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…

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…

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…

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…

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

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

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…

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…

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…

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