News Stories - Page 10

The University of Georgia’s Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture has awarded eight seed grants to fund initial research for projects at the convergence of agriculture, engineering, computing and related areas of study. The grants, the first of their kind from IIPA, follow a strategic push by the university to improve its industry collaboration across fields of study and support foundational research to advance agriculture and economic development in the state of Georgia.

A multidisciplinary team of University of Georgia agriculture experts are working to determine causes and solutions to postharvest quality problems that have hit Georgia’s blueberry growers hard in recent seasons. Funded by the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Office of Research and UGA Cooperative Extension, the project will address “major issues” with fruit quality, particularly in rabbiteye blueberries.

On a warm morning in mid-September, tractor-drawn peanut-digging equipment burrowed beneath the peanut vines on the first of Tift County peanut farmer Greg Davis’s fields. This is the day peanut producers — and University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agents and UGA peanut researchers — work all season for.

It’s almost that time of year again: January is the month for seed catalogs galore. Seed catalogs are the embodiment of possibility, a chance for gardeners to envision the ever-elusive perfect garden. It is one of my favorite times in the garden year.

From Joro spiders and bald eagles to Guggenheim Fellows and “good stress,” 2022 was another fascinating year for UGA research. Here are 12 stories that capture readers’ attention and showcase the breadth of scholarly activity across the University of Georgia.

From year to year, many row crop producers rotate the crops they plant to reduce pest and disease pressure and to benefit the land, often alternating peanuts with cotton and corn. Peanuts in particular are considered an important cash crop for many farmers.