Michigan State University College of Agriculture and Natural Resources

05/29/2026

Researchers at Michigan State University have developed five new potato varieties designed to help strengthen the U.S. chip supply by improving disease resistance, long-term storage and processing reliability. The new potato varieties are the result of more than two decades of breeding research led by Dave Douches, director of MSU's Potato Breeding and Genetics Program in the Plant, Soil, & Microbial Science Department at Michigan State University. Read more:

MSU researchers have developed five new potato varieties designed to help strengthen the U.S. chip supply by improving disease resistance, long-term storage and processing reliability.

05/26/2026

Jesse Randall, director of the MSU Forestry Innovation Center, is working with a multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional team of researchers across the U.S. to study the properties of maple sap, including the possible role maple water might take on for cancer survivors experiencing dehydration.

Michigan State University among researchers across forestry, health sciences and microbiology that are exploring new uses for maple sap beyond the syrup bottle, including as a hydration beverage for cancer survivors.

05/25/2026

Tyler Swanson, a Ph.D. candidate in MSU Community Sustainability, was recently named the 2026 Ambrose Pattullo Graduate Fellowship recipient for his short story entitled “The Way Through.” Grounded in his own research on solar energy development, Swanson’s fictional short story explores tensions in rural communities surrounding the transition to renewable energy sources.

Administered through the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife at Michigan State University and the MSU Department of Community Sustainability, the fellowship annually supports one student whose literary submission brings attention to a current environmental issue or challenge. Learn more: http://spr.ly/6184BBhnl4

05/22/2026

Zach Flink learned about MSU's turf program while working as a caddy for an MSU researcher at a local country club. From there, his interest in turfgrass management developed. Flink, now a recent graduate of the Plant, Soil, & Microbial Science Department at Michigan State University, reflects on his turfgrass management education during the years leading up to the FIFA World Cup 2026, where MSU is helping provide the natural grass playing surfaces. Read more:

Zach Flink's experience as a student in MSU's turfgrass program conducting research for the FIFA World Cup '26

05/21/2026

Through funding from the Joseph Laurence Maison Fellowship, Fisheries & Wildlife at Michigan State University graduate student Nick Alioto has been able to conduct research on the migratory behavior of red-tailed hawks. Due to their abundance in Michigan, Alioto says that red-tailed hawks can serve as a model raptor species to help us understand raptor migration and movement in the Great Lakes region and more broadly. Learn more: http://spr.ly/6182BBhnH2

05/19/2026

Michigan State University leadership hosted more than 100 stakeholders and friends of the university on May 14 to celebrate the opening of the newly renovated MSU Plant Science Research Greenhouse Complex.

Upgrades to the greenhouse complex include state-of-the-art environmental controls and LED lighting configured to respond to varying external climate conditions. New greenhouses will allow Spartan scientists and students across the MSU College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the MSU College of Natural Science to conduct controlled experiments under a variety of growth, environmental and stress conditions. Learn more: http://spr.ly/6182BBAYCG

MSU Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University Extension, Plant, Soil, & Microbial Science Department at Michigan State University, MSU Department of Forestry

05/15/2026

Academic research has consistently shown that dense, mature tree canopies are beneficial to the economy, health and population. Asia Dowtin, associate professor in the MSU Department of Forestry, was featured in an article in Crain's Detroit Business on the advantages of urban forestry. Read more:

It is the nature of Detroiters to work in rhythm with each other to ensure that the city’s tree cover continues to grow and remain a healthy resource.

05/14/2026

After gathering ideas from MSU researchers, including scientists in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, artist Jan Tichy created an exhibition at the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at MSU responding to the effects of our disappearing nights.

Amanda Lorenz, director of the MSU Bug House in the MSU Department of Entomology, introduced Tichy to the deleterious effects of light on insects. Tichy also explored the barn lighting at the MSU Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center with Associate Professor and neurobiologist Hanne Hoffmann in the MSU Animal Science Department. Learn more here: http://spr.ly/6180BBwAIn

The exhibit, "Jan Tichy: Darkness," runs through July 26.

After gathering ideas from entomologists, neurobiologists and others, Jan Tichy created an exhibition responding to the effects of our disappearing nights.

05/12/2026

David Carter, a core faculty member in MSU’s Ecology, Evolution and Behavior program and in the MSU Department of Forestry, is using virtual landscapes to test forest management strategies before deploying them in the real world. Learn more:

May 4 - Research by Carter et al. makes it possible to test forest management and restoration strategies in simulations before deploying them in the real world.

05/11/2026

For more than two decades, the leadership and vision of Dr. Niles R. Kevern helped shape the Department of Fisheries & Wildlife at Michigan State University. As the department’s second chairperson from 1970 to 1991, Dr. Kevern’s legacy still resonates today. Rob Elliott, a member of one of Dr. Kevern’s final graduate student cohorts, recently made a gift in honor of his former professor and mentor to the Niles R. Kevern Undergraduate Scholarship. Read more: http://spr.ly/6189BBwAtB