California Ag Network

Tag: ARS

  • Model Filter System Removes Antibiotics from Wastewater

    A model for an economical filter system that can remove antibiotics from wastewater has been designed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and University of California-Riverside (UCR) collaborators.

    Microbiologist Mark Ibekwe with the ARS Agricultural Water Efficiency and Salinity Research Unit in Riverside, California, and UCR soil chemist Daniel Ashworth constructed the prototype system using four layers of natural materials: gravel, sand, soil, and biochar in a column 50-cm tall and 12-cm diameter.

    They used the laboratory-scale model to remove four antibiotics: amoxicillin, cefalexin, sulfadiazine, and tetracycline at various levels of efficiency. These four antibiotics were selected for testing in the scale model because they are among the most common in wastewater treatment plant effluent. Conventional wastewater treatment plant systems are relatively effective at removing nutrients and bacteria but can be somewhat ineffective at removing antibiotics.

    The effectiveness of the laboratory-scale system varied with the antibiotic being evaluated. It successfully removed 98 percent of the tetracycline, followed by 91 percent of cefalexin, 81 percent of amoxicillin and 51 percent of sulfadiazine. The antibiotics had initial concentrations of 10 ppb, comparable to levels that have been seen in municipal wastewater.

    Amoxicillin and cefalexin removal were largely controlled by chemical degradation in the gravel layer, while sulfadiazine was largely removed by a combination of chemical and microbial degradation in the soil mixed with a biochar layer. Tetracycline was primarily removed by chemical reactions with water (hydrolysis) in the gravel layer.

    “These results show the importance of using layers of different materials to target different antibiotics rather than expecting one layer and material will be able to do the job.” said Ibekwe.

    Increasing the time it takes for the water stream to pass through the column also improved removal efficiency, especially for amoxicillin and cefalexin. In this design, the simulated wastewater enters at the bottom of the column to saturate the bottom layer and then is pumped up through the column to flow out through the top.

    A “full-size” scale-upped version of the researchers’ filter system—one that might serve a small-town wastewater treatment plant—would be about 2 meters tall and 50 cm in diameter, according to Ashworth. Of course, you could use multiples of the columns to serve a larger need and the footprint would still be relatively small, which is one of the powerful features of this system, Ashworth added.

    There are some existing systems that can remove antibiotics from wastewater, but these tend to be very expensive or require much more space. This research was published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • New Blackberries: Eclipse, Galaxy, and Twilight

    The best of eastern and western blackberry genetics have been melded to create Eclipse, Galaxy and Twilight, three new blackberry varieties released by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

    ARS’ Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon, working in cooperation with the Oregon State University Agricultural Experiment Station, has blended the desirable traits of eastern erect-cane blackberries and western trailing blackberries into new varieties with thornless semi-erect canes to fill new niches in the fresh berry market.

    Eclipse was the first of the three varieties from these crosses to move from the test fields to final selection. Its name was changed from ORUS 2816-4 to Eclipse to commemorate the total solar eclipse visible in Corvallis in 2017.

    One of Eclipse’s parents, Triple Crown, known for highest marks in productivity, vigor and flavor, ripens in late summer. Eclipse inherited the same triple high scores, but it ripens earlier, filling a hole in the fresh market harvest season between when trailing varieties ripen and when Triple Crown ripens.

    “Eclipse inherited Triple Crown’s outstanding flavor, beloved for its sweet, fruity taste, with hints of root beer and spice. But what Eclipse has that Triple Crown doesn’t is a firmer skin that gives you a good pop when you bite down. Firmer skin also means the berries handle and ship better and don’t leak, which is always an attractive feature for the fresh market,” said biological technician Mary Peterson, who works in the blackberry breeding program.

    The second blackberry release, Galaxy, also has Triple Crown as a parent and inherited similar traits, with the firmer skin of Eclipse. But it produces a few days earlier than Eclipse. Galaxy’s berries are slightly larger than those of Eclipse with dark-colored fruit.

    “People who’ve tasted Galaxy have detected hints of blueberry, mint and grape,” Peterson said.

    The third release was named following the same sky theme, and the specific name Twilight was selected because it ripens last of the three varieties, 4-5 days after Eclipse, Peterson explained.

