New Sugarcane Release Sweetens the Deal

ARS personal in a USDA greenhouse moving seedlings for transport to the fields — ARS personal move roughly 100K genetically unique seedlings for transplant in research fields to be selected for yield and adaptation in Louisiana’s temperate climate. (Anna Hale, D4762-1)

Sugarcane is well known for its ability to sweeten foods, but it also happens to be one of the best sources of biomass used to produce renewable fuels.

ARS scientists with the Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma, LA, developed and released a new variety of sugarcane (‘Ho 06-9002’) that checks all the boxes: high fiber content, excellent regrowth ability, high stalk population, cold tolerance, disease resistance, and excellent biomass yield. Such attributes make this sugarcane an exceptionally good candidate for cultivation in places that are not traditionally sugarcane-growing regions, allowing more farmers and growers to participate in the global biofuel economy.

Explore Other Discoveries

A scientist examines blueberries under a microscope.

Food Additive Takes on Duty as a Pesticide

ARS scientists found that methyl benzoate can repel, and even kill, other insects and pests, including the spotted wing drosophila fly.

Scanning electron micrograph of coffee berry borer.

For the Love of Coffee

ARS scientists studied Puerto Rican fungal strains as possible biological control agents for managing the coffee berry borer in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Herbicide Beefs Up Effective Biofumigant

Combining the biofumigant with an herbicide seems to curb infestations of purple nutsedge as well as reduce nematodes and the tomato wilt bacterium.

Hopping Against Climate Change

Often viewed as pests, grasshoppers may have a larger environmental role to play.

Saving A Favorite Superfood

ARS scientists are combatting pests and diseases affecting avocado production in the U.S.

Honey bee on a DNA fragment analysis map.

The Buzz Around Bee Genomics

Researchers with the ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research Unit have identified a region of the honey bee genome linked to reduced colony defensiveness.

The Potato Industry’s New Stud

ARS scientists created a new potato variety with greater yields and better processing qualities, especially for making chips and fries.

An adult wasp, Spathius galinae drills through ash bark to lay eggs

Wasp Could Fight Emerald Ash Borer

In the search for natural enemies of the emerald ash borer, one promising candidate is a tiny 5-7 millimeter-long parasitic wasp that lays its eggs on EAB larvae.

Topic

Crop Production & Protection