http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/agriculture_and_food/ Agricultural research news. From fertilizers and organic farming to maximizing crops and hybridization, read about advancements in agriculture. en-us Fri, 16 May 2008 14:05:01 EDT Fri, 16 May 2008 14:05:01 EDT 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/plants_animals/agriculture_and_food/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514094245.htm In every production zone worldwide, cocoa trees are faced with pests and diseases that can wipe out entire harvests. To protect their crops, farmers often use costly, polluting chemicals or labour-intensive manual techniques. However, there are now clean, ecological methods, for instance using sources of natural resistance. In this respect, a highly specific group of cocoa trees, the wild trees found in French Guiana, looks very promising. Thu, 15 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080514094245.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515145412.htm Evidence of physically similar species hidden within plant tissues suggest that diversity of neotropical herbivorous insects may not simply be a function of plant architecture, but may also reflect the great age and area of the neotropics. Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080515145412.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512094438.htm It's a tough job, but somebody, or at least some dogs, have to do it. In the Cerrado region of Brazil, four dogs trained to detect animal feces by scent are helping researchers monitor rare and threatened wildlife such as jaguar, tapir, giant anteater and maned wolf in and around Emas National Park, a protected area with the largest concentration of threatened species in Brazil. Tue, 13 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512094438.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512145154.htm Buying chicken these days is not like it used to be. With labels like "100 percent natural," "organic," "grain-fed," and "free range," many consumers don't really know what they're buying. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture "100 percent natural" means the poultry doesn't contain artificial ingredients like preservatives. But experts warn--there are no guarantees. Mon, 12 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080512145154.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509111955.htm The Agricultural Research Service and the Apiary Inspectors of America have conducted a combined survey of beekeepers to get a snapshot of how well managed colonies made it through the winter of 2007-08. Surveyed beekeepers reported a total loss of about 36.1 percent of their honey bee colonies, up about 13.5 percent from the previous winter. Mon, 12 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080509111955.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508222429.htm Scientists have discovered how to keep one's tomatoes from wilting -- the answer lies at the molecular level. Farmers and fellow agriculturalists are continuously battling the ability of plant pathogens to co-evolve alongside their host's immune system. In agriculture, the most environmentally friendly way to combat the evolutionary change in plant diseases is to make use of the innate immune system of plants. Mon, 12 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508222429.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508151501.htm When it comes to using distiller's grains in finishing rations of High Plains cattle, scientists say the type of grain used makes all the difference. An AgriLife Research beef nutritionist at Amarillo, said there's been some skepticism about using distiller's grains in this region. Distiller's grains are a by-product of ethanol processing that can be used for animal feed. Mon, 12 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508151501.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508173558.htm Eco-friendly plant and animal life have been thriving in intensively managed cereal farms alongside increasing crop yields, according to the first study of its kind. The analysis of 230 farms shows that Government and EU policies which subsidize farmers to protect the environment are - at least to some degree - working. Sun, 11 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508173558.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091947.htm Researchers investigated whether yield, weed suppression, and profit characteristics of low-external-input farming systems could match or exceed those of conventional farming systems. Yields and profits were similar or higher in the LEI systems as in the conventional system, and lower herbicide inputs did not lead to increased weed problems. The results suggest that large reductions in agrichemical use can be compatible with high crop yields and profits. Thu, 08 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080508091947.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506120859.htm A new type of grass may help tackle global warming by cutting the level of methane given off by cows. Researchers are developing a grass that will not only cut the amount of methane cows burp up when chewing their cud, but also grow in hotter climes. Thu, 08 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506120859.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506100310.htm An outbreak of the insidious "screw worm" fly in Yemen, is threatening livelihoods, in a country where rearing livestock is a traditional way of life. The menacing fly lays its eggs in a cut or open wound of a warm-blooded animal. The maggots then feast off the living flesh, and can kill the animal if it´s not treated in time. Thu, 08 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506100310.