    With an ancestry seven-eighths eastern U.S. blackberry and one-eighth western blackberry, Twilight is higher yielding than Eclipse. Tasters have remarked on its complex, deep blackberry jam flavor, with floral and honey notes, but the berries are perhaps not quite as sweet.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • USDA Study Reveals Airborne Fungus Can Trigger Plant Growth

    The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) recently announced that a harmless airborne fungus, Cladosporium sphaerospermum strain TC09 (TC09), can dramatically accelerate plant growth if a germinating plant is near the fungus as it emits volatiles or gases.

    Scientists used tobacco and pepper plants as models to study the conditions for accelerated plant growth once exposed to TC09. Following a relatively short duration of exposure at the seedling stage, the plants began to sense the fungi’s volatiles and gases. USDA scientists were then able to stimulate extremely rapid plant growth, earlier flowering and fruit yield increases.

    “This is a game-changer for agriculture and for research that seeks innovative ways to accelerate plant growth,” said USDA Scientist Dr. Chris Dardick. “Its implications are far-reaching and will help ARS’ commitment to deliver cutting-edge scientific advances for American farmers and producers.”

    The effects of TC09 were largely correlated with the duration of exposure. Visual observation indicated that plants with TC09 exposure for 10 days exhibited substantially more vigorous growth, thicker stems, larger leaves, and a more robust root system relative to plants without fungal exposure. Results also showed that treated plants flowered 20 days sooner and pepper plants yielded up to 213 percent more fruit that was ready for harvest three weeks earlier than untreated controls. More recent studies have shown similar research results for numerous other crops such as lettuce, arugula, kale, basil, and other leafy greens.

    This species of fungus is commonly found in indoor environments and is not known to cause disease in plants or any ailments in humans or animals. Also, unlike other microbial species that have been tested, the researchers showed that TC09 does not induce defense or stress responses in exposed plants. Scientists hope to identify the specific volatiles and gases that stimulate plant growth in future research.

    Research on microbial biostimulants that enhance plant growth has recently intensified because they provide an eco-friendly, cost-effective and sustainable strategy to benefit agriculture. USDA scientists will continue to study TC09 and seek practical strategies to apply it during commercial crop production, particularly for urban and indoor agricultural systems. They are awaiting approval of a patent and commercial evaluation license and partnered with NASA to apply this research technology to spaceflight conditions. This research was supported in part by grants from USDA-ARS, ARS’ Appalachian Fruit Research Lab, and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • Researchers are Juicing Alfalfa as a Next-Generation Aquafeed

    Cows and horses aren’t the only fans of alfalfa. Yellow perch like it, too.

    That’s what Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists and their collaborators concluded when they fed the fish pellets made with a protein concentrate from the legume crop’s protein-rich leaves.

    They’re experimenting with alfalfa as part of a broader effort to find suitable alternatives to using fishmeal, a protein-rich ingredient in aquaculture feeds given to “farm-raised” finfish and shellfish. Aquaculture is the fastest-growing sector of the food industry worldwide, generating $1.37 billion in U.S. sales alone. However, there’s concern that increasing consumer demand for aquaculture products will outpace what the ocean’s wild-caught stock of sardine, anchovy, menhaden and other small forage fish can supply as a fishmeal resource for aquafeeds.

    According to Deborah Samac, who leads the ARS Plant Science Research Unit in St. Paul, Minnesota, formulating aquafeeds with plant-based proteins could help lessen the need for fishmeal in aquafeeds, reducing aquaculture’s impact on aquatic natural resources. Using nutritious, affordable alternatives to fishmeal could also ease the burden on pelagic fish populations, which are important members of the marine ecosystem and its inhabitants, particularly larger predatory species.

    Deborah Samac examining alfalfa growth

    Soybean meal, barley and algae are among alternatives being explored or already commercialized. Now, many of the same qualities that make alfalfa “Queen of the Forages” (and third largest U.S. field crop) could put it on the aquafeed shortlist as well. These include a crude protein content of 15 to 22 percent and a rich assortment of vitamins, including A, B and D, as well as minerals such as magnesium and copper.

    Alfalfa is typically fed to dairy cows, beef cattle and horses as hay, silage or a direct forage. But it can also be “juiced” for its protein concentrate, and that’s the form Samac and her University of Minnesota (UM) collaborators used for their yellow perch feeding trials.

    The actual formulation process can involve passing alfalfa leaves through a screw press, squeezing out juices and then heating and centrifuging them to produce a protein concentrate, which is then dried and processed into small pellets along with other ingredients.

