News tagged with agriculture

Related topics: food security

Insight into sheep memory bolsters husbandry standards

UWA Institute of Agriculture has discovered that sheep, despite having a cultural reputation for being unintelligent, have excellent memories.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Oct 03, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Mississippi mud: More water behind river's sediment rise

(PhysOrg.com) -- During the past several decades, upper Midwest state and local agencies have spent hundreds of millions of dollars on extraordinary conservation efforts to prevent the Upper Mississippi River ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 29, 2011 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Weeds are vital to the existence of farmland species, study finds

Weeds, which are widely deemed as a nuisance plant, are vital to the existence of many farmland species according to a new University of Hull study published in the journal Biological Conservation today.

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

La Nina may dampen fall leaf colors

(PhysOrg.com) -- The weather in Pennsylvania this year won't soon be forgotten -- one of the wettest springs ever, followed by a record-breaking dry heat wave in July, followed by the remnants of a hurricane ...

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 29, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

New method cleans up textile industry's most dangerous chemicals

Textile dying is one of the most environmentally hazardous aspects of the textile industry. During dying, harmful chemicals that are difficult to break down are released, all too often into rivers and agricultural land. However, ...

Chemistry / Materials Science

created Sep 26, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

China's farm subsidies soar but OECD states' at record low

China's subsidies to farmers soared six-fold between 2008 and 2010 to $147 billion, making it the global leader, OECD data showed Wednesday, in what could complicate trade liberalisation talks.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 22, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 3

Digital panoramas of rangelands could be rich source of research data

A scientist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is exploring how rangeland ecologists could use high-resolution digital panoramas to track landscape changes.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 20, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

The benefits of biotech: How GM crops benefit farmers and the developing world

The biotech industry boosted farming across the globe to the tune of almost $65 billion during the period 1996 to 2009, according to the latest analysis published in the International Journal of Biotechnology. $65 billio ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 19, 2011 | popularity 1 / 5 (2) | comments 3

In wake of flooding, disinfect contaminated wells

The central and eastern parts of the state were saturated by frequent heavy rains in early August before being drenched by Hurricane Irene and then inundated by the remnants of Tropical Storm Lee. The resulting ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 16, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Improving sugarcane ethanol production -- the 'midway' strategy

An article in the current issue of Global Change Biology Bioenergy reviews the history and current state of ethanol production of sugarcane in Brazil and presents a strategy for improving future ecosystem services and pr ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Sep 13, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

A scientific 'go' for commercial production of vitamin-D enhanced mushrooms

A new commercial processing technology is suitable for boosting the vitamin D content of mushrooms and has no adverse effects on other nutrients in those tasty delicacies, the first study on the topic has concluded. The technology, ...

Chemistry / Other

created Sep 07, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 4

Crop performance matters when evaluating greenhouse gas emissions: study

Measuring the emission of greenhouse gases from croplands should take into account the crops themselves.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Sep 06, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

Protecting wild species may require growing more food on less land: study

In parts of the world still rich in biodiversity, separating natural habitats from high-yielding farmland could be a more effective way to conserve wild species than trying to grow crops and conserve nature on the same land, ...

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 01, 2011 | popularity 2.3 / 5 (3) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Manipulating plants' circadian clock may make all-season crops possible

Yale University researchers have identified a key genetic gear that keeps the circadian clock of plants ticking, a finding that could have broad implications for global agriculture.

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Sep 01, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Using less water to grow more potatoes

Research conducted in part at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has confirmed that in some production systems, planting potatoes in flat beds can increase irrigation water use efficiency.

Biology / Ecology

created Sep 01, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0