CPSC

URBANA, Ill. – This summer marked the fifth year for Jennifer Fishburn’s vegetable garden’s current location. “Besides the okra, this was the least amount of produce that I have ever harvested,” says the University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator. “Squash bugs killed the squash plants, tomato plants succumbed to disease and lack of fertility, and rabbits ate all the green bean plants.” 

URBANA, Ill. – The Perennial Plant Association has selected Stachys ‘Hummelo’ as the 2019 Perennial Plant of the Year. Sometimes called betony, this well-behaved perennial offers a neat basal clump of glossy, dark green leaves and rose-lavender dense spikes atop mostly leafless flowering stems. The flowers are arranged in verticillasters (false whorls). Bloom time is July to September, so ‘Hummelo’ offers lovely color in the heat of the summer. 

Students in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES) at the University of Illinois are learning hands-on about food systems, starting from seed improvement and soil science to commercial food processing, as well as bioprocessing technologies for industry, thanks to new facilities and renovations across the ACES campus.

When deciding which sweet corn hybrids to plant, vegetable processors need to consider whether they want their contract growers using a workhorse or a racehorse. Is it better to choose a hybrid with exceptional yields under ideal growing conditions (i.e., the racehorse) or one that performs consistently well across ideal and less-than-ideal conditions (i.e., the workhorse)? New research from the University of Illinois suggests the workhorse is the winner in processing sweet corn.

URBANA, Ill. – Consumers today insist on all-natural everything, and food dyes are no exception. Even if food manufacturers are willing to make the change, current sources of natural dyes are expensive and hard to come by. Now, a large University of Illinois project is filling the gap with colored corn.

July 3, 2003

URBANA—Even though agricultural marketing services do not appear to “beat the market,” studies released today by University of Illinois Extension indicate their use does provide an opportunity for corn and soybean producers to improve marketing performance.

July 2, 2003

URBANA -- Two Asian countries may have growing wild in their pastures and on their mountainsides the secrets to preventing numerous human diseases. Uzbekistan and its neighbor, Kyrgyzstan, which together, are about the size of California and South Dakota, are teeming with wild flowers and plants that have been curing ailments for centuries, but without formal scientific testing and the quality control needed to distribute them to the rest of the world.

July 1, 2003

URBANA—The markets viewed two recent USDA reports as negative for corn and soybean prices, especially with current prospects for higher yields in 2003, said a University of Illinois Extension marketing specialist.

“The spring wheat acreage estimate, along with better export demand, provided some temporary support to the wheat market,” said Darrel Good.

Good’s comments came as he reviewed the USDA’s June 1 Grain Stocks and June 30 Acreage reports.

June 26, 2003

Urbana - More than 160 odorous compounds have been identified in dairy, beef, swine and poultry manure, according to Ted Funk, University of Illinois Extension specialist in environmental engineering.

June 25, 2003

URBANA - Incidents of deadly bacteria found in meat and poultry have raised public health concerns. And although irradiating the meat would greatly reduce outbreaks of E.coli and Salmonella, fear of the food becoming radioactive has prevented the process from becoming widely accepted in the United States.

Irradiation was approved for use on certain foods by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the early 1960s. Not only does it decrease bacteria in foods, it also reduces spoilage and delays ripening so produce can stay fresh longer.