Reproductive Effects of Pesticides Might Span Generations North Carolina State University researchers studying aquatic organisms called Daphnia have found that exposure to a chemical pesticide has impacts that span multiple generations – causing the so-called “water fleas” to produce more male offspring, and causing reproductive problems in female offspring. Male Daphnia “This work supports the […]
Genuity Roundup Ready 2 Yield Soybeans After four years on the market, more farmers than ever are using on their farms. Monsanto’s second-generation trait technology for soybeans has been planted on more than 50 million acres in its first four years on the market. In 2013, Monsanto expects 39 to 41 million soybean acres to be […]
Remain Aware of the Potential for Herbicide Carryover in 2013 Dry soil conditions such as such as those in Illinois in 2012 often slow the rate of herbicide degradation and increase the potential for damage to rotational crops from herbicide carryover, according to a University of Illinois weed science expert. “Many factors interact to determine […]
Two Crops are Better than One New research finds that double cropping — planting two crops in a field in the same year — is associated with positive signs of economic development for rural Brazilians. The research focused the state of Mato Grosso, the epicenter of an agricultural revolution that has made Brazil one of […]
Between the Rows: Early Season Corn Pests and Diseases As corn planters begin to roll, it is important to understand what pests and diseases could show up in the early stages of the corn plant’s life cycle. Early recognition and identification of the problem can help you be more confident, and timely, in making management […]
Deep, Permeable Soils Buffer Impacts of Crop Fertilizer on Amazon Streams The often damaging impacts of intensive agriculture on nearby streams, rivers, and their wildlife has been well documented in temperate zones, such as North America and Europe. This shows rain over a soybean field at Tanguro Ranch in the Upper Xingu watershed, Mato Grosso, […]
Adoption of Direct Seeding Improves Soil Quality Starting in the early 1980’s, prairie farmers gradually switched from conventional tillage to adopt direct seeding, the seeding of crops directly into undisturbed or cultivated soil. Direct seeding of crops has improved soil quality, increased soil organic matter and improved nutrient supplying power of the soil. Generally, over […]
Together, Wild Bees, Honeybees Improve Crop Pollination In order to feed a growing global population, agriculture is under pressure to increase its productivity. The ecosystem service of pollination is necessary for, or can improve, the yield of 39 of the world’s 57 major crops. The proportion of crops requiring pollination continues to increase in global […]
Two Approaches for Optimizing Water Productivity Agricultural Research Service researchers in Bushland, Texas, are helping farmers make the most of their water supplies in a region where they depend on the Ogallala Aquifer, a massive underground reservoir under constant threat of overuse. Steve Evett, Susan O’Shaughnessy, and their colleagues at the Conservation and Production Research […]
Food for 9 Billion: Perspective on Global Agriculture in 2050 Concerns about the planet’s ability to feed a growing population date back to at least the beginning of the 19th century with Reverend Malthus’ dire warnings, and were echoed again in the 1960s and 1970s. Despite these warnings, global population increased by 3.5 billion between […]
Spotlight on Africa’s Life Source – First ‘Soil Atlas of Africa The European Commission has presented the first Soil Atlas of Africa, highlighting a vital natural resource which provides food, fodder, fuel wood, reduces flood risk and protects water supplies. With full colour maps and illustrations, the atlas explains in a simple and clear manner […]
Fertilizers Provide Mixed Benefits to Soil in 50-year Kansas Study Fertilizing with inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus definitely improves crop yields, but does it also improve the soil? The latest study to tackle this question has yielded mixed results. While 50 years of inorganic fertilization did increase soil organic carbon stocks in a long-term experiment in […]
More Food, Greener Farming with Specialised Transporters for Plants To grow more food more sustainably we need to make plants better at recruiting nutrients and water from soil to seed, according to 12 leading plant scientists writing in Nature. Proteins called Membrane Transporters will be Key to Sustainable Food Production Essential to this are proteins […]
Affluence Drives Unsustainable Consumption of Land, Sea Global demand for natural resources is rising at an unprecedented rate, putting pressure on finite resources, ecosystems and biodiversity. To understand global patterns of consumption, the impacts of international trade must be carefully examined, since countries may ‘displace’ land and resource use through increased imports, i.e. they use […]
Calculator Helps with Soybean Seeding-rate Decisions With less costly soybean seed and the wide range of which soybean plant populations produce similar yields, soybean seeding rates have not historically been as closely calculated as those for corn. But soybean seed costs have risen to the point at which farmers don’t want to plant more seeds […]
Crop Rotation With Nematode-Resistant Wheat Protects Tomatoes In a study published online in Crop Science, scientists describe a nematode-resistant wheat. But while the wheat carries the resistance to the pest, the benefits are actually seen in the crop that is grown after it. Root-knot nematodes cause crop losses around the world, and they can be […]
Plant Protein Discoveries Ease Global Food, Fuel Demands New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global […]
Determining How Much Nitrogen Is Present With a still fresh memory of the drought conditions during last year, recent rains have reduced concerns over water availability for the start of the 2013 growing season, but at the same time, concerns over nitrogen (N) loss have increased. Fall Nitrogen Nitrogen loss is difficult to predict because […]
Plants Use Underground Networks to Warn of Enemy Attack Scientists from Rothamsted Research in collaboration with other UK scientists have discovered that plants use underground fungal networks to warn their neighbours of aphid attack. It is the first study to reveal plants’ ability to communicate underground in this way. The study appears at Ecology Letters […]
US a Surprisingly Large Reservoir of Crop Plant Diversity North America isn’t known as a hot spot for crop plant diversity, yet a new inventory has uncovered nearly 4,600 wild relatives of crop plants in the United States, including close relatives of globally important food crops such as sunflower, bean, sweet potato, and strawberry. Known […]