Technology in cranberry farming has come a long way in just a handful of years. Hillary Sandler, director of the Cranberry Station at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, explains how drones, lasers and smartphones are used to grow and harvest cranberries. (WUMW 11/23/17)
News from the Media
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Sandler Discusses Cranberry Growing on Public Radio
November 23, 2017 -
Sylvia Discusses Wild Cranberry Bogs
November 22, 2017Martha Sylvia, a research technician at the University of Massachusetts Cranberry Station in Wareham and scientists have studied the wild bogs in Provincetown and Truro for the last 25 years, in part to learn how a bog behaves without the cultivation practices used in cranberry farming. (Cape Cod Times11/22/17)
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Why This Autumn Has Been Less Colorful Than Previous Ones
November 6, 2017According to Richard Harper, professor in the Environmental Conservation department at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, warmer nights can certainly delay and even mute the color of fall leaves. (Crain's New York Business 11/7/17)
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Test Soil Now for 2018 Spring Planting
November 6, 2017Tracy Allen, supervisor, UMass Soil Laboratory, explains that soil properties are not going to change much in the winter because soil processes slow way down in the cold, so soil test results and recommendations that offered this fall will be accurate and useful for the whole growing season in your garden next year.
In the spring, the lab is deluged with requests and that can cause a backlog. "It could take twice as long to get your results back and that is valuable time in the planting season," Allen said. (MassLive 11/1/17, News Office 11/1/17, Recorder 11/4/17)
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Remove Pesticide Residues on and in Apples With Water and Baking Soda
October 30, 2017Researchers at the University of Massachusetts, led by Lili He, Ph.D., found a baking soda and water combination was the most effective way to reduce pesticides on apple skins. (Agriculture and Food Chemistry, International Business Times, Mother Nature Network 10/30/17, Chemical and Engineering News 11/3/17, Healthline 11/8/17, NY Times 11/10/17, Well and Good, 11/13/17, Emax Health 11/30/17)
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UMass Amherst Researchers Find Anti-bacterial Chemical Accumulates in Toothbrushes
October 25, 2017A team of environmental chemists at the University of Massachusetts Amherst led by Baoshan Xing, report that triclosan, an antibacterial agent in some over-the-counter toothpastes, accumulates in toothbrush bristles and is easily released in the mouth if the user switches toothpaste types. (Chem Info; Boston Globe; News Office, Time magazine, Infection Control Today, Science Codex, Health Day, Chemcial & Engineering News, UPI 10/25/17 )
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Research at UMass Cold Spring Orchard Bears Fruit
October 10, 2017BELCHERTOWN — The University of Massachusetts Cold Spring Orchard Research and Education Center — its full name — is a facility where researchers are hard at work addressing sustainability, pest management, and climate change, in the name of growing the best possible fruit. (Boston Globe 10/10/17)
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Editorial Praises Work at UMass's S. Deerfield Farm
September 28, 2017An editorial praises two UMass Amherst agricultural initiatives in South Deerfield—a dual-use farm, combining solar panels and crops, and a student-run vegetable farm. “Both farms are providing an impressive demonstration of successful, practical education for an occupation as old as the earth but in a modern world,” the editorial states. Amanda Brown, Stockbridge School of Agriculture and director of the Student Farming Enterprise program, is quoted. (Daily Hampshire Gazette, 9/28/17)
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Extension Professor Tells Town About Online Tool
September 28, 2017Scott Jackson, extension associate professor in environmental conservation, explained new online tool to area leaders at a Creating Resilient Communities forum. (The Recorder, Greenfield, 9/28/17)
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Apple Crop Expected to Reach 10-Year High, UMass Extension Comments
September 18, 2017This year, the USDA is expecting about 46 million pounds of apples, the highest mark in 10 years. "There will be lots of apples and they'll be big," said Jon Clements, UMass Fruit Extension program. (Worcester Business Journal 9/18/17)
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Learning Garden in Springfield Helped by UMass
September 11, 2017Nutrition educator, Amanda McCabe, at UMass Extension in Amherst, cooked with young students, using recipes that incorporated veggies students are growing in Springfield at Square One. (MassLive 9/6/17)
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Caterpillars Have Defoliated Nearly One-third of State’s Forests, UMass Entomologist Elkinton Comments
August 31, 2017Nearly a third of the forest canopy across Massachusetts has been consumed this year by a plague of gypsy moth caterpillars, whose insatiable appetite for leaves can ultimately kill trees. Joseph Elkinton, an entomologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, adds predictions. (Globe 8/30/17)
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UMass Amherst Study of Bee Health Finds No Natural Medicine in Once-promising Compound
August 29, 2017AMHERST, Mass. – A new study of possible self-medicating behavior in bumble bees conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts Amherst reports that a once-promising finding was not supported by further experiments and analysis. (AgriMarketing, 8/29/17; Science Codex, Laboratory Equipment, Seed Quest, 8/28/17; News Office release, 8/28/17)
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UMass Lab Analyzes Ticks to Identify Pathogens
August 29, 2017Microbiologist Stephen Rich's laboratory team at UMass Amhest tests ticks that have crawled across, bitten or otherwise come into human contact. Within three business days of mailing in a tick as part of the Send a Tick to College program, people get a list of any pathogens the ticks carry. (Cape Cod Times 8/26/17)
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Wes Autio Comments on Central Massachusetts Juicy Peach Crop
August 24, 2017Wesley Autio, director of the Stockbridge School of Agriculture and professor of pomology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, said moisture, sun and temperature have been ideal this summer for peaches and apples. (Telegram 8/23/17)
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Jon Clements, UMass Extension, Comments on Alternative Specialty Crops
August 23, 2017Jon Clements, UMass Extension, comments on alternative specialty crops small farmers should consider growing. He says table grapes are in demand and consumers like the idea of picking their own grapes. (Growing Produce 8/22/17)
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Black Fungus on Norway Maple Trees
August 21, 2017Richard W. Harper, UMass Extension, environmental conservation, says black marks appearing on the leaves of Norway maples trees indicate there is a fungus causing the so-called tar spots. Nicholas J. Brazee, UMass Extension, indicates the spots may be due to a condition called anthracnose. (Globe8/18/17, Western Mass News8/17/17)
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Late Blight Threatens Mass.Tomato Crops
August 17, 2017The UMass Extension Plant Diagnostics Lab confirmed a case of late blight in tomato crops in Hampshire County last month. UMass Professor of Plant Pathology Robert Wick said the disease has been recurrent in New England since a major outbreak in 2009. (NEPR 8/16/17)
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Cranberries May Benefit Gut Bacteria
August 17, 2017Lead researcher, David Sela, nutritional microbiologist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, describes a role cranberries may play in promoting the growth of beneficial intestinal bacteria. ( Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 9/17, ProHealth 8/6/17)
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Biogeographer Studies Wildfire Risk Related to Invasive Grasses
August 15, 2017Invasive plant expert Bethany Bradley plans to create the first comprehensive assessment of how more than two dozen non-native, invasive grasses may alter fire patterns and carbon storage across ecosystems in the contiguous United States. (EurekAlert! 8/15/17)