    The feeding trial results showed that perch given pellets containing the alfalfa protein concentrate (APC) gained somewhat less weight than perch given fishmeal formulations. But there was little difference between their health, longevity and overall wellbeing. Their fillet yields, quality, composition and flavor were also similar, the researchers reported in a paper submitted to the journal Aquaculture Reports.

    According to Samac, alfalfa could help impart greater sustainability to the $133.5 billion global aquafeed market by virtue of the ecosystem “services” and other benefits the crop provides.

    For example, as a legume, it is a super star at naturally converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form that corn and other crops can use for their growth, alleviating the need to apply chemical fertilizers. Alfalfa’s robust growth makes it an ideal cover crop, anchoring soil, retaining its moisture, helping it store carbon and controlling weeds. Alfalfa flowers are also important food for both wild and domesticated bees, contributing to the latter’s production of honey, wax and other products.

    Samac said additional studies are underway to fine-tune the APC concentrations used in aquafeed formulations, evaluate different processing methods, and expand feeding trials, which include rainbow trout. Value-added uses for byproducts of the APC juicing process will also be explored, she added.

    Her collaborators on the effort are Jessica Coburn, Scott Wells, Craig Sheaffer, Roger Ruan and Nicholas Phelps—all of UM in St. Paul—and Gibson Gaylord of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Bozeman Fish Technology Center. Collaborators on the expanded trials include Dong Fang Deng (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Matt Digman (University of Wisconsin-Madison) and animal physiologist Brian Shepherd, with ARS’ Dairy Forage Research Unit in Madison, WI.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • Plant, Insect Viruses Work Together to Spread Disease

    In what may be a first for science, researchers with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) have found an example of plant and insect viruses working together to increase their spread.

    Molecular biologist Michelle Heck, of the ARS Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research Lab in Ithaca, NY, scouts for aphids (Photo by Jennifer Wilson, Cornell University).

    Michelle Heck, an ARS research molecular biologist, was leading research into poleroviruses, a type of plant virus spread by aphids, when she and Cornell University graduate students Jenny Wilson and Patricia Pinheiro made the surprising discovery. Heck is in ARS’s Emerging Pests and Pathogens Research Unit at the Boyce Thompson Institute, on the campus of Cornell University, in Ithaca, NY.

    “Poleroviruses produce a molecule, called P Zero (P0), which dampens the aphid’s immune system,” Heck said. “When the aphid immune’s system is turned down, it allows an aphid virus called a densovirus to infect the insect at very high levels.”

    Densoviruses have a curious effect on aphids: Aphids usually develop wings when the weather begins to cool, but densoviruses can induce the insects to sprout wings. When poleroviruses and densoviruses interact in this way, it allows them to carry the polerovirus farther and faster.

    “We think this is the result of evolution,” Heck said. “Both the plant virus and the insect virus have evolved to manipulate the aphid. Our work shows they are in cahoots to promote virus spread, though possibly at the aphid’s expense.”

    The research is vital to crop producers because aphids transmit more than 100 different viruses to peaches, tomatoes, potatoes, apples, cotton, cabbage, corn, and other plants. In particular, the potato leafroll virus can reduce the worldwide potato yield by more than 50 percent, causing the loss of 20 million tons of crop each year. There is a new and emerging polerovirus infecting cotton, cotton leafroll dwarf virus, that Heck and her team are now studying.

    “Aphids are resistant to many commonly used insecticides, so chemical treatment is not effective in killing them and blocking the spread of viruses,” Heck said. “By the time a farmer notices aphids in the field, it is too late to block the spread of these viruses by aphids.”

    Follow-on research includes a quest to understand how the polerovirus protein, P0, suppresses the aphid’s immune system at the molecular level. Heck is also looking at exactly how the densovirus triggers the aphid to grow wings.

    “We now know that poleroviruses can interfere with the aphid’s immune response to densoviruses,” she said. The question Heck hopes to answer is, can the densovirus infection be made so severe that it kills the aphids, and if so, could it be used as a biological control tool? – By Scott Elliott, ARS Office of Communications

  • ARS Scientists Seek Answers from Spotted Lanternfly Dispersal

    The black spots and beautiful colors can be deceiving.

    At first glance, the Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is a beautiful insect whose colors mimic the beloved ladybug with its polka-dotted outer wings and red hind wing. But this is not the family-friendly insect that people love to see crawling on their wrist or captured in a framed print in a powder room.

