Allowing cover crops to grow two weeks longer in the spring and planting corn and soybean crops into them before termination is a strategy that may help no-till farmers deal with wet springs, according to Penn State researchers. The approach — known as planting green — could help no-till farmers counter a range of problems […]

An international team of researchers has discovered evidence of 27 previously unknown viruses in bees. The finding could help scientists design strategies to prevent the spread of viral pathogens among these important pollinators. “Populations of bees around the world are declining, and viruses are known to contribute to these declines,” said David Galbraith, research scientist […]

Overprescribing may be the main driver for the opioid epidemic in rural America, but economists say that other factors, including declining farm income, extreme weather, and other natural disasters, may also be contributing. In a study of relationships between socioeconomic variables and opioid-related drug overdoses, researchers found several correlations that are often not discussed in […]

Penn State researchers may have discovered a way to indicate which Honeycrisp apples will develop bitter pit disorder, a measure that could potentially save millions of dollars annually in wasted fruit. While Honeycrisp is not yet the most popular apple in the U. S., trailing Gala and Fuji in sales, more Honeycrisp trees have been […]

Did you know that nearly all male Holsteins alive today can be traced back to two bulls from the 1960s:  Pawnee Farm Arlinda Chief and Round-Oak Rag Apple Elevation? “Artificial insemination was really beginning to take off in the 1960s,” said Chad Dechow, a researcher in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences. “Today, three-quarters of […]