https://phys.org/biology-news/agriculture en-us Agriculture, livestock, farming and food processing news A drone buzzed back and forth above rows of verdant orange trees planted near Nabeul, eastern Tunisia. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-maghreb-farmers-embrace-drones-climate.html Agriculture Sun, 03 Dec 2023 05:45:34 EST news620804728 A new case of cattle anthrax has been confirmed in southwest North Dakota's Grant County, bringing the number of cases in the state to 25 this year, according to state agriculture officials. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-agriculture-25th-case-cattle-anthrax.html Agriculture Sat, 02 Dec 2023 03:40:43 EST news620710836 As a result of climate change, the Golden State's farms are expected to face a surge in agricultural pests, which poses a threat to California's specialty crops industry. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-climate-surge-insects-almonds-peaches.html Ecology Agriculture Fri, 01 Dec 2023 09:06:27 EST news620643983 When it comes to studying patterns in how bugs damage plants, is it important to know the average amount and type of damage? Or the variation around the average? https://phys.org/news/2023-12-key-patterns.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Fri, 01 Dec 2023 08:33:04 EST news620641982 Just as people can get sunburned, plants can also suffer from too much sunlight. To stay healthy, they use an internal "sun protection mechanism." Pierrick Bru, a Ph.D. student working with Alizée Malnoë at Umeå Plant Science Centre and Umeå University, has been studying a special component of this mechanism, called qH, and has found that it is quite adaptable. https://phys.org/news/2023-12-sun-mechanism-survive.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Fri, 01 Dec 2023 06:45:33 EST news620635530 With winter approaching, birds are migrating south to escape the cold and take advantage of more abundant food sources. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-poultry-bird-flu.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:16:03 EST news620586961 Hemlocks [Tsuga (Endl.) Carrière] are foundational, climax coniferous evergreen trees in forested ecosystems and are also iconic in cultivated landscapes. In the United States, the eastern hemlock, T. canadensis (L.) Carr., is a well-known and economically significant species for forest and cultivated landscapes. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-adelgid-resistant-hemlock-hybrids-crossroad-unveiled.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 17:13:02 EST news620586781 Scientists are working to protect the unique qualities of cacao beans grown in the Buenaventura region on the Pacific coast of Colombia. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-tis-season-chocolate-highlight-high.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 16:59:03 EST news620585941 Maize is one of the world's most widely grown crops. It is used for both human and animal foods and holds great cultural significance, especially for indigenous peoples in the Americas. Yet despite its importance, the origins of the grain have been hotly debated for more than a century. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-modern-maize-hybrid-years-mexico.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 14:00:02 EST news620561475 Over the past 100 years, global water use has increased sixfold, and increased drought has led to substantial declines in crop production in recent decades. Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.], originally domesticated in China about 5,000 years ago and subsequently spread worldwide, has become an important and primary source of vegetable oil and protein, as well as a supplement in livestock feed. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-peroxidase-gene-confer-drought-tolerance.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:24:02 EST news620569441 A team of U of T Scarborough researchers have discovered that the waxy protective barrier around plants might play a role in sending chemical signals to other plants and insects. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-waxy-surface-key-stronger-crops.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 12:05:48 EST news620568346 For all the attention on flashy new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, the challenges of regulating AI, and doomsday scenarios of superintelligent machines, AI is a useful tool in many fields. In fact, it has enormous potential to benefit humanity. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-ways-ai-farmers-tackle-modern.html Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 11:28:56 EST news620566133 Agriculture, like other sectors of the economy, is a profit-driven business. Simple cultivation systems such as monocultures have therefore become firmly established, because they promise higher returns. However, they are more susceptible to diseases and parasites, which can cause total crop failure among other things. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-world-suitable-diversified-farming-sustainable.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 09:56:03 EST news620560561 Consumer skepticism about the taste of vertically farmed greens is widespread. But the first scientific taste test from the University of Copenhagen and Plant Food & Research, New Zealand, shows that respondents rate greens grown vertically and without soil as just as good as organic ones. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-vertically-farmed-greens-good.html Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 08:25:29 EST news620555123 Leaves rustled as Mike Cirone reached into a tree and gently picked an apple. The orchard was filled with a profusion of ripe fruit in shades from golden-green to pinkish red. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-california-dry-farmer-juicy-apples.html Agriculture Thu, 30 Nov 2023 07:20:01 EST news620550714 RUDN University agronomists and colleagues from China and Iran have helped tomatoes cope with the toxic effect of aluminum in acidic soils with the help of melatonin. This hormone contributes to nitric oxide production, blocking the toxic metal and preventing it from destroying plant cells. The results are published in the South African Journal of Botany. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-agronomists-tomatoes-toxic-aluminum-melatonin.