Citrus fruits from the mandarin family have important commercial value but how their diversity arose has been something of a mystery Researchers analyzed the genomes of the East Asian varieties and found a second center of diversity in the Ryukyu…
Tag: AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION/ECONOMICS
Blushing plants reveal when fungi are growing in their roots
Almost all crop plants form associations with a particular type of fungi – called arbuscular mycorrhiza fungi – in the soil, which greatly expand their root surface area. This mutually beneficial interaction boosts the plant’s ability to take up nutrients…
Informing policy for long-term global food security
The results of a new IIASA-led study can be used to benchmark global food security projections and inform policy analysis and public debate on the future of food.
Informing policy for long-term global food security
More than 820 million people in the world don’t have enough to eat, while climate change and increasing competition for land and water are further raising concerns about the future balance between food demand and supply. The results of a…
Cattle losing adaptations to environment, MU researchers find
Researchers pave the way for genetic tests of cattle that can look for the presence of specific adaptations, such as heat resistance
New PlantwisePlus program launched to help farmers produce more and higher quality food
PlantwisePlus will build on CABI’s Plantwise and Action on Invasives programmes, which have already helped millions of farmers in over 30 countries diagnose and treat pest threats and reduce crop losses by strengthening national plant health systems.
Research shows microbes play critical role boosting vigor of hybrid corn
LAWRENCE — A new paper appearing the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences gives new detail and understanding to the cultivation of corn, one of the United States’ biggest cash crops. The research by a team at the University…
Experts challenge current understanding of transition dairy cow health
Comprehensive review in the Journal of Dairy Science® examines the riskiest period for dairy cow health, between giving birth and milk production, in a new light
NGA funds RIT researchers to explore the limits of spectral remote sensing imaging systems
Principal investigator Professor John Kerekes receives up to $1 million for fundamental research
US corn and soybean maladapted to climate variations, study shows
URBANA, Ill. – U.S. corn and soybean varieties have become increasingly heat and drought resistant as agricultural production adapts to a changing climate. But the focus on developing crops for extreme conditions has negatively affected performance under normal weather patterns,…
Kelp for corn? Illinois scientists demystify natural products for crops
URBANA, Ill. – Corn growers can choose from a wide array of products to make the most of their crop, but the latest could bring seaweed extract to a field near you. The marine product is just one class in…
The AGRIMODELS Cluster jointly participates at the 16th Congress of EAAE
EU sister projects BESTMAP, MIND STEP and AGRICORE showcase ways to improve agricultural policy modelling
Cocoa bean DNA testing offers path to end slavery and child labour in chocolate industry
Research shows low-cost DNA biomarker technique can trace cocoa from a specific farm to the chocolate bar in your hand
A new sensitive tool for the efficient quantification of plant disease susceptibility
While several biology techniques have undergone significant technical advances that have allowed their high-throughput implementation, assessing the resistance levels of plant varieties to microbial pathogens remains an arduous and time-consuming task. In response to this, Pujara and collaborators took advantage…
International partners unveil landmark insect resistant cowpea for Nigerian farmers
The first public sector biotech food crop released in Africa
Dartmouth Engineering professor selected to direct new Brazilian biofuels lab
Lee Lynd , the Queneau Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Dartmouth, will be the founding director of the new Advanced Second Generation (A2G) Biofuel Laboratory located at the University of Campinas (Unicamp) in Brazil. The lab’s mission is to develop…
Rise in Southeast Asia forest clearance increasing greenhouse gases
Forest clearance in Southeast Asia is accelerating, leading to unprecedented increases in carbon emissions, according to new research. The findings, revealed by a research team including University of Leeds academics, show that forests are being cut down at increasingly higher…
Emotions and culture are most important for acceptance of carnivore management strategies
Emotions towards and cultural importance of large carnivores are better predictors of the acceptance of management strategies by local communities than the extent of livestock depredation. This is the result of a new interdisciplinary investigation led by scientists from the…
New technique reduces nicotine levels, harmful compounds simultaneously in tobacco
North Carolina State University researchers have developed a new technique that can alter plant metabolism. Tested in tobacco plants, the technique showed that it could reduce harmful chemical compounds, including some that are carcinogenic. The findings could be used to…
Genome editing for food: how do people react?
