Farming and Agriculture

In a new study published in Trends in Biotechnology, researchers used a gene-editing technology called CRISPR to increase a fungus's production efficiency and cut its production-related environmental impact by as much as 61%—all without adding any foreign DNA. The genetically tweaked fungus tastes like meat and is easier to digest... Read more

In a new study published in Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment on Nov. 5, Prof. Zeng Fanjiang's team from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has unveiled distinct soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation mechanisms across typical land-use types in hyper-arid regions.... Read more

Producing and distributing food is responsible for roughly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. But food systems are highly vulnerable to the droughts, floods, fires and heat waves made more intense by climate change. Agriculture is both culprit and victim.... Read more

What makes plants tolerant to nutrient fluctuations? An international research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and involving the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) has conducted a study on the micronutrient boron. The researchers analyzed 185 gene data sets from the model... Read more

Out on his farm in Dundee Township, Cliff McConville sees geese landing in the fields where his turkeys and chickens graze. It's a sight that often unnerves poultry producers, as migratory waterfowl carry and spread a highly infectious strain of bird flu that has been resurging in the United States... Read more

Researchers from the Plant Genetics team of the Regional Service for Agri-Food Research and Development of the Principality of Asturias (Serida) have just published the first version of the genome of the Faba Granja Asturiana variety. This advance is key for the genetic improvement and conservation of one of Asturias'... Read more

About 400 years ago, a cross between cabernet franc and sauvignon blanc gave birth to cabernet sauvignon. Today, cabernet sauvignon is the world's most-planted wine grape, dominating vineyards from Napa to Bordeaux. New research from the University of California, Davis, reveals that the grape still carries a kind of gene... Read more

Since fire ants first came to the United States in the early 20th century, researchers have searched for ways to control their destructive spread and eradicate them from areas where people live.... Read more

Researchers at the University of Adelaide, in collaboration with German tech company Compolytics, have developed a non-destructive leaf scanning method that can accurately predict the cannabinoid concentrations of cannabis plants.... Read more

Traditional Hawaiian fishponds (loko iʻa) are emerging as a model for climate resilience, according to a study from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa's Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB). The research, published in npj Ocean Sustainability, revealed Indigenous aquaculture systems effectively shield fish populations from the negative impacts of... Read more

A new international study co-led by the University of Kentucky Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment shows how a single genetic change helps protect corn seeds during storage. This offers plant breeders a clear target for developing varieties that stay vigorous longer and waste fewer seeds.... Read more

Severe flooding has slashed global rice yields in recent decades, threatening food security for billions of people who depend on the grain. The losses amounted to approximately 4.3%, or 18 million tons of rice per year, between 1980 and 2015, according to research from Stanford University published in Science Advances.... Read more

Aquaculture—the farming of fish and other aquatic organisms—is the world's fastest-growing food production system.... Read more

Each year, a single cow can belch about 200 pounds of methane. The powerful greenhouse gas is 27 times more potent at trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. For decades, scientists and farmers have tried to find ways to reduce methane without stunting the animal's growth or productivity.... Read more

The rootstock of a coffee plant can live for 20 to 30 years. In that time, a generation, it will have good years and bad years, years where it bears large quantities of fruit and years where it fails to produce as expected.... Read more