Farming and Agriculture

A growing threat to corn around the world, tar spot has had a significant impact on United States corn production. From 2018 to 2020, the disease resulted in a loss of 242.6 million bushels and this number is expected to grow after the 2021 season. ... Read more

A new analysis predicts that, as climate change progresses, the most suitable regions for growing coffee arabica, cashews, and avocados will decline in some of the main countries that produce these crops. Roman Grüter and colleagues at Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland, present these findings in the open-access journal... Read more

In October 2021 I was a guest on a popular podcast to discuss my recently published book, "Seed Money: Monsanto's Past and Our Food Future," which examines the agribusiness giant's influence on the global food system. After the show, I got a lot of calls from around the world, but... Read more

We rely on pollinators like honeybees for all sorts of different crops.But that same flexibility could put plants at risk of disease, according to new Pitt research.... Read more

Last summer I grew three varieties of corn in my tiny garden. I knew from the start that my harvest, if any, would be meager. The plants would be hindered by poor soils, assertive pigeons and, worst of all, my pathetic knowledge of farming. Luckily it wasn't so much the... Read more

Iowa State University scientists have harnessed data analytics to look "under the hood" of the mechanisms that determine how genetics and changing environmental conditions interact during crucial developmental stages of plants.... Read more

In a natural setting, cows and nursing calves together set the feeding schedule for the calf, and calves wean gradually, completing weaning at varying ages. By contrast, in artificial rearing systems with minimal cow-calf contact, the weaning schedule may be strictly determined, with reductions of milk intake based solely on... Read more

Britain's towns and cities have the potential to support an urban agricultural revolution that would help meet the dietary needs of a growing population, boost the nation's health and wellbeing, as well as reduce reliance on imports, a new study reveals.... Read more

I was first introduced to natural wines in Paris about 20 years ago. My initial tasting experience did little to convince me this approach to winemaking would survive. Many showed faults reflecting oxidation or yeast- or bacterial-derived odours that smelled "off".... Read more

Food supply has always been a major concern in Tibet's development. As the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is particularly sensitive to climate change, it is important to clarify the impact of climate change on the yield of cereal, the main crop in Tibet.... Read more

Georgia farmers produce half the peanuts grown in the U.S. each year, using proven production practices to fight disease in the field. In fact, modern peanut varieties carry little genetic defenses against some of the more devastating diseases, so peanut farmers carefully consider when to plant, whether to irrigate and... Read more

Researchers from Lancaster University working to improve the sustainable productivity of key crops in sub-Saharan Africa have discovered an imperfection in a critical enzyme within cowpea—and believe this imperfection is likely shared with other crops.... Read more

Black eyed peas' ability to attract beneficial bacteria isn't diminished by modern farming practices, new UC Riverside research shows. Planting it in rotation with other crops could help growers avoid the need for costly, environmentally damaging fertilizers.... Read more

China's status as the world's largest importer of soybean and corn for animal feed is expected to change once it approves new regulations to allow the planting of genetically modified (GM) seeds which will boost domestic production of these crops. This may free up millions of metric tons of these... Read more

An innovative method of controlling a range of damaging crop diseases using native, beneficial soil bacteria has emerged from a research-industry collaboration.... Read more