Defense of the United States is an undertaking that requires the help of experts from a wide array of obviously related disciplines — physics, engineering, computer science, political science and more. One discipline that might not immediately come to mind is plant ecophysiology. But the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Tala Awada is leading the way.
Fundamental research offers opportunities for new varieties of pigmented rice and a resource to address malnutrition.
Microbes are by far the most important factor in determining how much carbon is stored in the soil, according to a new study with implications for mitigating climate change and improving soil health for agriculture and food production.
A recent study led by a researcher at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University found that the likelihood of extreme temperatures that could affect crop yields has increased significantly in wheat-producing regions of the U.S. and China.
A research team has taken a dive deep into the biology and integrated pest management of lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), a species of darkling beetle that wreaks havoc on poultry farms.
The coexistence of wildlife and agricultural practices has long posed challenges for wildlife conservation, especially when conflicts arise.
Corn growers seeking to increase the amount of nitrogen taken up by their crop can adjust many aspects of fertilizer application, but recent studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show those tweaks don’t do much to improve uptake efficiency from fertilizer. That’s because, the studies show, corn takes up the majority of its nitrogen – about 67% on average – from sources occurring naturally in soil, not from fertilizer.
A new collection of essays from a dozen Iowa State University faculty underscores how all of us can play a role in cultivating a more peaceful world. The authors demonstrate this by drawing from their own disciplines – agriculture, architecture, business, education, engineering, history, music, nutrition and food systems and philosophy.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm heralded upgrades to the world’s most complete biomass preprocessing research and development facility during a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Idaho National Laboratory today.
A non-toxic method to prevent mice from devouring wheat crops has been shown to drastically reduce seed loss.
Weed killers of the future could soon be based on failed antibiotics. A molecule which was initially developed to treat tuberculosis but failed to progress out of the lab as an antibiotic is now showing promise as a powerful foe for weeds that invade our gardens and cost farmers billions of dollars each year. While the failed antibiotic wasn’t fit for its original purpose, scientists at the University of Adelaide discovered that by tweaking its structure, the molecule became effective at killing two of the most problematic weeds in Australia, annual ryegrass and wild radish, without harming bacterial and human cells.
Bees serve an important role in pollinating our gardens. However, homeowners looking to venture into beekeeping have a lot to think about long before any potential honey harvest. James M. Wilson, beekeeping expert for Virginia Tech and Virginia Cooperative Extension, has plenty of tips to offer about starting up and tending to a personal beehive.
A new review of research suggests that the nature-based technology biochar – a carbon-rich material – could be an important tool to use in agriculture to help mitigate climate change.
The agricultural and biological engineering graduate program at the University of Illinois is ranked No. 4 nationwide by U.S. News & World Report, moving up three spots according to the go-to source for higher education rankings. The program’s recent ascent reflects dedicated efforts to enhance opportunities for graduate students in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering (ABE).
A new study has identified the bee’s knees of bumble bee dietary options in Ohio and the Upper Midwest. Researchers found these bees don’t settle for the most abundant flowers in their foraging area – suggesting they have more discerning dietary preferences than one might expect.
Humidity is as important as scent in attracting pollinators to a plant, new Cornell-led research finds, advancing basic biology and opening new avenues to support agriculture.
Since Michigan is the nation's leading producer of tart cherries, Michigan State University researchers were searching for the genes associated with tart cherry trees that bloom later in the season to meet the needs of a changing climate. They started by comparing DNA sequences from late-blooming tart cherry trees to the sequenced genome of a related species, the peach. However, in a surprise to the researcher, the genetic discrepancies between the species outweighed the similarities. This led the team to create the first annotated Montmorency tart cherry genome and identify the DNA segments that code for each gene.
Since in modern agricultural systems, large amounts of pesticides are applied to specific purposes such as weeding and insecticide, and most pesticides are eventually entering the ocean, however, the toxic effects of pesticides on marine microes are unlear.
Through a novel pairing of epidemiology and toxicity screening, UCLA and Harvard researchers were able to identify 10 pesticides that were directly toxic to key neurons.
The spread of drug-resistant microbes has become a global health concern that threatens our ability to treat infections. The widespread use of antimicrobials in livestock, such as swine farms, exacerbates this problem.
New University of Colorado Boulder research shows the number of farms globally will shrink in half as the size of the average existing farms doubles by the end of the 21st century, posing significant risks to the world’s food systems.
Tomatoes, bananas, cabbages, melons, pumpkins and cucumbers… are just some of the 150 crops of commercial interest that are victims of Fusarium oxysporum, one of the most important pathogens in the world due to the millions of dollars in losses it is responsible for and its ability to attack different types of plants.
Eight years ago, University of Illinois and USDA-ARS scientists turned weed control on its head. More and more herbicide resistant weeds were popping up, and the pest plants were getting harder to kill. It was clear farmers could no longer rely on the same chemicals year after year. Industry campaigns and herbicide applicators began touting the benefits of rotating herbicides annually to avoid developing resistance, and rotation quickly became common practice.
From self-driving tractors to weeding robots and AI-powered data collection, automated machinery is revolutionizing agricultural production. While these technological advancements can greatly improve productivity, they also raise new questions about safety measures and regulations. To address these issues, a recent study from the University of Illinois reviewed current academic literature on the safety of automated agricultural machines. Based on a review of more than 60 papers, the researchers identified three main topics: environmental perception, risk assessment and mitigation, and human factors and ergonomics.
