American researchers say they have found that modern farming is the largest human source of sulfur in the environment
Sulfur pollution has reached levels of up to 10 times higher than the peak sulfur loads of the acid rain days of the 1960s and 1970s. The source appears to be additions of sulfur to agricultural crops. “For several years, my research group has been studying the fate of high sulfur loads applied to California […] Read moreAuthor Archives
Cropping methods can mislead ducks
Some of the best waterfowl breeding wetlands in the world are found right in our backyard. During the last Ice Age, kilometre-high glaciers pressed down on much of North America. When the ice melted, millions of shallow pools were left behind. These pothole wetlands became home to hundreds of species and millions of waterfowl. Today, […] Read more
Genome-edited bull can produce more males
American researchers inserted a gene that is involved in male sexual development into one of the calf’s chromosomes
Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have successfully produced a bull calf that has been genome-edited to produce more male offspring. They did this by inserting the SRY gene into the bovine chromosome 17. But what does that mean? On March 30, a black 50 kilogram calf was born at the UC Davis barn. […] Read morePathogens discovered to be highly adaptable
A study from the U.K. found that crop pathogens can evolve to attack new host plants, which can increase the threat level
As climate change effects become more widespread, plant species are under constant stress to adjust to changing conditions. But many pathogens are ahead of the game. They have shown an ability to adapt, adopt new temperature preferences, and capitalize on host plant diversity and plant ranges at the expense of crop production. In a study […] Read moreSoybean genes control fungal colonization
The relationship between plant roots and soil fungi is a complex symbiotic association in which both organisms can benefit. Soybeans pair up with mycorrhizal (root) fungi. In exchange for sugar, the fungus acts as an extension of the plant’s root system to draw in phosphorus, nitrogen, micronutrients, and water that the plant cannot reach on […] Read more
Pathogen capitalizes on ancient relationship
A gene that allows plants to reap the benefits of a mycorrhizal fungi also makes them susceptible to powdery mildew
If the mildew locus O gene causes crops to be susceptible to powdery mildew, why have plants hung onto this seemingly detrimental genetic relationship over evolutionary history? Unravelling this enigma has been the goal of scientists at the John Innes Centre in the United Kingdom and the Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology in […] Read more
Researchers solve brome mosaic virus puzzle
Shedding light on the different components of this crop disease was key to scientists figuring out how to prevent infection
The brome mosaic virus has baffled scientists for decades. It is a genetic puzzle that, unlike many other viruses, is divided into three particles that have been impossible to tell apart. Until now. BMV affects grasses such as wheat and barley and, in 2016, the infection was recorded in soybeans in Manitoba. Mosaic symptoms include […] Read more
Cabbage stem flea beetle predator discovered
Scientists in Great Britain learn about parasitic wasp by accident while collecting beetles for a feeding preference trial
By sheer chance, researchers at the John Innes Centre at Norwich in the United Kingdom have discovered a wasp that lays its eggs inside the body of cabbage stem flea beetles. Once the larvae have emerged after passing through the digestive system, the beetles are rendered sterile and die. The discovery was made when the […] Read more
Learning the role of plants’ molecular ‘gatekeepers’
Everything a plant needs to grow must pass through its cell membranes. To do that, it must pass through a sieve of microscopic pores called aquaporins. Now, researchers at the Australian National University have uncovered new information on how this network of “gatekeepers” works. The knowledge could be key to developing food crops with improved […] Read more
Crop rotation design gets complicated
Agriculture is struggling to keep up with the world’s burgeoning population. That’s according to the 2019 Global Agricultural Productivity Report by Virginia Tech. It said the current annual productivity growth of 1.63 percent is less than the required 1.73 percent to sustainably produce food and agricultural products that will be needed by 10 billion people […] Read more
