Food
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) announced its newly elected leaders for the next office term, beginning January 2024.
For farmers and researchers, a field is often like a giant chemistry set. The timing and amounts of different fertilizers to supply nutrients can interact with each other, the soil, and crops.
Corn is a classic American crop. First cultivated in North America thousands of years ago, it now blankets American farmland from coast to coast. The U.S. grows more corn than any other country. And the grain is used for everything from tortilla chips to cow feed, to biofuel.
Hidden beneath the delicate, red skin and juicy flesh of a tomato is a wealth of nutrients and genetic makeup. With recent research on the first genome of a species in the tomatillo tribe (part of the tomato family), we now have a better idea of how this vital plant family came to be.
Urban gardens offer many benefits for individual health, communities, and ecosystems. They promote sustainable agriculture, reduce food transportation costs, and reduce water runoff. However, urban gardeners also face several challenges, one of which is dealing with contaminants like lead.
Fields of amber grain may be the poetic image of American farmland. And it’s true that the U.S. grows plenty of wheat. But fields of yellow grain – corn – may be more accurate.