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Finding Resistance in the Saliva of Crop Pests

When caterpillars attack tomato plants, proteins in the insect saliva disarm the tomato defenses. Dr. Felton and his colleagues have identified another set of proteins in caterpillar...

Fortifying Fruit: Harnessing Soil and Root Microbiomes to Boost Crop Productivity

This Penn State team is working to better understand how soil microbes and plant roots interact in order to provide new tools that maximize production, improve soil health, and reduce the...

Helping Honey Bees

Insect pollinators are essential to U.S. growers of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Honey bees are the premier managed pollinators of most crops, accounting for $11.7 billion of the...

Valuing Vegetables: Investigating Broccoli to Improve Gut Health

Dr. Perdew explains that all cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, cauliflower) contain an organic chemical compound called “indole glucosinolates.” When that...