In soil, nitrogen (N), an essential macronutrient for plant growth, exhibits significant spatial heterogeneity. This necessitates plants to grapple with a complex array of environmental conditions in their quest for N sustenance. Roots, as the pivotal organs in N acquisition, manifest a remarkable morphological plasticity, including variations in the length and density of primary roots, lateral roots, and root hairs, in response to the form and content of available N, which is termed N-dependent root system architecture (RSA). For cultivated crops, the…
Famously twisted shrub mainly grows in California A new species of manzanita — a native California shrub famous for its twisted branches and wildfire resilience — has been discovered on the central coast, but its survival is already threatened by urban development that could destroy much of its fragile population. The discovery is detailed in a new study published in PhytoKeys, where researchers used genetic analysis to confirm the plant as a distinct species. Named Arctostaphylos nipumu to honor the…
Researchers in the Department of Entomology found that the secret to the bees’ success in food gathering is all in the “waggle.” As far as animals go, honeybees are world-class dancers. While not as deep and complex as a Super Bowl half-time show, the bees’ moves, known as the “waggle” dance, convey very specific food foraging instructions to their nestmates. The direction the dancer moves explains to other bees which way to go, and the duration of the waggle dance,…
Agricultural fertilizers are critical for feeding the world’s population, restoring soil fertility and sustaining crops. Excessive and inefficient use of those resources can present an environmental threat, contaminating waterways and generating greenhouse gases such as nitrous oxide. Now, researchers reporting in ACS Agricultural Science & Technology have addressed those challenges with glass fertilizer beads. The beads control nutrient release, and the researchers say they’re environmentally compatible. “The results show that glass fertilizers can be tailored to plant needs, slowly and…
Model predicts presence of animal feeding operations with 87 percent accuracy. Understanding where farm animals are raised is crucial for managing their environmental impacts and developing technological solutions, but gaps in data often make it challenging to get the full picture. Becca Muenich, biological and agricultural engineering researcher, set out to fill the gap with a new technique for mapping animal feeding operations. Without proper control strategies, the waste generated by these operations can pose significant ecological harm, Muenich said,…
The National Champion Tree Program to take nominations for next register through August The National Champion Tree Program (NCTP) will take nominations for new Champion Trees on its website starting February 28. The list of eligible tree species for the 2025-2026 register includes more than 1,200 species of trees native and naturalized to the U.S., a steep increase from the 900 species eligible for the 2024 register. It is available online in the Register of Champion Trees. Nominations for potential Champions will stay…
A new strain of kelp can help support sustainable farming Like most aquatic vegetation, kelp is being negatively impacted by climate change. Warming ocean temperatures have led to shorter growing and harvesting seasons, including for sugar kelp, one of the most commonly farmed kelp species. The loss of kelp populations can significantly impact ecosystems, and potentially the growing demand for sustainably farming food, feed, fertilizer, medicine, and cosmetics. To give kelp a chance against climate change, scientists from the Woods…
Many U.S. forests are privately owned, particularly in the Eastern and North Central part of the country. This makes control of invasive plants and pests challenging because efforts must be coordinated across landowners. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign explores how differences in ownership motivation affects willingness to control, and how economic incentives can be implemented most efficiently. “Some own the land for recreational purposes, some own it because they want to produce timber, and some are…
Wajarri artist, Judith Anaru, painted a fast radio burst as part of a series commissioned by CSIRO to celebrate the research being undertaken with CSIRO’s ASKAP radio telescope on Wajarri Country. Image Credit: Judith Anaru, CRAFT, 2019 The first trial of an Australian-developed technology has detected mysterious objects by sifting through signals from space like sand on a beach. The first trial of an Australian-developed technology has detected mysterious objects by sifting through signals from space like sand on a…
Research with smallholder farmers in Kenya shows that tree-planting schemes must account for complex local issues and preferences. Tree planting is central to many countries’ climate mitigation and biodiversity conservation goals, and Kenya alone plans to plant 15 billion trees by 2032. Adding trees and shrubs to farmland (called agroforestry) can boost biodiversity, carbon storage, soil health, food production and income. But many tree-planting schemes overlook diversity and promote a narrow range of species. The new study – led by…
On the morning of December 26, 1999, the winter storm “Lothar” swept across Switzerland, knocking down around 14 million cubic meters of wood, three times the annual logging volume. WSL experts answer numerous questions about how the forest is doing 25 years later. Citations: “Lothar showed us the damage that extreme events can cause. In the Swiss Plateau, the extent of the damage was unprecedented. Today we would say, ‘inconceivable’.” Thomas Wohlgemuth, disturbance ecologist at WSL “A windthrow event shakes…
The humus content of soils is one of the most important indicators of soil fertility. Detecting humus changes by sampling soils is very time-consuming and expensive. A new method enables the direct observation of humus changes with satellite images. Posing a threat to soil fertility and sustainable farming, the humus stock of agricultural soils in Germany is declining. Researchers from the Thünen Institute of Farm Economics have achieved a groundbreaking milestone by demonstrating that changes in humus content can be…
With growing concerns over climate change and overpopulation, we urgently need to boost agricultural productivity. With the goal of creating a way to easily tell whether a plant is thriving or dying, a leaf-mounted sensor was created by researchers at Tohoku University. This small but mighty technology could help improve crop yields and resource management in order to meet ever-growing demands. Extreme weather events like heatwaves, heavy rain, and droughts stress plants, which can reduce crop yields and threaten the…
New approaches in the fight against bacterial rice disease. An international research team, the “Healthy Crops” consortium, has developed rice varieties resistant to a detrimental crop disease in East Africa and Madagascar. The new varieties are resistant to bacterial leaf blight (for short: BB), caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo). The intention is to transfer these varieties to local breeders in Madagascar and Tanzania, where they will first be subjected to field tests and subsequently distributed to…
EIP Project “BioStripPlant” Successfully Concludes. On Thursday, 28 November 2024, the Leibniz Institute of Vegetable and Ornamental Crops (IGZ) hosted the final event of the “BioStripPlant” project. Funded by the European Innovation Partnership (EIP-Agri) and coordinated by agrathaer GmbH, the project aimed to develop and test an innovative cultivation method for organic vegetable farming in Brandenburg. Over three years, the project explored how strip-tillage combined with mulch and live mulch systems could enhance soil conservation and climate resilience. The results…
Plant biologists show how two genes work together to trigger embryo formation in rice. Rice is a staple food crop for more than half the world’s population, but most farmers don’t grow high-yielding varieties because the seeds are too expensive. Researchers from the University of California’s Davis and Berkeley campuses have identified a potential solution: activating two genes in rice egg cells that trigger their development into embryos without the need for fertilization, which would efficiently create high-yielding clonal strains…
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