The IR-4 Project

05/28/2026

05/19/2026

Any gardener who has planted a mint plant in the ground has likely seen it take off running and never look back. Mint grows vigorously—usually too vigorously—in a garden bed. However, if you are a farmer growing mint for commercial production, you can often face challenging pest issues.

Diseases such as Verticillium wilt can devastate the crop and render the ground unusable in the future. Insects like mites and root or stem borers can reduce yield and quality. Weeds can contaminate mint oil, which must be pure and high-quality to flavor minty fresh products like tea, ice cream, gum and toothpaste.

This is where IR-4 makes a measurable impact—securing pest management tools to serve smaller-acreage, specialty crops like mint that desperately need pest control options for growers to succeed, and for consumers to enjoy the product. Working alongside growers, researchers, and the Mint Industry Research Council, we've helped secure access to game-changing tools for mint growers—and the work continues!

Read more in this story by Robin Siktberg:
http://ncst.at/1SJx50Z1IW1

Special thanks to Steve Salisbury from MIRC and IR-4's Commodity Liaison Committee for your assistance with this story. Photos of mint production, harvesting and processing courtesy of Mint Industry Research Council.

05/18/2026

IR-4 in action! Jennifer Fisher, IR-4 field research director at Rutgers University, reconfigures a new boom for a peach tree application during a recent visit with Jane Forder, lead QA auditor for the northeast and north central regions.

05/14/2026

At IR-4, we get to see and work on ALL the coolest crops. Check out these tropical fruits photographed by Southern Regional Field Coordinator Kristen Searer-Jones at our research site at the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences:

🐲 Dragon fruit (3 stages of blossoms)
🔴 ✨ Miracle fruit
🍈Jackfruit
🍦🍏 Sugar apple (blossoms and a young fruit)

05/13/2026

During our February farm tour in the South Carolina Lowcountry, the IR-4 team visited Bohicket Farms on Wadmalaw Island. Led by Clemson University Extension’s Zack Snipes, we heard from growers about the struggle of maintaining working farms in a tourism-driven, rapidly developing area. The team at Bohicket is fighting to keep agricultural heritage alive on Wadmalaw Island and help the local farming community build resilience. One way they do this is by growing high-value, heritage crops like Carolina Gold rice and working cooperatively with other farms to meet the culinary world's demand for this niche crop.

At IR-4, these stories of grit and dedication drive our mission. Whether it’s heirloom rice or niche citrus, we are working to ensure that even the most unique specialty crops have the tools and research they need to thrive in a changing landscape and climate. Thanks to Zack & the Bohicket team for the Southern hospitality and insightful tour!

05/07/2026

This spring, IR-4's regional teams hosted their State Liaison Representative meetings to kick off discussions around pest challenges in each state. This time to connect around shared challenges and gaps in tools for growers helps generate IR-4 project requests and lay the foundation for priority-setting discussions at the Food Use Workshop. The work starts early! 🐦🪱

05/05/2026

AmericanHort celebrates passage of the House Farm Bill - a meaningful step toward greater certainty for the horticulture industry and specialty crop growers.

We congratulate Chairman GT Thompson and the House Agriculture Committee staff on passing a bipartisan Farm Bill that strengthens disaster recovery, invests in research and innovation, expands risk management tools, and improves access to financing for greenhouse, nursery, and landscape businesses.

House Ag GOP Glenn Thompson

05/04/2026

Nicole Soldan, Regional Field Coordinator for IR-4 based at Michigan State University, took the cake for Best Photo at Work in our team's recent photo contest. Her selfie among the cherries during a residue harvest made everyone smile 🍒🤗🍒

04/29/2026

IR-4 provided regulatory assistance for the resistant citrus rootstock just approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to combat citrus greening. Thank you, EPA, for bringing this exciting new tool across the finish line and into the hands of citrus growers! This work helps keep oranges in our juice glasses & helps growers find resilience in the face of this devastating disease 🍊☀️🙌 Read EPA's news release at the link below:

http://ncst.at/npEj50YRXTu

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day! 🌍 We feel lucky to work in agriculture, with growers and researchers who are deeply dedicated to being stewards of the land. Get outside today and enjoy this home we share! We all have a role to play in protecting this special place for generations to come.

This view 😎: NC State College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Agroecology Education Farm at Lake Wheeler Road Field Laboratory