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:55:25 EST news620495722 Scientists from the RUDN University and colleagues from Iran have determined the optimal dosage of a popular dietary supplement for rainbow trout. Exceeding it not only negates a positive effect, but can cause harm to the health of the fish. Results of the study have been published in Aquaculture. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-properly-rainbow-trout.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 15:55:09 EST news620495707 Just over 5 miles from where folklore has long claimed Vikings scribbled Scandinavian etchings on a runestone, Erica Sawatzke surveys thousands of chirping baby birds in her long barn. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-minnesota-turkey-farmers-rural-broadband.html Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:11:43 EST news620485897 Spain produces 50% of the world's cork and 30% of all cork stoppers. Cork is a natural polymer which has been a crucial element used to seal bottles, being of great importance for the wine industry. However, a major challenge is the appearance of the "corked wine" aroma, caused by the presence of a compound called trichloroanisole or TCA in the stoppers. Due to its high volatility, TCA can migrate from the cork to the wine, adversely affecting its taste. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-scientists-cork-industry-wine-quality.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 13:04:35 EST news620485469 Farmland often harbors a multitude of pathogens which attack plants and reduce yields. A Swiss research team has now shown that inoculating the soil with mycorrhizal fungi can help maintain or even improve yields without using additional fertilizers or pesticides. In a large-scale field trial, plant yield increased by up to 40%. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-inoculating-soil-mycorrhizal-fungi-yield.html Ecology Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:52:39 EST news620484756 With the growing human population placing enormous pressure on food resources, it is estimated that by 2030 there will be an additional half a billion people to feed. This, combined with the rising cost of living, has amassed worldwide concern for the future of food security. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-fitter-fish-people-midst-food.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:31:07 EST news620483463 In 2021, Health Canada announced a freeze on changing maximum residue limits (MRLs)—the maximum allowable pesticide residues acceptable under Canadian law. This decision followed substantial public outcry following Canada's most widely used weed killer glyphosate's proposed MRL increase. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-transparency-canada-pesticide-overhaul.html Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 12:28:41 EST news620483316 Plants have two main uptake mechanisms to obtain iron (Fe) from the soils. The type of strategy employed depends on the botanical classification of the plant. In the so-called strategy-I mechanism, plants must first reduce the trivalent iron (Fe3+) into bivalent iron (Fe2+). Only then can Fe2+ be taken up by roots as a free ion. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-distinct-chemical-coumarins-soil-phs.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:35:02 EST news620480101 Many people are keen on making healthy as well as sustainable food choices, and they often intuitively equate "healthy" with being "sustainable." A study by researchers at the University of Konstanz, the Johannes Kepler University Linz, and the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences focuses on whether or not this perception corresponds to reality. It has just been published in the journal PLOS Sustainability and Transformation. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-healthy-foods-automatically-sustainable.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:34:03 EST news620480041 A new study has confirmed that pesticides, commonly used in farmland, significantly harm bumblebees—one of the most important wild pollinators. In a huge study spanning 106 sites across eight European countries, researchers have shown that despite tightened pesticide regulations, far more needs to be done. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bees-tightened-pesticide.html Ecology Agriculture Wed, 29 Nov 2023 11:00:01 EST news620476151 A DAUCO team finds that silicon is a potential means of promoting plant growth, probably by favoring the absorption of nutrients such as potassium https://phys.org/news/2023-11-laboratory-silicon-olive-growth.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:27:03 EST news620414822 Mimicking sugar structures in plants plays a crucial role in the development of effective vaccines against the stomach worm Ostertagia ostertagi. This has been demonstrated by Ruud Wilbers of Wageningen University & Research (WUR) together with researchers from Ghent University and Leiden University Medical Center with a proof-of-concept study. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-effective-vaccine-cow-parasite-modification.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 17:09:04 EST news620413741 Planting flowers beside food crops on farms in India attracts bees, boosts pollination and improves crop yield and quality, researchers have found. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-power-indian-farms-bees-boosts.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 16:32:01 EST news620411516 The domesticated apple (Malus ×domestica) is an economically valuable crop and an important source of nutrients and calories throughout temperate regions of the world. Fruit production is directly influenced by bloom time, which is a highly heritable trait greatly affected by the way a genotype perceives its environment. Because of climate change, fruit trees are becoming more susceptible to crop loss. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-bloom-vary-malus-species-due.html Plants & Animals Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 15:38:04 EST news620408281 An analysis combining the results of 14 studies from around the globe has uncovered some common patterns in how the piglet microbiome, specifically the gut bacteria, changes over time. https://phys.org/news/2023-11-blending-statistical-piglet-gut-bacteria.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Tue, 28 Nov 2023 14:34:05 EST news620404442