Feature Channels: Agriculture

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Adding wheat can boost yields, increase economic return, and improve soil

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Cornell University scientists have worked with the University of California, Davis, to identify the DNA markers that determine grape flower sex. In the process, they also pinpointed the genetic origins of the perfect flower.

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The wild relatives of modern peanut plants have the ability to withstand disease in ways that peanut plants can’t. The genetic diversity of these wild relatives means that they can shrug off the diseases that kill farmers’ peanut crops, but they also produce tiny nuts that are difficult to harvest because they burrow deep in the soil.

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An Iowa State University agronomist is developing new computer models of soil erosion and topography changes, requiring both innovative big-data technology as well as painstaking validation of soil measurements in the real world. The National Science Foundation recently awarded Bradley Miller an early career development grant to support the research.

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Wake steering is a strategy employed at wind power plants involving misaligning upstream turbines with the wind direction to deflect wakes away from downstream turbines, which consequently increases the net production of wind power at a plant. In Journal of Renewable and Sustainable Energy, researchers illustrate how wake steering can increase energy production for a large sampling of commercial land-based U.S. wind power plants. Several were ideal candidates.

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Researchers at the University of Adelaide have found several grape varieties native to Cyprus, which tolerate drought conditions better than some international varieties popular in Australia, contain chemical compounds responsible for flavours preferred by Australian consumers.

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Most abundant animal crucial to plant health and soil carbon storage

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New research led by Aalto University assesses just how global food production will be affected if greenhouse gas emissions are left uncut. The study is published in the prestigious journal One Earth on Friday 14 May.

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S&T collaborates with DHS experts to ensure that the food we eat and our agricultural supply are safe.

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As climate change heats up the air and land making them hotter and dryer, warmer nighttime temperatures make it more difficult to grow beans -- a critical source of protein for populations. Researchers are working against this to build more resilient beans.

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In 2020, stores sold out of garden seed, coops and rabbit cages. Meat shortages led many to wonder what to eat for protein when supply chains are disrupted and some people turned to gathering eggs, raising animals and growing their own food. A team from Michigan Tech and the University of Alaska assessed backyard protein sources: They looked at how a typical household with a typical backyard can raise chickens, rabbits or soybeans to meet its protein needs.

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A Rutgers study finds that symbiotic bacteria that colonize root cells may be managed to produce hardier crops that need less fertilizer.

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Meat that is certified organic by the U.S. Department of Agriculture is less likely to be contaminated with bacteria that can sicken people, including dangerous, multidrug-resistant organisms, compared to conventionally produced meat.

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Genomics research helps develop high-yielding, drought tolerant lines of chickpea

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Diversity of children’s diets and food security improved for households after Tanzanian farmers learned about sustainable crop-growing methods, gender equity, nutrition and climate change from peer mentors.

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Windstorms, less organic matter on topsoil and soil degradation among issues

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Green Bronx Machine congratulates its founder Stephen Ritz who has received the 2021 Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) Disruptor Award for the organization’s work during the pandemic.

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Researchers at UniSA have developed a world-first automated technique for simultaneously grading almond quality and detecting potentially serious mycotoxin contamination in kernels.

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Chicken manure, known as poultry litter, is an age-old fertilizer. New research shows it can improve soils and increase crop yield, a boon for farmers.

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Long-term studies allow for betting understanding of agroecosystem change

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Mother Nature provided increasingly inconsistent precipitation for the Great Plains over the past decade, impacting grasslands, forage systems and beef production in the region—and scientists expect that trend to intensify.

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Rather than tending fields by the hundreds of acres, farmers could one day tend each plant with the help of machine learning, robots and other technologies. A $7 million grant from the NSF and the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture will help researchers develop such a cyber-physical system.

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From creating and starring in segments for public television’s Let’s Learn children’s series to celebrating National Nutrition Month and Earth Day to preparing for outdoor growing season at its various urban farms, one thing is for sure: Green Bronx Machine (GBM) and its founder Stephen Ritz have been and will be extra busy tending to their communities, people and gardens.

