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Top research stories of 2024 CAES News
Top Research Stories 12/23/24 Olivia Randall
As the new year approaches, it’s time to reflect on 2024, a year full of exciting research achievements at the University of Georgia. UGA researchers have made their marks examining crucial topics like the health of water resources and urban infrastructure in the face of climate change, the causes of higher suicide rates among young Black men, and an alarming trend in rates of Type 2 diabetes, among other groundbreaking work. Let’s take a closer look at 12 of the most impactful stories of the past year.
As a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Bob Kemerait is well known for his devotion to the agricultural community of Georgia. He is also known for his international work with colleagues and small-scale farmers around the world. Recently, Kemerait took a team from UGA Extension to the Philippines, where he serves as a Fulbright specialist and works with the faculty at Mariano Marcos State University and farmers in the northern Philippines to improve disease management and other production practices. CAES News
Red Dirt Diplomacy 11/05/24 Robert C Kemerait Jr
As a University of Georgia Cooperative Extension specialist in the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Bob Kemerait is well known for his devotion to the agricultural community of Georgia. He is also known for his international work with colleagues and small-scale farmers around the world. Recently, Kemerait took a team from UGA Extension to the Philippines, where he serves as a Fulbright specialist.
Seth McAllister and farmer Mark Daniel discuss crop production and agritourism. CAES News
A Shared Harvest 10/24/24 Emily Cabrera
On a sunny day with bright-blue skies, I arrive at Mark’s Melon Patch in Sasser, Georgia, and immediately spot the familiar white University of Georgia Cooperative Extension pickup truck, the Terrell County Extension logo prominently displayed on the door. Seth McAllister, the Agriculture and Natural Resources agent for Terrell County, greets me with a broad grin and a firm handshake. Terrell County alone has 60,000 acres of row crops, half in cotton. But what McAllister loves most about his role as an Extension agent is the diversity of his work.
Combining data collection and analysis with plant pathology, precision agriculture and robotics, the UGA team will build a photographic library of the foliar symptoms caused by onion diseases and other physiological disorders, feed them into the AI software, and use machine learning to identify the diseases based on pattern and color recognition from the images. CAES News
Vidalia AI 10/23/24 Jordan Powers
A multidisciplinary team of UGA researchers aims to enhance the competitiveness of Vidalia onion growers in Georgia by providing them with the ability to confidently detect onion diseases early, enabling them to make management decisions on their crop at a critical time. These abilities, researchers say, should result in increased yield and quality of marketable onions and an overall increase in efficiency and productivity.
Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium CAES News
UGA Turfgrass 08/29/24 Emily Cabrera, Scott Michaux
When the University of Georgia Bulldogs step between the hedges at Sanford Stadium, the grass on Dooley Field needs to look perfect. More importantly, though, it needs to help safeguard the health of athletes who compete on it. Gerald Henry plays a big role in the latter. The UGA Athletic Association’s endowed professor in environmental turfgrass leads a research team in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences committed to creating sports fields that look good and perform well to limit the occurrence of injuries.
Melissa Mitchum, CAES professor of nematology, and a multistate research team has identified the resistance-thwarting genes within soybean cyst nematodes, enabling new defenses and better resistance management. pictured are female soybean cyst nematodes on soybean roots. (Photo by Melissa Mitchum) CAES News
Nematode Breakthrough 08/27/24 Julianne Johnston
Researchers have made a major discovery in the fight against soybean cyst nematode (SCN) by focusing on the genetics of the parasitic roundworms. Extensive genetic sequencing and mapping helped them identify a handful of likely genes behind the tricky pests’ ability to skirt soybean genetic resistance. Knowing how these SCN genes and soybean genes interact and evolve will help the industry identify the virulence of SCN populations so farmers can better use the genetic resistance currently available to fight the pest.
Cordyceps, the fungus behind The Last of Us, is real, and it actually does turn some species of ants into zombie-like creatures. The fungus penetrates the ant’s exoskeleton and begins to multiply. Eventually, the fungal cells take over the ant’s central nervous system. It causes the ant to fall from its primary habitat in the tree canopy to the forest floor. Then the fungus makes the zombified creature climb a tree to an ideal height of almost a foot off the ground. The ant bites onto the plant so forcefully that not even death can dislodge it. When the time is right, the fungus bursts from the ant’s body, scattering spores across the forest floor. And the cycle repeats. CAES News
Public Health Enemy 08/26/24 Leigh Hataway
As antimicrobial resistance grows, the world faces a deadly adversary few predicted: fungus. The battle against pathogenic fungi is raging, and UGA researchers are on the frontlines. “The fungus starts to direct the ant’s behavior, telling it where to go, what to do, like a puppeteer with a marionette. And it gets worse,” Dr. Neuman begins. “The fungus needs food to live, so it begins to devour its host from within, replacing the ant’s flesh with its own. But it doesn’t let its victim die. No, it keeps its puppet alive.”
(L-R) Peggy Ozias-Akins and third-year Ph.D. student Yuji Ke working with Pennisetum (pearl millet) hybrids plants in the greenhouse. CAES News
UGA Plant Center 07/12/24 David Mitchell
The University of Georgia Plant Center is a collection of faculty and scientists from across multiple campuses who share common interests in plant science. From basic science in plant biology and genomics to highly applied projects in genetics and plant breeding, researchers run the gamut of plant-based research. More than 60 faculty are affiliated with the center, hailing from seven departments across four colleges and schools and three separate campuses in Athens, Tifton and Griffin.
Water deeply to ensure that the moisture penetrates deeply into the root growth below. Once or twice a week is enough for most plants. CAES News
Proper Watering 07/01/24 Timothy Daly
Now that summer is officially upon us, temperatures are up and areas of Georgia are experiencing abnormally dry conditions, you may be worried about how your yard is doing. Proper watering is key to helping your plants thrive. Excessive watering is one of the leading causes of issues in the home landscape. Yes, this issue can be a problem even during prolonged dry spells. A condition known as root rot develops, and marigolds, verbenas, hollies, boxwoods, azaleas and rhododendrons are some of the most sensitive.