Collaborate Disseminate
After years of lengthy court battles the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced it will ban agricultural uses of chlorpyrifos, a pesticide suspected of causing neurodevelopmental problems in children. The ban comes into effect in six … Continue reading EPA finally bans common food pesticide after years of court battles
Sadly agriculture isn’t the most efficient process, requiring huge amounts of land and resources, and as the human population grows, our food supply will be put under increasing stress. But a new study has shown that farming protein from microbes could… Continue reading Microbes anyone? Study outlines huge potential of solar-powered protein
A new study has found caffeine can be used to help bees locate specific flowers. The research suggests the drug enhances bee memory and makes them more efficient at homing in on certain targeted flowers.Continue ReadingCategory: Biology, ScienceTags: B… Continue reading Caffeine-boosted bees more efficiently home in on target flowers
While you might think that it’s best to keep crops fungus-free, there are some fungi that actually help plants grow. In order to better observe that relationship, scientists have created plants with roots that turn red when infiltrated by beneficial fu… Continue reading Engineered plants’ roots turn red when helpful fungi show up
Food security is a major potential problem, especially in the face of climate change. Now, researchers have shown that manipulating RNA in plants can drastically boost the amount of food they produce, and make them more resistant to drought conditions…. Continue reading Simple RNA tweak boosts potato and rice yields by 50 percent
Because fruits just dangle from the main plant before ultimately falling off, one might think that they are unable to communicate with that plant. According to new research, however, tomato fruits are able to transmit alerts to their mother plant when … Continue reading Tomato study suggests fruits can warn mother plants of pest attacks
[Théo Gautier] thought that a human-following utility trailer would be helpful for people working on farms. He didn’t just think about it, however, he designed and built it as a …read more Continue reading Human-Following Utility Trailer
If you want to know how much water a plant is taking up, one of the best places to look is in its leaves. A new material known as AquaDust could help scientists more easily do so, without harming the plant.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: Cornell… Continue reading AquaDust gel reveals water levels of plant leaves
According to Pennsylvania State University’s Asst. Prof. Long He, the mushroom-farming industry is currently experiencing a labor shortage. His team has thus set about addressing that problem, by developing a mushroom-picking robot.Continue ReadingCate… Continue reading Suction-cup-equipped robot designed to pick and trim farmed mushrooms
Although the use of conventional pesticides is harmful to the environment, farmers still need a way of keeping crop-damaging organisms at bay. According to a new study, an eco-friendly combination of agricultural and beer brewing waste products may be … Continue reading Beer brewing waste shown to help kill crop-harming parasites