Search Articles

The domesticated apple is an important fruit crop grown in most of the world.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as "forever chemicals", can persist in the environment and bioaccumulate in animals, humans, and plants.

ARS researchers are finding innovative ways to reduce food loss and waste – from farm to table.

Take a look at a sampling of ARS's innovative research solutions that could help reduce food loss and waste in America.

ARS researchers worked with the Quapaw tribe to create high-resolution digital maps of soil properties for their tribal lands.

Careers for new scientists span a variety of disciplines in agriculture. Want to know more? Check out this page.

Feeding astronauts on long space missions requires more than just leafy greens and tomatoes.

A team of ARS researchers is providing farmers in Hawaii with new apps to help manage threats to their crops.

ARS scientists are working with NASA to develop sustainable farming techniques and technologies to grow fresh produce while in spaceflight.

Scientists are perfecting a technology to embed nanoparticles of silver – a known anti-microbial agent – inside of cotton fibers.

ARS maintains an experimental orchard in Geneva, NY, devoted to bringing you even better apples for the future.

'Agrivoltaics' is a hot new idea that uses land for both growing food and making energy from the sun in states where there’s lots of sunshine and not much water.

Huanglongbing, also known as citrus greening, poses the most serious threat that the Florida citrus industry has ever faced.

A team of USDA scientists is working on a double-cropping system as a way to improve a farmer’s profit margin by growing cattle feed between rows of a cash crop, in this case corn or soybean.

The invasive Arundo plant threatens local water supplies. See how ARS scientists are identifying insects that are naturally equipped to fight this problem.

Popular folk remedy witch hazel is an effective and natural alternative to conventional antibiotics.

The ARS Egg Safety and Quality Research Unit conducts research to protect both the health of consumers and the marketability of eggs.

ARS researchers are helping farmers use beneficial insects to protect their crops.

The Agricultural Research Service is helping ensure that native plants with cultural, historical, medicinal, and edible significance remain available for future generations.

A new process converts organic waste into nanocellulose, a brown, fibrous material that can be used in multiple products from cardboard boxes to food packaging.

A new biobased kitty litter developed by ARS scientists could be coming to a box near you—your cat's, that is.

One approach to eliminating plastic packaging is to use plant-based fiber to create products that are environmentally harmless but provide similar results to plastic.

We all know that insects surround us, but what about the ones that get closer to home – inside our homes?

ARS scientists are analyzing spinach varieties to identify varieties that have low oxalate levels, which is sometimes linked to better health.

At ARS, researchers are working on new approaches to limit ticks’ ability to spread.

ARS scientists are looking to turn the tables on mosquitoes and other insect pests like house flies by making them into lunch for other animals.

The Chesapeake Bay is the largest and most productive estuary in the United States and third largest in the world.

ARS scientists are inventing new tools to investigate blood-sucking insects.

ARS researchers found an effective, organic treatment against nematodes and other pests that uses orchard grass.

The United States began honoring women’s history in 1980, but ARS has a long tradition of celebrating the role of women in science.

ARS scientists use genetics to keep the Louisiana sugar industry vital.

Scientists are turning that waste into products that can refresh the soil. Two examples involve mill mud and bagasse.

Researchers may boost the cotton nonwoven industry and clean the environment.

Check out the videos in our "What Is" video series.

ARS researchers have been hot on the trail of the destructive spotted lanternfly.

Rice, already the primary staple for half the world's population, is getting a makeover from a research team in New Orleans, LA. The results are a more healthful grain and many potential new products.

It's Mardi Gras season and we’re excited to feature some of the great research happening at the ARS Southern Regional Research Center in New Orleans, LA!

ARS researchers developed a new bioplastic-based spray to fight aflatoxins using natural ingredients.

Vertical farming, the practice of growing crops in vertically stacked layers, allows farmers to grow fresh produce indoors year-round.

Raising healthy chickens requires planning, attention to detail, and fastidiousness when it comes to completing daily chores.

