Farming and Agriculture

Scientists at Rothamsted Research and ApresLabs Ltd have demonstrated that SYN-A, a naturally derived synergist extracted from olive oil, can restore the effectiveness of pyrethroid insecticides against CSFB, the most devastating autumn pest of oilseed rape.In simulated field experiments, plants sprayed with a mixture of SYN-A and lambda-cyhalothrin increased cabbage... Read more

Scientists have long sought to understand why some plants are fragrant powerhouses while others remain subtle. Now, a research team from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has cracked a genetic "bottleneck," using precision gene editing to boost the scent of flowers and the nutritional profile of vegetables. The paper is... Read more

New research from Cranfield University has analyzed the environmental impact of fresh apples sold in the U.K., comparing the greenhouse gas emissions and blue water scarcity across domestic production and imports from Europe and the Southern Hemisphere. The study examined nine years of supply chain data, assessing impacts from orchard... Read more

La Trobe University researchers have developed a new way to measure and report the environmental performance of farms in a move that could pave the way for future "sustainability ratings" on consumer food and fiber products. Published in Methods in Ecology and Evolution, the measurement, developed across 50 mixed grazing... Read more

Scientists have pinpointed crucial genetic resistance to a fungal disease that threatens the global banana supply in a wild subspecies of the fruit. In a valuable step forward for banana breeding programs, Dr. Andrew Chen and Professor Elizabeth Aitken from the University of Queensland have identified the genomic region that... Read more

For anyone who relies on coffee to start their day, coffee wilt disease may be the most important disease you've never heard of. This fungal disease has repeatedly reshaped the global coffee supply over the past century, with consequences that reach from African farms to cafe counters worldwide.... Read more

During Australia's unprecedented heat wave in late January, air temperatures reached 50°C in inland South Australia.... Read more

A new Perspective article from an SDSU researcher advocates improving wheat and other staple foods through agricultural techniques, making the food people love to eat healthier. Ali Parsaeimehr, assistant research professor in South Dakota State University's Department of Biology and Microbiology, is a leading co-author in an effort to find... Read more

Plants don't just respond to light and water, they also run on an internal daily timekeeper known as the circadian clock. Researchers have now discovered that the plant circadian clock can regulate electrochemical signals in specific cells that help determine whether growth is invested above ground or below ground.... Read more

The value of wetlands on the landscape cannot be overstated—they store and filter water, provide wildlife habitat, cool the atmosphere and sequester carbon. Yet, in the farmland area of Canada's Prairies, wetlands are being drained to increase crop production and expand urban development.... Read more

University of Queensland research has revealed that double-stranded RNA-based biopesticides (dsRNA) sprayed on plant leaves can travel right down into root systems. Led by Dr. Chris Brosnan at UQ's Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Science, the work also disproves a long-standing misconception that dsRNA directly enters plant cells. The... Read more

Growing lettuce in the Arctic as a business venture? One Greenland entrepreneur believes in the idea, selling his house to get start-up capital in a gamble he's hoping will pay off.... Read more

New research shows that short periods of extreme heat and drought during flowering could become one of the biggest threats to global wheat production in the coming decades. As the climate changes, farmers around the world are facing more frequent and intense weather extremes.... Read more

Rutgers researchers have made a discovery that could change the future of seafood farming in New Jersey. A study led by marine scientist Daphne Munroe has shown that Atlantic surfclams can be successfully farmed in the open ocean. Her research, published in the North American Journal of Aquaculture, proves that... Read more

What's the key to growing resilient crops that can survive tough conditions? Researchers at the University of Missouri are getting to the root of it—literally. Researchers in the Walter Gassmann lab at Mizzou's Bond Life Sciences Center have discovered how a specific protein known as SRFR1 plays a critical role... Read more