The hunger for a Jersey tomato is so great that it’s already sold out… The Rutgers tomato has been popular for decades because it gave growers that “tomato tastiness” that came to be lacking in the tomatoes sold at grocery stores. Those tomatoes have to be tough enough to withstand factory farming and transportation, Rutgers plant biologist Thomas Orton says.
A Celebration of Excellence 2016
On April 21, faculty, staff, and students attended the 23rd annual Celebration of Excellence for the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences and the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station held at Neilson Dining Hall. According to executive dean Bob Goodman, this signature event acknowledges contributions that meet carefully-considered criteria, including creativity, original work and ideas, […]
NJTV Spotlights Ag Field Day at Rutgers Day
NJTV made a visit to the George H. Cook campus to get an overview of Ag Field Day. Executive Dean Bob Goodman is featured.
New Jersey Tomato, Victim of Modern Farming, Vies for a Comeback
The Jersey tomato, red, ripe and juicy, was once revered as the best to be had, with a tangy, sweet-tart flavor that was the very taste of summer… “This was the tomato that made the Jersey tomato reputation,” Thomas J. Orton, a professor in the department of plant biology and pathology, said of the 1934 variety.
Rutgers 250: NJAES All-Star Variety of the Month – Strawberries
Strawberry research at Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) dates back to 1870. By the 1920s, strawberry research was focusing on strawberry breeding and variety trials. Some of the noteworthy strawberry cultivars released by Rutgers NJAES have been Sparkle, Jerseybelle and Raritan. The newest addition, Rutgers Scarlet™ which has exhibited good production and exceptional […]
Revolutionary for 250 Years: Lyman Schermerhorn
Lyman Schermerhorn developed the Rutgers tomato in 1934 which turned out to be the leading commercially grown tomato variety of the mid-20th century. Schermerhorn, who was appointed as vegetable specialist in 1914, and worked on asparagus and rhubarb breeding, began the breeding of improved tomato varieties in 1926. This new variety ripened from the inside […]
John and Anne Gerwig Director’s Fund Award – John Gerwig’s Remarks
Dr. John L. Gerwig, Director of Rutgers Cooperative Extension 1962 – 1992, gave the following remarks on May 4, 2016 at the first awards presented to Cooperative Extension Faculty from the John and Anne Gerwig Director’s Fund. “I learned long ago that if you make short comments that they can’t be all wrong. First I […]
For the U.S., a More Worrisome Zika Vector?
For the most part, concern over the spread of the Zika virus in the United States has focused squarely on the tropical breed of mosquito, Aedes aegypti, that has proved most adept at spreading it elsewhere in the world… “Zika is a loose cannon,” said Dina Fonseca, an entomologist at Rutgers University. “Until it’s proven that the virus won’t infect Culex mosquitoes or any other reservoir animals – like the birds that exacerbated the spread of West Nile virus – scientists just don’t know how much of a threat Zika poses.”
How to Fight Mosquitoes This Summer
With temperatures well into the 70s in St. Louis, Leigh Walters is preparing for mosquito season… While many mosquitoes live and breed in tree holes, marshes and woodland ponds, the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus mosquitoes tend to live closer to…
Science shines at Rutgers Day on the Cook Campus
Rutgers marked its 250th anniversary on Saturday with huge celebrations on all of the campuses, and an estimated 100,000 individuals, many as couples or families, took advantage of the day to see what the various schools at Rutgers offer, from sports t…
