Below is a curated list of resources that provide a good place to start your research. To learn more about the Libraries’ resources and how to find the information you need, check out our Library DIY page or use the chat box in the lower right to chat with a librarian. You may also contact the Agricultural Sciences Librarian, Nicole Juve, to ask questions or to schedule a research consultation. Contact Nicole via email at nicole.km.juve@ndsu.edu.  

Getting Started

Find Articles

Need to find the full text of a specific article? Want to see if we have online access to a specific journal? See our Find Journals guide for instructions.

*Tip: If the library does not have the article you need, you can request it (for free) through Interlibrary Loan.

Need to find one or more articles on a topic? Try one of our databases! See a list of the most recommended databases for Plant Sciences at the bottom of this page or check out our list of databases for Agriculture & Food Systems.

*Tip: Looking for peer-reviewed, original research articles? The Finding and Identifying Original Research Articles in the Sciences guide has information that describes peer-review and characteristics of original research articles (so you know what to look for!).

Database Searching Tips

• Scopus and Web of Science Search Tips
• Google Scholar - Setting Your Preferences (to more easily access full text articles in your search results)
• Find Dissertations and Theses

Selected Journals

• Agronomy Journal
• Cereal Chemistry
• Crop Science
• Euphytica
• Food Chemistry
• Frontiers in Plant Science
• Hortscience
• Horttechnology
• Industrial Crops and Products
• Journal of Plant Registrations
• Molecular Breeding
• The Plant Genome
• Theoretical and Applied Genetics

Find Books

Search for Books

Looking for new books? See our New Books in Agriculture, Food Systems, and Natural Resources page.

Looking for books by topic or title? Use the library search. This search will include results for more than just books. If you want to narrow the results to just books, select Books from the Resource Type filter along the right.

You can also search by author or title. 

Find a Book on the Shelf

See our Find Books on the Shelf guide. Most of our print plant science books are in the SB (Plant Culture) and QK (Botany) sections on the second floor of the main library. You will also find some food science books in the TS (Manufactures) and TP (Chemical Technology)sections. For more specific ranges, see the Cereal and Food Science section in the Other Resources section below. (See floor maps.)

Request Books

Can't find the book(s) you want? You can request books the library does not have through our Interlibrary Loan service (free to NDSU students, staff, and faculty) and we will try to obtain a copy for you to borrow. 

Are there books you think should be available through the library? Contact the Agricultural Sciences Librarian at nicole.km.juve@ndsu.edu to recommend materials for the library collections. 

Find Data and Statistics

A wide variety of search techniques can be employed to find data and a statistics you need for your research. For tips on finding, evaluating, and citing data and statistic, check out our Finding Data and Statistics guide.

Selected Resources for Data and Statistics

• Ag Data Commons (USDA)
• Agricultural Research Service Programs Datasets (USDA-ARS)
• Census of Agriculture (USDA)
• Data.gov (data published by US government)
• Data.gov.uk (data published by UK government)
• Dryad
• FAOSTAT: Food and Agriculture Data (FAO)
• Figshare
• National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA-NASS)
• UN Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade)
• USDA Open Data Catalog
• World Development Indicators (The World Bank)
• Zenodo

Find Government Information

Try a site search in Google so that all your search results will be from government websites. For example, if you are looking for information on palmer amaranth that is published or available on government websites, search for the following in Google: palmer amaranth site:.gov

You can also use a Google site search to search a specific website. For example, try: palmer amaranth site:usda.gov

See our Government Information Research Guide for more tips for finding government information as well as links to multiple resources.

