Winter-hardy hibiscus cultivars are what initially attracted Dariusz Malinowski, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research plant physiologist and breeder, to the world of flowers, but now he’s ready to splash a little tropical color into the market.
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.
The first animal study of a pig virus’s potential to jump to another species shows that the virus, once introduced to a select group of birds, is easily transmitted to healthy chickens and turkeys.
Soils releasing carbon as gas lead to challenges on valuable farmland
The Donald Danforth Plant Science Center today announced the External Advisory Board (EAB) of AgTech NEXT, a bold new food and agtech innovation summit that will be held May 4 – 6, 2020 at the Danforth Center in St. Louis, MO. Members of the AgTech NEXT EAB are known for their impact and innovation and represent the diverse perspectives within the ag innovation community.
The San Joaquin soil contributes billions of dollars toward the state’s economy.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced a plan to provide up to $75 million over five years for research to develop sustainable bioenergy crops tolerant of environmental stress and resilient to changing environmental conditions.
Will robots someday replace farm workers? Do we want them to? Oregon State University College of Engineering agricultural robotics expert Joe Davidson talks about the potential benefits of using robots in agriculture, and what goes into designing the perfect robotic apple picker.
Nematodes are tiny, ubiquitous roundworms that infect plant roots, causing more than $100 billion in crop damage worldwide each year.
Unmanned aerial vehicles provide reliable, accurate data to growers.
While LED lighting can enhance plant growth in greenhouses, standards are needed to determine the optimal intensity and colors of light, according to Rutgers research that could help improve the energy efficiency of horticultural lighting products.
Today a team of researchers from the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Production of the Federico II University of Naples, in collaboration with the Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO), at Temple University in Philadelphia, and the Department of Biotechnology at the University of Siena, Itay, has discovered the effectiveness of a new extract, of natural origin, able to prevent nephrotoxicity induced by the mycotoxin Ochratoxin A (OTA), and has published this research in the international Journal of Cellular Physiology.
You don’t have to look far to find news, opinions and studies about our world’s changing climate and its effects on humans. But what is less accessible is how a changing climate impacts beef cattle production. A team of scientists and researchers from across the region set out to answer this and other questions during the Great Plains Grazing project funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
As the effects of climate change are increasingly felt around the world, possible solutions, from reducing fossil fuel emissions to capturing carbon, have come to dominate policy discussions.
Sticky or unsticky rice? A decision worthy of deep contemplation before dinner.
A new data analysis from the University of Iowa finds that people who have high levels of exposure to pyrethroid insecticides are three times more likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people with little or no exposure.
Make some room in the garden, you storied three sisters: the winter squash, climbing beans and the vegetable we know as corn. Grown together, newly examined “lost crops” could have produced enough seed to feed as many indigenous people as traditionally grown maize, according to new research from Washington University in St.
Researchers from Cornell University and the University of Wageningen used a social psychology approach to understand how dairy farmers’ views impact how and when they use antibiotics to treat their cows.
Prior organic farming practices and plantings can have lasting outcomes for future soil health, weeds and crop yields, according to new Cornell University research.
Our domesticated animals - both pets and livestock - hold the key to the spread of viruses among humans and wildlife according to new research involving Swansea University.
A new study offers India a pathway to improve nutrition, climate resilience and the environment by diversifying its crop production. And it also offers global insights into the need to consider sustainable approaches to agriculture.
In a co-authored paper published online in the journal Anthropocene, University of Illinois at Chicago paleontologist Roy Plotnick argues that the fossil record of mammals will provide a clear signal of the Anthropocene era.
Cover crops may increase sustainability of carambola groves
In tests, consumers in upstate New York were willing to pay more for broccoli grown in New York when they knew where it came from, Cornell University researchers found.
New research from Washington University in St. Louis provides insight into how proteins called phytochromes sense light and contribute to how plants grow. Biologists used sophisticated techniques to structurally define the sequence of events that support the transition between light- and dark-adapted states.
The integration of crop and livestock production on organic farms doesn’t appear to pose substantial food safety risks and could yield benefits for producers, according to a study involving Iowa State University scientists. The experiments involved three sites in the Midwest on which acres were rotated between organic crop and livestock production.
