Two Scientists Inducted into ARS Hall of Fame

Two Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists, Andrew L. Sharpley and Robert E. Davis who exemplified the spirit of scientific excellence and creativity with which ARS has served the nation and the agriculture community will be honored for their achievements. Soil scientist Sharpley pioneered the research on farm loss of phosphorous and nitrogen through leaching and has been credited for spearheading the development and refinement of the widely-used Phosphorous Index, a tool to identify the risk of phosphorous loss from agricultural fields. He  recommended technical innovations which are widely adopted by regulatory resources conservations agencies worldwide. Davis on the otherhand, is noted for his pioneering work on spiroplasmas, a new type of microorganism that cause diseases of crops and are harmful to beneficial insects and species of crab and shrimp. His research necessitated a revision of plant pathology textbooks and opened a new research frontier in phytoplasmas – mystery pathogens.

See press release on the honorees at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=1261