A team of Michigan State University researchers has received a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to investigate the climate change mitigation potential of switchgrass cropping systems. The group is led by Christopher Blackwood, a professor in the departments of Plant Biology and Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences (PSM), as …
A new genetically engineered potato developed by Michigan State University potato breeder Dave Douches has been granted exemption from the biotechnology regulations placed on genetically modified products by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS). The Kal91.3 potato is bred from an MSU potato variety named Kalkaska. The newly developed …
Municipal water systems must remove “forever chemicals” from their tap water under a new rule issued by the Environmental Protection Agency meant to prevent deaths and serious illnesses linked to the substances. This limit is the first of its kind for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as PFAS, a toxic chemical used in everyday items …
East Lansing, MI — With climate change disrupting food availability and quality on the rise, a Michigan State University soil biophysics professor’s subsurface water retention technology—or SWRT—is poised to positively impact crops worldwide. Dr. Alvin Smucker of the Department of Plant, Soil, and Microbial Sciences developed the SWRT technology with his colleagues after six years …
Cyanobacteria are little green microorganisms that photosynthesize, like plants and algae do, but with stark differences in how they function. “I prefer to say that they are tiny green bacteria that are able to perform photosynthesis as plants but within a really tiny compartment,” María Santos-Merino, a postdoctoral researcher in the Ducat lab at the …
Timothy Miles, an assistant professor in MSU’s Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, is teaming up with researchers across the U.S. to further study management of Anthracnose and Botrytis fruit rot in blueberries. East Lansing, Mich. — A scientist at Michigan State University has received a $3.95 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture …
In April 2021, four Michigan State University plant scientists met at an undisclosed area on campus to dig up a bottle containing seeds buried more than 144 years ago by MSU botanist William J. Beal. Fast forward to 2023, more than two years after the seeds were excavated from their secret location, molecular genetic testing …
Potato nutrient and disease management were the highlights of conversation during Michigan State University Extension and MSU AgBioResearch’s field day Aug. 3. The informational gathering included discussions amongst potato farmers across the state, workshops from MSU professors and research specialists, and a key-note presentation from Christopher Winslow, director of the Ohio Sea Grant Program at …
After nearly 40 years of managing the Michigan State University Soil and Plant Nutrient Lab, Jon Dahl has distinguished himself as a leading expert on Michigan soils. Dahl received his master’s of science in crop and soil sciences from MSU. He has since analyzed hundreds of thousands of soil samples and given advice on fertility …
Hui Li, a professor in the Michigan State University Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, is being honored with the 2023 Environmental Quality Research Award from the American Society of Agronomy (ASA). Li, a world-renowned expert in environmental soil chemistry, and the fate and transport of contaminants in plant-soil-water systems, will be formally recognized …
