| 1980s
1980
Lactase enzymes evaluated; provided
basis for lactose-reduced dairy products.
Supreme Court ruled that microbes created by genetic
engineering could be patented.
Term "transgenic" coined to describe mice that
carried a new, recently introduced gene.
NW-63 small red bean released; most widely
grown small red cultivar in the U.S.
Discovered that peroxide dissolves lignin in
crop residue so that the digestive bacteria in livestock can reach the
cellulose fibers.
System developed to hold, transport, and
deliver broilers and turkeys from the farm to the processing plant.
Developed vacuum infusion process by
removing citrus peel from fresh fruit. (more)
Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act passed.
CREAMS:A Field Scale Model for
Chemicals, Runoff, and Erosion From Agricultural Management
Systemspublished.
(more)
Eurasian pine adelgid in Hawaii controlled
using biological control. (more)
Marshall hard red spring wheat
released.
Nosema locustae became the
first protozoan registered as a microbial insecticide in the U.S.
(more)
1981
Foot-and-mouth disease vaccine
developed; first effective subunit vaccine for any animal or human disease
using gene splicing. (more)
Isolated antitumor agent sesbanimide from
coffee bean seeds.
Developed method for vaccinating chicks
against Marek's disease through the eggshell, demonstrating for the first time
that resistance to disease could be established by that method.
Determined that locoweed poisoning, in
combination with high altitudes, could cause congestive heart failure in
cattle.
Discovered plasmids that could be used to
breed plants with desirable traits.
Cablegation developed; an automatic surface
irrigation system that uses gravity to deliver water.
Columbia root-knot nematode
discovered.
Lemhi Russet released; outyields Russet
Burbank.
Developed techniques for the first
commercial application of nematodes for control of carpenterworm in commercial
fig orchards in California.
1982
New infectious agent, "prions," discovered; proposed as cause of
transmissible spongiform encephalopathy diseases.
Genetically engineered human insulin produced.
First genetically engineered crop plant developed
(tomato).
Developed the tree-banding technique used by
homeowners to prevent gypsy moth caterpillars from crawling up tree
trunks. (more)
1983
Polymerase chain reaction devised; replicates large quantities of DNA from a
small initial sample.
Discovered "jumping genes," or moveable genetic
elements.
Lemont rice released; one of leading
varieties grown in Texas, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
Controlled alfalfa blotch-leaf miner in the
eastern U.S. using biological control.
1984
First transgenic farm animals born
(sheep and pigs).
Tracheal mite found in honeybees.
Alginate gels and granules from seaweed used
to encapsulate chemical or biological pesticides.
Bozoisky Russian wildrye released; dominant
variety in the West.
Hycrest released; first interspecific hybrid
of crested wheatgrass.
1985
Food Security Act established Conservation Reserve Program for highly erodible
lands. (more)
DNA fingerprinting invented.
Hole in Earth's ozone shield discovered over
Antarctica.
Chester thornless blackberry released;
predominant blackberry of its type in the world.
Discovered rubisco activase; protein
responsible for action of rubisco. (more)
Discovered that chemicals produced by
aquatic microorganisms, geosmin and BIV, cause off-flavors in catfish.
1986
Germplasm Resources Information
Network (GRIN) established; the
world's most comprehensive database of agriculturally important plants.
(more)
Starch-encapsulation technique for
pesticides developed. (more)
Federal Technology Transfer Act passed.
First genetically engineered vaccine licensed by USDA, for
pseudorabies in swine.
Synthesized pheromone from the papaya fruit
fly as the first environmentally safe lure for females.
Discovered hormone PTTH that controls growth
and molting in gypsy moth. (more)
Discovered that pyrrolizidine
alkaloids--natural chemicals found in hundreds of plants--kill livestock by
causing cumulative and irreversible damage to the liver.
Isolated and characterized the structure of
insect neuropeptides.
Othello pinto beans released; dominated
acreage in the U.S. and Canada from 1988 to 1997.
Developed sunflower hybrids that produce oil
several times higher in oleic acid than traditional sunflower oil; provided
genetic material to industry to create NuSun hybrids.
Conducted studies that led to Bacillus
thuringiensisregistration as the first microbial insecticide for use on
stored grain.
1987
Developed Fast Africanized Bee
Identification System (FABIS) to distinguish European honeybees from
Africanized honeybees.
First 100-percent soybean ink developed in
four colors.(more)
Released germplasm lines of sunflower with
genetic resistance to all known races of downy mildew.
Developed microinjection technique to move a
whole chromosome into a single cell of another plant.
Discovered that boron is a nutritionally
necessary trace mineral. (more)
Fallglo tangerine released; Sunburst and
Fallglo comprise most of the early season tangerine market in Florida.
(more)
1988
Virus genes transferred to chickens to
impart resistance to avian leukosis virus.
First authorized release of genetically altered bacteria
outdoors.
Varroa mites found in Wisconsin.
First patent for genetically engineered animal
issued.
Madsen soft white winter wheat released;
first winter wheat variety in the U.S. with resistance to strawbreaker foot
rot.
Discovered that lactose significantly
reduced Salmonella bacteria in infected chickens.
Proved that antibiotics produced by soil
bacteria responsible for take-all decline.
Developed anaplasma probe used to detect
infected ticks.
Fortune plum released.
Sparkleberry holly released.
Created first relatively inexpensive and
safe soil monolith collection procedure for 70+ milligram soil monoliths for
lysimeters.
1890 Initiative by USDA(more)
1989
Successfully separated living sperm into
male- and female-producing batches.
Water Erosion Prediction Project model
developed. (more)
Waldo trailing blackberry released; first
thornless trailing blackberry.
Identified a new parasite, Neospora
caninum, as a cause of birth defects in cattle and sheep.
Isolated and cloned gene that triggers
production of ACC synthase; modified gene to block ethylene production and
delay ripening of tomatoes.
Ambersweet released; the first orange
created by hybridization and selection. (more)
Discovered the hormone that controls sex
pheromone production in moths.
Bounty peach released.
Blackhawk black bean released; the first
bean completely resistant to anthracnose.
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