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103032.htm Researchers investigated the potential of no-tillage agricultural soils for increasing the soil organic carbon pool. The results of the study revealed that no till farming impacts on soil carbon sequestration depended on soil type and sampling depth, with greater sequestration evident only in surface (0-10 cm) no till soils. Wed, 07 May 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506103032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505224659.htm Genetically engineered rice plants that resist the uptake of toxic metals could boost production and ease the shortage of this staple crop in Asia, India and Bangladesh, where irrigation with contaminated groundwater has created soils with toxic levels of arsenic. More than 80 percent of the world's population depends on rice as a staple food, but production is dropping in the rice paddies of Bangladesh, parts of India and South and East Asia due to toxic levels of arsenic in the topsoil. Om Parkash of the University of Massachusetts Amherst leads a research team that uses genetic engineering to produce rice plants that block the uptake of arsenic, which could increase production of this valuable crop and provide safer food supplies for millions. Wed, 07 May 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505224659.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430103117.htm Hot and barren, Kenya's dry lands have long been unfit for agriculture, at best merely a grazing area for wild animals and livestock. Today, the landscape is more picturesque and productive, lined with golden stalks of wheat yielding precious grain for Kenya´s farms and families. The wheat is a new variety, one that is high yielding and resistant to drought. As a result, small farming families are realizing harvests on farmlands once considered too poor to cultivate, to the country´s social and economic benefit. Wed, 07 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080430103117.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506111626.htm It's a familiar notion that an individual might interpret and respond to stressful events in a unique way based on previous experience and genetic predispositions. A new study by researchers at the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy finds that the same can be said of the individual cells in a plant. They respond in a variety of ways to too much salt or too little iron, both widespread environmental challenges for agricultural crops around the world. Tue, 06 May 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080506111626.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505211806.htm The quality of pollen a plant produces is closely tied to its sexual habits, ecologists have discovered. As well as helping explain the evolution of such intimate relationships between plants and pollinators, the study also helps explain the recent dramatic decline in certain bumblebee species found in the shrinking areas of species-rich chalk grasslands and hay meadows across Northern Europe. Tue, 06 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080505211806.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502171010.htm Beginning this crop season, farmers will be able to receive text messages on their cell phones from their plants saying whether they are thirsty or not. Accent Engineering, Inc., of Lubbock, Tex., developed the SmartCropTM automated drought monitoring system based on a patent held by the Agricultural Research Service. They are offering it for sale in time for this growing season. Mon, 05 May 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502171010.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502170413.htm Hair-care products, wound-care dressings and drug encapsulation are among the potential uses of new, soy-oil-based polymers known as "hydrogels." Chemists developed the soy-oil-based hydrogels as a biodegradable alternative to the synthetic polymers now used, including polyacrylic acid and polyacrylamide. Mon, 05 May 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502170413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502171324.htm Nitric oxide has emerged as an important signaling molecule in plants as in mammals, including people. In studies of a tropical medicinal herb as a model plant, researchers have found that nitric oxide targets a number of proteins and enzymes in plants. Mon, 05 May 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502171324.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502091421.htm Scientists in Germany have discovered a new mechanism of infection for the most fatal bee disease. American Foulbrood is the only infectious disease which can kill entire colonies of bees. Every year, this notifiable disease is causing considerable economic loss to beekeepers all over the world. The only control measure is to destroy the infected hive. Sun, 04 May 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/05/080502091421.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104525.htm Soil "unearthed" at the nanoscale: Soil scientists have seen -- for the first time -- seen soil at a scale of 50 nanometers. This view provided a beautiful glimpse of patterns, how carbon sequestration works, and what happens when soils get wet, warm and cool. Thu, 01 May 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428104525.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429085916.htm Australian researchers are a step closer to turning plants into 'biofactories' capable of producing oils which can be used to replace petrochemicals used to manufacture a range of products. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 23:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429085916.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428133928.htm Half a century after most of Costa Rica's rain forests were cut down, researchers are attempting what many thought was impossible -- restoring a tropical rain forest ecosystem. When the researchers planted worn-out cattle pastures in Costa Rica with a sampling of local trees in the early 1990s, native species of plants began to move in and flourish, raising the hope that destroyed rain forests could one day be replaced. Ten years after the tree plantings, researchers counted the species of plants that took up residence in the shade of the new planted areas. They found remarkably high numbers of species -- more than 100 in each plot. And many of the new arrivals were also to be found in nearby remnants of the original forests. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428133928.