Researchers identify potential remedy for citrus greening disease
Since it was confirmed in Florida 25 years ago, citrus greening disease has slashed citrus production in the state by 75 percent and infected trees in Louisiana, Texas, and California. USDA researchers said on Thursday they have found a potential remedy that boosts a citrus tree’s natural resistance to disease, including citrus greening.
USDA vaccine candidate is effective against African swine fever
In an achievement the USDA described as a major step for science and agriculture, scientists at the Agricultural Research Service have developed a vaccine candidate that protects hogs from the deadly African swine fever.
GOP hoots ‘elitist’ as Democrats question USDA’s plan to relocate researchers
Hoping to dissuade Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, farm-state Democrats in Congress asked for a cost-benefit analysis that would justify moving two USDA research agencies out of Washington. Two senior Republicans on the House Agriculture Committee ridiculed the opposition to the relocation as elitism and knee-jerk obstructionism of President Trump.
Groups ask USDA for stronger rules on scientific integrity
A coalition that includes some of the largest U.S. environmental groups called on USDA “to take the necessary steps to ensure that the USDA maintains scientific integrity” and to inaugurate a third-party review of complaints by USDA scientists that their work has been censored or suppressed. …
Nanopesticides, the next, miniature step in agriculture
"The first nano-formulations of pesticides are quietly making their way onto agricultural fields," says Modern Farmer in a story by Susan West into the likely benefits of the technology and potential adverse effects.