Shrub willow as a bioenergy crop
Renewable energy demand and consumption is at an all-time high in the United States......»»
Unraveling the genetic keys to improve canola crop yield
An international team of researchers, including one from The University of Western Australia (UWA), has successfully unraveled the genomes of 418 unique samples of rapeseed from across the globe to identify traits that breeders can use to improve cro.....»»
Iraq"s prized rice crop threatened by drought
Drought is threatening the Iraqi tradition of growing amber rice, the aromatic basis of rich lamb and other dishes, and a key element in a struggling economy......»»
NASA"s ECOSTRESS detects "heat islands" in extreme Indian heat wave
A relentless heat wave has blanketed India and Pakistan since mid-March, causing dozens of deaths, fires, increased air pollution, and reduced crop yields. Weather forecasts show no prospect of relief any time soon. NASA's Ecosystem Spaceborne Therma.....»»
Photosynthesis unaffected by increasing carbon dioxide channels in plant membranes
Modifying photosynthesis has increasingly been a research target to improve crop yields to feed a growing global population in the face of climate change and other environmental factors. In a recent study, published in the Journal of Experimental Bot.....»»
Improving the yield and quality of the grain called "finger millet"
The grain called finger millet may not be well-known outside of Africa, but it is an important crop to the region. Finger millet has been farmed in eastern Africa for thousands of years. However, breeding the crop for better traits has been difficult.....»»
50 years of traditional crop conservation a success, but some crops still lack protection
A global analysis of the representation of traditional farmer varieties (often called landraces) of 25 major crops in gene banks around the world has shown that tremendous progress has been made over more than a half-century toward their conservation.....»»
Landscapes with higher proportions of forest maintain more diverse pollinator communities
About 75% of food crops and more than 80% of wild plants require pollination by insects. The value of crop pollination alone is estimated at up to 577 billion US dollars per year worldwide. The best-known pollinators are bees, but these are by no mea.....»»
Using bioenergy crops versus reforesting shows crop expansion could lead to water shortages
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions in the U.S. and Singapore has found that adding bioenergy crops or reforestation would both substantially increase CO2 sequestration, but the former would lead to major water shortages. In th.....»»
Next-gen graphics cards rumored to offer significant leap in performance
The rumor mill is replete with hints that the next generation of GPUs from AMD and Nvidia are going to be power-hungry and offer a huge leap in performance over the current crop. Some Nvidia offerings might even require 900 watts in certain workloads.....»»
Organic pesticides to provide natural protection for endangered crops
Some vitally important European crops like vines and olives are being devastated by disease. Scientists are searching for biological replacements for chemical pesticides to improve crop and human health......»»
Heat wave scorches India"s wheat crop, snags export plans
An unusually early, record-shattering heat wave in India has reduced wheat yields, raising questions about how the country will balance its domestic needs with ambitions to increase exports and make up for shortfalls due to Russia's war in Ukraine......»»
Bigger slant for a better plant: Decoding leaf angle genetics for better crop yields
Plants have been the primary source of our food for ages. With the human population growing rapidly, there is a continual increase in the demand for food produce. Since agricultural land is limited, fulfilling this increasing demand requires finding.....»»
Researchers boost rice yield by overcoming trait tradeoff between panicle number and size
Crop breeding is largely constrained by tradeoffs among different agronomic traits. Since many of these tradeoffs are caused by gene pleiotropy, reducing gene pleiotropy may make it easier to overcome these tradeoffs in plant breeding. However, few e.....»»
Perennial rye crop shows potential for greener agriculture
Annual crops are the farmer's bread and butter, the crops they rely on most, but at least one type of perennial grain is proving much more beneficial to the environment......»»
Ryes to the occasion: Exploring how winter rye varieties can suit different climates
Understanding how a crop will grow in various places is key to getting more farmers to grow it. Rye is a cereal grain grown in parts of Europe, and although not a commonly grown crop in other regions, its characteristics make it a valuable option for.....»»
Policies must reflect why Zimbabwe"s small tobacco farmers use trees for firewood
Zimbabwe is the largest tobacco producer in Africa and in 2018, the crop accounted for about 10% of the country's gross domestic product. Zimbabwe's hopes to become an upper middle-income economy by 2030, therefore, depend quite heavily on the tobacc.....»»
Effects of shrub encroachment on land surface temperature in temperate semi-arid areas of the Northern Hemisphere
Grassland ecosystems are being invaded by shrubs around the world, especially in temperate semi-arid regions of the Northern Hemisphere, under the influences of climate change and human activities......»»
How "push-pull" companion crops help manage the devastating fall armyworm pest
Adopting a novel planting technique known as "push-pull farming" can help massively reduce crop losses to pests and improve food security in sub-Saharan Africa, new research has found......»»
Pumpkin production can benefit from conservation practices
Pumpkins (Cucurbita pepo) are a common vegetable crop sold at local pumpkin patches and farmers markets, in addition to commercial production. In 2019, the value of harvested pumpkin was worth $180 million......»»
SpaceX Poised To Send First Private Crew To ISS For Axiom Space
Loren Grush writes via The Verge: Tomorrow morning, SpaceX is set to launch yet another crew of four to the International Space Station from Florida -- but unlike most of the company's passenger flights, this new crop of flyers won't include any curr.....»»