Collaborate Disseminate
If a plant is stressed but no one hears it, does it still make a sound? While that’s not quite the way the saying goes, researchers have discovered that the answer to the question is a resounding “yes.” By monitoring tomato and tobacco plants, they dis… Continue reading Listen in as stressed plants pop off about their discomfort
Just like pharmaceuticals, banknotes and alcoholic beverages, the crop seeds sold to farmers are frequently counterfeits. MIT scientists have devised a method of spotting the fakes, by tagging genuine seeds with silk dots.Continue ReadingCategory: Good… Continue reading Silk-microparticle dots could help thwart seed counterfeiters
Nobody likes the idea of herbicides in their veggies, yet hiring workers to pick weeds by hand can be prohibitively expensive for farmers. The Vulcan farm implement offers an alternative, as it automatically spots and yanks out weeds while leaving crop… Continue reading Tractor-towed Vulcan automatically spots and pulls weeds
Soil moisture sensors can help farmers save water, by letting them know when their crops actually need to be watered. An experimental new sensor could be particularly helpful, as it incorporates a special material which makes it highly sensitive to moi… Continue reading High-tech soil sensor designed to help farmers conserve precious water
Solar farms and conventional agriculture are competing for land, and that conflict will likely only get worse as our need for both grows. Scientists at UCLA have now tested a way to combine the two by placing semi-transparent solar cells on the glass r… Continue reading Semi-transparent solar cells boost growth of greenhouse plants
In order to see how well a corn plant is performing photosynthesis, you need to check the angle of its leaves relative to its stem. And while scientists ordinarily have to do so manually with a protractor, a new robotic system can now do the job much m… Continue reading Robotic system checks on corn plants by measuring leaf angles
You may have noticed that strawberries grown in your garden, or at organic farms, tend to be tastier than the regular supermarket variety. According to a new study, the use of commercial fungicides may be to blame.Continue ReadingCategory: ScienceTags:… Continue reading Study says that for growing sweeter strawberries, don’t use fungicides
While crop plants do sequester some atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) via photosynthesis, they could always use a bit of help. California-based startup Andes is aiming to provide that help, by putting carbon-capturing microbes in the soil of farmers’ fi… Continue reading Andes microbial tech uses farmers’ fields to capture greenhouse gases
Using drones for aerial seeding may seem like a good idea, but … the seeds could easily just blow away if left on the surface of the soil. A bio-inspired seed carrier has been designed to help, by corkscrewing its seed load down into the ground.Continu… Continue reading Plant-inspired E-seeds drill themselves into the dirt when moistened
Make all the jokes you want, but the methane emitted in the form of cow burps and farts is actually a major source of greenhouse gas emissions. That could soon change, however, thanks to bacteria found in baby kangaroo feces.Continue ReadingCategory: E… Continue reading Baby kangaroo poop may hold the key to reducing cows’ methane emissions