    The Spotted Lanternfly is an invasive species that destroy fruit crops, trees and plants by hopping from plant to plant, crop to crop, and tree to tree. Although native to regions in China, India, and Vietnam, it was first detected in Berks County, Pennsylvania in 2014. Since then, Pennsylvania vineyards have seen considerable damage in high infestation areas and the Mid-Atlantic states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Virginia and West Virginia have also suffered from its presence. Insecticides are effective at killing the insect on grapevines, but they are expensive and of limited use because of constant re-infestation from the Spotted Lanternfly dispersing from wild hosts to surrounding vineyards.

    The good thing is that the Spotted Lanternfly isn’t known to bite or sting—but they are known to ruin an agricultural harvest. So, U.S. Department of Agriculture Scientists Dr. Tracy Leskey and Dr. Laura Nixon of the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia, initiated research on the invasive pest to see if they could develop sustainable pest management strategies and use the insect’s dispersal patterns for other prolific specialty crop pests.

    Leskey and Nixon collected Spotted Lanternfly nymphs and adults from host plants in sites within a quarantine zone in Virginia. They then measured the pest’s vertical climbing and horizontal jumping capacity and evaluated the effect of fluorescent marking powders on the nymph and adult’s mobility and ability to survive. Each color of powder (green, blue, orange, and pink) was tested at least twice per host plant. When the presence of fluorescent powder wasn’t visible, a UV flashlight was shone onto a nymph to confirm fluorescence. To establish baseline vertical walking and horizontal jumping dispersal capacity, Leskey and Nixon also evaluated all mobile life stages using bioassays conducted under field conditions in the quarantine zone.

    The findings were surprising. Spotted Lanternfly nymphs climbed significantly longer vertical distances compared with adults, while early adults (pre-oviposition period) jumped longer horizontal distances compared with nymphs or late adults (oviposition period) based on single jump measurements. The research also showed that marking nymphs and adults with fluorescent powder has no significant effect on vertical or horizontal movement and did not affect their mortality. Rather, research showed that the pest can be marked with fluorescent powders and retrieved from potted host plants within 24 hours. This means that marking the Spotted Lanternfly with fluorescent powder can serve as an appropriate method for measuring their dispersal in the environment. This can ultimately help researchers understand the Spotted Lanternfly’s migration pattern and find a way to prevent future movement and destruction.

    Dr. Leskey and Dr. Nixon are currently working to continue their research of Spotted Lanternfly dispersal behavior so they can continue to deliver scientific solutions to national and global agricultural challenges.

    The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

    At a location around Reading, PA., USDA-ARS entomologist, Tracy Leskey from the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, WV., inspects a tree limb covered (infested) with SLF-spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) 2nd and 3rd instar nymph (black); 4th instar nymph (red body).

  • First Meal is Vital for Calf Survival

    The first meal of their lives may well determine the fate of calves; if they don’t get what they need quickly, the newborns may not survive to weaning age, said two scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS).

    Colostrum is a vital nutrient that mothers provide in the first feedings that newborn farm animals must have within 24 hours of birth. Calves are born without much of an immune system, and colostrum provides them with a rich dose of antibodies, or immunoglobulins.

    “It is very important for a calf to receive protective antibodies from its mother,” said Mike Clawson, research molecular biologist at the ARS Genetics, Breeding, and Animal Health Research Unit in Clay Center, NE.  “Those antibodies can protect the calf from the same pathogens its mother was exposed to long enough for its own immunity to develop.” Clawson’s research includes the genomic aspects regarding the failure of passive transfer of colostrum antibodies in cattle.

    A Hereford cow nurses her calf. Calves that do not receive enough colostrum face increased risk of disease and death (Photo by Bruce Fritz).

    Calves that do not receive antibodies from their mothers are at profound risk for disease and death. Before they are born, their mothers concentrate immunoglobulins in colostrum, which is essentially a first milk. Calves typically nurse shortly after birth, and the ingested antibodies are ultimately transported to their circulatory system.

    Timing is everything in this process because shortly after delivery, the mother’s production of immunoglobulin drops by 90 percent. In roughly that same time span, newborns lose the ability to take in the benefits of colostrum.

    “The newborn gut is permeable to large molecules at birth, but within 24 to 48 hours it becomes impermeable to them,” said Jeff Vallet, ARS national program leader for food animal production in Beltsville, MD. “Even if we were to provide colostrum to older newborns, absorption of the immunoglobulins is reduced or eliminated.”

