Agriculture

URBANA, Ill. ­– Bird biodiversity is rapidly declining in the U.S. The overall bird population decreased by 29% since 1970, while grassland birds declined by an alarming 53%.

Valuable for so much more than flight and song, birds hold a key place in ecosystems worldwide. When bird numbers and varieties dwindle, pest populations increase and much-needed pollination decreases. Those examples alone negatively impact food production and human health.

URBANA, Ill. – University of Illinois researchers have developed a new technique to determine the fertility of sperm samples in cattle.

“This work is a part of a five-year project to develop dairy cattle that are resistant to heat and diseases in tropical areas. We want to donate these cows to developing countries to increase their food production,” said Matthew B. Wheeler, professor in the Department of Animal Sciences at Illinois. 

URBANA, Ill. – Conventional agriculture relies on the application of phosphorus from fertilizers or animal manure to deliver adequate amounts of the essential element to growing crops for maximum productivity. However, unintended losses of phosphorus from fields to water bodies can impact aquatic ecosystems.

A University of Illinois study reveals soil phosphorus concentrations can vary greatly across a single field translating to sub-field variability of dissolved phosphorus, a readily available form promoting algal production, in tile (artificial subsurface drainage) water.

URBANA, Ill. – The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL) developed a new Guide to African Soybean Seedborne Diseases and Pests for use by African seed companies, seed multipliers, research institutions, and soybean processors, whose operations demand high-quality seed. Identifying the causes of decreased seed health, which translates to poor germination, low yields, and decreased profitability, is key to building a successful soybean industry in Africa.

URBANA, Ill. – As climate change becomes increasingly difficult to ignore, scientists are working to diversify and improve alternatives to fossil-fuel-based energy. Renewable bioenergy crops, such as the perennial grass Miscanthus, show promise for cellulosic ethanol production and other uses, but current hybrids are limited by environmental conditions and susceptibility to pests and diseases.

URBANA, Ill. – Vortex Global is pleased to announce a donation of slide gates and diverters that will optimize operations within the new Feed Technology Center at the University of Illinois and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The facility, currently under construction, will be a national hub for new discoveries and advancement in animal management, nutrition, and production.

URBANA, Ill. – With more ethanol in production and a greater ability to upcycle co-products into animal feed ingredients, companies are creating custom products and partnering with University of Illinois researchers to test for quality and digestibility.

In a recent study published in the Journal of Animal Science, Illinois researchers show a new high-protein distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) product from Marquis Energy has greater energy and protein digestibility than conventional DDGS.

URBANA, Ill. – The Soybean Innovation Lab (SIL), the American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS), and the USAID-funded Southern Africa Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program implemented by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA) have partnered to provide support to agro-processors in Southern Africa.

URBANA, Ill. – Genetically speaking, the loaf of bread you stress-baked during the COVID-19 shutdown is more complex than you think. Wheat’s 16 billion genes, organized in not one but three semi-independent genomes, can overlap or substitute for one another, making things extremely tricky for geneticists trying to enhance desirable traits in the world’s most widely grown crop.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The crops we grow in the field often form dense canopies with many overlapping leaves, such that young “sun leaves” at the top of the canopy are exposed to full sunlight with older “shade leaves” at the bottom. In order to maximize photosynthesis, resource-use efficiency, and yield, sun leaves typically maximize photosynthetic efficiency at high light, while shade leaves maximize efficiency at low light.