Collaborate Disseminate
Like many industries across the world, Australia’s fruit-picking sector has been impacted heavily by the COVID-19 pandemic, creating a massive void in the labor market that would normally be filled by backpackers looking to make buck on the road. Local… Continue reading Apple harvesting robot plucks a piece of fruit every 7 seconds
Whether you’re a farmer tending to expansive crops that you depend on for your livelihood or a hobbyist gardener trying to keep your tomatoes in check, weeds can be a time-consuming and relentless problem. Startup Carbon Robotics has wheeled out an aut… Continue reading Autonomous Weeder robot uses lasers to take out 100,000 plants an hour
In many parts of the world there may not be much precipitation, but there is a fair amount of water vapor in the air – particularly at night. An experimental new device draws in that vapor, then uses it to irrigate edible plants.Continue ReadingCategor… Continue reading Self-contained SmartFarm grows plants using water drawn from the air
Although Ceriporia lacerata fungus causes tree wood to rot, it also has a good side. According to a new study, adding the fungus to agricultural soil allows tomatoes to be grown using much less fertilizer.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags: Fungus, … Continue reading Tree-fungus supplement could reduce fertilizer use in tomato crops
Restoring post-agricultural land to tropical forest can be challenging, as the pasture grasses tend to choke out the native trees. A new study, however, indicates that waste from the coffee industry gives those trees a fighting chance.Continue ReadingC… Continue reading Coffee waste used to reclaim formerly farmed land
It can be difficult for farmers to determine exactly when their crops need watering, or when they’re getting infested with bugs or fungus. InnerPlant technology was created to help, by getting the plants to “glow” when they’re in distress.Continue Read… Continue reading High-tech crops designed to glow when they need help
Those purple corn chips you see in the store aren’t just a gimmick – the corn’s purple pigment actually has health benefits. Researchers have now devised a method of extracting more of it from the usually discarded cob, for a variety of uses.Continue R… Continue reading New process extracts more beneficial pigment from purple corn
Cattle are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to their methane-loaded burps. A detailed new study has found more evidence that feeding cows a small seaweed supplement can greatly reduce their methane emissions, without affecting the… Continue reading Seaweed supplements cut cattle methane emissions by up to 82%
Advances in transparent solar cells mean that soon we might be able to install them into windows and greenhouses. But in the latter case, would they deprive plants of vital sunlight? To find out, researchers at North Carolina State University grew lett… Continue reading Transparent solar cells don’t steal light from greenhouse crops
While it’s important to keep crops irrigated, you certainly don’t want to overwater them – particularly in regions where water is scarce. With that in mind, scientists have now developed a method of gauging the moisture levels in soil, using an ordinar… Continue reading Consumer camera tech used to measure moisture of agricultural soil