Farming and Agriculture

Rice seed development is crucial for determining both crop yield and grain quality. The embryo and endosperm—specialized structures for propagation and nutrient storage, respectively—must grow in a coordinated manner to ensure the viability of the seed.... Read more

Tea (Camellia sinensis) is an important cash crop and the most widely consumed beverage in the world. The global tea industry, particularly the booming Pu'er market, has increasingly relied on converting forests to monoculture plantations for higher productivity. This has raised alarms over soil degradation, biodiversity loss, and deteriorating tea... Read more

Texas A&M AgriLife Research has reached a major milestone in increasing the value of cotton, marking the initial step toward commercial adoption of food-ingredient cottonseed. This innovative development was led by Keerti Rathore, Ph.D., AgriLife Research plant biotechnologist in the Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences.... Read more

An international research team has uncovered that natural interbreeding in the wild between tomato plants and potato-like species from South America about 9 million years ago gave rise to the modern-day potato.... Read more

In Ayigbe, a rural community in Ghana's Bono Region, 35-year-old Michael Kyereme paid off a university debt of GHS 3,500 (US$335) in just three months.... Read more

A new study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem shows promising advances in sustainable farming and animal nutrition. A team of researchers led by Professor Bertha (Betty) Schwartz from the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment have uncovered powerful anti-inflammatory and immune-modulating properties in oil derived from... Read more

The launch of an AI-powered soil moisture mapping tool created by University of Sydney researchers could transform irrigation, fuel reduction burning, and pasture management across Tasmania and beyond.... Read more

Researchers have mapped how microbes underpin our food systems—and how we can stop their decline. Published in Frontiers in Science, their map of "agri-food system microbiomes" reveals how players at every stage of the food system can restore and protect dwindling microbiomes to help boost human and planetary health.... Read more

For generations, farmers have used natural materials such as lime, gypsum and manure to improve their soil for growing crops. Now, a team of researchers led by the University of Missouri is giving new purpose to an established material—biochar, a charcoal-like substance made from leftover plant waste—and showing how it... Read more

A team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has developed a low-cost, non-invasive method to estimate total leaf area in dwarf tomato plants using 3D reconstruction from standard video footage. The study applies structure-from-motion techniques and machine learning to predict plant growth with remarkable accuracy.... Read more

Researchers have shown that probiotics can protect hatching chicks from bacterial diseases without destroying beneficial microorganisms.... Read more

Autonomous lawn mowers have been gaining traction in recent years as a cost- and time-saving strategy to combat labor shortages and improve sustainability in the turfgrass industry. They can also make this timely chore easier for homeowners.... Read more

Amylase/trypsin-inhibitors (ATIs) are proteins that can trigger immune reactions in the human body. They are best known from wheat, where they are considered a possible trigger of non-celiac wheat sensitivity.... Read more

In a new study, scientists used nearly every tool in their toolkit—genomics, transcriptomics, greenhouse experiments and advanced statistical methods—to gain new insight into the complex chemical interactions that take place in underground root nodules, where legumes like soybeans exchange vital nutrients with soil microbes called rhizobia.... Read more

Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have successfully revived fungal specimens collected over 80 years ago, offering a fresh glimpse into how industrial agriculture has altered the invisible ecosystems that support global food production.... Read more