Recent Changes

Over time goldenrod plants and the gall flies that feed on them have been one-upping each other in an ongoing competition for survival. Now, a team of researchers has discovered that by detecting the plants’ chemical defenses, the insects may have taken the lead.

A team of researchers led by a Penn State agricultural economist will receive $500,000 over three years to study agritourism in the United States and to develop research-based information and guidance for farmers looking to diversify their incomes through agritourism activities.

Authored by researchers and extension educators in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, the "Spotted Lanternfly Management Guide" features comprehensive information, illustrations, charts and photos on the pest’s biology, behavior, plant damage and management, as well as a brief overview of ongoing research.  

Mary Ann Bruns, professor of soil microbiology and biogeochemistry in the College of Agricultural Sciences, received the Commonwealth Award from Penn State’s One Health Microbiome Center on May 30.

As part of our Cyber Hygiene journey, Ag IT will begin deploying restart reminder pop-ups through BigFix, our computer management software, the week of February 21, 2022.

Isabella Briseño, an environmental resource management major, already has built an impressive resume for a future career in environmental policy.

Penn State agricultural engineers have developed, for the first time, a prototype “end-effector” capable of deftly removing unwanted apples from trees — the first step toward robotic, green-fruit thinning.

delegation of Penn State faculty and graduate students attended the 2024 United Nations Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia. The delegation, registered as official observers, included Mónica Medina, professor of biology; Siela Maximova, research professor of plant biotechnology and director for Latin America and the Caribbean for Penn State Global; Margarita Lopez-Uribe, associate professor of entomology; Estelle Couradeau, assistant professor of soils and environmental microbiology; Camila Gonzalez Arango, a doctoral student studying agricultural and biological engineering; and Julian Prieto, doctoral student studying education policy and leadership. Medina, who led the delegation, participated in more than a dozen COP16 events, including leading panels on the preservation of coral reefs and associated ecosystems in the International Coral Reef Initiative Pavillion, hosting a public screening of a feature-length documentary on the decline of the world's coral reefs and a follow-up panel discussion, and launching the "SciArtsSymbiosis" initiative, which brought together scientists and artists to work together toward biodiversity conservation.

A professor in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will lend her expertise in gender studies to an interdisciplinary, multi-university team of researchers as they explore methods to advance fruit and vegetable production in Africa, South/Southeast Asia and Central America.

Farmers and others involved in production agriculture looking to explore the latest agricultural goods, services, equipment and technology can find everything they need at Penn State’s 2024 Ag Progress Days.  

The National Association of County Agricultural Agents named Penn State Extension’s green industry team as one of three national finalists in the association’s Search for Excellence awards program.

The COVID‐19 pandemic affected American households in countless ways, but according to researchers, some of the most tangible shifts are taking place in the food system.

During its annual meeting on April 3, the Penn State chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta, the agricultural honor society, honored faculty and students from the College of Agricultural Sciences - many of them affiliated with the INTAD dual-title degree program.

Pennysylvania's potato growers depend on the potato research program in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences to help improve the quality and quantity of their crops while staying abreast of consumer trends.

Although tropical forest ecosystems around the world have been modified and fragmented by agroforests planted to produce commodities such as coffee, rubber and areca palm, amphibian communities can survive in those transformed landscapes — if the agroforests are managed to support biodiversity.

The public is invited to attend “Water, Water, Everywhere!” — an event taking place at 10 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 3, at the Pasto Agricultural Museum. Registration is free.

The Pasto Agricultural Museum, in partnership with the Schlow Centre Region Library and Penn State Office of Community and Government Relations, will host a session of the Spring 2023 “Research Unplugged” series

The Penn State Collegiate Poultry Judging Team earned first place at the 55th National Collegiate Poultry Judging Contest held at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville.  

Morgan Bear, a third-year agricultural and education extension major in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, exchanged a typical classroom setting for a mobile agriculture education lab last summer as an educational intern for the Pennsylvania Friends of Agriculture Foundation.

An upcoming Penn State Extension webinar will focus on “missing middle” housing, a term that describes a range of multifamily or clustered building types, such as duplexes, rowhomes and courtyard apartments, that are compatible in scale with single-family homes. According to organizers, “missing middle” housing is intended to meet the demand for walkable neighborhoods, respond to changing demographics and provide housing at different price points.

Penn State researchers will study the monkeypox virus to understand the potential for it to spill over from humans to animals, as its pathogenesis — or disease development — in animal and human cells in vitro. In addition, they will study potential targets for therapeutics to treat the monkeypox disease.

Gregory Ziegler, professor of food science in the College of Agricultural Sciences, is the recipient of the 2020 Howard B. Palmer Faculty Mentoring Award.

The Penn State Berkey Creamery and the Penn State Bakery have teamed up to create various new ice cream cookie sandwiches that can be shipped to most states in the U.S.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Pasto Agricultural Museum will host three “Research Unplugged” presentations Thursday afternoons in October, featuring Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences’ faculty talking about their studies in entomology.

In support of the Penn State Microbiome Center, Indigo Agriculture created the Indigo Agriculture Graduate Fellowship in the College of Agricultural Sciences through a $200,000 gift, matched 1:1 by the University through the now-concluded Graduate Scholarship Matching Program.

The Penn State Institute for Computational and Data Sciences announced two new co-hires: Dana Calacci, assistant professor in the College of Information Sciences and Technology, and Enrico Casella, assistant professor of data science for animal systems in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Penn State’s student Soil Judging Team recently captured third place overall in a regional competition to qualify for the national championships next spring.

With a new $650,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Carolyn Lowry, a plant scientist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, will lead a research team designing cover crop mixtures that are more effective at providing an array of ecosystem services.

A Penn State Extension land-use webinar on Sept. 21 will focus on the adaption-innovation theory, which examines individual and collective problem-solving approaches. Participants can gain insights into the diverse problem-solving styles within their communities and learn how to harness this diversity to drive innovation and create resilient, adaptable solutions. 

A machine vision system capable of locating and identifying apple king flowers within clusters of blossoms on trees in orchards was devised by Penn State researchers — a critical early step in the development of a robotic pollination system — in a first-of-its-kind study.