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A partnership with the city of Ames is giving Iowa State University students an opportunity to propose the redesign of an area of the city with the goals of reducing nutrient runoff and improving recreation.

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Nitrogen is essential for crops, but when it gets into the water supply, it spells big trouble. Scientists are trying to help farmers strike the right balance by measuring their fields.

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Shauna Downs, assistant professor at the Rutgers School of Public Health, has been awarded a grant from the Innovative Methods and Metrics for Agriculture and Nutrition Actions program to develop tools that will allow researchers to measure natural and built food environments in low- and middle- income countries.

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California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance programs promote sustainability

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Nebraska research team helps identify the best weed control program to help farmers control Palmer amaranth in soybean fields

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Musty, moldy, smoky or horse dung-like smelling cocoa is not suitable for chocolate production.

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Through a contribution agreement with USDA-NRCS, the Soil Science Society of America has developed materials to enhance the teaching of soils in both formal and informal classrooms.

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Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists at the Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center in College Station are using a “table-to-farm” approach to create a safer, healthier and more sustainable melon supply chain in the U.S. by considering consumer preference at the dinner table.

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An estimated 334,000 COVID-19 cases are attributable to meatpacking plants, resulting in $11.2 billion in economic damage, according to a new study led by a researcher at the University of California, Davis.

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Exposure to soil microorganisms, human health closely related

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A new study by Oregon State University researchers found that shade provided by solar panels increased the abundance of flowers under the panels and delayed the timing of their bloom, both findings that could aid the agricultural community.

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If global warming continues unchecked, summer monsoon rainfall in India will become stronger and more erratic.

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Study shows the proximity of canola fields to semi-natural areas can increase yield

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Researchers from the NUS Department of Materials Science and Engineering have created a solar-powered, fully automated device called ‘SmartFarm’ that is equipped with a moisture-attracting material to absorb air moisture at night when the relative humidity is higher, and releases water when exposed to sunlight in the day for irrigation.

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Women’s increased agricultural labor during harvest season, in addition to domestic house care, often comes at the cost of their health, according to new research from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition.

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Twenty-year process involved evaluating malting barley germplasm strains, breeding efforts

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Illumina, a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies is joining the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC) as a sponsoring partner.

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Just as the beneficial bacteria living in yogurt and sauerkraut are good for your gut, tiny organisms living in the soil help plants and intense research is underway on natural “probiotic” soil treatments containing living microorganisms. Developers of these products have been including multiple species of beneficial bacteria in their formulations, aiming to boost crop growth and yield. But new research from the University of Delaware suggests these selections must be made very carefully, because not all good bacteria get along.

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Scientists uncover genetic traits to breed better barley for northern environments

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The beer-making process yields a large amount of spent grain as a waste product. Today, scientists report a new way to extract the protein and fiber from brewer’s spent grain and use it to create new types of protein sources, biofuels and more. They will present their results at ACS Spring 2021.

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A comprehensive assessment of 12 different strategies for reducing beef production emissions worldwide found that industry can reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by as much as 50% in certain regions, with the most potential in the United States and Brazil.

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Although stratospheric ozone protects us by filtering out the sun's ultraviolet radiation, tropospheric ozone is a harmful pollutant.

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This spring, Stephen Ritz, award-winning educator and founder of Green Bronx Machine, will delight children in 3-K through second grade when he brings his acclaimed classroom – and a cast of newly-created characters – to public television’s “Let’s Learn” series.

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A UCLA-led study published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research suggests that exposure during pregnancy to a wide variety of pesticides may lead to the development of central nervous system tumors during childhood.

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Across California's Central Valley, under stress from large-scale agriculture and climate change, native bee species that are flexible in their pollination behavior when around other wild bee populations appear best suited for survival in shrinking habitats.

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