The tomato fruitworm is the name given to an insect pest which, due to its polyphagous character, causes very serious damage to a number of plants, such as the tomato and the green bean. Its danger is greater if one takes into account the fact that this pest has developed resistances to chemical insecticides, including tot he latest ones. Thus, a Crop Protection research team from the Public University of Navarra have started work on developing a bioinsecticide that can be used as an alterna
Brazilian researchers have sequenced the genomes of two bacteria that cause significant damage to pig and poultry farming in Brazil and elsewhere.
The researchers are now analysing the results in an attempt to identify bacterial proteins that could be used to develop vaccines and diagnostic kits against the bacteria.
Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae causes pneumonia in pigs and costs the Brazilian pig-breeding industry US$200 million each year. Mycoplasma synoviae is a related
A new study to evaluate the Illinois Soil N Test (ISNT) calls into question traditional soil fertility recommendations and promises a radical new soil-based approach that will benefit crop yields, the environment, and the bottom line for farmers.
In a forthcoming issue of the Soil Science Society of America Journal, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will outline how current nitrogen recommendations are faulty, the soybean credit is invalid, and bala
More rapid and accurate test results may translate to better quality products
Researchers at the University of Minnesota, working in collaboration with scientists at the USDA, have used genomic information to develop tests that can rapidly detect and differentiate the bacteria that causes Johne’s disease, a chronic wasting disease found in cattle and other ruminant animals such as sheep, goats and deer. This research, scheduled to be published in the Aug. 30 issue of the Proceed
BU geographer shows dual approach informs farmers’ decisions, yields better harvests
It’s not enough just to let subsistence farmers in Zimbabwe know it will be a dry or wet growing season, says new research from a team led by Boston University’s Anthony Patt. You should back up that information with opportunities for the farmers to meet together and ask questions about the forecasts. The study’s findings could aid farmers in regions strongly influenced by large glob
Virginia Tech scientists say that there has been a change in the status of the fungus causing Asian Soybean Rust but that the new information is still too preliminary for any action on the part of the Commonwealth’s soybean producers.
A single cluster of six urediniospores found at Virginia Tech’s Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Suffolk was identified by morphological characteristics as matching the description of the fungus.
“The spores
A broiler chicken produces an average 115g excrements a day; this amounts to 2 million tons a year in Germany alone. In terms of plant nutrients this is equivalent to 33 million kg nitrogen (N) and 7 million kg phosphorus (P). The environmetal effects of these nutrients and their interaction with different production systems has been investigated by scientists of the Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science of the Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL) in Braunschweig, Germany.
Climate change could be good news for Scottish farmers, according to ESRC funded research at the University of Stirling. Rising temperatures and increased CO2 levels could mean increased yields and a boost to local economies, according to Professor Nick Hanley, who led the project. The research findings are based on a series of interlinked models, which analysed the effects of projected changes in Scotland’s weather on land use, regional economies and biodiversity. The possible effects of reform
Results of an experts round table “decomposition behaviour of animal residues in soil” at the Institute of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Federal Agricultural Research Centre (FAL), Braunschweig, Germany.
As a result of the BSE-crisis, any feed for livestock must be “free” of anything of animal origin. This EU-decree lasts until 2006 and should prevent “MBM” (Meat Bone Meal) from reaching the feed trough. MBM means the heated, dried and ground remains of animal slaughter w
The latest technologies such as satellite navigation and unmanned autonomous vehicles do not stop at agriculture. In precision agriculture these techniques are used for variable rate spreading of fertilisers or pesticides. Using this technology the natural variability of soil fertility parameters within a field is taken into account, and the means of production are tailored to the crops specific needs in an ecologically desirable way.
Whereas in the industrial and service sector the intro
Researchers at the Umeå Plant Science Centre at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Sweden, report about a breakthrough in our understanding of how plants control their flowering. In an article published in the international journal Science, Thursday 11th, they show how a small molecule that is formed in the plant leaves is transported to the shoot tips where it induces the formation of flowers. This knowledge can lead to the development of new tools that can be used to cont
Old-fashioned methods of getting rid of head lice in children are far more effective than current chemical treatments, researchers revealed yesterday (FRI).
Using a fine-tooth comb and conditioner on wet hair was four times more effective than popular chemical-based treatments like lotions and shampoo.
London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) researcher Dr Nigel Hill said: “Millions of pounds are spent each year by desperate parents or through NHS prescription
A Duke University study has found that maturing stands of pines exposed to the higher levels of carbon dioxide expected by mid-century produce more needles than those absorbing today’s levels of the gas, even under drought conditions. However, the study also found that lack of soil nutrients may impose limitations in many forests.
Duke graduate student Heather McCarthy will describe results she obtained from a futuristic open-air experimental forest site at 8 a.m. Eastern Tim
Mild winters, low humidity, lots of room, cultural diversity, higher education opportunities and a lively economy – El Paso has a lot to offer. But one thing it doesn’t have is a lot of water.
Enter Texas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers, who study ways to make the most of the area’s limited water supply.
El Paso sprawls at the base of the Franklin Mountains in the farthest point of West Texas. The terrain is mostly desert except for the Rio Grande, which mean
Phosphorus (P) is a vital mineral for all crops. Farmland has to be supplied with phosphorus regularly by applying fertiliser, in order to provide crops with sufficient phosphorus. P fertilisers are produced out of rock phosphates by means of different processes from sedimentary (fossil) or magmatic deposits. Rock phosphates from sedimentary deposits are characterised by a high content of elements which can also be detected in standard fertilisers.
Scientists at the Institute of Plant Nutri
Evolution of the Kulikovo Field lands illustrates how national stability and instability may change territories, including their landscape, utilization and land settlement. This conclusion has been made by O.V. Burova from the Tula State Teacher’s Training University named after L.N. Tolstoy, who has analyzed archaeological investigation materials for many years, archives data, results of comprehensive geographical and palaeogeographical investigations.
During the Bronze Age, fo
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