Agricultural & Forestry Science

Agricultural & Forestry Science

Fluridone Expands Palmer Pigweed Control for Rice Growers

Two-year study offers insight on rice cultivar tolerance to newly registered herbicide FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A word of caution to rice growers: the herbicide fluridone has become a valuable tool in fighting Palmer pigweed, but it can cause injury to some rice cultivars, depending on when it is used. Registered under the trade name Brake by SePRO Corporation, fluridone is a residual herbicide used to suppress grasses and broadleaf weeds before they emerge, also known as a preemergence herbicide. In…

Cedar Creek Long Term Ecological Research Site
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Fertilizer Innovations Boost Grassland Resilience Amid Drought

First-of-its-kind global study shows grasslands can withstand climate extremes with a boost of nutrients Fertilizer might be stronger than we thought. A new international study featuring faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York found that fertilizer can help plants survive short-term periods of extreme drought, findings which could have implications for agriculture and food systems in a world facing climate stressors. “Resources such as nutrients and water have been fundamentally altered by humans on a global scale, and…

Agricultural & Forestry Science

Scottish Shrimp Study Reveals Bait-Less Fishing Potential

Fishing pots fitted with LED lights catch significantly more shrimp and fish, new research shows. In the new study, by the University of Exeter and Fishtek Marine, pots fitted with LEDs caught up to 19 times more northern shrimp than unlit pots. Importantly, illuminated pots also attracted fish – raising hopes for new low-impact fishing. “We think that the light attracts zooplankton – like moths around a flame – which in turn attracts shrimp (which eat zooplankton), and that entices…

Increasing overlap of fire weather between Australia and North America complicates international firefighting efforts. Credit: JosFernando / AdobeStock
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Global Warming Drives Longer, Deadlier Wildfire Seasons

Increasing overlap of fire weather between Australia and North America complicates international firefighting efforts Climate change is increasing the risk of wildfires in many regions of the world. This is due partly to specific weather conditions – known as fire weather – that facilitate the spread of wildfires. Researchers from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and Australian colleagues have found that fire weather seasons are increasingly overlapping between eastern Australia and western North America. The research team examined…

UF Professor Zhanao Deng examining berries at the UF/IFAS Gulf Coast Research and Education Center Credit: UF/IFAS
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Genetic Breakthrough: Thornless Blackberries on the Horizon

Thornless, disease-resistant, and tastier blackberries could be on the horizon — thanks to new genetic research from the University of Florida. New UF blackberry varieties could provide a boon for farmers looking to rebound after the decline of Florida citrus and who see an opportunity to meet the growing demand for blackberries, which have soared in popularity in recent years. “Overall, this study not only advances our understanding of blackberry genetics, but it sets the stage for significant improvements in…

A photo of one of the wild polyploid Oryza presented in this work (O. coarctata) described in the study. Credit: King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Unlocking Rice’s Genetic Secrets for Sustainable Farming

Discovered genes provide strategies to protect rice crops against climate change and to domesticate wild relatives that can grow in currently unproductive habitats A new study, seen in Nature Genetics and led by researchers at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Saudi Arabia) and Wageningen University & Research (the Netherlands), provides new insights on rice evolution, showing how the DNA of this valuable crop has changed across species. The findings are expected to not only help with improving…

Sedimentary, organic carbon, and selected palynological records from GYS1.The selected taxa are categorized into montane conifers (MC), wetland trees (WT), tropical trees (TropT), south subtropical trees (SST), north subtropical trees (NST), temperate trees (TT), herbs and ferns. AP denotes arboreal pollen, while NAP denotes non-arboreal pollen. Dashed lines denote the assemblage zones identified by CONISS (constrained incremental sum of squares). Credit: Image by the research group.
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Chinese Scientists Link Human Activity to Swamp Forest Collapse

Chinese scientists have discovered that fragile swamp forests in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region suddenly collapsed around 2.1 thousand years ago (ka)—with human activity as the cause. The study, led by researchers from the Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry and the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, sheds new light on the role of human activity in ecosystem collapse. Published in Science Advances, the study focuses on Glyptostrobus pensilis (G. pensilis), a critically endangered species of Chinese swamp cypress that once…

Corn plants like these helped reveal pathways to more productive and resilient crops in a research project led by University of Michigan that studied genes in a cellular context. Credit: Alexandre Marand
Agricultural & Forestry Science

E-I-E-I-Omics: Enhancing Corn Genetics for Resilient Crops

By analyzing DNA from different cells in nearly 200 lines of maize plants, research led by the University of Michigan has revealed insights that could help growers better adapt their crops to a fast-changing environment. The new study led by Alexandre Marand reveals previously hidden information about the activity of genes inside different cell types. This provides essential context that helps better understand how the molecular biology of a lineage connects to its readily visible traits, or its phenotype. This…

