ARS Scientists Improve Nutrients and Add Value to Rice Crop

Rice, already the primary staple for half the world’s population, is getting a makeover from a research team at the Agricultural Research Service’s Southern Regional Research Center (SRRC) in New Orleans, LA. The results are a more healthful grain and many potential new products.

One development is a rice variety reduces the amount of digestible starch. Rice is mostly starch, of which only 1-2% resists digestion. The newer rice varieties have at least 8-10% resistant starch. Resistant starch is not digested in the small intestine; rather, it passes through to the large intestine, where it ferments and produces beneficial metabolites that help prevent diabetes, fat loss, and reduced risk of colorectal cancer.

In addition, red and purple whole grain rice offer more colorful and healthy options to put on their plates – and provide some of the same antioxidants as fruits, like grapes and blueberries. Antioxidants help neutralize free radicals, which are thought to play a role in a variety of diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and some eye diseases.

Healthy and tasty new products include a rice-based horchata, a sweet drink made with sprouted rice, and a rice version of iced tea made by cold-brewing purple rice bran.

Read "New Research Re-envisions Worldwide Staple" for more information.

Beauty or a Beast?

The spotted lanternfly (SLF) is an insect with spectacular coloring, but that beauty comes with a cost. With a taste for almonds, apples, apricots, grapes, peaches, and plums, this invasive pest is highly destructive to crops--various estimates put the potential economic damage in the billions of dollars.

Originally found in China and North Korea, SLF was first sighted in the United States in 2014, in Pennsylvania. Since then, ARS researchers have been hot on the trail of this destructive insect.

Read Spotted Lanternfly Lands in U.S.to learn more.

Tree-mendous Benefits

Agroforestry Helps Farms and Ecosystems Thrive

The integration of trees into farmland through a practice known as agroforestry provides a wealth of benefits to both farmers and local ecosystems. Farmers appreciate the trees’ ability to prevent erosion caused by wind, especially during periods of drought when soil is drier than usual, and more prone to turning to dust. By acting as windbreaks, a group or row of trees can effectively retain precious fertile soil on farmland. USDA helped farmers to use this technique during the Dust Bowl, and has expanded it ever since, with great success.

Trees also provide a host of other benefits, including carbon sequestration, water quality improvement, and climate change adaptation through modification of the local microclimate. Perhaps one of their most important functions for farmers and local ecosystems is pollinator habitat creation. By providing safe havens for bees, birds, and other pollinators to build their homes, trees support these critical creatures, whose behavior enables crops to grow.

Learn more about how agroforestry helps farmers and the environment or see how ARS is researching the benefits of agroforestry by watching these videos.

• What is Agroforestry?
• Regenerative Farming | Agroforestry

Saving Seeds for the Future

ARS scientists are helping to preserve the genetic diversity of our food crops by storing the germplasm (seeds and other parts) of hundreds of thousands of plants at the National Laboratory for Genetic Resources Preservation in Fort Collins, Colorado. Using both conventional and cryogenic freezing techniques, they are able to maintain seeds for up to 50 years. The center is part of a larger effort at ARS locations nationwide to store plant, animal, insect, and microbial material for industry and the research community.

Watch this video The U.S. National Plant Germplasm System - An Overview to learn more.

Harnessing a Familiar Foe

Scientists Fight Invasive Species with Predators from Back Home

Biodiversity provides many benefits, from the sheer beauty of complex creatures to the practical value of organisms that might be the next miracle drug or climate-resilient crop. However, the diversity of our ecosystems is under threat. One of the most persistent challenges comes from invasive species — non-native organisms that spread explosively, competing with and harming native plants or animals. Recently, several U.S. states have been battling an invasion by the Brazilian peppertree, a woody evergreen shrub that grows in dense thickets and crowds out native vegetation. The peppertree’s fruit is toxic when consumed by wildlife, and many people have allergic reactions to its pollen and sap. To date, it has spread within California, Florida, Hawaii, and Texas. In Florida alone, it covers more than 700,000 acres.

ARS scientists have identified one possible tool to fight this invasion: Brazilian peppertree thrips (Pseudophilothrips ichini) are insects that attack the peppertree in its native environment. The researchers found that they can also survive and attack it in the new U.S. areas where it has spread. In pursuing this approach, the scientists are using a strategy that has shown great promise in fighting invasive species elsewhere: biological control agents. Instead of applying pesticides that can have detrimental environmental impacts, or manually removing invasive plants, which can be too labor-intensive and costly to be practical, the scientists identified a species that was ideally suited to preying on the invasive plant — because it already did just that in its native environment. This strategy can be a gamble, because not all biocontrol agents thrive in new environments. In this case, however, the scientists found that a majority — about 60% — of the thrip communities survived in Florida. At that level, they could be a lasting threat to the invasive Brazilian peppertree plants — and part of a much-needed solution for native plants and animals.

Want to learn more? Read "Thrips Show Promise in Controlling the Invasive Brazilian Peppertree in Florida".

Flooding The Fields for Our Fowl Friends

Mississippi Delta farmers often use managed flooding to raise water levels in their fields in the winter to attract ducks. But now, ARS researchers are finding that adjustments to the timing of those floods may provide added benefits. By starting the process slightly earlier in the year — in September, rather than November or December — the farmers can create critical habitat for migratory shore birds, which can use the flooded fields as a stop on their path south. The researchers are also exploring whether the earlier flooding could provide farmers with benefits like improved soil health, creating a potential win-win for them and their avian visitors. Read Flooding Fields May Be a Win-Win For Farmers and Birds in the Mississippi Delta to learn more.

Giving the Home Team an Advantage

How ARS Scientists are Helping Native Plants Thrive

ARS scientists in Burns, OR are giving native plants — and the ecosystems they support — a helping hand by combatting invasive plants. Invasive plants, which are brought in from outside the ecosystem, spread prolifically and can damage the regional or local environment. One significant example is cheatgrass growing on our rangelands. This invasive plant, along with some native weeds, competes for the same resources as beneficial native plants, and affects millions of acres of land in the U.S. In many areas, it can also create ideal conditions for spreading wildfires.

To blunt the impact of invasive plants, the scientists in Burns are conducting several projects designed to help restore regional and local ecosystems to their original condition and function, like re-planting native species in ways that favor their survival. In doing so, they are supporting not just the native plants, but the ability of those plants to provide valuable ecosystem services, like preventing erosion and maintaining soil health. Healthy soil, in turn, forms the foundation of all the activities we depend on, from growing the crops that feed us and our animals to providing clean air and water.

Watch our video Rangeland Restoration to learn more.

Finding Natural Enemies

ARS scientists collect, study and evaluate natural enemies with potential to biologically control invasive plants like waterhyacinth, which causes harm to freshwater ecosystems.

Invasive Plant Research Laboratory. 

Protecting Natural Resources

ARS scientists develop sustainable agricultural systems to protect natural resources and support rural communities in arid and semi-arid regions through multi-disciplinary research. We are also studying the impacts of livestock grazing, fire, invasions by juniper and other species, carbon and nitrogen cycling, as well as climate on rangeland and communities of meadow plants.

Research Project: The Nexus of Agricultural & Urban Trade-offs: Interdisciplinary Education & Research to Create Emerging Opportunities in Urban Agriculture.

* Image courtesy of USDA

Managing Forage and Grazing Lands

ARS scientists are exploring sustainable approaches to managing forage and grazing lands, managing manure to protect water quality, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions from manure.

Project: Sustainable Intensification of Crop and Integrated Crop-Livestock Systems at Multiple Scales.