In the news

Orchid with link to Charles Darwin blooms on campus [Cornell Chronicle 12/5/2012] – A star orchid is blooming on campus this week, but its story began 150 years earlier when Charles Darwin first observed the flower’s foot-long nectary and famously wondered: “Good Heavens, what insect can suck it?” The Darwin’s orchid is located in the Green Greenhouse 114 on campus, attached to Kenneth Post Lab on Tower Road. The greenhouse will be open to the public Dec. 5-7 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Visitors to the greenhouse can also see ‘Wee Stinky,’ the rare titan arum plant that bloomed this spring, in its fruiting stage.

Remote sensing, microbiology used to trace foodborne pathogens [Cornell Chronicle 12/4/2012] – Cornell researchers have created a method that uses geospatial algorithms, foodborne pathogen ecology and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools to predict hot spots where pathogens may be present and spread on farms prior to harvest.

Industry evaluates vegetables at NYSAES trials [Cornell Chronicle 12/3/2012] – 20 representatives from vegetable processing and seed companies visited the the New York Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva, N.Y., to evaluate 160 veggie varieties grown in research trials there. “There’s an assumption that fresh is more nutritious,” says Steve Reiners, vegetable specialist in the Department of Horticulture. “But when you consider that fresh in the grocery story might mean it was harvested days or even weeks beforehand, a product that is picked and frozen within hours may actually be fresher.”