A gas analyzer measures carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide from fields in a University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign study. Credit: University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Illinois Conducts Comprehensive Study on Agricultural Emissions

Farmers apply nitrogen fertilizers to crops to boost yields, feeding more people and livestock. But when there’s more fertilizer than the crop can take up, some of the excess can be converted into gaseous forms, including nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that traps nearly 300 times as much heat in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. About 70% of human-caused nitrous oxide comes from agricultural soils, so it’s vital to find ways to curb those emissions. Before they can recommend practices…

Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera) is among the most invasive plant species in North America. Credit: Florida Museum of Natural History
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Impact of Introduced Trees on Native Diversity in the East

In the largest study of its kind, researchers at the Florida Museum of Natural History have used data from a 120-year-old program managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to quantify the effects of introduced species. The researchers included more than 5 million measurements from individual trees across much of eastern North America and showed the rate at which introduced species are spreading has increased over the last two decades. Additionally, native tree diversity is on the decline in areas…

A new UC Davis study shows that having fermented food like sauerkraut could be good for gut health. Credit: Hector Amezcua / UC Davis
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Unlock Gut Health Benefits With Sauerkraut Insights

Is sauerkraut more than just a tangy topping? A new University of California, Davis, study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology suggests that the fermented cabbage could help protect your gut, which is an essential part of overall health, supporting digestion and protecting against illness. Authors Maria Marco, professor with the Department of Food Science and Technology, and Lei Wei, a postdoctoral researcher in Marco’s lab, looked at what happens during fermentation — specifically, how the metabolites in sauerkraut compared to those…

Decode natural resistance against citrus greening disease and Develop AI-designed disease treatment Credit: YE Jian’s group
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Scientists Decode Citrus Greening Resistance with AI Solutions

In a groundbreaking study published in Science, a research team led by Prof. YE Jian from the Institute of Microbiology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences has identified the first mechanism of citrus resistance to citrus greening disease, or huanglongbing (HLB). Utilizing artificial intelligence (AI), the team has also developed antimicrobial peptides that offer a promising therapeutic approach to combat the disease. This discovery addresses a long-standing challenge in the agricultural community—the absence of naturally occurring HLB-resistant genes in citrus….

Photo: DTU. Credit: DTU.
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Lactic Acid Bacteria Enhance Plant-Based Dairy Alternatives

A new study maps how specific lactic acid bacteria can enhance both the flavour and nutritional quality of plant-based dairy alternatives. The findings may have wide-reaching perspectives for the further development of sustainable foods. Plant-based dairy alternatives – such as soy, oat, and almond drinks – are produced without animal ingredients for consumers seeking plant-based substitutes for milk and yoghurt. However, many of these products have the similar shortcomings: flavours that do not always appeal to consumers, and nutritional profiles…

DarkDivNet site in Norway - one of the research network's 5,500 study areas worldwide. Credit: DarkDivNet
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Human Impact and Dark Diversity: The Global Plant Mystery

A study recently published in Nature indicates that human activities have a negative effect on the biodiversity of wildlife hundreds of kilometres away. A research collaboration led by the University of Tartu assessed the health of ecosystems worldwide, considering both the number of plant species found and the dark diversity – the missing ecologically suitable species.  For the study, over 200 researchers among them one scientist from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) and the German Centre for Integrative…

Researcher flies drone over experimental corn plantation in Campinas (state of São Paulo, Brazil): technology can facilitate the selection of drought-tolerant varieties Credit: Paula Drummond de Castro/GCCRC
Agricultural & Forestry Science

Select Drought-Tolerant Plants with Drones and Low-Cost Cameras

Images taken from an unmanned aerial vehicle, processed with free software, help assess water stress parameters in corn experiments and select varieties that are better adapted to water shortages. A method using free software and a drone with a low-cost camera has made it possible to select drought-tolerant corn plants. The tool contributes to the selection of plants that can better withstand water stress, one of the impacts of climate change on agriculture. The results of the experiments were published in an…

Minnesota Sea Grant Aquaculture Extension Associate Kieran Smith monitors Yellow Perch for a project to grow fish from egg to market size in a recirculating aquaculture system. Image credit: Minnesota Sea Grant. Credit: Image credit: Minnesota Sea Grant
Agricultural & Forestry Science

New Report Guides Great Lakes Fish Farmers on Aquaculture Regulations

This Sea Grant publication will serve as a valuable resource for fish farmers and policymakers navigating the complex legal environment of aquaculture Fish farmers across the Great Lakes states can face a confusing web of permits, policies and regulations that can hinder the growth of their operations. A new Sea Grant publication, Aquaculture Regulations in the Great Lakes, offers much-needed clarity. The report breaks down complex legal frameworks and provides practical insights to help aquaculture producers understand and navigate state and…

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