News - August 2018

Arkansas horticulture researchers court success with state’s only lawn tennis facility

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Tennis players in Arkansas can now try their game on the same surface that makes champions at Wimbledon: grass courts.

Rex Nelson to be keynote at Moving Manila Forward launch on Sept. 18

LITTLE ROCK – Moving Manila Forward will officially launch its economic development blueprint and action plan at an event Sept. 18 that will feature columnist Rex Nelson as its keynote speaker.

Aug. 31, 2018

Division of Ag searches for Arkansas-friendly hops for use by local craft breweries

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – With growth in the locally grown and craft beer trends in Arkansas, the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is working at the intersection of the two –searching for a hop variety suited for the state’s warm climate and beer tasters’ palates.  

Aug. 29, 2018

Al Einert, Arkansas pioneer of horticulture teaching and research, dies at 79

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Alfred E. “Al” Einert, who established the ornamental horticulture teaching and research programs at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the U of A’s Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, died Aug. 22 in Fayetteville. He was 79.

Aug. 28, 2018

10^th annual tour guides high school students through environmental, ag sustainability at Division of Ag research station

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Hundreds of northwest Arkansas high school students are expected for the 10^th annual Environmental and Agricultural Sustainability Field Trip on Sept. 25.

Aug. 27, 2018

Inspiring kids to do

LITTLE ROCK— Get up, get out and go do. 4-H is encouraging its members to engage in simple skills-building activities every day throughout the month of September. The 30 Days of Doing challenge includes activities in agriculture, STEM, community service and healthy living that are meant to help youth gain the skills needed to be successful in life through hands-on learning, while having fun at the same time.

Aug. 24, 2018

Field day gives peek into new potential spray technology, updates on current crop & pest research

KEISER, Ark. –  New technologies available in soybeans, cotton and other crops were a hot topic of discussion during a recent field day at the Northeast Research and Extension Center.

Aug. 24, 2018

Walk across Arkansas; reinventing the way Arkansans exercise

LITTLE ROCK -- A majority of Americans don’t reach their daily exercise goals, but a program called Walk Across Arkansas could be changing that for Arkansas residents.

Aug. 24, 2018

U of A scientists warn against using liquid nitrogen with kids’ foods

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – A growing trend of dipping frozen deserts in liquid nitrogen shortly before serving poses several potential health risks, according to food science and food safety professors at the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Aug. 23, 2018

Northeast Arkansas farmers facing big crop losses from heavy rains

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Mississippi County farmer Mike Sullivan is watching his soybeans rot in the field and his rice sprouting in the heads, and there’s nothing he can do about it. Unusually heavy rains — measuring around 12 inches in August, so far, and up to 10 inches in a single night in parts of some northeast Arkansas counties — hit just as many farmers were gearing up for harvest. Sullivan said his fields have been sitting in water for a week.

Aug. 22, 2018

A few precautions can reduce risks, impacts of crop residue burns

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Autumn in Arkansas farm country is marked by turning leaves, migrating waterfowl and columns of smoke on the horizon. 

Aug. 17, 2018

Machine learning, blockchain, data big and small mark Ag Tech/Law conference

LITTLE ROCK – Artificial intelligence, blockchain and robotics are all powerful new technologies that are not only making changes in agriculture, but are also plowing up new legal issues for attorneys, state governments and producers, presenters said during a national ag tech and law conference. 

Division of Ag wine grape, Enchantment, now bottled and sold by Arkansas winery

CLARKSVILLE, Ark. – After decades of development, a wine grape bred by University of Arkansas System Division of Arkansas experts is now being bottled and sold by one of the oldest wineries in the state.

In the heat of competition: Keep youth sports positive for adults and children

LITTLE ROCK — School sports are fun and the exercise is healthy, but competition creates emotional risks for children and adults, said Brittney Schrick, assistant professor and extension family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

SIDEBAR: Keeping youth sports positive for adults and children

LITTLE ROCK – In the heat of competition, there are ways to keep yourself in check when you are watching the child you love, according to Brittney Schrick, assistant professor-family life specialist for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

New table grape bonds great flavor to enticing texture

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — “Compassion,” new seedless, white table grape from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, combines the crisp, thin-skinned texture of California table grapes with the rich, fruity flavor of eastern table grapes.