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429075321.htm Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Florida State University have confirmed evidence of domesticated sunflower in Mexico -- 4,000 years before what had been previously believed. Wed, 30 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080429075321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428092116.htm Watering tomatoes with diluted seawater can boost their content of disease-fighting antioxidants and may lead to healthier salads, appetizers, and other tomato-based foods, scientists report. Besides their use in a variety of ethnic food dishes, tomatoes are one of the most commonly grown home garden vegetables, particularly cherry tomatoes. Scientists have linked tomatoes to several health benefits, including protection against prostate cancer and heart disease. Researchers have known for years that seawater does not stimulate the growth of tomatoes, but scientists know little about its effects on the nutritional content of the vegetables. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080428092116.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140413.htm More than one billion acres of biotech crops have been grown in the US, but their environmental impacts are not fully known. In Arizona, farmers share maps of biotech cotton fields with University of Arizona scientists, enabling detailed analyses of the effects of this technology. Now a team of biologists proposes that making similar maps of the entire US available to scientists will permit much-needed studies of the environmental impacts of genetically engineered crops. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080424140413.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080427194945.htm Nitric oxide has emerged as an important signaling molecule in plants -- as in mammals, including people. In studies of a tropical medicinal herb as a model plant, researchers have found that nitric oxide targets a number of proteins and enzymes in plants. Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080427194945.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420112906.htm Agricultural geneticists have released "Purple Bounty," the first winter-hardy, early-flowering vetch for the northern United States. Until now, hairy vetch -- a cover crop and weed-suppressing mulch favored particularly by organic farmers -- had limited use north of Maryland because it copes poorly with northern winters. But Purple Bounty has survived winters as far north as upstate New York. Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420112906.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420113317.htm Agricultural scientists have made recommendations to help growers deal with several whitefly-transmitted viruses that threaten cucurbits and other crops in that state. In recent years, the number of whitefly-transmitted viruses in cucurbit fields, home to crops like cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, melons and watermelons, has increased to almost epidemic proportions in Florida. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 17:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420113317.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423115917.htm A newly created microbe produces cellulose that can be turned into ethanol and other biofuels, report scientists. They say the microbe could provide a significant portion of the nation's transportation fuel if production can be scaled up. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423115917.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131624.htm Researchers have produced a first draft of the papaya genome. This draft sheds new light on the evolution of flowering plants. And because it involves a genetically modified plant, the newly sequenced papaya genome offers the most detailed picture yet of the genetic changes that make the plant resistant to the papaya ringspot virus. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 14:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423131624.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421143836.htm Improved management of crops and perennials could go a long way toward alleviating the problem of hypoxia, which claims thousands of fish, shrimp and shellfish in the Gulf of Mexico each spring. The problem is caused in part by fertilizer run-off from agricultural activities in the Mississippi basin, which drains about 48 percent of the U.S. land. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421143836.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420110157.htm Some people comb through neighborhood yard sales and secondhand stores to find that one-of-a-kind treasure. Agricultural Research Service plant geneticists used similar tactics --- but on a much larger scale --- in his search for distinctive varieties of Carolina collards. Collard, a cole crop related to broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower, has always been a local staple in the South. But its commercial cultivation expanded dramatically in the 20th century, and is now dominated by a few hybrid varieties. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420110157.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420111817.htm A system that turns irrigation water on and off automatically based on leaf temperature is being developed by Agricultural Research Service soil scientists. They are developing time-temperature threshold technology that is based in part on the discovery that plants grow best at certain narrow temperature ranges that vary by crop species. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420111817.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422150655.htm The definition of "organic" is defined by the US Department of Agriculture; "natural," however, can be defined differently depending on who's doing the labeling. But both terms mean one thing: higher costs for producers. That's why researchers hope to provide another tool to help those in the beef industry pondering whether to abandon conventional methods and go natural or organic. Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422150655.