Plants found to speak roundworm's language

Nematodes are tiny, ubiquitous roundworms that infect plant roots, causing more than $100 billion in crop damage worldwide each year. New research has found that plants manipulate the worms' pheromones to repel infestations, ...

How rat-eating monkeys help keep palm oil plants alive

Found as an ingredient in many processed and packaged foods, palm oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on October 21 have discovered an unlikely ally for palm oil production: ...

Foreign insects, diseases got into US

(AP) -- Dozens of foreign insects and plant diseases slipped undetected into the United States in the years after 9/11, when authorities were so focused on preventing another attack that they overlooked a pest explosion ...

Miami battling invasion of giant African snails

No one knows how they got there. But an invasion of African giant snails has southern Florida in a panic over potential crop damage, disease and general yuckiness surrounding the slimy gastropods.

Kudzu-eating beetle: Good news or bad?

Kudzu, a green leafy vine native to China and Japan brought to the United States in the 19th century, has long been cursed by farmers and timber producers for the property and crop damage it can cause.

Natural seed treatment could drastically cut pesticide use

The technology - which makes plants significantly more resistant to pests - has now been licensed for use by US agricultural company Becker Underwood in collaboration with Plant Bioscience Limited.

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