Alabama has been a stranger to the rain several times during the...
Research
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Going Green: Blersch’s lab addresses crucial environmental work
By Amy Weaver Contrary to what the name might suggest, the work currently happening in the Green Infrastructure Lab at Auburn has nothing to do with green-colored roads or buildings. No Emerald City here. “Green infrastructure is an approach to managing water and...
Applied biotechnology student receives prestigious internship
Auburn University College of Agriculture student Leah Johnson received a highly competitive collegiate internship with HudsonAlpha, a premier institute for biotechnology. She is the second student from the applied biotechnology major in the Department of Entomology...
Planting shifts into high gear at Alabama agricultural research units
As spring planting shifts into high gear in farmers’ fields throughout the Southeast, few agricultural operations come close to matching the diversity of crops and...
Predicting investment returns for crop irrigation
New model to help farmers make better investment decisions By Danielle Lunny Alabama farmers considering investing in irrigation equipment will soon have a free,...
Pest management solutions: Faculty and students receive regional recognition
Auburn University graduate students and one faculty member rose above and beyond for this year’s Southern Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Awards. For the first time,...
Agricultural grants address problems on Alabama farms
Is growing a cover crop on Alabama farms a solution or a problem for growers in the state who are trying to prevent soil and water erosion losses? A grant funded through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station research program for the current fiscal year will...
Adhikari to serve as interim associate dean, associate director
Sushil Adhikari will serve as the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s interim associate dean for research and interim associate director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, effective Feb. 16. He replaces Arthur Appel, who stepped into the role of...
Experiment Station researchers leading nutrient management study with $1.3 million grant
Each year, the Alabama poultry industry produces two fully loaded Nimitz-class aircraft carriers’ worth of poultry litter, or about 3.6 billion pounds. Poultry litter is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, and much of the waste product is applied to farmland as a...
Researchers study potential savings from reducing time on feed for weaned pigs
Research made possible by $300,000 USDA-NIFA grant The scale of pork production in the U. S. is such that reducing the average pig’s time on feed by just one day can put $76 million back into pork producers’ pockets. Animal scientists at Auburn University are...
Using thermal imaging to measure peanut physiological characteristics
Auburn-developed method could advance efforts to breed a drought-tolerant peanut Auburn University researchers have devised a new means of measuring the physiological characteristics of peanut plants that should prove to be instrumental in speeding the breeding...
Taking the guesswork out of catfish sperm quality
Catfish farmers may be hurting their profitability by needlessly sacrificing male catfish when collecting sperm for breeding, according to a recent Auburn study. The same study discovered the indicators farmers commonly use to select males for breeding, like head size...
Auburn research looks to control deer feeding on row crops
When can there be too many deer even for a hunting enthusiast? When that same enthusiast is a row-crop farmer, and the deer are using their fields as an all-you-can-eat buffet. While deer grazing on crops has been a consistent problem for decades, it has escalated in...
Finding frost-tolerant blueberries for Alabama growers
Alabama blueberry farmers could soon start growing more frost-tolerant cultivars thanks to recent research at Auburn University. Most Alabama growers are still heavily relying on the native species rabbiteye (Vaccinium virgatum Ait), while producers in neighboring...
Peanut breeding making strides
The Auburn University peanut breeding program has made significant strides in a surprisingly short amount of time, with one of its varietal releases now commanding 40-50% of the peanut acreage in Alabama.
Lawson part of team shaping Alabama’s State Wildlife Action Plan
Auburn University’s Kelly Homan and Katelyn Lawson have joined forces to assist the state of Alabama in the creation of its 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) revision.
Researchers fight high mortality rate of largemouth bass
Vaccine development made possible by $300,000 USDA-NIFA grant Largemouth bass producers may soon have a new vaccine for a common pathogen affecting the unusually death-prone fish species. Auburn University researchers are working to lower the fish’s near 80% mortality...
Mahas part of first team to investigate Southern cotton leafroll dwarf virus management
As John Mahas prepared for a move to start postdoctoral research at Cornell University, he was still wrapping up research in the Auburn University lab where he earned his master’s and doctorate. It was here he focused his work on managing the emerging cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) and its vector, the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii. This research led to the publication of two peer-reviewed papers, one of which marked a first in the Southeastern United States.
Water Resources Center engages community in Moore’s Mill Creek Planning
As a project manager with Auburn’s Water Resource Center, Cooley manages watershed restoration projects and educates communities on how to care for rivers, streams and creeks.
Dunham awarded $650K to research improvement in genotypes of multiple catfish
USDA-NIFA recently awarded a $650,000 grant to Rex Dunham to genetically improve the overall genotype and phenotype of both channel catfish and a hybrid between channel catfish females and blue catfish males. Dunham is a professor in the School of Fisheries,...
Promoting blueberry production in Alabama
As the U.S. celebrates National Blueberry Month in July, researchers in the Auburn College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station are looking for ways to boost blueberry production in the state by introducing more profitable cultivars for both field and protected cultivation.
Agricultural economists’ simulator to weigh in on U.S. Conservation Reserve Program
Researchers at Auburn University aim to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions due to agriculture by modifying one of the world’s largest voluntary conservation programs: the USDA’s 25-million-acre Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
Understanding the role of the soil microbiome in plant health
Soil scientist Audrey Gamble is working to improve sustainability of cotton production by improving soil microbial structure and function.
Auburn scientists begin project to build robot to help ornamental plant growers
An AI-powered robot will be able to inventory thousands of plants while also collecting data on plant growth, pests and diseases.