Two workshops to help Arkansas small businesses compete for government contracts

LITTLE ROCK – Two workshops are scheduled in September and October to help Arkansas small businesses compete effectively for government contracts at Little Rock Air Force Base.

Calhoun County 4-H team places fourth overall in Nation 4-H Forestry Invitational

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Calhoun County 4-H Forestry Team placed fourth overall at the annual 4-H National 4-H Forestry Invitational competition.

Calling all artists: Drain Smart UpStream Art needs volunteers

PINE BLUFF, Ark. - The Southeast Arkansas Stormwater Education Program is seeking artists to paint murals with educational messages on storm drains in Pine Bluff, White Hall, and Jefferson County as part of the Drain Smart UpStream Art project.

Soybean college focuses on the importance of identification

NEWPORT, Ark. — When it comes to the No. 1 crop in Arkansas, the state’s soybean agronomists and other row crop experts have their work cut out for them in their efforts to communicate the latest in research findings, pest management and growing techniques. But the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s annual Soybean College in Newport, Arkansas has proven to be a powerful and concise way to do just that.

Insect problems emerge as row rice acreage increases

NEWPORT, Ark. – Billbugs, once an occasional pest of rice that cannot survive in standing water, are putting increased pressure on crops as row rice acreage rises.

New nectarine, ‘Effie,’ offers mid-acid flavor in white-flesh fruit

CLARKSVILLE, Ark. — A new white-flesh nectarine with mid-acid flavor offers a milder option for those who love the old fashioned “tang” of traditional yellow peaches but prefer milder acidity.

More than 500 visit Division of Ag Stuttgart center for 2018 rice field day

STUTTGART, Ark. – More than 535 agriculture industry professionals made the trip to Stuttgart to hear about the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s latest discoveries and recommendations laid out at the 2018 Rice Field Day.

Upcoming: Northeast Research and Extension Center to hold field day Aug. 15

KEISER, Ark. – The Northeast Research and Extension center will host its annual field day Wednesday, August 15 in Keiser, Arkansas.

Korth to head combined Entomology, Plant Pathology departments

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark.  – Ken Korth, a professor recognized as an outstanding mentor and researcher, has been appointed head of a new department that combines the disciplines of Entomology and Plant Pathology. 

Muscadine grape breeding program to be highlighted at Field Day, Sept. 11

CLARKSVILLE, Ark.— The 2018 Muscadine Grape Workshop and Field Day will take attendees through the process of getting a grape from vine to consumer.

New herbicide trial to be showcased at southern Pea Field Day

ALMA, Ark.-- The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture Vegetable Research Station will open up its doors to the public Aug. 14 to showcase the latest research in the southern pea breeding program.

Greening of Arkansas grant applications due Oct. 3

LITTLE ROCK –  The deadline to apply for community beautification funding through the Greening of Arkansas grant program is less than eight weeks away.

Site-specific technology aids nematode control when cotton fields turn to soybeans

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Thousands of acres of soybeans in eastern Arkansas are under attack from a tiny pest against which they have little or no natural defenses, said John Rupe, professor of plant pathology for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

Arkansas Forest Resources Center to survey landowners about feral hogs

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Forest Resources Center on Thursday launched a survey, the first of its kind in the state, to measure the scope of damage caused by feral hogs in Arkansas and landowners' perceptions and experiences with the animals.

Tarnished plant bugs seen in high numbers in Arkansas cotton

STUTTGART, Ark. – It happens every year. But sometimes, it really, really happens.

Tarnished plant bugs, a perennial pest for Arkansas cotton growers, are showing up in the state’s cotton fields in quantities that have caught the attention of entomologists who have seen nearly everything.

Advanced greenhouse will amp up rice research in Stuttgart

STUTTGART, Ark. – A research greenhouse formally opened Thursday further enables efforts by University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture to stem rice yield loss after milling due to high nighttime temperatures.   

Triple threat: Three Miss Arkansas contestants bring 4-H backgrounds to the world of scholarship pageants

LITTLE ROCK – Three alumna are crediting their first-place finishes in the Miss Arkansas pageant program to life skills learned in the 4-H youth development program.