Research team from the Universities of Göttingen and British Columbia investigates evaluations of breeding technology
Using genomics to save the bees
2021 Agricultural Greater Good Grant awarded to Göttingen University molecular biologist
Sweet success: CABBI demonstrates first precision breeding of sugarcane with CRISPR-Cas9
Gene-editing offers a targeted, efficient way to develop new varieties of this productive but complex plant
Elevated warming, ozone have detrimental effects on plant roots, promote soil carbon loss
Two factors that play a key role in climate change – increased climate warming and elevated ozone levels – appear to have detrimental effects on soybean plant roots, their relationship with symbiotic microorganisms in the soil and the ways the…
Protein crop’s potential unlocked by deciphering anti-nutrient biosynthesis
Faba beans are an excellent source of food protein, but about 4% of the world’s population are afflicted by favism, which renders them sensitive to the faba bean anti-nutrients vicine and convicine. Now, an international research team has identified the…
More than half of university students surveyed have tried a meat alternative
Top reasons for trying meat alternatives were liking to try new foods, hearing a lot about alternatives, and being curious, according to a new study in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Engineering seeds to resist drought
A new seed-coating process could facilitate agriculture on marginal arid lands by enabling the seeds to retain any available water
Energycane produces more biodiesel than soybean at a lower cost
URBANA, Ill. ¬- Bioenergy from crops is a sustainable alternative to fossil fuels. New crops such as energycane can produce several times more fuel per acre than soybeans. Yet, challenges remain in processing the crops to extract fuel efficiently. Four…
Plant patch enables continuous monitoring for crop diseases
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a patch that plants can “wear” to monitor continuously for plant diseases or other stresses, such as crop damage or extreme heat. “We’ve created a wearable sensor that monitors plant stress and…
New broadly applicable tool provides insight into fungicide resistance
Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) are a class of fungicides widely used to control many fungal diseases of crops. The relationship between SDHIs and fungi can be compared to finding the right key for the right lock. However, fungi are adaptable…
Research enhances understanding of switchgrass, an important bioenergy crop
Bioenergy crops are an alternative energy source that, unlike fossil fuels, could positively impact the environment by reducing greenhouse gases, soil erosion, and carbon dioxide levels. They can be produced even more sustainably if they are grown on poor quality…
From eyebrow beans to ‘lost’ rice: community seedbanks are protecting China’s crops
Despite being relatively new in China, community-led seedbanks are a valuable resource in conserving agricultural biodiversity. For the first time, researchers have provided a comprehensive summary of the services performed by 27 seedbanks across the coun
Waste hop stem in the beer industry upcycled into cellulose nanofibers
Some three quarters of the biomass in hop plants used in beer-making ends up in landfills. But a group of Japanese researchers has developed a technique that ‘upcycles’ that waste hop into cellulose nanofibers (CNFs). A paper describing the technique…
Cleaner air has boosted US corn and soybean yields, Stanford-led research shows
A key factor in America’s prodigious agricultural output turns out to be something farmers can do little to control: clean air. A new Stanford-led study estimates pollution reductions between 1999 and 2019 contributed to about 20 percent of the increase…
Is global plastic pollution nearing an irreversible tipping point?
Common press release: Stockholm University, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research
New approach can add diversity to crop species without breeding GMOs
Genetic technique edits every chloroplast in a plant, but does not change nuclear DNA of offspring
Slowing down grape ripening can improve berry quality for winemaking
Wine grapes are particularly finicky when it comes to their environment. For instance, heatwaves and droughts lead to earlier berry ripening and lackluster wine. And these types of episodes are expected to intensify as Earth’s climate changes. Now, researchers reporting…
Kiwi disease study finds closely related bacterial strains display different behaviors
Over the last decade, severe outbreaks of bacterial canker have caused huge economic losses for kiwi growers, especially in Italy, New Zealand, and China, which are among the largest producers. Bacterial canker is caused by the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae…
Organic farming could feed Europe by 2050
Food has become one of the major challenges of the 21st century. According to a study carried out by CNRS scientists1, an organic, sustainable, biodiversity-friendly agro-food system, could be implemented in Europe and would allow a balanced coexistence between agriculture…
USDA Awards UToledo $500,000 for Fertility Research to Help Cattle Industry
The three-year grant targets agricultural productivity, but also can advance ongoing human fertility research.
Machine learning can now reduce worry about nanoparticles in food
Researchers at Texas A&M can predict whether metallic nanoparticles in soil are likely to be absorbed by plants, which could cause toxicity
Greenhouse gas data deep dive reaches new level of ‘reasonable and true’
URBANA, Ill. – For the most accurate accounting of a product’s environmental impact, scientists look at the product’s entire life cycle, from cradle to grave. It’s a grand calculation known as a life cycle assessment (LCA), and greenhouse gas emissions…
Untapped rice varieties could sustain crop supplies in face of climate change
Local rice varieties in Vietnam could be used to help breed improved crops with higher resilience to climate change, according to a new study published in Rice . Earlham Institute researchers are part of an international collaboration with genebanks and…
Trees, plants and soil could help cities cut their carbon footprints — when used smartly
Researchers call for international product standards for green infrastructure
Study effects paradigm shift in the understanding of how red rot attacks sugarcane
Researchers at the University of São Paulo discover that the fungus Fusarium verticillioides uses volatile compounds to manipulate insects and plants, promoting its own dissemination
New methods needed to boost success of Classical Biological Control to fight insect pests
The success of Classical Biological Control in the Western Paleartic ecozone is rarely dependent on the released biological control agent, but more often on other factors, such as the target pest, its host plant, or the circumstances of the releases
Decoded genome of little-known disease offers hope for citrus
Benign infection can potentially send medicine into plants
How do plants balance microbial friends and foes?
Plants are constantly exposed to microbes: pathogens that cause disease, commensals that cause no harm or benefit, and mutualists that promote plant growth or help fend off pathogens. For example, most land plants can form positive relationships with arbuscular mycorrhizal…
New method to measure milk components has potential to improve dairy sustainability
Journal of Dairy Science® reports development of a modified milk calibration sample set to improve accuracy of milk urea nitrogen testing
As a decade of ecosystem restoration kicks off, don’t forget the people
Global ecosystem restoration efforts are often measured by billions of trees planted or square kilometers of land restored. But there is a critical void in the agenda: The social and political dimensions that make restoration a success
UTIA professor receives community development early career achievement award
Sreedhar Upendram recognized for significant advancement of community development in Tennessee