Writer: Kathleen Davis Phillips, (979) 845-2872, ka-phillips@tamu.edu Contact: Dr. Suresh Pillai, (915) 859-9111 EL PASO — Disease-causing microbes lurking in water, soil and food now may be more easily found, says a scientist who developed new molecular detection methods. Dr. Suresh Pillai, an environmental microbiologist at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, devised methods to genetically… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — A lack of moisture so far in Texas this winter may have put a damper on Africanized honey bee activities despite overall mild winter temperatures. Inspectors with the Texas Apiary Inspection Service have been coming up dry in trap checks throughout the state all winter. And the state Honey Bee Identification Lab… Read More →
Dr. Leonard Pike, director of the Vegetable Improvement Center at Texas A&M University, has been named Man of the Year in Service to Southwest Agriculture by Progressive Farmer magazine. The honor, which appears in the February edition of the magazine, notes that Pike’s development of the famous, ultrasweet 1015 onion “will pale in comparison with… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — When they dealt out CARDS in 1991, a Texas A&M University System research and education team had no idea their action would create such big winners. CARDS, or Computer-Assisted Retail Decision Support, is software that is helping break a $4 billion logjam in the beef industry by encouraging retailers to buy more… Read More →
CORPUS CHRISTI — Robert Vega’s career as a marine biologist along the Gulf of Mexico has been coasting. With a family, a job and no access to advanced education in his field, Vega’s hopes for a doctoral degree were an ocean away. But a new agreement between the Corpus Christi and College Station campuses of… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — On the plains, in the mountains and through the jungles of Colombia, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers think they can find bovine genetic material that may help improve the Texas cattle industry. At the same time, they hope to help Colombia preserve some of its natural heritage and transfer valuable technology to… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — A state loan program to help irrigators pay for equipment that conserves water could increase its number of loans with a few changes, a joint study between Texas A&M and Texas Tech universities concludes. The Texas Agricultural Water Conservation Loan Program provides low-interest loans to local conservation districts, which in turn provide… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — They look like perfectly formed factory Christmas trees stuck in dirt. But the only thing artificial about these living tannenbaums is the way life began — as clones rather than seedlings. The first of several hundred cloned Virginia pines growing in Texas soil are ready this year to deck the halls in… Read More →
SAN ANTONIO — Strolling along the famous River Walk, the faint smell of tortillas and picante beckons tourists from around the world. But the roots of those products, not the people who come for them, provide the bigger impact on San Antonio, the state’s third largest city. Agribusiness — from the farm to the processing… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — Lean, undrained ground meat might taste better and be more healthful than drained, high-fat ground meat after both are browned in a skillet, a Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researcher says. “There are tradeoffs involved with each kind of meat,” said Dr. Ki Soon Rhee, a professor of animal science at Texas A&M… Read More →
