Agriculture
US first nanopesticide registration challenged
A landmark decision by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 2011 to grant conditional registration for a nanopesticide product is being challenged by environmental groups. The four-year limited registration for the pesticide, which contains nanosilver as a new active ingredient, marked the first nanopesticide registration authorized in the country. In summer 2012, environmental groups filed […]
Improved plant health through nutrient uptake from foliar feeding
Inadequate uptake of specific nutrients, especially at high physiological demand times, can potentially cause well-established and wide ranging physiological syndromes, with symptoms specific to the crop and the nutrient in question. However there are well-established extra disease dimensions where microbial pathogens can take advantage of a weakened and damaged plant structure. While sustained soil fertility […]
Improved stink bug trapping methods
Baited black traps in a pyramid shape attract significantly more brown marmorated stink bugs than other traps, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. Evaluating stink bug responses to different visual stimuli may help manufacturers design better traps for monitoring the bugs. Entomologist Tracy Leskey at the ARS Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, W.V., […]
Quality control for stored coffee and cocoa
Many commodities are harvested, stored and sold as seed but coffee and cocoa are unique in the nature of on-farm primary processing and the condition of the commodities produced. The sequential steps in on-farm processing for coffee (wet or dry processing) and cocoa (fermentation and drying) are essential for the manufacture of high quality coffee […]
