Fresh from the Field-July 13, 2017

Wheat's 10 billion letter code

Kansas State University scientists are part of a breakthrough study in which an international team of researchers has successfully deciphered all 10 billion letters in the genetic code of a wild ancestor of wheat. The letters A, C, G and T. stand for adenine, cytosine, guanine, and thymine, the four chemical building blocks of the DNA molecule.

“The relative of wheat is called wild emmer, which is one of the founding crops of human society,” said Eduard Akhunov, professor of plant pathology and wheat genomics at Kansas State University. “Wild emmer was one of the first crops that was domesticated 10,000 years ago, which was a critical step in moving from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society.”

By knowing the genetic code of wild emmer, scientists can now compare its DNA to modern varieties to fully understand how wheat has evolved over thousands of years. With that information, they can better understand the genes that provide important traits such as drought and heat tolerance, or resistance to various diseases and pests.

This research was funded by NIFA's Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI).

Read about wild emmer. Image provided by Kansas State University.

Berry Sweet Strawberries

Researchers with the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station at the University of New Hampshire have succeeded in quadrupling the length of the Granite State’s strawberry growing season as part of a multi-year research project that aims to benefit both growers and consumers.

New Hampshire’s strawberry season traditionally lasts only four to six weeks. Last year, researchers working on the multi-state TunnelBerries project at the Durham, New Hampshire Experiment Station facility grew a day-neutral variety, which produces fruit through the summer and fall. Researchers at the used low tunnels, temporary structures made of wire hoops and plastic covers. They harvested strawberries for 19 consecutive weeks from mid-July through November. They also found that the low tunnels significantly increased the percentage of marketable fruit, from an average of about 70 percent to 83 percent.

The project is supported by NIFA's Specialty Crop Research Initiative.

Read about UNH's strawberries. Image provided by Kaitlyn Orde/UNH.

Full of beans

Farmers in Delaware grow 60 percent of the United States lima beans, which are used for canning and freezing. These crops are threatened by downy mildew epidemics, caused by the fungus-like microorganism Phytophthora phaseoli. This fast- evolving microorganism has six documented races, A to F. Race F is predominant in the Mid-Atlantic region, and researchers at the University of Delaware seek to create marketable lima beans that are resistant to Race F.

Researchers have developed genetic markers to detect Race F resistance in lima beans. To validate the marker genes, the researchers set up a diversity panel of 256 different lima bean genotypes, the first time these methods have been used in lima bean breeding. The genotypes were sourced from around the world, mostly from the lima bean’s center of origin in Central and South America.

This research project was supported by NIFA's Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI).

Read more about lima beans. Illustration by Jeffrey Chase. 

Goat milk?

More and more, diet-conscious consumers are looking for reduced-fat dairy products to maintain health and avoid diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and obesity. This growing demand has spurred dairy goat researchers at Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Ga., to conduct research on reduced-fat goat milk products such as cheese, yogurt and ice cream, which may increase consumer demand and boost the sustainability of the dairy goat industry.

The research funded by the Evans-Allen and 1890 Capacity Building Grant Programs. In one investigation, they developed a reduced-fat Cheddar-like goat cheese. They found that fat can be reduced to 19 percent with minimal impact on ripening and consistency characteristics.

The team also studied different low-fat formulas of goat milk ice cream. They found no significant differences in flavor, body, and texture for the different formulas during the zero to eight week frozen storage periods.

Learn more about FVSU research on reduced-fat goat cheese products. Image provided by USDA.

Summer food safety

July is National Grilling Month, and outdoor dining can pose risks for food safety. Ground beef, leafy greens, flour, and water can be contaminated by Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) through animals or animal feces. STEC is the leading cause of acute kidney failure in children, and STEC-related complications are a threat to children, seniors, and pregnant women. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln, with funding from Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) , conducted a Coordinated Agricultural Project on research, education and outreach to control STEC throughout the entire beef system. The team developed a consumer education website with a video on tips for grilling and other food safety advice.

Watch the UNL video. Image provided by University of Nebraska-Lincoln.