Continually logging and re-growing tropical forests to supply timber is reducing the levels of vital nutrients in the soil, which may limit future forest growth and recovery, a new study suggests. This raises concerns about the long-term sustainability of logging in the tropics.
A plant breeder and a food scientist, both with the University of Florida, will join a $12.8 million, multistate research grant to broaden the nation’s blueberry breeding capabilities.
Coastal cities can be spared some wind destruction from intensifying hurricanes or tropical storm systems if they have functional wetland ecosystems and agricultural croplands in the area, according to new computer modeling.
An innovative way of pinpointing when honey will be ready to harvest has won top awards at this year’s Australian eChallenge awards. The wining concept, named Beecognition, has won its creators $16,000 in prize money plus over $5,000 worth of expert guidance from business consultants.
What could Azteca ants in coffee farms in Mexico have in common with leopards' spots and zebras' stripes?
When it comes to food technology, the information shared on social media often trumps the facts put out by the scientific community and food experts, leading to the dissemination of disinformation, “fake news” and conspiracy theories. Nowhere is this more evident than consumers’ mistrust of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), despite assurances from the scientific community and food experts. Several studies covering this widespread risk perception of food technologies will be presented during the Visual Cues and Perceptions of Risk: Modern Agriculture in the Era of Social Media symposium on Wednesday, Dec. 11 from 8:30-10:00 a.m. at the 2019 Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) Annual Meeting at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia
New research from anthropologists at McMaster University and California State University, San Bernardino (CSUSB), is shedding light on ancient dietary practices, the evolution of agricultural societies and ultimately, how plants have become an important element of the modern diet.
Researchers identify production strategies to help manage phosphorus
A new study illustrates the concept of a domestication triangle, in which human genetics interact with sorghum genetics and the environment to influence the traits farmers select in their crops. The concept gives a more complete systemic picture of domestication.
A new study, published Nov. 21 in the Journal of Chemical Ecology, investigates how these pests find their target amid a sea of other plants in the landscape.
Groups collaborate on future ventures
Naturally occurring chemicals in the global food supply are known to pose a burden on worldwide health. New studies have found that a certain foodborne toxin, in addition to its known health effects,, is also linked to vaccine resistance, and for the first time the global burden of disease from foodborne arsenic, lead, cadmium, and methyl mercury has been quantified.. The Society for Risk Analysis (SRA) will present new studies as part of its Global Disease Burden Caused by Foodborne Chemicals and Toxins symposium on Monday, Dec. 9 from 1:30-3:00 p.m. as part of its 2019 Annual Meeting at the Crystal Gateway Marriott in Arlington, Virginia. This symposium will provide updates to a 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) publication which analyzed the disease burdens caused by these toxins.
High tunnels provide fresh, local vegetables in northern climes
In remote areas with low literacy rates, showing animated videos in the local language demonstrating agricultural techniques results in high retention and adoption rates of those techniques, found researchers from Michigan State University.
The amount of food needed to feed the world's population in the future is of vital importance. To date, scientists have only considered this question from the perspective of how much food people can afford to buy
A team of Florida State University researchers studying new methods to remove toxic heavy metals from biosolids — the solid waste left over after sewage treatment — found the key is a brief spin through a microwave. The method removed three times the amount of lead from biosolids compared to conventional means and could reduce the total cost of processing by more than 60 percent, making it a possible engineering solution to help produce fertilizer and allow more people to live with clean soil and water.
Thanks to a newly developed laser spectrometer, Empa researchers can for the first time show which processes in grassland lead to nitrous oxide emissions. The aim is to reduce emissions of this potent greenhouse gas by gaining a better understanding of the processes taking place in the soil.
New research from the University of Adelaide has shown that climate and economic factors are the main drivers of farmers leaving their properties in the Murray-Darling Basin, not reduced water for irrigation as commonly claimed.
University of Washington researchers have found that warmer temperatures, at levels expected under most climate change projections, can lead to higher concentrations of arsenic in rice grains.
Researchers have created the first comprehensive database of all the wildfire fuels that have been measured across North America. Ultimately, it can help scientists make more informed decisions about fire and smoke situations.
Study investigates effects of irrigation management on yield and profit
Join in celebrating World Soil Day on December 5th
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