Shrub willow as a bioenergy crop
Renewable energy demand and consumption is at an all-time high in the United States......»»
Desert microbes turn on drought tolerance when needed, finds study
Priming crop plants with a microbe sourced from the roots of desert plants could be a powerful tool to boost crop plant's resilience to drought......»»
Ethylene boosts plant yield and vigor, study shows
Exposing seedlings to ethylene in darkness increases size and vigor, in a finding with implications for agriculture. Farmers have worked to increase crop yields for millennia, and the quest remains urgent as the human population continues to grow. In.....»»
Study reveals effects of cropland reclamation on soil organic carbon in China"s black soil region
Long-term use of cropland and cropland reclamation cause decreasing trend in soil organic carbon (SOC) stock. However, studies on effects of crop reclamation on SOC changes are rare......»»
How a plant with a toxic past can become a climate-smart crop of tomorrow
Genomic detective work has brought researchers closer to the secret of how and why grass pea produces its notorious toxin, paving the way for this ancient and climate resilient crop to become a food of the future......»»
Researchers create double-haploid watermelon plants via in vivo, seed-based haploid induction system
Generating haploid plants for the purpose of obtaining pure double haploid (DH) lines is widely recognized as one of the most efficient breeding strategies in modern agriculture. Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus), an important fruit crop known for its n.....»»
Top corn producing state to see future drop in yield, cover crop efficiency: Study
Winter cover crops could cut nitrogen pollution in Illinois' agricultural drainage water up to 30%, according to recent research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. But how will future climate change affect nitrogen loss, and will cover.....»»
Drought-hardy shrub is being adopted across Australia to support farmers ahead of dry times
On Australia's desert plains in the west, Old Man Saltbush (Atriplex nummularia), a salt-loving, native shrub, thrives and is often the only vegetation in sight......»»
New plant invader takes over Eastern forests
A pretty ornamental shrub from Japan found in many people's yards is sprouting wild in an increasing number of parks and forests across the United States......»»
Central US is now getting worst of the drought. Corn crops are stressed, rivers are running low
Mike Shane's Illinois farm got a nice soaking on May 8, shortly after he planted his corn crop. Since then, rain has been hard to come by......»»
Scientists Are Gene-Editing Flies to Fight Crop Damage
The spotted-wing drosophila is a threat to fruit growers across the US and Europe. Crispr could thwart the pest’s numbers......»»
Researchers determine chloroplast size unlikely option for improving photosynthetic efficiency
A group of RIPE researchers have found, for the first time, that chloroplast size manipulations are unlikely to be an option for increasing crop photosynthetic efficiency. Their work was recently published in New Phytologist......»»
Study investigates effect of different land-use, energy sector policies on bioenergy emissions
Demand for modern biofuels is expected to grow substantially in order to mitigate climate emissions. However, they are far from being a climate neutral alternative to gasoline and diesel. A new study published in Nature Climate Change shows that unde.....»»
Smart farming platform improves crop yields, minimizes pollution
A new farming system developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin aims to solve one of the biggest problems in modern agriculture: the overuse of fertilizers to improve crop yields and the resulting chemical runoff that pollutes the.....»»
New genetic discovery set to boost disease-resistant rice
Rice that is resistant to some of the worst crop-destroying diseases but can still produce large yields could soon become a reality for farmers worldwide......»»
Carbon mitigation payments can make bioenergy crops more appealing for farmers
Bioenergy crops such as miscanthus and switchgrass provide several environmental benefits, but low returns and profit risks are barriers for investment by farmers. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign shows that carbon mitigat.....»»
Climate variability a shock to the crop system, shows study
As the world faces more climate variability and extremes in the face of global warming, sudden environmental changes add an extra layer of stress to food production in the United States and around the world. It is critical, then, to figure out how th.....»»
Push-pull practices "control pests, increase maize yields"
So-called "push-pull" agricultural practices that aim to improve crop yields by minimizing the use of synthetic herbicides and insecticides increases yields and prevents pests from adapting over time, a study shows......»»
New knowledge of ancient grain: Researchers map complete millet genome to help with food security
An international team of researchers has unlocked a large-scale genomic analysis of Setaria or foxtail millet, an important cereal crop. The study, led by researchers at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and including scientists at NYU, ad.....»»
Artificially modulating stomatal development may improve crop stress tolerance
Two MYB transcriptional regulators, FLP and its paralogous AtMYB88, redundantly regulate the symmetric division of guard mother cells and the abiotic stress response in Arabidopsis thaliana. Only one orthologue gene of FLP has been identified in pea.....»»
Taiwan tribe despairs as drought shrinks bamboo crop
Hacking at a bamboo plant with a machete, Avayi Vayayana peels back the shoot's stiff bark as he scans southern Taiwan's mountains, anxious for more of the money-making crop his Indigenous tribe increasingly struggles to find......»»