A restless plant that thrives in several cemeteries in Mississippi could be linked to a royal Gypsy family.

A tiny parasitic wasp known as the samurai wasp, may be the solution to the major economic damage to crops perpetrated by the stink bug.

ARS researchers discovered a fuzzy gray bee that carves its nest into chunks of sandstone!

A pair of bald eagles and their eaglet live in a tree at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C.

Dairy cows that produce organic milk also produce manure capable of replenishing nutrients in soil while slowing nutrient-runoff to nearby water sources.

ARS researchers undertook a five-year study to improve control of the ticks that spread Lyme disease.

ARS scientists have developed a special ultraviolet-C irradiation technique that may keep strawberries mold-free without chemical fungicides.

This insect is native to East Asia and feeds on the sap of the vividly colorful crapemyrtle trees, as well as apple and blackberry plants.

Are you eating ARS-developed French fries?

Composting is an excellent way to reduce waste that’s sent to landfills while providing soil in your gardens or fields with precious nutrients.

Learn how ARS scientists are working hard to fight this pest and protect our beloved ash trees.

These parasitic wasps lay eggs inside the developing fly larva and consume them from the inside.

The ARS Electron and Confocal Microscopy Unit is equipped with state-of-the-art microscopes capable of producing high-resolution, digital images.

Learn the benefits of this natural recycling method and how to get started with composting.

Should you store eggs in the refrigerator or let them sit out in the kitchen at room temperature?

ARS scientists are constantly discovering and describing new species of insects like the ostrich moth.

This moth is native to Southeast Asia and its caterpillar feeds on the tissues inside stems of plants in the myrtle family.

Did you know that ARS scientists developed a tasty, nutrient-rich peanut butter alternative made from sunflower seeds?

This mite is used by farmers to attack and feast on bugs that destroy strawberries and other crops inside greenhouses and fields.

These caterpillars started as a “friend” but the species became an invasive “pest” when it was discovered in Florida.

Aeromonas hydrophila has ravaged the catfish farming industry in Alabama and other states since its discovery in 2009.

ARS researchers may have found an organic pesticide that could help farmers protect their crops from hungry pests.

Microalgae could provide a strong, sustainably produced artificial diet for honeybees.

Scientists at the ARS Fruit and Tree Nut Research Station have developed a new way to protect pecans from diseases.

ARS scientists found a way to make a valuable compound from bread waste.

ARS entomologist Tracey Leskey, who talks about stink bugs, ants, box elder bugs and other insects.

ARS researchers are evaluating ways to use gluten-free alternatives, like amaranth, in popular products like cookies and pasta.

ARS scientists recently found an environmental benefit to growing alfalfa: carbon reduction in the atmosphere.

ARS scientists have come up with a very promising for peanut allergy treatment.

ARS scientists have created a state-of-the-art machine that can reduce pesticide use between 30 and 85 percent!

ARS scientists are helping farmers and ranchers convert farm and ranch leftovers and waste to sources of bioenergy (oil and gas), and high-value by-products.

Scientists are turning potentially wasted fruits and veggies into tasty, healthful products for you to enjoy.

The air potato vine introduced 115 years ago from Asia has multiplied and smothered native plant communities in all of Florida’s 67 counties.

ARS researchers helped formulate a tasty fruit-based bar with health-promoting ingredients.

Learn about photosynthesis and how plants use it to feed the planet.

ARS has bred "seedless" grape varieties with seeds so tiny that you can't even detect them.

What you eat at certain stages of life may determine your future health.

Great pizza needs great ingredients! Did you know that two of those were developed by ARS?

Farmers can reduce weeds while increasing yields by instituting complex crop rotations.

Researchers identified several options for controlling potato crop diseases, including spreading their plants with oregano.

Scientists have shown that cover cropping can improve organic weed management.

Seaweed farming is the fastest growing sector of American aquaculture and ARS scientists can help farmers cash in on stealthy commercial market.