184 News & Press Releases found
Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) News
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Salmon provide nutrients to Alaskan streambanks
Adult Pacific salmon spend a great portion of their life in the ocean. But their life began along the banks of freshwater streams. Their life will end there, as well. These important steps in the lifecycle of salmon play a role in the health of ...
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Microbes play important role in soil’s nitrogen cycle
Under our feet, in the soil, is a wealth of microbial activity. Just like humans have different metabolisms and food choices, so do those microbes. In fact, microbes play an important role in making nutrients available to plants. A recent review ...
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Cover crops can benefit hot, dry soils
The Southern High Plains of the United States have low annual rainfall. When it does rain, though, intense storms can cause severe soil erosion. Strong winds also strip away valuable topsoil. Usually grown during seasons when primary crops ...
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Preparing Plants for our Future Climate
Planning is something we all do. As individuals, we may be planning for next weekend or our future retirement. Farmers and plant breeders are also planning for a future. The crops we currently depend on will need grow under different conditions ...
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Count me out of counting seeds
One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three, four, five. Over and over and over. That’s the dull routine of any researcher or student tasked with counting weed seeds. But just like technology has made many things in life faster and easier, ...
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Do soils need a low-salt diet?
Doctors often tell their patients to reduce their salt intake as part of a healthy lifestyle. When we start looking at food labels, we may find salt in surprising places – like baked goods, drinks and canned foods. While you may try to ...
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Forest soils recovering from effects of acid rain
Before the United States 1970 Clean Air Act, rainfall all over the country was acidic. As precipitation would fall from the sky, it would mix with gases from industrial plants, emissions from cars, and especially coal and fossil fuel consumption. ...
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Drones effective tools for fruit farmers
People have used the phrase “drone on and on” for a long time. Webster’s dictionary defines this figure of speech as “to speak for a long time in a dull voice without saying anything interesting.” Yet, in agriculture, ...
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Star fruit could be the new “star” of Florida agriculture
It’s not just oranges that grow in Florida. Carambola, or star fruit as most in the United States call it, is gaining popularity. One researcher from Florida International University is researching how cover crops can help the sustainability ...
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Helping plant nurseries reduce runoff
You may have heard how excess nutrients, such as phosphorus, can run off of crop fields. This can cause harm when the nutrients end up in rivers and lakes. However, there are other sources of excess nutrients you might not think of, such as the ...
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Helping quinoa brave the heat
Quinoa is a healthy food many know and love. As its popularity grows, more farmers are interested in planting it. However, the plant doesn’t do well in high temperatures, so plant breeders are trying to help. Many of the current methods for ...
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Tillage and reduced-input rotations affect runoff from agricultural fields
A new study from researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service provides information about runoff under different management practices and can help farmers choose the practice that is best for them. No-till management practices can reduce ...
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Study finds that residential lawns release more carbon dioxide than corn fields
More carbon dioxide is released from residential lawns than corn fields according to a new study. And much of the difference can likely be attributed to soil temperature. The data, from researchers at Elizabethtown College, suggest that urban heat ...
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Kansas senator honored with soil stewardship award
A long-time champion for agriculture, research, and the United States’ soil resources, Senator Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, will be presented today (Mar. 18) with the 2013 Excellence in Soil Stewardship Award by the Soil Science Society ...
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Can simple measures of labile soil organic matter predict corn performance?
Organic matter is important for soil health and crop productivity. While an indicator of soil quality, a lot of organic matter is in extremely stable forms, and the nutrients in such forms are difficult for plants to use. The active, labile ...
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ASA, CSSA and SSSA applaud PCAST for agricultural research enterprise report
Today (Dec. 7) the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) released a new report on Agricultural Preparedness and the Agriculture Research Enterprise. The report represents an important analysis of the public and ...
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Antibiotic-eating bug unearthed in soil
It’s well known how bacteria exposed to antibiotics for long periods will find ways to resist the drugs—by quickly pumping them out of their cells, for instance, or modifying the compounds so they’re no longer toxic. Now new ...
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At the interface of humans and nature
A new book describes urban-rural interactions and the issues facing both people and ecosystems at those interfaces With the world population passing seven billion earlier this year, human activities are affecting more and more natural spaces as ...
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Ag scientists and community members speak out in support of science research
More than 1350 scientists and members of the agricultural community signed a petition asking lawmakers to avoid sequestration Late yesterday (Nov. 14), the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science ...
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Benefits of collaborative research highlighted in ASA, CSSA, SSSA webinar
In these fiscally constrained times, federally-funded researchers face more pressure than ever before to show the greater societal benefits of their research. To that end, many researchers are now working in multidisciplinary teams that combine ...