Latest News

September 9, 2021

The effects of monsoon rainfall on food insecurity in Nepal vary by earthquake exposure, with regions that experienced both heavy earthquake shaking and abundant rainfall more likely to have an inadequate supply of nutritious food, according to a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

September 7, 2021

The Penn State Agriculture and Environment Center will host the Lancaster-Lebanon Watershed Forum and Science Symposium on Nov. 19 and 20. Researchers, scientists and educators are invited to submit proposals for the first day of the event.

August 31, 2021

Invasive shrubs in Northeastern forests that sprout leaves earlier in the spring and keep them longer in the fall not only absorb more sunlight than native shrubs, but their foliage lowers air temperatures on the forest floor, likely giving them another competitive advantage.

August 24, 2021

Depending on how it occurs, the development of cellular agriculture has the potential to either accelerate socioeconomic inequality or provide beneficial alternatives to the status quo. That’s the conclusion of a new study led by Penn State researchers.

August 23, 2021

Within the next few years, as the SARS-CoV-2 virus becomes endemic in the global population, COVID-19 may behave like other common-cold coronaviruses, affecting mostly young children who have not yet been vaccinated or exposed to the virus, according to new modeling results. Because COVID-19 severity is generally lower among children, the overall burden from this disease is expected to decline.

August 23, 2021

Farmers using no-till production — in which soil never or rarely is plowed or disturbed — can reduce herbicide use and still maintain crop yields by implementing integrated weed-management methods, according to a new study conducted by Penn State researchers.

August 19, 2021

There is good and bad news about ginseng collection and production in Pennsylvania, and likely much of Appalachia, according to a new study conducted by Penn State researchers.

August 16, 2021

An exhaustive and painstaking comparison of the genomes of multiple strains of the cacao tree by a team of researchers has provided insights into the role genomic structural variants play in the regulation of gene expression and chromosome evolution, giving rise to the differences within populations of the plant.

August 10, 2021

David Hughes, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Chair in Global Food Security and professor of entomology and biology, has been named to Fast Company's list of "The Most Creative People in Business, 2021" for his innovative and impactful PlantVillage project.

August 2, 2021

The application of manure after the growth and demise of legume cover crops in rotations is a recipe to increase nitrous oxide releases during ensuing corn growth, according to a team of Penn State researchers who conducted a new study. They suggest that innovative management strategies are needed to reduce these emissions.

July 28, 2021

The discovery of a gene that regulates the angle of root growth in corn is a new tool to enable the breeding of deeper-rooting crops with enhanced ability to take up nitrogen, according to an international team of researchers, led by Penn State.

July 22, 2021

Infection with dengue virus makes mosquitoes more sensitive to warmer temperatures, according to new research led by Penn State researchers. The team also found that infection with the bacterium Wolbachia, which has recently been used to control viral infections in mosquitoes, also increases the thermal sensitivity of the insects.

July 16, 2021

A variety of research and educational programs related to agriculture and natural resources will be in the spotlight on several tours to be offered during Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 10-12 at Rock Springs.

July 14, 2021

Burnout. It is a syndrome that is said to afflict humans who feel chronic stress. But after conducting a novel study using trail cameras showing the interactions between white-tailed deer fawns and predators, a Penn State researcher suggests that prey animals feel it, too.

July 7, 2021

For more than a century, researchers at Penn State's Fruit Research and Extension Center have studied the science undergirding the production of tree fruits and shared this newfound knowledge with producers to help ensure an abundant supply of nutritious, affordable fruit products for Pennsylvanians. The state Historical and Museum Commission now has recognized this legacy of research and education with the placement of a new Pennsylvania Historical Marker at the facility in Biglerville, Adams County.

July 1, 2021

The fast-moving decline and extinction of many species of detritivores — organisms that break down and remove dead plant and animal matter — may have dire consequences, an international team of scientists suggests in a new study.

June 30, 2021

Research conducted by scientists in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has led to the creation of an online tool that can help predict seasonal egg hatch for spotted lanternflies.

June 30, 2021

Despite vastly outnumbering large farms, small farms produce only a tiny fraction of Pennsylvania's total agricultural output. However, these smaller operations support billions of dollars worth of economic activity while helping to preserve farmland and adding to the diversity of the state's agriculture, according to researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

June 22, 2021

A new study by Penn State researchers, who looked at emergency room admissions across the U.S. over a recent five-year period in a novel way, suggests that the agriculture industry is even more dangerous than previously believed.

June 18, 2021

Undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to apply to the Penn State One Health Scholars Program, a cross-disciplinary applied-training program in which a cohort of scholars will work closely with faculty whose research, teaching and practice involve One Health.

June 18, 2021

The Institutes of Energy and the Environment (IEE) has awarded seed grants to 22 groups of interdisciplinary researchers at Penn State for the 2020-21 award cycle. This year, seed grants were awarded to proposals focusing on at least one of IEE’s five strategic research themes — Climate and Ecosystem Change, Health and the Environment, Integrated Energy Systems, Urban Systems, and Water and Biogeochemical Cycles.

June 17, 2021

Seven Penn State faculty teams have received seed grants for biodiversity research as part of the 2021 “Mainstreaming Biodiversity in a Decade of Action” symposium, developed by Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research, in collaboration with Penn State’s Sustainability Institute.

June 17, 2021

With sorghum poised to become an important crop grown by Pennsylvania farmers, Penn State researchers, in a new study, tested more than 150 germplasm lines of the plant for resistance to a fungus likely to hamper its production.

June 16, 2021

Erickson Discovery Grants were awarded to 54 undergraduate Penn State students to cover costs related to undergraduate research.

June 16, 2021

Penn State Research has supported more than 2,500 jobs and generated nearly $200 million in economic impact since 2015 according to The Science Coalition’s “Sparking Economic Growth” report, which highlights 53 companies from coalition member institutions that trace their roots to federally funded university research.

June 9, 2021

Watershedwide nutrient credit trading has been suggested as a mechanism for reducing pollution entering the Chesapeake Bay, but a new study by Penn State researchers suggests that the high cost of producing nitrogen credits through the establishment of riparian buffers on Pennsylvania farmland currently does not provide an incentive for buffer establishment.

June 9, 2021

Blair D. Siegfried, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida, has been named associate dean for research and graduate education and director of the Pennsylvania Agricultural Experiment Station in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, effective Oct. 1.

June 4, 2021

As he retires from Penn State at the end of June, Terry Etherton, distinguished professor of animal nutrition, is known in animal science circles around the world as a pioneer for his research. But in the College of Agricultural Sciences, he also is recognized as a leader whose steady hand guided the Department of Animal Science for more than 22 years.

June 1, 2021

Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have developed a robotic mechanism for mushroom picking and trimming and demonstrated its effectiveness for the automated harvesting of button mushrooms.

May 21, 2021

After successful collaborations with the Research Innovations with Scientists and Engineers (RISE) team, College of Agricultural Sciences researchers Christina Grozinger and Karen Fisher-Vanden sought to share this valuable resource with their colleagues through a seed grant competition.