Date Time
Plant biologists reveal genetic patterns in maize development
A Cornell research team led by Michael Scanlon, professor of plant biology in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ School of Integrative Plant Science, recently reported new insights into the patterns of gene expression in maize stem cells – revealing details about their role in guiding shoot developmental processes.
Plants continually grow new vegetative structures. During the early stages of development, cells are given a specific function, and they grow in a highly organized manner. All the cells, organs and tissues in the above-ground portions of adult plants exist thanks to a pool of stem cells that live in a structure called the shoot apical meristem (SAM).
December 21, 2020
The Earth’s soils contain more than three times the amount of carbon than is found in the atmosphere, but the processes that bind carbon in the soil are still not well understood.
Improving such understanding may help researchers develop strategies for sequestering more carbon in soil, thereby keeping it out of the atmosphere where it combines with oxygen and acts as a greenhouse gas. Angela Possinger, Michael Zachman, Barnaby Levin/Provided
Scanning electron microscope image of an aggregate of soil used in this study.
A new study describes a breakthrough method for imaging the physical and chemical interactions that sequester carbon in soil at near atomic scales, with some surprising results.
Alumni couple named Alliance for Science’s Farmer of the Year
December 21, 2020
As hunger rose in the face of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Rick ’81 and Laura MPS ’81 Pedersen responded by sharing the bounty of their farm with their local food bank in upstate New York.
The couple – owners of Pedersen Farms in Seneca Castle, New York, five miles west of Geneva in Ontario County – partnered with community activists to donate more than 90,000 pounds of produce to people in need. The Pedersens have joined other smallholder farmers across the United States in helping food banks meet an extreme increase in demand due to the pandemic and ensure there’s food on the table.
Poundable.
All five feature high yields and robust disease resistance important for farmers, and taste and nutrition characteristics sought by consumers.
“The foundation of a solid crop value chain is based on best-bet varieties,” said Alhaji Muhammad Sabo Nanono, Nigeria’s Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development. “As a country, we are excited that the new NextGen cassava varieties address the needs of the cassava industry and we look forward to providing millions of Nigerian cassava growers access to these varieties.”
The releases by the National Root Crops Research Institute (NRCRI) in collaboration with the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) are the first varieties released using the modernized breeding technologies supported by NextGen Cassava, a project based in Cornell’s Department of Global Development and implemented by IITA and NRCRI, along with the national programs of Uganda and Tanzania.
Cornell University recently announced the release of three new apple varieties: Pink Luster, Firecracker and Cordera.
Cornell has been breeding apples since the 1880s, but âthereâs a strong need to have varieties that are new,â said Susan K. Brown, with Cornell AgriTech in Geneva. âWe felt these three had the potential for a lot of different markets.â
Brown is a Herman M. Cohn Professor of Agriculture and Life Science at the School of Integrative Plant Science.
Cornell had long limited licensure of its apple varieties but loosened its rules in 2013 to help the newcomers take off.
âA lot of new varieties, if they donât have enough production, they donât make it in the larger chains,â Brown said. âGrowers liked them but didnât have enough demand.â