Lubbock, Texas 4 research units ■ 113 employees

Roman L. Hruska U.S. Meat Animal Research Center, Clay Center, Nebraska 6 research units ■ 113 employees

Lincoln, Nebraska 2 research units ■ 81 employees

Auburn, Alabama 2 research units ■ 46 employees

Robert W. Holley Center for Agriculture and Health, Ithaca, …

Robust Results From Long-Term Research On Organic Cover Cropping, Eric Brennan, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

“We can obtain important results from short-term field studies, but they don’t always capture year-to year variability. Long-term research often provides more reliable results that farmers need,” says Agricultural Research Service horticulturist Eric Brennan.

Brennan speaks from personal experience. In 2003, he and a team of University of California-Davis collaborators began a 2-year field study that evolved into a unique long-term investigation of high value organic cropping. The project, the Salinas Organic Cropping Systems trial, is being conducted on an ARS research farm and is now in its 10th year of certified organic production. Brennan, who works in the ARS …

New Tools For Studying The Root Of The Matter, Leon V. Kochian, Dennis O’Brien

Agricultural Research Magazine

Like any structure, a root has its own architecture. Some roots burrow straight down into the soil. Others scatter web-like tentacles. However they turn out, root systems play a critical role in the health and survival of today’s crops. That’s why Agricultural Research Service scientists in Ithaca, New York, have developed a new tool for studying root architecture, one that brings them out in three-dimensional color. It’s a major step forward in a challenging field.

Studying root-system architecture can be extremely difficult because the opaque nature of soils makes it hard to capture and visualize the root structures. Also, field …

Travel Patterns Of Wind-Blown Soil Microbes, Veronica Acosta-Martinez, Dennis O’Brien

Agricultural Research Magazine

When strong winds carry away soil, microbes in the soil can act like hitchhikers and go along for the ride. With help from a wind tunnel and the latest DNA technology, Agricultural Research Service scientists are shedding light on the travel patterns of these soil-borne hitchhikers. The work has implications for soil health and could lead to management practices that minimize the damage to soils caused by wind erosion.

Scientists have been studying wind-eroded soils since the 1930s, but few studies have focused on wind’s effect on soil microbes. Microbes drive a number of critical processes, such as releasing enzymes …

Emerging Enemy Of Veggies Unmasked, Carolee T. Bull, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Chic, trendy veggies like arugula and baby broccoli, and familiar stand-bys like Brussels sprouts and cauliflower, are vulnerable to attack by a once-puzzling pathogen. Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist Carolee T. Bull and colleagues have, in laboratory, greenhouse, and field research, detected, identified, renamed, and classified the plant-killing microbe that’s now officially known as Pseudomonas cannabina pv. alisalensis. “Pv.” stands for “pathovar” and indicates that the microbe is a specific pathogenic form, or strain, of a species.

Their work has sorted out some of the taxonomic confusion surrounding classification of the large, complex group of harmful bacteria in …

New Club Wheat Holding Its Own Against Fungal Disease, Kim Garland-Campbell, Jan Suszkiw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Pacific Northwest wheat growers now have added insurance against outbreaks of yield-robbing fungi, thanks to Cara, a soft, white, winter club wheat cultivar developed by the Agricultural Research Service that boasts high levels of disease resistance and outstanding flour quality.

Washington State accounts for 77 percent, or 230,000 acres, of the entire U.S. club wheat crop, with the remainder produced in Oregon and Idaho. Much of the acreage in Washington and Oregon is planted with three cultivars: Bruehl, Cara, and Chukar. Spring-sown club wheat cultivars JD and Eden are grown on another 11,000 acres. Although several other winter club wheats …

Agricultural Research Magazine, February 2013

Agricultural Research Magazine

Table of Contents

4 Robust Results From Long-Term Research on Organic Cover Cropping

6 Rolling Out Cover Crops for Higher Yields and Improved Soil Quality

8 Emerging Enemy of Veggies Unmasked

11 Travel Patterns of Wind-Blown Soil Microbes

12 New Tools for Studying the Root of the Matter

14 Identifying Compounds To Help Control Bed Bugs

16 Studying Manure in Cows, in Feedlots, and in Fields

18 New Club Wheat Holding Its Own Against Fungal Disease

20 Temperament Plays Key Role in Cattle Health

22 State Department’s Gift of Dogwoods to Japan in Honor of 100th Anniversary of Cherry Tree …

Advantages Of Understanding The Lady Beetle Diet, Jonathan Lundgren

Agricultural Research Magazine

Understanding the feeding behavior of lady beetles will help agronomists develop cropping systems that best use these important beneficial insects as biological controls of insect pests, such as aphids and Colorado potato beetles.