Sustainable beef production system could improve profitability
Sometimes, one Auburn University researcher says, it makes sense to increase input costs in one part of the system if it means costs are decreased somewhere else or the profit margin of the system is increased.
Maity awarded $300,000 in support of plant research and agricultural production systems
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) recently awarded Aniruddha Maity a $300,000 grant to….
Brewer awarded $434,000 to study using existing water infrastructure for limiting invasive carp
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, has awarded Dr. Shannon Brewer a $433, 867 grant to….
Agricultural grants address problems on Alabama farms
Is growing a cover crop on Alabama farms a solution or a problem for growers in the state who are trying to prevent soil and water erosion losses? A grant funded through the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station research program for the current fiscal year will...
Adhikari to serve as interim associate dean, associate director
Sushil Adhikari will serve as the Auburn University College of Agriculture’s interim associate dean for research and interim associate director of the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, effective Feb. 16. He replaces Arthur Appel, who stepped into the role of...
Experiment Station researchers leading nutrient management study with $1.3 million grant
Each year, the Alabama poultry industry produces two fully loaded Nimitz-class aircraft carriers’ worth of poultry litter, or about 3.6 billion pounds. Poultry litter is rich in nitrogen and phosphorus, and much of the waste product is applied to farmland as a...
Researchers study potential savings from reducing time on feed for weaned pigs
Research made possible by $300,000 USDA-NIFA grant The scale of pork production in the U. S. is such that reducing the average pig’s time on feed by just one day can put $76 million back into pork producers’ pockets. Animal scientists at Auburn University are...
Using thermal imaging to measure peanut physiological characteristics
Auburn-developed method could advance efforts to breed a drought-tolerant peanut Auburn University researchers have devised a new means of measuring the physiological characteristics of peanut plants that should prove to be instrumental in speeding the breeding...
Taking the guesswork out of catfish sperm quality
Catfish farmers may be hurting their profitability by needlessly sacrificing male catfish when collecting sperm for breeding, according to a recent Auburn study. The same study discovered the indicators farmers commonly use to select males for breeding, like head size...
Auburn research looks to control deer feeding on row crops
When can there be too many deer even for a hunting enthusiast? When that same enthusiast is a row-crop farmer, and the deer are using their fields as an all-you-can-eat buffet. While deer grazing on crops has been a consistent problem for decades, it has escalated in...
Finding frost-tolerant blueberries for Alabama growers
Alabama blueberry farmers could soon start growing more frost-tolerant cultivars thanks to recent research at Auburn University. Most Alabama growers are still heavily relying on the native species rabbiteye (Vaccinium virgatum Ait), while producers in neighboring...
Peanut breeding making strides
The Auburn University peanut breeding program has made significant strides in a surprisingly short amount of time, with one of its varietal releases now commanding 40-50% of the peanut acreage in Alabama.
Lawson part of team shaping Alabama’s State Wildlife Action Plan
Auburn University’s Kelly Homan and Katelyn Lawson have joined forces to assist the state of Alabama in the creation of its 2025 State Wildlife Action Plan (SWAP) revision.
Researchers fight high mortality rate of largemouth bass
Vaccine development made possible by $300,000 USDA-NIFA grant Largemouth bass producers may soon have a new vaccine for a common pathogen affecting the unusually death-prone fish species. Auburn University researchers are working to lower the fish’s near 80% mortality...
Mahas part of first team to investigate Southern cotton leafroll dwarf virus management
As John Mahas prepared for a move to start postdoctoral research at Cornell University, he was still wrapping up research in the Auburn University lab where he earned his master’s and doctorate. It was here he focused his work on managing the emerging cotton leafroll dwarf virus (CLRDV) and its vector, the cotton aphid, Aphis gossypii. This research led to the publication of two peer-reviewed papers, one of which marked a first in the Southeastern United States.
Water Resources Center engages community in Moore’s Mill Creek Planning
As a project manager with Auburn’s Water Resource Center, Cooley manages watershed restoration projects and educates communities on how to care for rivers, streams and creeks.
Dunham awarded $650K to research improvement in genotypes of multiple catfish
USDA-NIFA recently awarded a $650,000 grant to Rex Dunham to genetically improve the overall genotype and phenotype of both channel catfish and a hybrid between channel catfish females and blue catfish males. Dunham is a professor in the School of Fisheries,...
Promoting blueberry production in Alabama
As the U.S. celebrates National Blueberry Month in July, researchers in the Auburn College of Agriculture and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station are looking for ways to boost blueberry production in the state by introducing more profitable cultivars for both field and protected cultivation.
Agricultural economists’ simulator to weigh in on U.S. Conservation Reserve Program
Researchers at Auburn University aim to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions due to agriculture by modifying one of the world’s largest voluntary conservation programs: the USDA’s 25-million-acre Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).
Understanding the role of the soil microbiome in plant health
Soil scientist Audrey Gamble is working to improve sustainability of cotton production by improving soil microbial structure and function.
Auburn scientists begin project to build robot to help ornamental plant growers
An AI-powered robot will be able to inventory thousands of plants while also collecting data on plant growth, pests and diseases.
Sustainable beef production system could improve profitability
Sometimes, one Auburn University researcher says, it makes sense to increase input costs in one part of the system if it means costs are decreased somewhere else or the profit margin of the system is increased.
Maity awarded $300,000 in support of plant research and agricultural production systems
The USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) recently awarded Aniruddha Maity a $300,000 grant to….
Brewer awarded $434,000 to study using existing water infrastructure for limiting invasive carp
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, in consultation with the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks, has awarded Dr. Shannon Brewer a $433, 867 grant to….