1910
Wild blueberry domesticated.
Demonstrated that pasteurization kills
toxin-producing organisms in raw milk without destroying beneficial lactic acid
bacteria.
Insecticide and Fungicide Act passed.
Brucella abortus first
isolated from cattle in the U.S.
Of gainfully employed persons, 31 percent were engaged in
agriculture.
Demonstrated that typhus fever is transmitted by
lice.
Radium isolated.
Cossack alfalfa released.
1911
First Farm Bureau formed in Broome County, NY.
Discovered a virus that can cause cancer in chickens; first
experimental proof of an infectious agent of cancer.
Rubel highbush blueberry selected in the
wild.
1912
Plant Quarantine Act passed.
Radioisotope labeling invented.
Seed Importation Act prohibited entry into the U.S. of
certain adulterated grains and seeds unfit for seeding purposes.
Federal Plant Quarantine Act passed.
Thomas Hunt Morgan announced his theory of genes; began
using the term 'gene in 1904 to describe individual parts of chromosomes
that control particular characteristics. (more)
USDA makes initial crosses between Lincoln
and Ramboullet sheep breeds, leading to the Columbia breed.
Demonstrated that drought begins when soil
moisture is so diminished that vegetation is unable to absorb water from the
soil rapidly enough to replace the water lost to the air by
transpiration.
1913
Virus-Serum Toxin Act passed.
Forerunner of the light tractor introduced.
Rhizobium nodules from soybean plants
started world's first rhizobium collection; established as a formal collection
in 1975. (more)
First U.S. veterinary license issued for production of
anti-hog-cholera serum. (more)
1914
World War I began in Europe.
Smith-Lever Act formalized cooperative agricultural
extension work.
Cultures of nitrogen-fixing bacteria supplied to legume
growers for the purpose of increasing the plants' nitrogen-fixing
capacity.
1915
Discovered bacteriophage.
Two publications reporting research on
terraces and control of gullies printed. They remain the standard reference
works in their field for erosion control. (more)
Studies made of precooling to prevent decay
in red raspberries; these studies led to precooling as an established
agricultural practice.
1916
Stainless steel invented.
Calcium arsenate developed for use on boll weevil.
United States Grain Standards Act passed.
Federal Farm Loan Act passed.
Standard Container Act passed.
Federal Highway Act provided for cooperation with states in
construction of rural post roads.
Japanese beetles discovered in New Jersey.
(more)
1917
A system for growing modern hybrid corn developed. (more)
European corn borer discovered near Boston, MA.
United States entered World War I.
U.S. grade standards for potatoes issued, representing the
first official grade standard for a fruit or vegetable issued by USDA.
Pink bollworm discovered in Texas.
Demonstrated that raw milk could transmit a
bacterium, Brucella abortus, that causes brucellosis in cattle and
undulant fever in humans.
Long-term study of dairy improvement
started; increased production per cow from 542 pounds of butterfat in 1920 to
more than 720 pounds today.
World War I ended.
Discovered that relative day and night
length control flowering, known as photoperiodism.(more)
Discovered existence of pathogenic races of
plant fungi.
Discovered temperature necessary to kill
trichinae.
1919
Term 'biological control' coined. (more)
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