Agricultural Research Service entomologist Jonathan Lundgren at the North Central Agricultural Research Laboratory in Brookings, South Dakota, and former ARS entomologist Michael Seagraves were part of a team of ARS and university scientists that examined how lady beetle diets alter their feeding patterns and physiology.

Appreciated for their ability to eat insect pests, lady beetles also consume nectar, pollen, and other plant tissue. Indeed, most beneficial predators …

Corn Cobs On Deck For Cellulosic Feedstock, Brian J. Wienhold, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

When energy officials proposed using crop residues to produce cellulosic ethanol, concerned soil scientists took to the fields to learn more about how these residues protect soil from erosion and enhance soil quality. Agricultural Research Service soil scientist Brian Wienhold focused on a single component of residue— the corncob.

“We didn’t have data on how postharvest cob residues might protect soil quality,” says Wienhold, who works in the ARS Agroecosystem Management Research Unit in Lincoln, Nebraska. “But corncobs make up 20 percent of residue by weight, which means that the average U.S. production of corn could provide 40 to 50 …

The Real Dirt On Biosolids As Soil Amendments, Eton Codling, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that more than 60 percent of dry biosolids—treated wastewater solids that can be recycled or stored—are applied to land, composted, or used to cover landfills. The biosolids have been processed to kill pathogens, and EPA strictly regulates biosolid use to ensure the materials don’t harm the environment, human health, or animal health.

Farmers who follow pre- and post-application management regulations can obtain permits to use biosolids for amending fields where food and feed crops are grown. Now, research by an Agricultural Research Service scientist is helping to clarify the long-term effects that biosolid …

With Hot Air Treatment, Bacteria Fly The Coop, Rosalie Marion Bliss, Mark E. Berrang

Agricultural Research Magazine

While being transported in hauling coops on trucks, poultry that have been colonized with bacteria such as Campylobacter can contaminate, through fecal shedding, pathogen-free poultry. Those pathogens can also be passed on to the next group of birds during the next trip, and so forth, unless the cycle is broken.

That’s where Agricultural Research Service microbiologists Mark Berrang and Richard Meinersmann and colleague Charles Hofacre at the University of Georgia in Athens come in. The team has reported a treatment that reduces poultry cross-contamination from transport-cage flooring.

Campylobacter are foodborne pathogens that can be present in raw or undercooked poultry. …

Drainage Ditch Research Reveals Opportunities For Cleaning Up Runoff, Ann Perry

Agricultural Research Magazine

There is no typical drainage ditch,” says Agricultural Research Service ecologist Matt Moore. “And until recently, farmers just thought of them as something they need to drain water off their fields. But we can use these ditches to minimize pesticide and nutrient losses in runoff—and it can be done without taking any cropland out of production.”

Moore, who works at the ARS National Sedimentation Laboratory in Oxford, Mississippi, has been wading through edge of- field drainage ditches since he was a boy planting rice on his family’s farm in Arkansas. The ditches—as common in agricultural landscapes as the fields they …

Going Beyond The Barnyard To Stop Stable Flies, David B. Taylor, J.J. Zhu, Sandra Avant

Agricultural Research Magazine

Livestock producers may not be able to see the difference between stable flies and other flies at a distance, but they can definitely see the stable flies’ effect on their cattle as the animals stop grazing and bunch together to minimize the number of bites they’re getting.

Stable flies are among the most important arthropod pests of cattle in the United States. Their painful bites can reduce milk production in dairy cows, decrease weight gain in beef cattle, and reduce feed efficiency.

