Agricultural and Forestry Science

Transgenic Trees Hold Promise for Pulp and Paper Industries

The expensive, energy-intensive process of turning wood into paper costs the pulp and paper industries more than $6 billion a year. Much of that expense involves separating wood’s cellulose from lignin, the glue that binds a tree’s fibers, by using an alkali solution and high temperatures and pressures. Although the lignin so removed is reused as fuel, wood with less lignin and more cellulose would save the industry millions of dollars a year in processing and chemical costs. Research at North Caroli

Hebrew University Research Brings Higher Peanut Yields

Significantly improved peanut yields have been achieved by researchers at the Hebrew University Faculty of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences in Rehovot.

Through the use of the plant hormone ethylene, the researchers have succeeded in regulating the flowering of the peanut plant, with a resulting four-fold increase in the yield of large peanut pods at harvest time.

The research was carried out by Eliezer Zamski, the Jack Futterman Professor of Agricultural Botan

Crossing paths in plants

On Monday 31 March ecologists will meet with molecular biologists at the University of Southampton for the most novel and broad-ranging scientific session of its kind. They will present findings in Session C5/P3 which show that the biochemical pathways which influence a plant’s response to stimuli such as attack, disease or other stresses are not mutually exclusive as previously thought. For example, up until recently the two separate signalling pathways in plants which respond independently to disea

Humongous fungus a new kind of individual

The world’s biggest fungus, discovered in Oregon’s Blue Mountains in 2001, is challenging traditional notions of what constitutes an individual. The underground fungus–estimated to be between 2000 and 8500 years old–is also deepening our understanding of the ecosystem, with possible implications for the management of Canadian forests, according to a paper by the discoverers (B.A. Ferguson, T.A. Dreisbach, C.G. Parks, G.M. Filip, and C.L. Schmitt) published March 17 on the Web site of the

Termites repelled by catnip oil

Known for its intoxicating effects on felines, catnip oil may also have a future in termite control. Recent experiments by USDA Forest Service researcher Chris Peterson show that catnip oil repels and even kills termites in a laboratory setting.

Peterson, a researcher with the Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS), and fellow researcher Janice Ems-Wilson, a chemist at Valencia Community College in Orlando, FL, presented the results of their research at the national meeting of the Am

Motor oil of the future may come from veggies

Vegetable oil similar to the stuff you use to cook your food may one day fill your car’s engine. Researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have developed a chemically modified version of the edible oil that shows promise as a cleaner, renewable alternative to petroleum-based motor oil, while enhancing its protective properties.

Veggie motor oil could eventually be produced cheaper than petroleum-based oil and may help reduce this country’s dependence on foreign oil, the re

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