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423095236.htm High food prices are creating the biggest challenge that the World Food Programme has faced in its 45-year history, a silent tsunami threatening to plunge more than 100 million people on every continent into hunger. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080423095236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422103853.htm Researchers investigated the water quality effects of using residual versus contact herbicides on corn and herbicide-tolerant soybean. They found that losses of contact herbicides in surface runoff were usually much less than those for the residual herbicides, and never exceeded established or proposed drinking water standards. These results suggest that herbicide losses and concentrations in runoff can be reduced by planting herbicide-tolerant corn and soybean varieties and applying contact herbicides. Wed, 23 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080422103853.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421114609.htm Researchers have identified a key function of a large family of virulence proteins that play an important role in the production of infectious disease by the plant pathogen Phytophthora sojae, which damages soybean crops, resulting in $1-2 million in annual losses in the United States and much more worldwide. Tue, 22 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080421114609.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420112351.htm Scientists are embarking on a study to index the useful genetic variation of more than 2,000 accessions in the Agricultural Research Service, USDA, grape germplasm collection. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420112351.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420104936.htm A traditional crop in India and Southeast Asia for centuries, as well as in tropical regions of Central and South America, mangoes are also grown today in Florida, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Over the past dozen years, Agricultural Research Service scientists have played a huge role in the introduction and subsequent development of a unique Florida group of mangoes. Sun, 20 Apr 2008 00:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080420104936.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140922.htm Engineers have determined the importance of mixing in anaerobic digesters, reactors that use bacteria to breakdown organic matter in the absence of oxygen. They are studying ways to take "the smell of money," as farmers long have termed manure, and produce biogas with it. Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080416140922.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410153655.htm Washing fresh fruits and vegetables before eating may reduce the risk of food poisoning and those awful episodes of vomiting and diarrhea. But washing alone -- even with chlorine disinfectants -- may not be enough, according to a new study. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410153655.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415111653.htm Winter cover crops provide important ecological functions, but their use in agronomic farming systems remains low. Scientists investigated the potential for winter cereal cover crops to perpetuate themselves through self-seeding, thereby eliminating the cost of planting a cover crop each fall and time constraints between cash crop harvest and the onset of winter. The study found plant establishment through self-seeding was generally accomplished within one week after soybean harvest. Wed, 16 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080415111653.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410153658.htm Fifteen hundred years ago, tribes people from the central Amazon basin mixed their soil with charcoal derived from animal bone and tree bark. Today, at the site of this charcoal deposit, scientists have found some of the richest, most fertile soil in the world. Now this ancient, remarkably simple farming technique seems far ahead of the curve, holding promise as a carbon-negative strategy to rein in world hunger as well as greenhouse gases. Tue, 15 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410153658.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408175312.htm The spiraling use of corn for food and fuel is creating heightened concerns about contamination of this staple crop with deadly aflatoxin. Produced by certain fungi that grow on corn, this contaminant is a known human carcinogen that especially threatens food safety in the developing world and can potentially cause the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in the United States each year. Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408175312.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410101203.htm Washing fresh fruits and vegetables alone -- even with chlorine disinfectants -- may not be enough to reduce the risk of food poisoning. Studies show that certain disease-causing microbes can make their way inside the leaves of lettuce, spinach and other vegetables and fruit, where surface treatments cannot reach. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080410101203.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411082957.htm Time down on the farm with animals could provide some therapeutic benefit for people with mental illness, according to researchers. The results come from the first randomized controlled study of the benefits of farm animals, as opposed to domestic pets. Sun, 13 Apr 2008 20:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080411082957.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408112101.htm A range of new technologies including genetic modification and RNA Interference are being deployed to improve the health of farm animals in a series of European and global initiatives. New technologies under the banner of GM have the potential to provide disease resistance with huge benefits for human health, animal welfare, and the agricultural sector, but only if public confidence can be restored. Fri, 11 Apr 2008 08:00:00 EDT http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080408112101.htm