In Michigan’s Thumb region, where agriculture drives both the landscape and the economy, the Saginaw Valley Research and Extension Center, or SVREC, helps growers solve real-world challenges by testing what works directly in the field. At the core of that work is the land itself and the people who manage it. “We’re trying to mirror …
David Douches, a Michigan State University (MSU) Distinguished Professor in the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences, describes plant breeding as a career-long mission: “We are the scientists behind the scenes, creating potatoes that are better for the farmers, better for the industry, and ultimately better for the consumer.” For decades, he has focused …
In fruit orchards, timing is critical. When labor is scarce or costly, fruit may remain unharvested, causing lost income and risking the relocation of specialty crop production from Michigan to regions with larger orchards and more workers. “If we don’t automate critical tasks quickly, crops will remain on trees or rot. Industries will leave, and so will our domestic …
ST. JOHNS, Mich. — Processing billions of pounds of milk each year leaves little margin for error. At MWC, a state-of-the-art cheese and whey protein manufacturing facility in St. Johns, even minor disruptions in wastewater treatment can threaten production, environmental compliance and the livelihoods tied to Michigan’s dairy economy. Through a collaboration with Michigan State University AgBioResearch, the facility …
To help crops battle pests, disease, and environmental stress, farmers often turn to broad chemical sprays simply because plants have few natural defenses. Angela Chen, assistant professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at Michigan State University, studies how microbes and plants naturally communicate. She then turns those insights into new ways for crops …
In California’s Death Valley, where summer temperatures regularly soar above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, life seems almost impossible. Yet among the cracked earth and blinding sunlight, one native plant not only survives — it thrives. That plant, Tidestromia oblongifolia, has helped Michigan State University scientists uncover how life can flourish in extreme heat, revealing a potential …
The Spark: A Seed in the Stacks Innovation often begins with a single question. For Mammoth Distilling, that question emerged during a routine research session in the Michigan State University (MSU) library: What happened to Michigan’s legendary rye varieties? While researching whiskey heritage in the MSU library, Ari Sussman, an MSU graduate and a Mammoth Distilling team member, stumbled upon a reference to Rosen …
Researchers have revealed a previously unknown way plants shape their growth in response to light — a breakthrough that could better equip crops to handle environmental stress. In a first-of-its-kind finding, the team discovered how a compound that’s involved in plant metabolism can directly “reprogram” an unrelated light-sensing protein. This unexpected interaction, which was reported in the …
Fragrant garden staples part of the sprawling mint family like thyme, basil and lavender are hiding some super-sized secrets with big applications, according to Spartan researchers. While unraveling the genetic makeup of a mint relative called ground oak, MSU biochemists discovered it sported a truly massive genome — nearly as large as our own — …
Earlier this year, Dr. Jessica Fitzgerald and her colleagues at the the New Zealand Institute of Bioeconomy Science (BSI) reached out to Dr. Pratima Devkota at Michigan State University (MSU) after coming across her research on Armillaria root rot. The Kiwifruit Breeding Centre (KBC) has developed a new breeding strategy for diseases that have been causing issues …
