A new tool helps farmers feed crops only as much as they really need.

Space & Earth - Environment

May 14, 2013 not rated yet 0

(Phys.org) —The overuse of nitrogen fertilizers in agriculture can wreak havoc on waterways, health and the environment. An international team of scientists aims to lessen the reliance on these fertilizers ...

Chemistry - Analytical Chemistry

Apr 22, 2013 2 / 5 (1) 0 |

(Phys.org) —Removing corn stover from agricultural fields to produce cellulosic ethanol requires careful management to avoid adding greenhouse gas emissions and soil erosion to the environment, say Purdue ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Mar 19, 2013 not rated yet 1

Emerging from the worst drought in 50 years, US farmers are bracing for long-term challenges from climate change including blasting heat and more capricious rainfall.

Space & Earth - Environment

Mar 13, 2013 not rated yet 0

Organic matter is important for soil health and crop productivity. While an indicator of soil quality, a lot of organic matter is in extremely stable forms, and the nutrients in such forms are difficult for plants to use. ...

Biology - Other

Feb 11, 2013 not rated yet 0

Engineered to produce the bacterial toxin, Bt, "Bt corn" resists attack by corn rootworm, a pest that feeds on roots and can cause annual losses of up to $1 billion. But besides merely protecting against these losses, the ...

Biology - Ecology

Feb 06, 2013 not rated yet 0

Corn crop residues are often left on harvested fields to protect soil quality, but they could become an important raw material in cellulosic ethanol production. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) research indicates that ...

Biology - Other

Jan 31, 2013 not rated yet 0

A French researcher who claims a link between genetically modified corn and cancer on Tuesday said he would publish his work, the day after the EU, which has cleared the maize, promised to make public its own assessment. ...

Biology - Biotechnology

Jan 15, 2013 not rated yet 1

Perennial biofuel crops such as miscanthus, whose high yields have led them to be considered an eventual alternative to corn in producing ethanol, are now shown to have another beneficial characteristic–the ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Jan 10, 2013 4 / 5 (1) 0

With heatwaves predicted to increase in intensity and duration, the importance of heat tolerant crops is becoming increasingly urgent.

Biology - Biotechnology

Jan 10, 2013 5 / 5 (1) 0

Versatile and responsive to management, corn is grown throughout the world for everything from food to animal feed to fuel. A new use for corn could soon join that list, as researchers in China investigate the crop's ability ...

Biology - Biotechnology

Jan 07, 2013 not rated yet 2

The past year has not been kind to corn. Though it has long been the nation's largest crop, the one-two punch of historic drought and record-high temperatures in July and August combined to damage U.S. corn ...

Space & Earth - Environment

Dec 17, 2012 5 / 5 (2) 5 |

Every year farmers spend a lot of money trying to control corn rootworm larvae, which are a significant threat to maize production in the United States and, more recently, in Europe. University of Illinois researchers have ...

Biology - Ecology

Dec 10, 2012 not rated yet 0

Hybrid plants provide much higher yield than their homozygous parents. Plant breeders have known this for more than 100 years and used this effect called heterosis for richer harvests. Until now, science ...

Biology - Biotechnology

Dec 03, 2012 5 / 5 (1) 0

A controversial study that linked genetically modified corn to cancer in lab rats is a "scientific non-event," six French scientific academies said on Friday.

Biology - Biotechnology

Oct 19, 2012 3.7 / 5 (6) 24