Farming and Agriculture

New research into plant-based food and drinks has found a prevalence of mycotoxins—naturally occurring poisonous compounds produced by fungi—in hundreds of vegetarian and vegan products. A total of 212 plant-based meat alternatives (PMBAs) and plant-based beverages (PBBs) from UK shelves were tested—and all of them contained at least one of... Read more

Watermelon is a quintessential summertime fruit, evoking images of warm, sunny afternoons and cookouts with friends and family. You can easily picture its striped, green rind and pink flesh, imagine the delicate crunch as you bite into a slice, and almost taste the sweet juice bursting onto your tongue. What... Read more

University of Missouri researchers are exploring ways to grow sweet corn more efficiently to help American farmers cut costs. In a recent study, scientists from Mizzou's College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources and College of Engineering found sweet corn can be grown using less water without sacrificing the flavor... Read more

Salicylic acid, the active molecule in aspirin and some acne medications, is a hormone in plants that is essential for immunity, but it's a double-edged sword: Too much can cause autoimmunity and stunt growth. In a study published in Nature Communications, researchers at the University of California, Davis, have discovered... Read more

The H5N1 strain of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in over 700 herds of dairy cows in California, the largest dairy-producing state in the U.S. A study published in PLOS Biology led by Seema S. Lakdawala at Emory University School of Medicine, U.S. and Jason Lombard at... Read more

A new study found that cultivating seaweed species alongside marine finfish in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) operations, where seaweeds receive nutrient-rich effluent from fish production, can significantly reduce—and even eliminate—key waste products from marine finfish farming.... Read more

Chocolate is the food of the gods. The name of the tree from which the confection originates, Theobroma cacao, combines the Greek words for god (theós) and food (brôma). This small evergreen tree grows in tropical forests rich in both biodiversity and carbon.... Read more

Legumes like soybeans, alfalfa, peas, beans, peanuts and many more have a remarkable ability: They can partner with soil bacteria called rhizobia to capture nitrogen from the air in a biological process called nitrogen fixation. It is a mutualistic relationship—both the plant and bacteria benefit—that provides nitrogen in an accessible... Read more

A new experimental study has identified a novel genetic locus in a common agricultural weed, Elymus repens, that provides significant resistance to the destructive fungal disease Fusarium Head Blight (FHB) and has now been successfully transferred into wheat to produce FHB resistant hybrids.... Read more

Cranfield University has launched a new soil and environmental online database and mapping tool, opening up detailed information about land in England and Wales. In collaboration with Defra, Cranfield's Land Information System (LandISPortal)—which includes the National Soil Map of England and Wales (NATMAP)—is now on a new platform and open... Read more

Larry Dallas's farm in Central Illinois's Douglas County is as flat as it gets. That's a good thing for planting straight rows and maneuvering farm equipment in the field, but there's a major downside, too. "Heavier rain is hard for us to deal with because of the poorly drained soils... Read more

What if farmers could see a pest outbreak coming before the insect ever had a chance to damage their crop? New research from Texas A&M AgriLife Research indicates that artificial intelligence can predict outbreaks much more accurately than traditional methods. The tool could dramatically improve how and when insect pest... Read more

Across much of India, an energy crunch caused by the Iran war has prompted long queues for cooking gas cyclinders. That's not a problem for Gauri Devi.... Read more

Though it's largely a hereditary trait, siblings often grow to be different heights. But even if they end up topping out at the same stature, they may take different paths to get there. As they progress through childhood, growth spurts can come at varying ages with varying intensities.... Read more

Fallen leaves, which are discarded every year, have been transformed into a resource that can replace waste plastics, a major nuisance in rural areas. A research team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) has developed biodegradable agricultural vinyl made from fallen leaves, presenting a new way... Read more