URBANA, Ill. -- The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has committed another round of funding to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign to lead the second phase of its Bioenergy Research Center — one of four large-scale DOE-funded research centers focused on innovation in biofuels, bioproducts, and a clean energy future for the country.

URBANA, Ill. – A new University of Illinois project is using advanced object recognition technology to keep toxin-contaminated wheat kernels out of the food supply and to help researchers make wheat more resistant to fusarium head blight, or scab disease, the crop’s top nemesis.   

Each year, University of Illinois scientists conduct pest and disease surveys in corn and soybean crops across the state, along with in-field tests of insecticides, seed treatments, and more. The 2022 report, now available, describes ongoing Bt-resistance monitoring results; field evaluations of traits and insecticides for controlling corn rootworm; results of insect pest surveys, including dectes stem borer, soybean gall midge, and rootworm adults; and a summary of weather and crop production for Illinois' 2022 growing season. 

URBANA, Ill. – While the t-shirt you are wearing is likely to be made in China, Vietnam or Pakistan, it may be produced from cotton grown much closer to home. The U.S. is a major world supplier of cotton, exporting much of the production to markets in Asia, where it goes into textile manufacturing. However, growing competition from Brazil and the effects of recent trade policies are shifting global market trends. A new study from the University of Illinois investigates how U.S.

For the first time, researchers have successfully demonstrated precision gene editing in miscanthus, a promising perennial crop for sustainable bioenergy production.

A team at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI), a Bioenergy Research Center (BRC) funded by the U. S. Department of Energy, edited the genomes of three miscanthus species using CRISPR/Cas9 — a far more targeted and efficient way to develop new varieties than prior methods.

URBANA, Ill. – Artificial food dyes have been linked to multiple health concerns, including hyperactivity in children, allergies, and certain cancers. The science isn’t settled and the Food and Drug Administration says color additives are safe, but consumers are nonetheless clamoring for natural alternatives.

URBANA, Ill. – Cover crops, with their ability to reduce erosion and promote soil health, are being planted across more Midwestern land than ever. That’s according to new University of Illinois research showing cover crop adoption reached 7.2% in 2021, up from just 1.8% a decade prior. The finding is the result of sophisticated satellite-based remote sensing efforts that accurately detected cover crops across 140 million acres of cropland and tracked their expansion over 20 years.

URBANA, Ill. – Few things say summer in America more than buttery corn on the cob, but as summer temperatures climb to unprecedented levels, the future of sweet corn may not be so sweet. New University of Illinois research shows sweet corn yields drop significantly with extreme heat during flowering, especially in rainfed fields in the Midwest.

Few of us stop to wonder how that slice of pumpkin pie made it onto our plate, but if it weren't for the Illinois pumpkin industry and plant pathologist Mohammad Babadoost, the classic fall dessert might not be on the menu at all. Back in 1999 and 2000, a devastating pumpkin disease threatened to wipe out the crop in Illinois - the number-one pumpkin-producing state in the nation - but Babadoost came up with solutions to not only prevent the industry's collapse, but to help it grow.

Miscanthus is one of the most promising perennial crops for bioenergy production since it is able to produce high yields with a small environmental footprint. This versatile grass has great potential to perform even better, as much less effort has been put into improving it through breeding relative to established commodity crops such as maize or soybean.