    According to Clawson, colostrum deprivation is the greatest risk factor for a calf to become sick or die before weaning. “Calves that do not receive colostrum are 50 times or more likely to die in the first 3 weeks of life,” he said. Calves that do not receive adequate colostrum yet manage to survive past weaning are at elevated risk for developing disease later in their lives.

    Farmers, ranchers and veterinarians can determine the colostrum status of their newborn livestock through the simple immunocrit blood test. If the newborns lack immunoglobulins, they may be hand-fed commercially available colostrum replacements or supplements.

    A 2016 paper published in Europe studied the cost of colostrum antibody deficiency to calves. That study estimated a loss of about $68 and $91, respectively, for each dairy and beef calf. In the United States, over 20 percent of beef cattle calves and 19 percent of dairy calves suffer from colostrum deprivation. – by Scott Elliott, USDA-ARS Office of Communications

  • Freeze-Dried Strawberries & Ice Cream Make for a Very Stable Relationship

    ARS researchers have shown some freeze-dried berry powders—especially freeze-dried strawberry powder—can act as outstanding stabilizers in ice cream and other frozen dairy desserts.

    Freeze-dried strawberry powder is so effective a stabilizer that frozen dairy desserts with it included will maintain their shape even after reaching room temperature, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS) research food technologist Cristina Bilbao-Sainz with the Healthy Processed Foods Research Unit in Albany, California.

    To be technically classified as ice cream, it must contain between 10 percent and 16 percent milkfat; everything else is called a frozen dairy dessert.

    Physical scientist Craig Carriere enjoys fat-free soft-serve ice cream produced with Fantesk (Photo by Keith Weller).

    Without a stabilizer, ice cream—home-made or commercial—can become unpleasantly crunchy with the growth of large ice crystals. It can happen in either or both the ice cream maker or the freezer, when temperatures change. Stabilizers also slow down melting, prevent wheying off (the leaking of a clear watery serum), help avoid shrinking during storage and increase your mouth’s perception of creaminess.

    Standard stabilizers such as sodium alginate, guar gum, iota carrageenan, xanthan gum and carboxymethyl cellulose are commonplace. But people tend to react negatively to these unfamiliar, chemical sounding names when they appear on an ice cream label, assuming these must be artificial ingredients.

    Actually, many do come from natural sources. For example, sodium alginate is extracted from brown seaweed.

    Bilbao-Sainz became intrigued with the idea of freeze-dried fruit powders as ice cream stabilizers when an all-natural dessert maker came looking for scientific facts about them. The possibilities of freeze-dried fruit powder have been previously known but not technically quantified.

    “We discovered that some of the freeze-dried fruit powders—especially strawberries—completely prevent the melt-down of dairy frozen desserts similar to ice cream made with whole milk, whole whipping cream, sugar and skim milk powder,” Bilbao-Sainz said. “Freeze-dried berry powder will absorb moisture from the premix base, improving its stability and texture to the point where the frozen dessert will keep its shape even after “melting” to room temperature.”

    This is probably due to the fiber in the berry powder becoming completely hydrated, which contributes to an increase in viscosity and resistance to melt-down, she explained.

    In Bilbao-Sainz’s testing, adding 3.5 percent of either strawberry, raspberry or blackberry freeze‐dried powder reduced the water available for ice crystal formation during stirring and freezing, preventing crystal growth and slowing melting. That translates to adding about 0.7 ounces for a 1-quart home ice cream maker.

    Strawberry powder was the best stabilizer, completely preventing melt‐down, followed closely by raspberry. While blackberry powder prevented the frozen dessert from wheying off the foam structure still collapsed so it lost its original shape.

    Blueberry powder, on the other hand, did not prevent melt-down or ice crystal formation during refreezing, and the frozen dessert showed a little wheying off.

    Of course, using freeze-dried strawberry powder as a stabilizer in frozen dairy desserts such as ice creams also means accounting for the added strawberry flavoring—a plus if you are making strawberry balsamic vinegar ice cream, more difficult in a brown butter bourbon ice cream recipe. — By Kim Kaplan, USDA-ARS

    This research was published in the Journal of Food Processing and Preservation. The Agricultural Research Service is the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s chief scientific in-house research agency. Daily, ARS focuses on solutions to agricultural problems affecting America. Each dollar invested in agricultural research results in $20 of economic impact.

