Larger organic farms operate more like conventional farms and use fewer sustainable practices than smaller organic farms, according to a new Cornell University study that also provides insight into how to increase adoption of sustainable practices.
Scientists have discovered how to potentially design root systems to grow deeper by altering their angle growth to be steeper and reach the nutrients they need to grow, a discovery that could also help develop new ways to capture carbon in soil.
Researchers have discovered a new gene in barley and wheat that controls the angle of root growth in soil, opening the door to new cereal varieties with deeper roots that are less susceptible to drought and nutrient stress, thus mitigating the effects of climate change.
Genome sequencing, where scientists use laboratory methods to determine a specific organism’s genetic makeup, is becoming a common practice in insect research.
As news broke that Florida’s citrus industry ended this year’s growing season with its lowest production in eight decades, an unlikely union has formed between two University of Florida startup companies to help reverse the trend.
Microplastics, tiny particles of plastic that are now found worldwide in the air, water, and soil, are increasingly recognized as a serious pollution threat, and have been found in the bloodstream of animals and people around the world.
Peanut oil powered the world’s first diesel engine when it was premiered by Rudolf Diesel at the World Exposition in Paris in 1900. Now, a collaboration between Chevron and Texas A&M AgriLife is reviving the use of peanuts as a renewable feedstock for diesel fuel with a lower carbon intensity.
A new study – published in the CABI Agriculture & Bioscience journal – has reviewed progress made towards an eco-friendly insect pest management approach in subtropical agro-ecosystems in South Africa.
Factory farming for meat production is harmful to the environment. In addition to its direct emissions of methane, its use of liquid manure releases climate-damaging nitrogen compounds such as ammonia and nitrous oxide into the atmosphere and pollutes the groundwater with nitrates. Researchers at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have analyzed how the liquid manure produced by livestock farming, which is often used as fertilizer, affects its nitrogen footprint. They showed that the nitrogen pollution caused by liquid manure from the production of beef is three times higher than that for pork and eight times higher than that for poultry
Harmful fungi cause enormous agricultural losses. Conventional techniques for combating them involve the use of poisonous fungicides. Researchers at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), working with partners from Germany, France, and Switzerland on the DialogProTec project, have developed environmentally safe alternatives that trick the pathogens’ chemical communication with plants. Now that the research has been completed, the new technology is ready for use.
Urbanization is a primary threat to biodiversity. However, scientists know little about how urbanization affects biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical regions of the Global South.
The study aims to increase production efficiency and protect cannabis strains from plant diseases. The two-year research project will advance plant tissue science for the medical cannabis industry.
Drought can cause issues for grain crops and three Clemson University scientists are working on getting to the root of the problem. The scientists believe crops have a lesson to learn from their weedy relatives when it comes to growing in drier soils.
Scientists at Clemson University have joined a national research effort focused on developing solutions that will make the use of phosphorus — a finite element essential to food production — more sustainable.
Incorporate the actions of individual farmers when forming policies to tackle livestock disease outbreaks, say researchers from the University of Warwick and University of Nottingham
New research led by Rebecca Bart and Nigel Taylor and their collaborators at ETH Zurich, University of California Los Angeles, and the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Uganda, have identified a genetic mutation that confers resistance to cassava mosaic disease.
New research reveals how climate change is likely to increase the potential for wine production in the UK – with conditions projected to resemble those in famous growing regions of France and Germany.
Roasting green chile is a cultural touchstone in New Mexico, but burning propane to roast the peppers leads to a seasonal emission of approximately 7,800 metric tons of carbon dioxide — the equivalent of driving 1,700 cars for a year.
A team of researchers from Chula Faculty of Science in cooperation with the Faculty of Medicine, Khon Kaen University has developed the “Jelly Nata Probiotics” jelly drink made from pineapple to benefit the mental wellbeing of the elderly, add value to pineapple while also solving the oversupply of pineapples.
Farmers can tailor their efforts to control weeds more effectively by pinpointing when a particular weed will emerge, according to a new Cornell University study.
What do peanut aflatoxins, aquaponics, integrated pest management for crops and sealed timber bids have in common? They are all subjects of practical application in Land-Grant Press by Clemson Extension publications. Written by Cooperative Extension agents and University scientists, Land-Grant Press publications are research-based, peer-reviewed scholarly work.
Small-holder farmers in rural Tanzania can improve food security and their wellbeing by adopting agroecological practices, new research funded by UKRI Global Challenges Research Fund has shown.
Researchers at ISU surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 U.S. residents to gauge public acceptance of gene-edited foods. Social factors like food beliefs and trust in institutions played a big role in the participants' willingness to eat or actively avoid products made with gene-editing technologies.
Researchers have identified a specific bacterial microbe that, when fed to honey bee larvae, can reduce the effects of nutritional stress on developing bees.
Scientists have developed a way to grow 9 kinds of crops without sunlight through artificial photosynthesis. They believe it can be done at scale, a boon for countries prone to famine or with limited arable land.
The Clemson University College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences is working with Curio Wellness to conduct a two-year research project to advance plant tissue science for the medical cannabis industry.
When Gloire Rubambiza was installing a digital agriculture system at the Cornell Orchards and greenhouses, he encountered a variety of problems, including connectivity and compatibility issues, and equipment frozen under snow.