How to Tackle Climate Change, Food Security and Land Degradation

How can some of world’s biggest problems – climate change, food security and land degradation – be tackled simultaneously? Some lesser-known options, such as integrated water management and increasing the organic content of soil, have fewer trade-offs than many well-known options, such as planting trees, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Global Change Biology.

Juicy Genomics

When Pulitzer Prize and Grammy award winner Kendrick Lamar rapped “I got millions, I got riches buildin’ in my DNA,” he almost certainly wasn’t talking about the humble tomato. But a new study unveiling more than 230,000 DNA differences across 100 tomato varieties which will allow breeders and scientists to engineer larger, juicier, more profitable plants, proves that tomatoes indeed have riches buildin’ in their DNA, too.

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Earthwise Lawn and Landscape Care, Farming

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 15, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor William T. Hlubik is available for interviews on environmentally friendly lawn and landscape care, sustainable gardening and agriculture, home and commercial vegetable and small fruit production, and how to…

Rutgers’ William Roberts, inventor of air-inflated greenhouses, dies

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 9, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick faculty are available to discuss the late William Roberts, who had a 41-year career at Rutgers and invented the air-inflated greenhouse covering system that revolutionized agriculture worldwide. Roberts, a Distinguished…

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Ethnic or Exotic Crops in N.J., Mid-Atlantic

New Brunswick, N.J. (June 9, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick ethnic crop research specialist Albert Ayeni is available for interviews on growing non-native crops in New Jersey and the mid-Atlantic, including exotic peppers, okra, roselle (sorrel), tropical spinach (amaranths) and…

Oyster Farming and Shorebirds Likely Can Coexist

Oyster farming as currently practiced along the Delaware Bayshore does not significantly impact four shorebirds, including the federally threatened red knot, which migrates thousands of miles from Chile annually, according to a Rutgers-led study. The findings, published in the journal Ecosphere, likely apply to other areas around the country including the West Coast and Gulf Coast, where oyster aquaculture is expanding, according to Rutgers experts who say the study can play a key role in identifying and resolving potential conflict between the oyster aquaculture industry and red knot conservation groups.

Rutgers Experts Can Discuss Food Shortages Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

New Brunswick, N.J. (April 21, 2020) – Rutgers University–New Brunswick experts William J. Bamka and Michelle Infante-Casella are available for interviews on food shortages and disruptions in the food supply chain during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both work in the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment…

Oysters and Clams Can be Farmed Together

Eastern oysters and three species of clams can be farmed together and flourish, potentially boosting profits of shellfish growers, according to a Rutgers University–New Brunswick study. Though diverse groups of species often outperform single-species groups, most bivalve farms in the United States and around the world grow their crops as monocultures, notes the study in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series.

Rutgers Creates ‘Scarlet Sunrise’ Bicolor Grape Tomato

New Brunswick, N.J. (March 3, 2020) – A Rutgers University–New Brunswick tomato breeding team known for developing the ‘Rutgers 250’ tomato has created ‘Scarlet Sunrise,’ a unique and flavorful bicolor grape tomato. The team at Rutgers’ New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station…

Could Drones Save Cows? Why University of Kentucky Research Team Thinks So

It’s a staggering statistic — every year nearly 3 million cows in the U.S. die from health problems. And it’s costing the cattle industry more than $1 billion. Could eyes in the sky be the answer? Jesse Hoagg, the Donald and Gertrude Lester Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Kentucky, thinks so.

How to Make it Easier to Turn Plant Waste into Biofuels

Researchers have developed a new process that could make it much cheaper to produce biofuels such as ethanol from plant waste and reduce reliance on fossil fuels. Their approach, featuring an ammonia-salt based solvent that rapidly turns plant fibers into sugars needed to make ethanol, works well at close to room temperature, unlike conventional processes, according to a Rutgers-led study in the journal Green Chemistry.

LED Lighting in Greenhouses Helps But Standards are Needed

While LED lighting can enhance plant growth in greenhouses, standards are needed to determine the optimal intensity and colors of light, according to Rutgers research that could help improve the energy efficiency of horticultural lighting products.

Rutgers Expert Can Discuss Fires in Amazon Rainforests

New Brunswick, N.J. (Aug. 27, 2019) – With numerous fires raging in ecologically priceless Amazon rainforests, Rutgers University–New Brunswick Professor Laura C. Schneider can comment on current fire patterns (the number of fires and their location), linkages to tropical rain…

IU experts available to comment on United Nations climate report

Indiana University experts on sustainable agricultural and food production are available to comment on a special U.N.-commissioned report on land and climate. A summary of the report, released today by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warns that the large amount of greenhouse gas emissions resulting from agricultural practices focused on meat and dairy production are a significant contributor to global warming.