ARS Newslink

ARS News Service
USDA Agricultural Research Service
December 10, 2010

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Using essential oils to lure a devastating pest:
ARS scientists and their university colleagues are experimenting with petitgrain oils, essential oils used by perfume bases, to see which work best in mimicking plant volatiles that may help the Asian citrus psyllid find sites for reproduction, with the end goal of using the powerful scents to help control this pest that spreads citrus greening disease. (12/7)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/101207.htm

Infrared sheds light on beneficial fungi in the soil:
Infrared spectroscopy can quickly spot beneficial fungi on plant roots in soil, thus helping scientists determine which crop rotations or other farming practices increase the populations of these organisms that help plant roots access nutrients and moisture in the soil that would otherwise be out of their reach, according to an ARS soil scientist. (12/8)
http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2010/101208.htm

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