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N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative Launches Extension Agent Network

N.C. PSI News

Fiber hemp growing outdoors

Aug 4, 2023

Field to Fabric: The Journey of Fiber Hemp from Tobacco to Textiles

David Suchoff is leading a five-year grant to study how fiber hemp can act as an alternative to tobacco while taking advantage of North Carolina's robust textile industry. 
Mountainous field of grazing cattle

Aug 2, 2023

N.C. PSI Faculty Member Wins Grant to Study Labor Issues Affecting Cattle and Dairy Farms in the South

Alejandro Gutierrez-Li, the agricultural labor extension specialist, was awarded a SARE grant to study labor issues on cattle and dairy farms in the South. 
A screenshot from the Beans Gone Wild app, showing locations where seven types of disorders have shown up in soybean fields across North Carolina.

Jul 19, 2023

New Online Tool Maps ‘Beans Gone Wild’

NC State Extension released an online tracking tool called Beans Gone Wild to capture and share in-season soybean problems and recommendations across the state. 
Abby Pleasant holding sunflowers in her graduation gown on a tractor

Jul 19, 2023

Sunflower Season

Graduate student Abby Pleasant is studying organic black oilseed sunflowers, which researchers believe could be a promising — and profitable — crop for North Carolina farmers. 
Photo of CRISPR-modified and wild trees in an NC State greenhouse.

Jul 13, 2023

Building a Better Forest Tree With CRISPR Gene Editing

Researchers reduce lignin levels and improve wood properties in poplar trees using the increasingly popular gene-editing system. 
Spruce weevil on a tree it has damaged

Jul 10, 2023

Study Reveals How a Tall Spruce Develops Defense Against Hungry Weevils

Findings from a new study could help researchers breed genetically improved Sitka spruce trees resistant to a nibbling insect. 
angular metal arch silhouetted against a cloudy sky

Jul 5, 2023

Is Our Phosphorus Use Sustainable? Most Stakeholders Doubt It

The study underscores the complex challenges facing efforts to ensure our continued access to a critical agricultural and industry resource. 
The University of York in the winter

Jun 14, 2023

Colleen Doherty Wins Fulbright Award to Study Phytomining in England

Doherty will study how plants can be used to mine rare earth elements during a six-month Fulbright Award at the University of York this winter. 
Imani Madison in a laboratory

May 24, 2023

A Passion for Plant Research

Imani Madison won the 2022 Kenneth R. Keller Research Award for her research on how stress and other external factors affect the development of plant cell tissues. 
12 members of the Extension Agent Network pose together in the Plant Sciences Building

Apr 27, 2023

N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative Launches Extension Agent Network

12 NC State Extension agents were selected from a competitive pool to beta-test N.C. PSI technology in the field.