https://phys.org/biology-news/agriculture en-us Agriculture, livestock, farming and food processing news Purdue University researchers are introducing a new biosensor technology to the agricultural industry inspired by advancements achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-paper-based-biosensor-fast-easy.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 20 Jun 2024 10:48:58 EDT news638099332 A demonstration of how new technologies can be used in 21st century crop breeding comes from just published research that combines laser scanning and 3D printing to create a detailed 3D model of a sugar beet plant. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-crops-laser-3d.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 19 Jun 2024 20:00:01 EDT news638018983 An important breakthrough in efforts to halt the advance of wheat blast, an emerging threat to international food security, has come from a surprising source. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-unexpected-source-global-wheat-blast.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 19 Jun 2024 12:29:03 EDT news638018941 When trees and livestock compete for land, the trees usually lose. It doesn't have to be this way. But centrally designed plans to implement tree-livestock coexistence in deforested areas don't always work on faraway farmland. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-women-sustainable-livestock-farming-bordering.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 18 Jun 2024 16:49:53 EDT news637948190 The rise of advanced artificial intelligence (edge AI) could well mark the beginning of a new era for sustainable agriculture. A recent study proposes a roadmap for integrating this technology into farming practices. The aim? To improve the efficiency, quality and safety of agricultural production, while addressing a range of environmental, social and economic challenges. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-roadmap-edge-ai-farming.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 18 Jun 2024 11:14:03 EDT news637928041 Researchers at the University of Bonn have developed software that can simulate the growth of field crops. To do this, they fed thousands of photos from field experiments into a learning algorithm. This enabled the algorithm to learn how to visualize the future development of cultivated plants based on a single initial image. Using the images created during this process, parameters such as leaf area or yield can be estimated accurately. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-ai-field-crops-software-simulate.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 17 Jun 2024 16:24:04 EDT news637860241 A decade-long collaborative study has discovered huge genetic potential that is untapped in modern wheat varieties. The international study which appears in Nature reveals that at least 60% of the genetic diversity found in a historic collection of wheat is unused, providing an unprecedented opportunity to improve modern wheat and sustainably feed a growing global population. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-hidden-genetic-treasure-uncovers-untapped.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 17 Jun 2024 11:53:05 EDT news637843982 A novel study published in Nature Communications found that agroecosystems in Central Germany, specifically grasslands and croplands, may have an enhanced capacity to provide multiple goods and services simultaneously when land management reduces the use of pesticides and mineral nitrogen fertilizer. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-climate-affect-ecosystems-ability-multiple.html Ecology Agriculture Fri, 14 Jun 2024 10:10:09 EDT news637578601 Sweaty cows may not sound like the most exciting company, but in a warming world, researchers can't get enough of them. When cattle are too hot, they tend to stop eating, said Raluca Mateescu, University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) professor in the department of animal science. This affects the cattle's health and growth and threatens the longevity of the food supply coming from that herd. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-sweaty-cattle-boost-food-world.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 13 Jun 2024 17:06:03 EDT news637517161 Humans have radically altered the evolution of agricultural plants since World War Two, remaking our seed system with industrial agricultural practices to feed a growing population. Yet in the changing climate of decades to come, UVM researchers say, the seeds that will feed the world are in the hands of smallholder farmers. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-modern-seeds-ready-climate-smallholder.html Evolution Agriculture Thu, 13 Jun 2024 09:55:57 EDT news637491354 Efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions from transportation fuels are increasing demand for oil produced by nonfood crops. These plants use sunlight to power the conversion of atmospheric carbon dioxide into oil, which accumulates in seeds. Crop breeders, interested in selecting plants that produce a lot of oil, look for yellow seeds. In oilseed crops like canola, yellow-seeded varieties generally produce more oil than their brown-seeded counterparts. The reason: The protein responsible for brown seed color—which yellow-seeded plants lack—also plays a key role in oil production. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-yellow-seeded-camelina-high.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 11 Jun 2024 15:02:03 EDT news637336921 A study led by CREAF and the UAB, and published in Global Change Biology, discovered that warmer winters worsen the impact of pesticides on bees and reduce their life expectancy by 70%, causing severely negative effects on the population and a sharp decline in the number of pollinators. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-bees-sensitive-pesticides-due-climate.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 11 Jun 2024 09:52:45 EDT news637318362 Sugarcane is the world's largest crop by biomass yield, providing 80% of the sugar and 40% of the biofuel produced worldwide. The plant's size and efficient use of water and light make it a prime candidate to produce advanced renewable, value-added bioproducts and biofuels. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-fine-tuning-leaf-angle-crispr.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 10 Jun 2024 16:39:03 EDT news637256341 A team from the Innovative Genomics Institute at the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) has produced an increase in gene expression in a food crop by changing its upstream regulatory DNA. While other studies have used CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing to knock out or decrease the expression of genes, new research published in Science Advances is the first unbiased gene-editing approach to increase gene expression and downstream photosynthetic activity. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-team-crisprcas9-photosynthesis.html Biotechnology Agriculture Fri, 07 Jun 2024 14:00:01 EDT news636968341 Blast disease, caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, is a veritable plague in agriculture. In addition to devastating rice crops—the staple food of 60% of the world's population—it began attacking wheat in the 1980s, across a growing area of distribution and with a serious risk of emergence in Europe. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-food-gene-resistance-disease-ravages.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 05 Jun 2024 11:14:26 EDT news636804862 More diverse wildlife thrives on farms, benefiting both farmers and the environment, when there is variety in the agricultural landscape, a global study has found. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-diversity-farm-landscapes-wildlife-global.html Ecology Agriculture Wed, 05 Jun 2024 03:00:01 EDT news636709562 Xylella fastidiosa, the deadly disease-causing bacterium that has already wiped out millions of plants of emblematic Mediterranean crops, like grapevines, olive-trees and almond-trees, by clogging their ducts and plant tissues, will get a boost from climate change in relevant wine-producing regions where the risk is low at present. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-climate-boosts-olive-tree-devouring.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:26:05 EDT news636722762 A study of the effects of mowing on a common weed has found that what doesn't kill you can make you stronger. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-frequent-poisonous-weed-survival-mode.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:39:04 EDT news636716341 Global temperatures are on the rise, with experts projecting an increase of 2.7°F by 2050. Because plants cannot regulate their own temperatures, they are especially sensitive to these temperature changes. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-scientists-key-nutrients.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:27:05 EDT news636715622 Winters can be tough on managed honey bee colonies, with beekeepers in the United States reporting that one-third of their colonies die each winter. A new study by Penn State researchers has found that using not one but multiple pest treatments may help bees make it to spring. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-combining-pest-treatments-key-honey.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 04 Jun 2024 10:22:04 EDT news636715321 We have long become accustomed to enjoying tomatoes, cucumbers, berries and melons year-round. In Europe, most of these imports come from Spain, where millions of tons of fruit and vegetables are grown under seas of white plastic that span the southern part of the country. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-satellite-reveals-global-bloom-greenhouse.html Agriculture Mon, 03 Jun 2024 11:36:05 EDT news636633362 In a study published in Nature Plants, Prof. Li Yunhai from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology (IGDB) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Profs. Zhu Xudong and Wang Yuexing from the China National Rice Research Institute have identified an ideal small grain size gene, GSE3. https://phys.org/news/2024-06-genetic-ideal-small-grain-size.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 03 Jun 2024 10:07:03 EDT news636628021 We live in an ever-changing and growing world. Changing climates, emerging pests, and other environmental stressors put pressure on the cash crops that feed and fuel the world. As we race to meet the growing demand for sustainable and high-quality food and fiber crops, genomics is emerging as a powerful tool in the fight. By understanding plants' genetic codes, researchers and breeders can develop crops with increased yields, improved resistance to pests and diseases, and greater adaptability to environmental challenges. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-genomic-tools-modern-cotton-varieties.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 30 May 2024 17:18:04 EDT news636308282 New research by the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) proposes using soil bacteria to cut greenhouse gas emissions from food production. The research is published in the journal Nature. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-method-significantly-agricultural-greenhouse-gas.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 30 May 2024 11:32:04 EDT news636287522 A Mississippi State faculty member's work on plant life symbiosis—a mutually beneficial relationship between living organisms—is pushing back against the newer theory of "single-origin"—that all life stems from one point—instead suggesting "multiple-origin" theory which opens a better understanding for genetically engineering crops. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-symbiosis-exposes-theories-experimental-life.html Evolution Agriculture Wed, 29 May 2024 17:27:03 EDT news636222422 Drought is the most devastating environmental stress that farmers face worldwide. With the added pressures of climate change, drought years have become less predictable, more frequent and more severe. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-techniques-drought-tolerance-ancient-crops.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 29 May 2024 16:24:22 EDT news636218654 A widely found gene in plants has been newly identified as a key transporter of a hormone that influences the size of corn. The discovery offers plant breeders a new tool to develop desirable dwarf varieties that could enhance the crop's resilience and profitability. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-scientists-gene-resilient-pixie-corn.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 29 May 2024 11:29:03 EDT news636200941 Dr. Asaf Tzachor, Founder of the Aviram Sustainability and Climate Program at Reichman University, along with researchers from the US, UK, Kenya, Nigeria, and Colombia, scrutinized the reliability of the information and professional advice provided by the popular chatbot ChatGPT (versions 3.5 and 4.0) to farmers in Africa. The researchers identified inaccuracies that could lead to agricultural missteps and crop losses. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-gpt-inaccuracies-agriculture-crop-losses.html Biotechnology Agriculture Tue, 28 May 2024 12:06:04 EDT news636116761 According to a study published in Science, researchers have used phytolith analysis and other methods to reveal the continuous evolutionary history of rice from wild to domesticated over an astonishing span of 100,000 years, providing new evidence for understanding the development of human society and the origins of agricultural civilization, and confirming that China is the birthplace of rice (Oryza sativa). https://phys.org/news/2024-05-wild-domesticated-scientists-reveal-years.html Evolution Agriculture Mon, 27 May 2024 09:58:04 EDT news636022681 A new study has revealed the potential of using wild crop relatives for chickpea improvement, paving the way for more advanced crops and greater global food security. https://phys.org/news/2024-05-chickpeas-harnessing-genetic-traits-wild.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Fri, 24 May 2024 10:21:21 EDT news635764878