News Stories - Page 171

Crop and soil science research coordinator Dale Wood, from left, doctoral student Ben Stewart-Brown, research professional Brice Wilson, Monsanto fleet manager Brian Brand and Professor Zenglu Li stand with a new Alamco planter. CAES News
Research Planter
No matter what kind of technology plant breeders use in the lab, developing more sustainable and productive crop varieties takes a lot of time in the field. 
Darrell Sparks was awarded the UGA Inventor of the Year Award in 2018. CAES News
UGA Inventor
Darrell Sparks’ legacy at the University of Georgia spans more than 50 years and includes the release of eight patented pecan cultivars and research focused on the development of new and improved pecan varieties. For his contributions to Georgia’s pecan industry, Sparks is the 2018 recipient of the university’s Inventor of the Year Award.
Peanuts growing at the Lang Farm on the UGA Tifton campus in 2017. CAES News
Peanut Rotations
Farmers may have more success growing peanuts if they don’t continuously plant in the same field, according to Scott Tubbs, University of Georgia Tifton campus’s research cropping system agronomist for peanuts.
UGA organic horticulture expert Julia Gaskin is shown teaching participants about soil composition at the 2011 Georgia Organics Conference. Gaskin will help lead a presentation during the 2019 Georgia Organics Conference in Tifton, Georgia on Feb. 8-9. CAES News
Walter Barnard Hill Award
For the past 19 years, Julia Gaskin has worked to prove that conservation tillage and cover crops don’t have to be dirty words when it comes to conventional farming. 
Carolyn Einertson, who was mentored by Stephen Nickerson of the Department of Animal and Dairy Science, won first place in the oral presentation section of the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Undergraduate Research Symposium with her talk, “Using Pre-Calving Mammary Secretions to Predict Udder Infection Status in Dairy Heifers.” CAES News
Undergraduate Research
Almost 50 University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) undergraduate students showcased their research projects and competed in the seventh annual CAES Undergraduate Research Symposium on April 11.
University of Georgia Research Professional David Mann works on a portable sequencer in food scientist Xiangyu Deng's laboratory in the UGA Center for Food Safety in Griffin, Georgia. Deng has developed a one-step method of detecting and subtyping food pathogens called “metagenomics analysis.” The method is much quicker than traditional methods, and time is essential during outbreaks of foodborne illness. CAES News
Quicker Identification
Quick, efficient pathogen detection and fingerprinting is essential and often lifesaving when it comes to preventing foodborne illness. University of Georgia food scientist Xiangyu Deng has created a system that can identify foodborne pathogens much quicker than traditional methods.
UGA's Farm Again program will host a Tractors 101 workshop on April 26 in Tifton, Georgia. CAES News
Tractors 101
University of Georgia Farm Again program instructors will host a workshop to introduce potential farmers to tractors and how to safely operate them. The Tractors 101 event will be held on Thursday, April 26, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the UGA Tifton campus, beginning in the National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL) building. 
Corn planted at the Bellflower Farm on the UGA Tifton campus in this March 30 photo. CAES News
Planting Conditions
Georgia farmers should expect dry weather when they plant their crops this spring, but Pam Knox, University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences agricultural climatologist, anticipates an active tropical storm season in the Atlantic Ocean this summer.
Switchgrass CAES News
Biofuel Crops
A research team led by the University of Georgia has discovered that manipulation of the same gene in poplar trees and switchgrass produced plants that grow better and are more efficiently converted to biofuels.