ARS - Pioneers in Fruit and Vegetable Research - Part 1

In recognition of the United Nations proclamation of 2021 as The Year of Fruits and Vegetables, Tellus takes a look at how ARS has helped to improve fruit and vegetable production.

When the U.S. Department of Agriculture was created in 1862, more than half of America's labor force were farmers. From the start, USDA researchers collaborated with fruit and vegetable growers to help meet their biggest challenges. USDA scientists made tremendous contributions to fruit and vegetable farming, including:

• determining the cause of the Irish potato famine
• domesticating the wild blueberry
• developing virus-free strawberries
• creating official USDA grade standards for fruits and vegetables
• guiding farmers out of the worst drought in U.S. history, the Dust Bowl

USDA formally established the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in 1953, and since then, ARS researchers have had a significant impact on the farming industry, even helping to save some industries from devastation. ARS National Program Leader Dr. Joseph Munyaneza pointed to the potato industry as a recent example.

In the early-to-mid 2000s, a serious disease was threatening potato crops across the Midwest. Growers were seeing dark blotches or stripes on their crop leaves, which would then quickly deteriorate. ARS researchers determined the disease was "zebra chip," which was caused by a bacterium and spread by an insect.

"We quickly figured out that tiny insects were the cause, but we didn't know how they were spreading the disease," Munyaneza said. "Once we learned the insects were carrying the disease, we worked on ways to eradicate both the insects and disease."

Zebra chip disease still exists today, but potato growers now have the tools to manage and mitigate it.

"Some of the most impressive things ARS has done have revolved around how we respond to crises," said ARS National Program Leader Dr. Timothy Rinehart. "When these diseases first emerge, they can really shake things up. But, because we're already working closely with growers, we can quickly address the issues."

Munyaneza sees ARS technological innovations as a major force behind farming improvements and sustainability over the years.

"Especially with specialty crops, technology has played a huge role in improving productivity," he said.

One recent innovation is the precision sprayer. It's an intelligent spray-control system that uses laser vision to map the size, shape, and foliage density of a tree or plant and then applies a custom dose of pesticide. Field tests showed the precision sprayer could reduce spray drift by up to 87 percent and pesticide use between 30 percent and 85 percent.

"This precision sprayer has revolutionized everything, because it can adapt to different size and shaped crops, and you can be very precise to where it is spraying," said Munyaneza.