CPSC

Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and five other research institutions are five years into a futuristic $25 million project that allows people and plants to communicate and collaborate to meet environmental challenges.

In the 150 years since the establishment of the Morrow Plots at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, many forward-thinking people have had a hand in their upkeep and management. But in that long line of leaders — from founder Manly Miles to current director Andrew Margenot — it’s recently deceased Robert Dunker whose love and dedication towards the plots may surpass the rest. 

Red crown rot, a fungal disease of soybean, is not new to the Midwest. First reported in Illinois in 2018, the disease is now surging across the state and the region. Boris Camiletti, a plant pathologist at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, is leading the effort to understand and combat the scourge, along with the Crop Protection Network, the Illinois Soybean Association, the United Soybean Board, and researchers in surrounding states. 

The College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign celebrated the completion of a new gate and perimeter fencing at the historic Morrow Plots with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Sept. 19, 2026, during Celebrate Food and Ag Day.

The historic Morrow Plots on the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus have provided a site for agricultural research and experimentation for 150 years. It is the longest-running agricultural experiment in the U.S. and the second-longest in the world, and the University Archives holds records that show that scientific history.

The Department of Crop Sciences in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences has opened a new student collaboration space, located on the first floor of Turner Hall at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. 

Peyton Sorensen, a third-year doctoral student at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, has earned a predoctoral fellowship from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture to fund her research. 

Looking for a family-friendly event? Check out the fifth annual Crop Sciences Harvest Open House from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sept.

A new study led by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign scientists reveals critically low genetic variation in one of the country’s primary breeding stocks for corn. The finding relates specifically to grain yield in intermediate-maturity hybrids, which dominate commercial production in the U.S. and represent nearly a third of the world’s corn production.

The researchers say it’s a crisis waiting to happen.