Farming and Agriculture

Two decades ago, Miguel Angel Garcia harvested grapes and grains on his farm in central Spain, like his father and grandfather before him.... Read more

The same defenses that help some varieties of sweet corn resist fungal diseases can also stymie the potency of a beneficial fungus used to kill hungry caterpillar pests, studies by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists suggest. The researchers detailed their findings in the journal Organic Agriculture.... Read more

Hyperspectral imaging is a useful technique for analyzing the chemical composition of food and agricultural products. However, it is a costly and complicated procedure, which limits its practical application.... Read more

As the global population surpasses 8 billion, the challenge of producing sufficient food becomes increasingly pressing. The Netherlands stands as the world's second-largest food exporter, efficiently cultivating a wide variety of crops. However, plant diseases such as downy mildew pose significant threats, potentially spoiling farmers' harvests.... Read more

Breeding efforts have focused intensively on improving grain yield and quality in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Content and composition of grain starch and seed storage protein (SSP) are two critical factors that determine grain yield and quality. Starch content is closely related to grain weight, while SSP content and composition... Read more

Whether it's a football field, a golf course, or a home lawn, a new multi-state study offers recommendations for keeping some varieties of turfgrass greener, longer.... Read more

Maintaining soil health is crucial for sustainable agriculture. Recently, soil volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have emerged as promising indicators for assessing soil health. A new study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of soil VOC profiles as indicators of soil health in soybean fields.... Read more

In an advance for agricultural waste management, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have devised a method to convert Caragana korshinskii Kom. waste, a common forestry byproduct in China, into a potential ruminant feed. The research, published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, details a two-stage bioaugmentation process... Read more

The diverse biochemical composition of Japanese apricot fruits explains their broad spectrum of action on the human body. The high levels of key phenolic compounds and hydroxycinnamic acids contribute to various health benefits including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties.... Read more

Nitrogen in the soil, where plants can readily utilize it, benefits crop growth and health. However, nitrogen leaving the soil—whether through leaching into the groundwater table, flowing with surface runoff into streams or escaping into the air as ammonia or in nitrous oxide emissions—is detrimental to the environment.... Read more

Plant molecular farming (PMF) is a modern, sophisticated technology that utilizes plants' biosynthetic machinery to synthesize a plethora of recombinant proteins, including industrial and therapeutic enzymes. It has several advantages over traditional approaches, such as microbial fermentation and mammalian cell culture, including lower costs, high-yield production, and absence of human... Read more

Scientists at Manaaki Whenua—Landcare Research have worked closely with researchers from NIWA, AgResearch and Plant & Food Research to model the likely risks of a warming climate across different agricultural sectors in New Zealand. The study is published in the Journal of the Royal Society of New Zealand .... Read more

Two common ingredients in ordinary chewing gum—Arabic gum and lecithin—have been found to help improve the overall health of tilapia, helping these fish survive better even in cold climates. This discovery paves the way for raising tilapia for food outside of the tropical regions where they are commonly farmed.... Read more

Reports of H5N1 bird flu outbreaks at California dairy herds are continuing to rise as the nation's largest milk producer scrambles to contain the spread.... Read more

Large amounts of the food we produce do not end up in our stomachs, but in landfills, sewers, or elsewhere. According to the UN, in 2022, this was the fate of 1.05 billion tons of food, which ended up as food waste—corresponding to approximately 132 kg per capita in the... Read more