How media impacts digital technology adoption in U.S. and Brazilian agriculture

Digital technologies on the farm improve efficiency, productivity, and profits, but few farmers are taking full advantage of available tools. According to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign researchers, communication channels play an important role in farmers’ decision-making process around technology adoption.

Engineered increase in mesophyll conductance improves photosynthetic efficiency in field trial

Researchers have engineered mesophyll conductance, which plays a key role in photosynthesis and refers to the ease with which CO2 can move through a leaf’s cells before ultimately becoming sugar to feed the plant. Their results are featured in an upcoming paper in the Plant Biotechnology Journal.

Engineered increase in mesophyll conductance improves photosynthetic efficiency in field trial

Researchers have engineered mesophyll conductance, which plays a key role in photosynthesis and refers to the ease with which CO2 can move through a leaf’s cells before ultimately becoming sugar to feed the plant. “This is one of the few…

Diverse cropping systems don’t increase carbon storage compared to corn-soybean rotations

Diversified crop rotations protect water quality and have other environmental benefits, but recent experiments show that farms can’t rely on such rotations to improve carbon storage in the soil. The findings contradict widely held expectations that the extensive root systems of perennials and cover crops would deposit carbon in soils.

Corn and soybean rotation could pose long-term tradeoffs for soil health

A new study examines the mechanisms that drive the decomposition of organic matter in soils that undergo long-term corn and soybean crop rotations. The study shows how corn and soybean rotations can provide important environmental and management benefits for farmers, but the practice also comes with tradeoffs that some farmers may wish to address by adjusting their management practices.