Generally, insecticide sprays are used to help keep stable flies off animals, especially their legs, where the flies …

Citrus Greening: A Puzzle With Many Pieces, Gail Wisler

Agricultural Research Magazine

Finding the solution to some crop diseases is like solving a jigsaw puzzle. The solution has many pieces, and fitting them together can be a challenge. Citrus greening, also known as “Huanglongbing” (HLB), is just such a disease. HLB is costing Florida citrus growers millions of dollars each year in lost revenue from unproductive trees. It continues to spread and is the most serious threat to the U.S. citrus industry in history. The disease was recently confirmed in commercial groves in Texas and in a homeowner’s yard in California. Both states are important citrus producers, and if HLB spreads in …

Helping Citrus Growers Deal With A Nasty Invader, Dennis O’Brien

Agricultural Research Magazine

Growers battling a devastating citrus disease may soon benefit from a one-two punch from Florida researchers. Two Agricultural Research Service scientists at the U.S. Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce are using two very different strategies to help citrus growers and processors deal with Huanglongbing (HLB), a disease that poses a major threat to the survival of the citrus industry and is costing it millions of dollars each year.

Elizabeth Baldwin, research leader of the Citrus and Subtropical Products Research Unit, is leading a team developing technology that orange juice processors can use to determine whether their product has the …

New Technology For Harvesting The Power Of Beneficial Fungi, Mark Jackson, Jan Suszkiw

Agricultural Research Magazine

Biopesticides containing beneficial fungi are often grown on grains or other solids, but Agricultural Research Service scientists have found that a liquid diet might be cheaper and better. The approach, known as “liquid culture fermentation,” offers several advantages, including lower material costs and increased yields of certain forms of pestkilling fungi like Isaria or Metarhizium that can be sprayed directly onto crop plants or applied to soil as a biological alternative to using synthetic pesticides.

For decades, biopesticide makers have cultured fungi like these on moistened grains or other solid substrates to prompt them into churning out billions of specialized …

January 2013- Locations Featured In This Magazine Issue

Agricultural Research Magazine

The Agricultural Research Service has about 100 labs all over the country.

Locations Featured in This Magazine Issue

Plant Gene Expression Center, Albany, California 1 research unit ■ 12 employees

Corvallis, Oregon 3 research units ■ 133 employees

Davis, California 3 research units ■ 114 employees

San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, Parlier, California 3 research units ■ 125 employees

U.S. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, California 2 research units ■ 36 employees

Pullman, Washington 6 research units 136 employees

Fort Collins, Colorado 7 research units ■ 141 employees

Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, Montana 2 research units ■ 72 employees …

Orange Juice Amino Acids May Reveal Secrets To Quelling Citrus Greening Disease, Andrew P. Breksa Iii, Marcia Wood

Agricultural Research Magazine

Amino acids in orange juice may hold clues to the mostly secret, highly successful attack strategy of a powerful plant pathogen. Recent studies of these compounds may pave the way to a safe, effective, environmentally friendly way to vanquish this orchard enemy.

Known as Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus, this microbe causes citrus greening disease, also called “Huanglongbing,” or “HLB.” (See article on page 4).

Agricultural Research Service chemist Andrew P. Breksa III and University of California-Davis professor Carolyn M. Slupsky have compared the amino acid composition of juice from commercially grown oranges. They used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study juice …

Agricultural Research Magazine, January 2013

Agricultural Research Magazine

Table of Contents

4 Helping Citrus Growers Deal With a Nasty Invader

7 Orange Juice Amino Acids May Reveal Secrets to Quelling Citrus Greening Disease

8 Drainage Ditch Research Reveals Opportunities for Cleaning Up Runoff

11 Crop-Friendly Bacteria Tapped To Battle Fungal Marauders

12 Advantages of Understanding the Lady Beetle Diet

13 New Uses for Sugar Beet Pulp

14 Going Beyond the Barnyard To Stop Stable Flies

16 The Real Dirt on Biosolids as Soil Amendments

17 With Hot Air Treatment, Bacteria Fly the Coop

18 ARS Works Toward Control of Brown Marmorated Stink Bug

21 New Technology for Harvesting …

New Uses For Sugar Beet Pulp, Linshu Liu, Rosalie Marion Bliss

Agricultural Research Magazine

More than 1 million tons of sugar beet pulp are generated annually by U.S. beet sugar industries. Finding profitable uses for the biodegradable pulp, which is the leftover residue from sugar extraction, is critical for the long-term economic viability of U.S. agribusiness.

Agricultural Research Service researchers and colleagues have long been studying the potential of sugar beet pulp utilization. Now, chemist LinShu Liu and plant physiologist Arland Hotchkiss, both with the Dairy and Functional Foods Unit at ARS’s Eastern Regional Research Center in Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania, and colleagues have found new uses for sugar beet pulp.

In collaboration with professor Jinwen …