News tagged with corn plants

Tiny plants could cut costs, shrink environmental footprint

Tall, waving corn fields that line Midwestern roads may one day be replaced by dwarfed versions that require less water, fertilizer and other inputs, thanks to a fungicide commonly used on golf courses.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 15, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Modern hybrid corn makes better use of nitrogen, study shows

(Phys.org) -- Today's hybrid corn varieties more efficiently use nitrogen to create more grain, according to 72 years of public-sector research data reviewed by Purdue University researchers.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Drought-resistant Argentine soy raises hopes, concerns

Researchers in Argentina have isolated a drought-resistant sunflower gene and spliced it into soy, bolstering hopes for improved yields as the South American agricultural powerhouse grapples with global warming.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 27, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Tackle fungal forces to save crops, forests and endangered animals, scientists say

More than 600 million people could be fed each year by halting the spread of fungal diseases in the world's five most important crops, according to research published today in the journal Nature.

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 11, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

New forage plant prepares farmers for climate changes

Sorghum, or durra, is an important forage crop in many countries, for example the USA, Africa, China and Australia.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Apr 04, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Researchers find protein to up yield from oilseed crops

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Montana State University have developed a protein that can be expressed in oilseed crops to increase the oil yield by as much as 40 percent, a development that could have an impact on the biodiesel ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Virdia gets $100 million to start cellulose ethanol plant

(PhysOrg.com) -- Despite calls for finding alternatives to using corn to make biofuel, the United States currently has no such commercial biomass-to-sugar processing plants able to do so. That may soon change ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created Mar 09, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 8 | with audio podcast report

Researcher tracks agricultural overuse of bug-killing technology

High corn prices are leading many growers to plant corn every year and to overuse pesticides and other bug-killing technology to maximize yields, researchers report. In many instances, pesticides are applied ...

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Fill 'er up with tobacco? Berkeley lab-led team explores new path to biofuels

(PhysOrg.com) -- Mention biofuels and most people think of corn ethanol. Some may think of advanced biofuels from switchgrass or miscanthus. But tobacco? Not likely.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 24, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 1

Developing hardier, weather-resistant crops

At first, the back room of plant physiologist Edgar Spalding's lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison might be mistaken for an alien space ship set straight out of a Hollywood movie. It's a room bathed in low-red light ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 14, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Making nature's best better to produce biofuels

If a tree falls in the forest and there are no enzymes to digest it, does it break down?

Biology / Biotechnology

created Feb 01, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Sweeten up your profits with the right hybrid

New University of Illinois sweet corn research shows that higher yield and profitability are possible with greater plant populations of certain hybrids.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 23, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Bugs may be resistant to genetically modified corn

(AP) -- One of the nation's most widely planted crops - a genetically engineered corn plant that makes its own insecticide - may be losing its effectiveness because a major pest appears to be developing resistance ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Dec 29, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 4

A corny turn for biofuels from switchgrass

Many experts believe that advanced biofuels made from cellulosic biomass are the most promising alternative to petroleum-based liquid fuels for a renewable, clean, green, domestic source of transportation ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 18, 2011 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 4 | with audio podcast

Dividing corn stover makes ethanol conversion more efficient

(PhysOrg.com) -- Not all parts of a corn stalk are equal, and they shouldn't be treated that way when creating cellulosic ethanol, say Purdue University researchers.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 25, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast