Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the world's most widely consumed beverages, and the size of young buds directly influences both yield and quality. Larger buds can increase leaf mass, while different tea types require specific bud-to-leaf ratios to meet processing standards. However, the genetic regulators controlling bud size have...
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Phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertilizers, is running out. The world's food systems depend on phosphorus mined from limited reserves, yet much of what is applied to fields washes away, leaving soils increasingly depleted. As phosphorus becomes scarcer, crops struggle to grow and reproduce, threatening yields and global food security....
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More CO2 in the atmosphere is making food crops more caloric, less nutritious and potentially more toxic. If we do not intervene, this could cause malnutrition, even in population groups that currently have enough to eat. These are the findings of Leiden research published in Global Change Biology....
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Isabella Dalla Ragione hunts in abandoned gardens and orchards for forgotten fruits, preserving Italy's agricultural heritage and saving varieties which could help farmers withstand the vagaries of a changing climate....
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Researchers at Fraunhofer IOF in collaboration with Airbus have developed a hyperspectral spectrometer as part of the "Rainbow" project. The technology enables the creation of digital field maps that can be used in agriculture as precise application maps for location-specific measures. Fraunhofer IOF will be presenting the system at the...
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An international research collaboration, including INRAE, has published the complete set of genes (pangenome) and agronomic traits (panphenome) of the eggplant. Beyond the genome, this comprehensive collection encompasses all known genetic variations within the species, including those involved in traits such as prickle development....
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Since late 2021, a panzootic, or "a pandemic in animals," of highly pathogenic bird flu variant H5N1 has devastated wild birds, agriculture, and mammals. Unlike previous outbreaks, aggressive culling of domestic birds has not contained it, and the viruses continue to infect a broad range of species, including wild birds...
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More than two decades ago, Joan Iverson Nassauer, professor of landscape architecture at the University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability, helped envision a new future for Corn Belt agriculture. And not just any future, but one that could be reasonably realized by 2025....
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Rows of tightly packed olive trees stretch across California's Central Valley. These super-high-density orchards, where trees are planted close together for faster, mechanized harvesting, can grow strong with less fertilizer than expected, according to new research from the University of California, Davis....
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Rotating crops, using compost, adding cover crops and flower strips, and reducing tillage are practices that can make farms resilient to climate change and bring environmental benefits, but Cornell researchers have found a culprit for low adoption of these interventions in the U.S.: farmers perceive that the practices increase labor...
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A new Texas A&M AgriLife Research study shows consumers are willing to pay more for flavorful, vividly colored tomatoes regardless of origin– evidence that sensory traits, not just a "local" label, drive what people value most in fresh produce....
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Ecuadorian scientists are developing a biotechnological strategy to stop banana wilt by genetically editing the causative fungus. Global banana production—one of the pillars of food security and a key source of income for tropical countries—faces a persistent threat: Fusarium wilt....
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A Chinese plant scientist at the University of Michigan who drew national attention in June 2025 when she was arrested and accused along with another Chinese scientist of smuggling a crop-damaging fungus into the U.S. pleaded guilty on Nov. 12, 2025, to charges of smuggling and making false statements to...
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Seed plants are essential as a source of food, fuel, medicine, and more. Now, a multidisciplinary team of researchers has combined deep botanical knowledge with powerful genomic technology to decode and mine the DNA of non-flowering seed plants and uncover genes that evolved to help plants build seeds....
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Mutations drive evolution, but they can also be risky. New research led by plant biologists at the University of California, Davis, published Nov. 10 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, reveals how plants control mutation rates in different stem cells to balance adaptability with safety and stability. The...
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