News from the Media

Boston Globe Magazine story: "Carolyn DeMoranville, the second-generation director of the UMass Cranberry Station in East Wareham, has spent a lifetime studying the little red fruit.

Nutritionally, cranberries are really good for you, but in the sense of what I’ve done in my career with them, we’re looking at the nutritional requirements of the plant, what’s needed for it to grow and thrive and produce a crop. I spend most of my time here thinking about what will make the cranberry industry more sustainable. Specifically, I look at water and nutrient use and how those two interact."

Eric Decker, food science, says efforts to get unhealthy trans fats out of the diet of most Americans could have the unintended effect of causing more rainforest to be destroyed to make room for expanded production of palm oil.

Sun Sentinel

A team of UMass Amherst scientists, including Wesley Autio, Stockbridge School of Agriculture, Hilary Sandler, Katherine Ghantous and Peter Jeranyama, all of the UMass Cranberry Station, has designed a new method of weed control in cranberry bogs. They use open flames to get rid of weeds. They say this approach works in certain situations and doesn’t damage the cranberry plants

When UMass Amherst microbiologist James Holden launches new studies next month of the microbes living deep in the cracks and thermal vents around an undersea volcano, for the first time in his 25-year career his deep-sea research will not be funded by a government source. Instead, Holden will be funded by philanthropists committed to supporting oceanographic research.

Sonia Schloemann, UMass Extension, comments in a story about the spotted wing drosophila, an Asian fruit fly that damages fruit crops such as blueberries, cherries, tomatoes and other fruits. She says this insect could be a “game changer” because it damages fruit close to harvest time and reproduces rapidly.

The 4-H Pepperell Trailblazers is a horse project club with members ranging in age from 5-18. The club is part of the UMass Extension Animal Science Program.

The Stockbridge School of Agriculture has partnered with Blue Star Equiculture, a non-profit horse farm in Palmer that rescues homeless horses, in an effort to help farmers reduce pollution. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection recently awarded the farm a nearly $200,000 dollar grant to install fences, walking trails and storm water management systems that will help prevent untreated, dirty water from entering the water system.

Joseph Elkinton, environmental conservation, comments in several news stories about the discovery of the woolly adelgid in Pennsylvania’s historic old growth hemlock forests. The adelgid is an invasive insect that kills the trees. Elkinton says severe cold snaps kill the insect, but as overall temperatures rise, the adelgids will likely expand their territory.

John T. Spargo, UMass Extension, says a proposed ban on food waste in Massachusetts landfills from commercial sources, including hospitals, is unlikely to pose any health threats since potentially harmful microorganisms would be reduced by composting.