May 2024 Arkansas Agricultural Research Report: a monthly round-up of the top stories from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
In this edition:
- Find out who was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- Low-frequency microwaves destroy weed seeds underground, prompting further studies as a broad-spectrum application.
- A new soil prediction model was developed to provide speedier options.
- What makes a chicken more water efficient than others, and why does it matter?
- Keith Berry Jr. joins the experiment station as its first-ever research development specialist.
BIG NEWS
Researchers uncover what makes some chickens more water efficient than others: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/make-chickens-more-water-efficient/
TOP NOTCH
Poultry scientist honored as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/wayne-kuenzel-aaas-fellow/
USDA-NIFA grant supports microwave tech to zap weed seeds: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/microwave-weed-killer/
NEW FACES
New role aims to help faculty improve chances at grant funding: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/improve-funding-chances/
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS
Soil testing time saver predicts key soil health characteristics: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/soil-texture-prediction-model/
Slow-growth diet before breeding offered better long-range health in pigs: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/improving-sow-performance/
Be sure to sign up for our newsletter: https://aaes.uada.edu/category/news/
And don't forget to subscribe to Food, Farms & Forest for the latest news from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
Welcome to Food, Farms & Forests! I’m your host Jenifer Fouch, and today we are happy to share with you the May 2024 Arkansas Agricultural Research Report, a monthly round-up of the top stories from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.
In this edition:
- Find out who was recently named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
- Low-frequency microwaves destroy weed seeds underground, prompting further studies as a broad-spectrum application.
- A new soil prediction model was developed to provide speedier options.
- What makes a chicken more water efficient than others, and why does it matter?
- Keith Berry Jr. joins the experiment station as its first-ever research development specialist.
BIG NEWS
Researchers uncover what makes some chickens more water efficient than others
In the first scientific report of its kind, researchers in Arkansas showed that chickens bred for water conservation continued to put on weight despite heat stress that would normally slow growth.
Research by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station indicates a specially bred line of chickens could save growers thousands of gallons of water and thousands of pounds of food each month without sacrificing poultry health.
Sara Orlowski, associate professor of poultry science, bred the divergent lines of chickens for water consumption. Sami Dridi, professor of poultry science specializing in avian endocrinology and molecular genetics, and Walter Bottje, professor of poultry science, were also part of the project funded by a USDA Sustainable Agriculture Systems multi-institutional grant led by the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science.
Read the full story by checking out the link in the episode description.
TOP NOTCH
Poultry scientist honored as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
For his contributions to science, Wayne Kuenzel was recently honored as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Kuenzel conducts research through the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station. He teaches courses on physiology and neuroendocrinology in the poultry science department of the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the University of Arkansas, and is affiliated with the Center of Excellence for Poultry Science. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is one of the world’s largest general scientific societies and publishes the Science family of journals.
Find a link to the full story in this episode’s description.
USDA-NIFA grant supports microwave tech to zap weed seeds
Scientists and engineers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station are investigating the use of 915 MHz microwaves to neutralize a variety of weed seeds underground.
Nilda Burgos, professor of weed physiology and molecular biology, is the principal investigator on this project … made possible by a nearly 300-thousand-dollar Agriculture and Food Research Initiative grant … from the U-S Department of Agriculture’s … National Institute of Food and Agriculture …. with additional support from The Cotton Board and Cotton Incorporated.
Griffiths Atungulu, associate professor and agricultural engineer for grain processing and post-harvest systems, is the co-principal investigator.
Atungulu and Kaushik Luthra, food science post-doctoral fellow, conducted the preliminary study.
Check out the link in our show notes.
NEW FACES
New role aims to help faculty improve chances at grant funding
To bolster grant funding efforts, Keith Berry Jr. has joined the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station as its first-ever research development specialist. In this new role, Berry’s goal is to enhance the connection between faculty and grant funding opportunities and to better equip them for the competitive proposal process.
Read the full story by clicking the link in our show notes.
RESEARCH SPOTLIGHTS
Soil testing time saver predicts key soil health characteristics
Farmers in a time crunch have a new, speedier option for analyzing the texture and organic matter content of the soil on their fields.
Gerson Drescher, assistant professor of soil fertility, led a study to create prediction models for these key soil health indicators based on standard tests already being used to analyze soil samples.
Check out the link in our show notes.
Slow-growth diet before breeding offered better long-range health in pigs
Researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station found that slowing weight gain for female pigs before breeding showed improvements in performance throughout four breeding cycles.
Charles Maxwell, professor of animal science, and TsungCheng Tsai, a swine nutrition researcher in the animal science department, joined three industry partners in developing a two-year study that mimics a practice done with dairy cows since the 1980s.
Check out the link in our show notes.
Thanks for listening to this month’s Arkansas Agricultural Research Report on Food, Farms & Forests. Please be sure to visit our website aaes.uada.edu/news to access some additional content, including our two latest Behind the Discovery videos featuring assistant professor of entomology and plant pathology Emily McDermott and assistant professor of animal science Kelly Vierck.
Please be sure to sign up for our newsletter on our website and subscribe to the Food, Farms & Forest podcast for the latest news from the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station.