August 24, 2017
Penn State was one of 16 sites approved by the state Department of Agriculture as a pilot program for industrial hemp growth and cultivation research following Gov. Tom Wolf's signing of the Industrial Hemp Research Act last year.
July 20, 2017
Vast swaths of Pennsylvania forests were clear-cut circa 1900 and regrowth has largely been from local native plant communities, but a team of researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has found that invasive, non-native plants are making significant inroads with unconventional natural gas development.
June 26, 2017
Tarrah Geszvain, advising coordinator for the plant sciences and landscape contracting undergraduate programs, has received the Excellence in Academic Advising Award from the College of Agricultural Sciences for 2017.
May 23, 2017
Marvin Hall, a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, is currently working a project to bring highly productive life back to damaged land by planting a crop — switchgrass — that can be used as an alternative fuel source.
May 15, 2017
Researchers at Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences are among a group of researchers examining how the use of high and low tunnels and plastic coverings extend the growing season for strawberries and raspberries, and as a result, increase yields while also reducing pesticide use and improving berry quality and shelf-life.
May 9, 2017
Penn State’s landscape design and landscape construction classes are known for their incredible community projects. But with this year’s undertaking, the courses have gone above and beyond.
April 27, 2017
Cullen Dixon, a plant sciences major, participates in a lab that tests the effectiveness of secondary metabolite compounds produced by sorghum as potential biopesticides in combating foliar diseases of Zea mays, or corn.
April 25, 2017
Three graduate students in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences -- Phillip Martin, Ismaiel Szink and Rachel Rozum -- recently received prestigious National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships.
April 24, 2017
The Rock Ethics Institute at Penn State recently celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Stand Up Award by honoring students Brian Anthony Davis, Hayly Hoch and Alexis Scott. This award is presented to Penn State undergraduates who have demonstrated courage, fortitude and ethical leadership by taking a stand for a person, a cause or a belief.
March 23, 2017
STATE COLLEGE - A few years ago, the federal government changed its regulations that allowed people to do research on industrial hemp. The state passed legislation last year that made that possible in Pennsylvania. On Friday, the Department of Agriculture announced that 16 teams from across the state were approved to conduct studies on the plant. Penn State Professor Greg Roth is the head of one of those research teams.
March 17, 2017
Michael and Diane Katzaman, of Wernersville, have pledged an estate gift of approximately $1.7 million to be evenly divided between the Agriculture Fund, which supports Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, and a micro-scholarship fund administered through the University's Office of Undergraduate Education.
March 10, 2017
Growing sustainable energy crops without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, may be possible on seasonally wet, environmentally sensitive landscapes, according to researchers who conducted a study on Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) land.
March 3, 2017
Organic farmers have to make hard choices between protecting soil from erosion and controlling weeds. For example, large-scale organic farming relies heavily on tillage. Tilling breaks up the soil to kill weeds and prepare for planting. But intense tillage can compact soil, cause erosion, and deplete nutrients. As a result, some organic farmers are turning to cover crops for weed control.
February 22, 2017
"Food production must double by 2050 to feed the world's growing population." This truism has been repeated so often in recent years that it has become widely accepted among academics, policymakers and farmers, but now researchers are challenging this assertion and suggesting a new vision for the future of agriculture.
February 16, 2017
Sara Getson came to Penn State and developed an unexpected academic passion — fungi.
February 1, 2017
Collin Meyers, a 2010 graduate of the turfgrass science program in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will accompany the Atlanta Falcons as they take the field at the Super Bowl in Houston on Sunday. Meyers, a State College native, has been a grounds assistant for the Falcons for the past three seasons.
January 27, 2017
Representatives from the Penn State Agronomy Club, a student organization in the College of Agricultural Sciences, took first place at the National Forage Bowl competition at the American Forage and Grassland Conference, held Jan. 23-24 in Roanoke, Virginia. The competition requires students to identify forage and weed species and answer questions about many aspects of forages, from seeds to animal health, in a format similar to the popular game show "Jeopardy!"
January 26, 2017
Jonathan Lynch, professor of plant nutrition in the College of Agricultural Sciences, was one of 15 Penn State faculty members to be named distinguished professors by the University in January 2017.
January 15, 2017
Researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have received a $7 million dollar grant to design a low-cost, integrated system that can identify and screen for high-yielding, deeper-rooted crops. The interdisciplinary team will combine a suite of technologies designed to identify phenotypes and genes related to desirable root traits, with the goal of enhancing the breeding of crop varieties better adapted for nitrogen and water acquisition and carbon sequestration.
January 9, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State's Office of the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs has named 15 faculty members as distinguished professors. College of Agricultural Sciences •Jonathan P. Lynch, professor of plant nutrition
January 6, 2017
A $3.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation will support a new research project aimed at pinpointing the genes that confer disease resistance in cacao. The ultimate goal of the four-year study is to develop a new approach that plant scientists and breeders can use to identify the genetic basis for disease resistance in a variety of perennial crops.
January 4, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Dan Stearns, J. Franklin Styer Professor in the Department of Plant Science at Penn State, recently was awarded the status of Trailblazer by the National Association of Landscape Professionals.
January 4, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — David Mortensen, professor of weed and applied plant ecology in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State, was appointed to the National Organic Standards Board by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack. Mortensen will serve a five-year term on the board as a farming systems ecotoxicology expert.
