Science In Your Shopping Cart

Growers, landscapers, and city planners are always looking for trees that offer shade, have long-lasting ornamental appeal, and can withstand the unique stresses of the urban environment. ARS scientists at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C, recently released a new shade tree that has all these traits.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

This podcast starts in Lincoln, Nebraska, it detours through Pullman, Washington, and then lands in your kitchen—right between the pasta pot and the bread oven.  ARS researchers have come up with a new five-tool wheat variety for bakers AND chefs.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

Kiwi is grown in many regions, including in the U.S. But you’d never guess one of the mountainous states suitable for Kiwi growing.  ARS researchers at the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in Kearneysville, West Virginia fill in the details.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

We’re peeling back the story behind America’s favorite comfort food—the potato—and the science that keeps your fries crispy and your red-skinned mashed potatoes creamy and delicious. In this episode, you’ll learn how the primary disease that caused the Irish Potato Famine back in the 1800s is still a major problem for potato growers all over the world, including in the U.S. We’ll also introduce you to a new potato variety, called Becca Rose, a classic red-skinned, white-flesh potato with a secondary skin color that helps extend its shelf life.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

We all know we should eat more beans; and yet Americans eat fewer of these superfoods than most other countries. Beans are packed with vitamins and minerals, including iron. They are also gluten free. ARS researchers are studying ways to make beans more attractive to the American public, including learning how certain bean types provide more bioavailable iron, that is, the absorbability of the iron that you ingest from a food or meal. We also learn how certain beans are high in flavonoids, and we introduce you to a new bean variety, USDA Fortuna, a versatile bean with exceptional drought tolerance, a short cooking time, and good variability for iron and zinc. It also has resistance to several pests and diseases – making it very attractive for farmers.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

Geneva, New York is one of the great destinations in the U.S. for crisp, juicy, semi-dry and semi-sweet wines. Here in the Finger Lakes region, wineries pour popular varieties like Riesling, Cabernet Franc, and Chardonnay, as well as unique hybrid grapes, like Niagara, Cayuga White, and Vignoles. In this episode, you’ll learn how researchers developed loosely clustered Vignoles wine grapes that drastically reduced their susceptibility to bunch rot disease.  You’ll also learn how researchers are looking into the “Foxy” flavor found in the popular Concord grape.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

Let ARS do the shopping for you! Here are some new food varieties from ARS that will certainly wet your appetite. And best of all, no delivery charge!Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

Salinas Valley in Northern California is better known as the salad bowl of the world. It’s where cool coastal air meets rows of green plots, and where ARS researchers are turning some of your favorite vegetables into nutritional powerhouses.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

There are rice producers all over the country, but the main producer of rice in the United States might surprise you. In this episode, we share what makes for ideal rice growing conditions. We also discover a new type of rice that might make you wonder if you have wandered into a movie theater.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars

We visit the ARS Grain Legume Genetics and Physiology Research Unit, where researchers live and breathe pulse crops—peas, lentils, and chickpeas.Connect with us: Twitter: @USDA_ARSFacebook: @AgriculturalResearchServiceLinkedIn: @usda-ars