Let’s say you’re a corn grower farming on low-fertility soil. How do you go about making that soil healthier and more fertile? Many farmers think if they add plenty of nitrogen fertilizer, that nutrient, along with carbon, will be stored in the soil as organic matter when microbes decompose crop residue. But new research from the University of Illinois suggests those efforts might not work for poor soils.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has selected 12 applicants that will each establish a Regional Food Business Center. UTHealth Houston School of Public Health Center for Community Health Impact has partnered with Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and other Texas and New Mexico organizations to lead the Rio Grande Colonias USDA Regional Food Business Center over the next five years.
To give the authorities a cross-sectoral view of a city’s nutrient sink status, the researchers identified and analysed a range of waste flows. Their approach distinguished four nested spatial levels: the urban area; the potential territorial recycling system; the country and the international level. Based on that analysis, the researchers focused on the origin and fate of those nutrient-containing waste flows.
A new perspective piece in Science shows that abandoned lands could be both an opportunity and a threat for biodiversity, and highlights why abandoned lands are critical in the assessment of global restoration and conservation targets.
There are more than 80,000 sheep and lambs living on over 2,000 farms in New York State. Their wool has many uses including clothing, carpets, furniture, bedding, insulators, fertilizers, and more. However, about 10-15% of wool is wasted during the sorting and cleaning processes. Researchers from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are aiming to turn that waste into a new profit source for farmers, and produce an eco-conscious, high-performance yarn in the process.
FarmBox Foods has joined the International Phytobiomes Alliance as a sponsoring partner, both organizations announced today.
Researchers from Brazil showed that Amazonian dark earth (ADE), soils enriched by Amerindian people thousands of years ago, increases the establishment and growth of seedlings of tree species important for reforestation. By copying the composition of ADE, especially its microbes, reforestation in Brazil and elsewhere could be sped up
UT Southwestern Medical Center stem cell and developmental biologists and colleagues have developed a method to produce bovine blastoids, a crucial step in replicating embryo formation in the lab that could lead to the development of new reproductive technologies for cattle breeding.
The Cornell University-led Eastern Broccoli Project, which built a broccoli industry on the East Coast worth an estimated $120 million over the last 13 years, has produced a promising new broccoli variety in partnership with Bejo Seeds, a Geneva, New York-based seed company.
The University of Minnesota Twin Cities received a $20 million grant from the National Science Foundation and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture to lead a new research institute that will leverage artificial intelligence to help absorb and store carbon in farms and forests.
For millions of Americans that suffer from seasonal allergies (pollen and mold), climate change is exacerbating an earlier, longer, and overall worse allergy season.
Locusts are one of the main pests that damage crops and pasture areas, especially in their adult stage when they are able to fly and form swarms.
Research led by Dmitri Nusinow, PhD, associate member, Danforth Plant Science Center, and former Nusinow graduate student Maria Sorkin, PhD, has identified a new protein complex in plants that regulates temperature response by the circadian clock.
Spider mites avoid chemicals extracted from caterpillar traces; the repellent effect lasts for days. Butterfly and moth caterpillars then indiscriminately consume spider mite-infested and intact leaves along with dormant individuals or their eggs.
Ensuring the supply of food to the constantly growing world population and protecting the environment at the same time are often conflicting objectives.
Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a framework for quantifying how well countries around the world are doing at providing adequate food, energy and water to their citizens without exceeding nature’s capacity to meet those needs.
Cangliang Shen, a researcher with the West Virginia University Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design and WVU Extension, has studied the microbial safety of both local farmers market produce and mobile poultry processing units, revealing risks from bacteria like E. coli, listeria and salmonella.
Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O’Lakes, Inc., is the featured speaker at the May 8 Heuermann Lecture, part of the 2023 Water for Food Global Conference.
Biocides can harm the environment and hinder the work of wastewater treatment facilities. Besides this, toxic biocides can make waste unsuitable for further use as biofertilizers and biofuel production. The Russian scientists proposed the solution to this problem
In just six years since the 39 North Master Plan was unveiled, more than $120 million of private/public investment has been made to advance the goals outlined in the plan. To build on the momentum, seven institutions from the public/private sector have announced their commitment as anchor institutions and established 39 North AgTech Innovation District as a 501(c)3. The new organization will be responsible for elevating the innovation district to the next level of successful growth and economic impact.
Scientists demonstrated that retting of seeds in the agent on the base of chitosan enables not only to hasten lettuce sprouting, but also to improve its yields
As Corn Belt states seek ways to curb nitrogen flow from farms into the Gulf of Mexico, new University of Illinois research adds evidence for winter cover crops as an important part of the solution. A simulation study published in Science of the Total Environment finds widespread planting of cereal rye in Illinois could reduce nitrate in the state’s tile drainage water by 30%.
Researcher will discuss the study which involved a sleeping aid known as suvorexant that is already approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for insomnia, hints at the potential of sleep medications to slow or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
The genomes of two hornet species, the European hornet and the Asian hornet (or yellow-legged hornet) have been sequenced for the first time by a team led by UCL (University College London) scientists.
In 1876, when University of Illinois professor Manly Miles established the Morrow Plots, he couldn’t have imagined the plots would become the oldest continuous agricultural experiment in the Western Hemisphere. Nor could he imagine, more than a century before the dawn of the internet, that the plots’ data would be digitized and made available online to scientists, students, and educators around the world.
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