  • New Traps Cut Off Citrus Greening Pests from Hiding Places

    Researchers across the nation are struggling to end the scourge of citrus greening disease, also known as huanglongbing. The disease renders citrus fruit inedible and eventually kills entire orchards. In Florida alone, from 2012-2016 the disease caused production losses of $4.4 billion and eliminated about 7,900 jobs.

    With economic impact like that, it’s no wonder that previous citrus greening research and mitigation efforts have mainly focused on commercial production. Now, researchers with the Agricultural Research Service’s (ARS) Horticultural Research Laboratory in Fort Pierce, FL, and their collaborators are bringing the citrus greening fight to the suburbs, where citrus trees are popular landscape plantings.

    The Asian citrus psyllid, an insect about the size of an aphid (roughly 1/8 of an inch), carries the bacterium Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus in its salivary glands. As it feeds on citrus leaves, the psyllid transmits the bacterium to the tree. The bacterium then prevents sugars created through photosynthesis from traveling throughout the tree. The result is yellowed leaves, bitter fruit, and eventual tree death.

    Spraying insecticides is not really an option in residential areas because many homeowners either have concerns about insecticides or find it too difficult to adequately treat backyard trees, said ARS research entomologist Joseph Patt.

    “There are virtually no control measures being taken against psyllids in citrus trees growing in residential and commercial landscapes,” he said. “This is important because the psyllid can fly from residential areas to commercial citrus groves. In other words, residential areas provide a kind of refuge for the psyllids because homeowners haven’t had a way to control them in their backyard trees.”

    Leaves of an orange tree infected with Huanglongbing, or citrus greening. The blotchy mottling pattern seen here, along with thickening, are characteristic symptoms of infected leaves.

    Patt and Texas A&M-Kingsville entomologists Andrew Chow and Mamoudou Setamou developed “attract-and-kill” traps to prevent this hide-and-seek, back-and-forth migration of psyllids. The traps, which are hung from citrus trees, are the same color as young citrus foliage and contain a fast-acting insecticide that kills the psyllid. According to Patt, the traps provide an environmentally friendly way for homeowners to help control Asian citrus psyllid and citrus greening disease. The insecticide remains in the device and does not spread to the surrounding foliage. The active ingredient is not toxic to mammals or birds and does not persist in the environment.

    Initial testing was completed last year in the Rio Grande region of Texas. “The results are promising,” Patt said. “Deployment of 20 attract-and-kill devices per test tree resulted in a 90-percent decrease in psyllid eggs compared to unprotected test trees. We are currently working on a design for use in commercial citrus. Psyllids invade citrus groves by first landing in the trees growing along the edge of the grove, so we will run tests to determine if devices placed only on border trees are effective in controlling the psyllid throughout the grove.” – by Scott Elliott, USDA-ARS Office of Communications

  • Bing Cherries: A Natural Health Remedy that Grows on Trees?

    There are many amazing things in nature, and a USDA scientist in California is exploring evidence that Bing cherries contain some wondrous health possibilities.

    “We’re testing whether the consumption of sweet cherry juice can improve human health across several cognitive and physiological systems in the body,” said Kevin Laugero, a systems physiologist and research nutritionist with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Western Human Nutrition Research Center in Davis, CA. The study explores evidence that Bing cherries contain bioactive compounds that improve human health. Fresh cherries aren’t available all year, so demonstrating the effects of cherry juice would potentially circumvent limited access to the benefits of this otherwise seasonal fruit.

    The overall goal of Laugero’s study is to test the effects of sweet cherry juice on cardiovascular disease risk factors and cognitive functions in at-risk persons, specifically examining biomarkers that indicate conditions associated with metabolic syndrome.

    “Metabolic syndrome is a term used to describe the presence of a cluster of factors associated with increased risk for developing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases,” Laugero said.

    The American Heart Association defines metabolic syndrome as the presence of three or more of the following conditions: abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceride levels, low HDL cholesterol levels, and high fasting glucose levels.

    “Many of the health benefits of consuming cherries may be due to their anti-inflammatory potential,” he said. “Some chronic diseases and conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, and Alzheimer’s have been linked to elevated inflammation.”

    According to Laugero, cherries are a good source of anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compounds, including vitamin C, beta-carotene, flavonoids, and anthocyanins—the pigment that gives the cherries their dark-red color. These compounds may reduce inflammation by reducing oxidative stress, lipid oxidation, and other inflammatory regulating molecules.

    Laugero and retired ARS chemist Darshan Kelley have collaborated on other cherry-related research, including the recent publication of review article on the health benefits of cherries.