CANR News

Category: Plant and Soil Sciences

Sue Barton discusses a design at the Landscape Architecture Symposium.

Susan Barton: Fall lawn and leaf management

October 30, 2023 Written by SciLine | Photo by Jeremy Wayman

Susan Barton, a professor and extension specialist in ornamental horticulture, was recently interviewed by SciLine, a nonpartisan organization that works with journalists to include science in their stories. Barton spoke about why mulching leaves instead of removing them can help lawns and gardens; why you shouldn't bag leaves; and other advice for how to care for your lawns in the fall.

Read the full interview on SciLine.

Related News

Global crops and drought

July 30, 2026 | Written by Adam Thomas | Illustration by Jeffrey C. Chase

A new study from the University of Delaware’s Kyle Davis examined production losses for 17 major crops accounting for three-quarters of the world’s food production and found that portions of the Midwestern United States, eastern Brazil, eastern Spain, and central and northern India were among the areas most sensitive to droughts.
AI flower power

July 27, 2026 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photo illustration by Jeffrey C. Chase

Yin Bao, University of Delaware assistant professor of digital agriculture, built a specialized AI tool called FLORIST to automatically analyze thousands of plant photos taken by everyday people, instead of manually sorting through 44,000 images. FLORIST efficiently filtered out the vast majority of photos that did not show active flowering, narrowing the dataset. Bao says the main takeaway is blending widespread public observations with deep genetic research gives a more complete understanding of how species evolve to survive in the wild.
Phosphorus detective

July 16, 2026 | Written by Katie Peikes | Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and courtesy of Deb Jaisi

Phosphorus gives plants their daily nutritional needs. But whatever phosphorus a plant can’t consume creeps into waterways and speeds up algae growth that can kill fish and aquatic plants. Fascinated by these properties, University of Delaware professor of Environmental Biogeochemistry Deb Jaisi has dedicated his academic career to exploring phosphorus and its presence in the environment. His innovative research has unlocked new ways to pinpoint where the phosphorus causing environmental damage is coming from.