Collaborate Disseminate
Instead of using insecticides, farmers will sometimes cover their plants with a mesh fabric. A new such material has now been developed, which keeps out a wider range of bugs while still allowing crops to get enough sunlight and water.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading Maze-like material keeps even the smallest insects from reaching crops
Farmers will often place sheets of plastic on the ground along their crop rows, in order to help hold moisture in the soil. According to a new study, however, the use of wax-coated sand may be a cheaper and greener way to go.Continue ReadingCategory: S… Continue reading Could wax-coated sand replace plastic mulch in farmers’ fields?
The ongoing miniaturization of electronics has allowed for the creation of some incredibly small sensors to track things like temperature and humidity. Imagining a future where hundreds of them are placed around forests or farms for large-scale monitor… Continue reading Tiny dandelion-inspired sensors can be dispersed by the wind
In East Africa and other regions, potato crops are currently threatened by a worm known as the potato cyst nematode. There could be new hope for protecting the plants, however, in the form of biodegradable paper made from banana waste.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading Inexpensive banana-waste paper used to protect potatoes from pests
Although genetically modified crops have some big advantages over their regular counterparts, initially creating the modified plants can be quite challenging. Scientists have now developed a simpler approach, in which normal plants are altered with a s… Continue reading Bioactive spray could be an alternative to genetically modified crops
Ammonia is commonly used in commercial crop fertilizers, which in turn can pollute waterways when they run off of fields. New research, however, suggests that engineered bacteria could one day take the place of such fertilizers.Continue ReadingCategory… Continue reading Engineered ammonia-producing bacteria could replace crop fertilizers
According to Israeli startup Tevel Aerobotics, there is a severe shortage of workers available to pick fruit at orchards. That’s why the company is developing an alternative, in the form of autonomous flying drones which do the job.Continue ReadingCate… Continue reading Fruit-picking drones may be heading for an orchard near you
Chinese researchers are reporting that applying an electric field to pea plants increased yields. This process — known as electroculture — has been tested multiple times, but in each case …read more Continue reading Better Farming Through Electricity
Chinese researchers are reporting that applying an electric field to pea plants increased yields. This process — known as electroculture — has been tested multiple times, but in each case …read more Continue reading Better Farming Through Electricity
Nuclear war was very much a front-of-mind issue during the fraught political climate of the Cold War era. Since then, atomic sabre rattling has been less frequent, though has never …read more Continue reading Would Nuclear Winter Cancel Out Global Warming?