June 2024 Arkansas Ag Research Report
Tobacco hornworm, feeds on the flower of Solanum elaeagnifolium, also known as silverleaf nightshade. (Photo courtesy of Alexander Vasquez)
IN THIS ISSUE:
- What consumers think about gene editing in agriculture?
- How Arkansas is connected to Scotland through agricultural communications.
- Steam and radio waves pack a punch on salmonella in spices!
- Rice Processing Program launches Siebenmorgen Memorial Scholarship.
- Chemical controls are important to mitigating greenhouse gasses.
- Who won a prestigious award for upcycling rice bran into aerogel?
Big News
Study Shows the More You Know about GMOs, the More You Accept Them as Safe
The more that people know about gene editing, the more likely they are to feel it is safe to use in agriculture and medicine, according to a survey of more than 4,500 people across the United States.
Brandon McFadden, Tyson Endowed Chair in Food Policy Economics for the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, was the lead author of a peer-reviewed study to find out more about the opinions of consumers in the United States on the safety of gene editing in agricultural and medical fields.
“People who have heard or read a lot about gene editing generally have a favorable opinion about using it for agricultural or medical purposes,” McFadden said. “So, people who are less familiar with gene editing are likelier to think it is unsafe.”
Brandon McFadden published research on consumer perceptions of gene editing in agriculture with co-authors Kathryn A. Stofer and Kevin M. Folta at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and Joy N. Rumble, at The Ohio State University.
Top Notch
Food Science Professor Wins Research Award for Upcycling Rice Bran into Aerogel
Ali Ubeyitogullari, assistant professor of food engineering, is part of the team that recently won a new Outstanding Early Career Researcher Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry for a study that transforms rice bran into food-grade aerogels.
Sumanjot Kaur, one of Ubeyitogullari’s doctoral students, and Jingyi Chen, professor of physical chemistry at the University of Arkansas, share the Royal Society of Chemistry’s new Sustainable Food Technology Outstanding Early Career Research Award for 2023 with Ubeyitogullari.
Ali Ubeyitogullari conducts research on food engineering and novel food processing technologies with a focus on enhancing health benefits and quality of foods.
Research Leads to First-Ever Agricultural Communications Program in the UK
Jefferson Miller is helping develop a curriculum for Scotland’s Rural College in Edinburgh that will be the first master’s level microcertificate program in agricultural communications in the United Kingdom. Miller is a professor for the agricultural education, communications, and technology department.
“Because we’re communicating about a basic human need, the need to communicate clearly to consumers, policymakers, and young people so they’ll understand the future of food is becoming more important,” Miller said.
Ali Ubeyitogullari conducts research on food engineering and novel food processing technologies with a focus on enhancing health benefits and quality of foods.
Watch
Dirk Philipp- Harmonizing Grazing and Soil
Dirk Philipp’s research program is focused on trying to match animal needs with forage growth. The associate professor of forage agronomy sees his work as a way to improve sustainability. “Really, my wish is more and more keeping everything environmentally sustainable,” he said.
Kris Brye- Sustainability Through Soil Research
Kris Brye’s research focuses presently on greenhouse gas emissions. Brye is a professor of applied soil physics and pedology at U of A’s Department of Crop, Soil, and Environmental Sciences.
He works extensively in native prairies, prairie restorations and agroecosystems with numerous row crops. His long-term goal is to provide a good foundation for sound science and build his department’s reputation as the next generation of scientists.
“I like imparting my knowledge, my skills.” – Kris Brye
Listen
Food, Farms & Forests Podcast
Check out the Food, Farms & Forests podcast to stay updated on the latest agricultural research. Each episode features conversations with experts from the Arkansas Ag Experiment Station discussing their research findings and why they matter.
In the most recent episode, we discuss a study on the interaction of trellising type and spray coverage in blackberries.
Aaron Cato, an extension specialist in the horticulture department focusing on integrated pest management, shared details about his latest research and related studies that looked at the impact of the rotating cross-arm trellis on pest management in blackberries focusing on the spotted wing drosophila infestation.
The research found that the RCA trellis provided better pest control than the traditional t-trellis. The data also revealed insights into the effects of microclimate on pest infestation and emphasized the need for cultural controls alongside insecticides.
New Episodes Every Other Week
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New Episodes Every Other Week
Subscribe on your favorite platform to stay in the know on the latest in Ag Research.
Research Spotlights
Food Safety Scientists Crank Up Steam, Radio Waves to Kill Salmonella Amid Spice Recall
Jeyam Subbiah, head of the food science department, was the corresponding author of a study showing the effectiveness of radiofrequency pasteurization and novel steam technology in spices.
The news highlights a June 3 national recall of black pepper for salmonella risk. Surabhi Wason, a former doctoral student of Subbiah’s, was the lead author of the study published in the Journal of Food Protection. The findings were based on work supported by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Jeyam Subbiah, head of the food science department, conducts research to support industry-wide adoption of higher food safety practices for low-moisture foods.
What Happens When Chemical Controls are Removed from Row-Crop Agriculture?
Taking pest control chemicals out of agriculture would lead to increased use of valuable natural resources and an attendant rise in greenhouse gases, according to a study born of three years of data collection.
“The consequence of not having access to these pest controls would be that it would take more land, more water, more greenhouse gas emissions and more energy to produce the same amount of crops,” Marty Matlock, professor in the department of biological and agricultural engineering, said in a Food, Farms & Forests podcast. “We’re going to have to make sure we have enough to produce enough with the land we have.”
A life cycle assessment showed the most significant impact of no chemical controls was on soybeans due to insect pressure leading to yield loss.
Frequent Mowing Puts Poisonous Weed into Survival Mode
Rupesh Kariyat, an associate professor of entomology and plant pathology, and his Ph.D. student Alejandro Vasquez published a study in Nature’s Scientific Reports showing that frequent mowing of Solanum elaeagnifolium may help create a “superweed.”
Kariyat started the study while at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, when he and Vasquez took on what turned into a five-year, two-part study to observe the effects of frequently mowed silverleaf nightshade.
Meduca sexta, also known as tobacco hornworm, feeds on the flower of Solanum elaeagnifolium, also known as silverleaf nightshade. (Photo courtesy of Alexander Vasquez)
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