Selected Government Websites

• NDSU Extension
  • Information on Crops, Food and Nutrition, Pesticides, Soil Health, and more.
  • Extension Publications
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
  • Agricultural Research Service (ARS)
  • Census of Agriculture
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
  • National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS)
  • PLANTS database (Plant List of Accepted Nomenclature, Taxonomy, and Symbols)
• National Agricultural Library
  • Plant Production and Gardening
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
  • Environmental concerns associated with the production of agricultural crops

Other Resources

Cereal and Food Science

Government Resources

• Food Safety Research Information Office (FSRIO)
• Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)
• FoodSafety.gov
• Food Science (USDA-NIFA)
• Summary of Color Additives for Use in the United States in Foods, Drugs, Cosmetics, and Medical Devices (USDA-FDA)
• U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

Methods

• Approved Methods of Analysis, 11th edition (AACC International)
• Official Methods of Analysis (AOAC)
  • **Requires a password. NDSU students, staff, and faculty can get the password from the NDSU Library through the reference chat (see the chat box in the lower right corner), by phone at 231-8886, or email nicole.km.juve@ndsu.edu.

Other Resources

• Food Insight: "created and curated by nutrition and food safety experts at the International Food Information Council (IFIC)

Crop and Weed Science

Government Resources

• Crop Production (USDA)
• Crop Production (USDA-NIFA)
• Crop Production and Protection National Programs (USDA-ARS)
• Crops (USDA-ERS)
• Noxious Weeds Program (USDA-APHIS)
• Organic Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)
• PLANTS Database (USDA): information about plants in the U.S. and its territories, including fact sheets and plant guides
• Sustainable Agriculture (USDA-NIFA)

Major Plant Genomic Databases

• GrainGenes: A Database for Tritceae and Avena (genetic, molecular and phenotypic information on wheat, barley, rye, oats and sugarcane)
• Gramene (data resources for comparative genome analysis in the grasses)
• MaizeGDB: Maize Genetics and Genomics Database (corn genomic database)
• NCBI Reference Sequence (annotated set of sequences including genomic, transcript, and protein.)

Other Resources

Climate

• Climate Prediction Center - Soil Moisture Monitoring (daily, monthly, and yearly calculated soil moisture and more)
• National Centers for Environmental Information (includes current and archived U.S. and global climate monitoring data reports)
• North Dakota State Climate Office
• NDAWN - North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network
• North American Drought Monitor
• U.S. Global Change Research Program
• U.S. Climate Monitoring - including temperature, precipitation, snow and ice, drought and wildfire, etc.
• USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
• Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin (USDA)

Seeds

• North Dakota State Seed Department
• The Book of Seeds: A Life-Size Guide to Six Hundred Species from Around the World (print book available in the Main Library)
• A Manual for the Identification of Plant Seeds and Fruits (ebook)

Weeds

• Crop & Pest Report (weekly information on crop production and pest management in North Dakota)
• A Guide to North Dakota Noxious and Troublesome Weeds
• Identification and Control of Invasive and Troublesome Weeds in North Dakota
• North Dakota Weed Control Guide 2023
• U.S. Noxious Weeds Program

Horticulture, Landscape Design and Management, Turfgrass Management, and Urban Forestry and Parks

Government Resources

• Census of Horticulture (USDA)
• Commodities Information (USDA-Foreign Agricultural Service)
• Historic Landscapes Program (National Park Service)
• Landscape and Horticultural Services: Industry Codes (OSHA)
• National Park Service (NPS)
• Plant Production and Gardening (National Agricultural Library)
• Treesearch (USDA-FS database)
• U.S. Forest Service (USDA-FS)

Other Resources

• Turfgrass and Water Efficiency (EPA: WaterSense)
• Turfgrass Information File Database (USGA & Turfgrass Information Center): A broad spectrum of turf grass resources.

 

Methods of Analysis

• Approved Methods of Analysis, 11th edition (AACC International)
• Official Methods of Analysis (AOAC)
  • **Requires a password. NDSU students, staff, and faculty can get the password from the NDSU Library through the reference chat (see the chat box in the lower right corner), by phone at 231-8888, or email (nicole.km.juve@ndsu.edu or ndsu.library.reference@ndsu.edu)

Plant Identification

• PLANTS Database: Fact Sheets and Plant Guides
• Flora of North Dakota Checklist (includes PDF with images)
• Handbook of North Dakota Plants (print resource - in the Main Library)
• Identification and Control of Invasive and Troublesome Weeds in North Dakota
• ND Tree Handbook