URBANA, Ill. – Dormant winter pruning always leaves a mess of trimmings that end up being composted or placed in your yard bin. But there is another use for those trimmings: plant clones.

“Plant propagation is the science and practice of creating new plants,” said Bruce J. Black, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Creating new plants can be done with woody trees and shrubs or softer, herbaceous plants.”

URBANA, Ill. – Of the nine Illinois researchers recently recognized by Clarivate Analytics as Highly Cited Researchers, three are affiliated with the Department of Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. They include Elizabeth (Lisa) Ainsworth, Stephen Long, and Donald Ort.

Six undergraduate students from the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) attended the annual World Food Prize in Des Moines, Iowa during October. This three-day event is known as “the premier conference in the world on global agriculture.”

The selected students, whose registration and travel were sponsored by the ACES Office of International Programs and the ACES Office of Academic Programs, included (left to right in photo):  

The Office of International Programs in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) hosted seven Fulbright Scholars from Lebanon as part of the U.S. Department of State’s Fulbright Junior Faculty Development Program in rural and economic development.  

URBANA, Ill. – Corn naturally tolerates certain herbicides, detoxifying the chemicals before they can cause harm. It’s what allows farmers to spray fields with the class of herbicides known as HPPD-inhibitors, which kill weeds such as waterhemp and Palmer amaranth and leave corn unscathed. But in more and more fields, the method is failing; waterhemp isn’t dying.

URBANA, Ill. – Americans use a lot of salt, according to Chris Enroth, a horticulture educator with University of Illinois Extension. “Potato chips aside, I’m talking about the amount of de-icing salt we put out into the environment every winter.”

How much deicing salt does America go through every year? A Purdue study showed property owners in the U.S. apply more than 15 million tons of deicing salts to their driveways, patios, and walkways, and that’s not including salt applied to roadways.

URBANA, Ill. – Rye has not traditionally been used as an ingredient in pig diets in the United States, but researchers from the University of Illinois are now investigating the digestibility of nutrients in the grain.

URBANA, Ill. – This week, families across the U.S. will gather around Thanksgiving tables in a traditional celebration of the season’s bounty. By improving how key crops transform sunlight into yield, Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency (RIPE) will one day help farmers put food on more tables worldwide, especially where it is needed most.

URBANA, Ill. – Light is essential to all plants, indoor and out.

“It is easy enough to spot plants that aren’t receiving enough light to grow, but what about flowering, which is promoted by light sensitivity in plants?” said Andrew Holsinger, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “The type of plant and its location in the house are important for the ability to flower.”

URBANA, Ill. - A recent rally in soybean prices rested on the potential for a trade deal between the United States and China. A few rallies occurred since the escalation of trade issues between the U.S. and China in June. According to University of Illinois agricultural economist Todd Hubbs, the question becomes should one sell on rallies associated with trade negotiations. 

“An analysis of current projections of supply and foreign consumption along with a discussion of recent developments in soybean exports may help in this decision,” Hubbs explains.