Shrub willow as a bioenergy crop
Renewable energy demand and consumption is at an all-time high in the United States......»»
Crop diversity is needed today for tomorrow"s food security and nutrition
Although scientists have been ringing bells for more than 100 years about the decline of crop diversity in agriculture, questions about the magnitude, causes, and significance of this loss remain unanswered......»»
Pakistan"s amphibians need more research efforts and better protection
Amphibians are bioindicators of an ecosystem's health and may also serve as biological control of crop and forest pests. The First Herpetological Congress, organized in 1989, presented alarming findings about the decline in amphibian populations. Cur.....»»
Climate change predictions build resilience in African tea production
Researchers in the UK and Africa have teamed up to help tea producers better understand future climate risks so that they can reduce crop damage caused by climate change......»»
Research confirms a new forage crop for eastern Wyoming
If you've ever moved from one location in the U.S. to another, you may know that different regions have different "hardiness zones" for outdoor plants. So, if you live in the south, and want to bring a prized rose bush when you move to a northern sta.....»»
Record-breaking Texas drought more severe than previously thought
In 2011, Texas experienced one of its worst droughts ever. The dry, parched conditions caused over $7 billion in crop and livestock losses, sparked wildfires, pushed power grids to the limit, and reduced reservoirs to dangerously low levels......»»
Researchers look for ways to boost bee-friendly practices
Almonds are big business in California, which grows 80 percent of the world's crop with a value of $5.62 billion......»»
Team engineers bioenergy-friendly fungi
An Oak Ridge National Laboratory team has successfully introduced a poplar gene into switchgrass, an important biofuel source, that allows switchgrass to interact with a beneficial fungus, ultimately boosting the grass's growth and viability in chang.....»»
Chemists develop new technology that detects algae crop health
Trained dogs are well known to use their acute sense of smell to identify explosives, contraband and even certain types of disease. Being able to automate such detection skills could be useful in a range of settings, from airports to public buildings.....»»
Eliminating microplastics on farmland
In many countries, farmers and gardeners use mulch films to increase their crop yields. The films are often made of polyethylene and can be used to control weed growth, soil temperature and water consumption. Unfortunately the petroleum-based materia.....»»
Salt stress alters legume responses to symbiotic rhizobacteria by modulating gene expression
Crop legumes are an integral part of sustainable agriculture, as several of these species represent an important protein source for both human and animal populations. Legumes engage in a unique and beneficial interaction with a group of soil bacteria.....»»
Fast-forward breeding and rapid delivery systems for food security
The University of Western Australia's Institute of Agriculture has collaborated with international researchers to develop a roadmap to fast-forward breeding for accelerated crop improvement and rapid delivery systems, which will lead to a food-secure.....»»
Spotted lanternfly, a crop-killing pest, is hitchhiking and hopping its way to the Midwest
A small, winged pest some people even think is pretty is getting a lot of attention online, as agriculture and natural resource experts warn that it can do considerable damage to grapes and, once established, is difficult to kill......»»
Advanced model and field data add up to better cover crop management
Cover crops are widely seen as one of the most promising conservation practices, improving soil health while also removing carbon from the atmosphere. But while the number of Midwestern farmers planting cover crops has increased markedly in recent ye.....»»
Hemp-based composite could facilitate soil-free farming
Given the diversity of its applications, hemp has become an increasingly popular crop in the United States and elsewhere over the past half-decade. That increasing production has led to surges of an appealing byproduct: hemp fiber......»»
How plants sense phosphate
A new study by the University of Bonn and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) in Gatersleben sheds light on the mechanism used by plants to monitor how much of the nutrient phosphate is available, and to decide when.....»»
Researchers discover hormonal regulatory module for root elongation
In future, agricultural crop production will have to manage with less and less nitrogen fertilization. The goal must therefore be to increase nitrogen use efficiency so that yield levels can be kept stable. Plants respond to mild nitrogen deficiency.....»»
Tracking wild peanut genes to improve crop resilience
A decade ago, University of Georgia plant scientists David and Soraya Bertioli were living and working in Brazil when they began to wonder about peanut plants they encountered in different corners of the world with an astounding ability to withstand.....»»
Crop-eating moths will flourish as climate warms
Climate change in this century will allow one of the world's costliest agricultural pests, the diamondback moth, to both thrive year-round and rapidly evolve resistance to pesticides in large parts of the United States, Europe and China where it prev.....»»
With Fertility Needs in Flux, Men Eye Freezing Their Sperm
A crop of companies want to make sperm-freezing a routine procedure for young men, as employers start to offer it as a benefit. From a report: For decades, the conversation about waning fertility has been focused largely on women. Think of Marisa Tom.....»»
Infection method behind "crop killer" bacteria revealed
An interdisciplinary team of scientists from NTU Singapore has identified, for the first time, a key mechanism by which a dangerous plant disease can infect crops......»»