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News tagged with crop pests

GMO corn falls prey to bugs it was supposed to thwart

A voracious pest which has long plagued corn farmers is devouring a widely-used variety that was genetically modified to thwart the rootworms, raising fears of a new superbug.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Aug 30, 2011 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (14) | comments 14

Chance Observation Leads to Plant Breeding Breakthrough

(PhysOrg.com) -- A reliable method for producing plants that carry genetic material from only one of their parents has been discovered by plant biologists at UC Davis. The technique, to be published March 25 in the journal ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Mar 24, 2010 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (8) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Solving the mystery of the dying bats

Deep in a cave in Mifflin County, Pa., surrounded by icicles and tilted slabs of rock, DeeAnn Reeder shone her headlamp on a tiny bat.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 01, 2010 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 3

Himalayan farmers give early pointers on climate change

Himalayan villagers have won the backing of climate science for their suspicions that snow cover, water resources and the ecosystem are changing in their region, a study published Wednesday said.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Apr 27, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 0

'Balanced' ecosystems seen in organic ag better at controlling pests

There really is a balance of nature, but as accepted as that thought is, it has rarely been studied. Now Washington State University researchers writing in the journal Nature have found that more balanced animal ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jun 30, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (5) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

NY researchers breeding rare native ladybugs

(AP) -- A year after they launched a nationwide search for dwindling native ladybugs, New York researchers are breeding colonies of them from insects found by citizen scientists in Oregon and Colorado.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Sep 04, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

New insect birth control strategy zaps cotton pests

Using pests as part of an insect birth control program helps to get rid of them, UA researchers find. A new approach that combines the planting of pest-resistant cotton and releasing large numbers of sterile ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 07, 2010 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (4) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New bacteria toxins against resistant insect pests

Toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria (Bt toxins) are used in organic and conventional farming to manage pest insects. Sprayed as pesticides or produced in genetically modified plants, Bt toxins, us ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 19, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers develop genetic map for cowpea, accelerating development of new varieties

Cowpea, a protein-rich legume crop, is immensely important in many parts of the world, particularly drought-prone regions of Africa and Asia, where it plays a central role in the diet and economy of hundreds ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 13, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Research team clarifies mechanics of first new cell cycle to be described in more than 20 years

An international team of researchers led by investigators in the U.S. and Germany has shed light on the inner workings of the endocycle, a common cell cycle that fuels growth in plants, animals and some human tissues and ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Oct 30, 2011 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (3) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Genetic engineers create smarter toxins to help crops fight resistant pests

One of the most successful strategies in pest control is to endow crop plants with genes from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, or Bt for short, which code for proteins that kill pests attempting to eat ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Oct 09, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 20 | with audio podcast

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.

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jun 08, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Researchers introducing sustainable agriculture practices to improve food security

Two Virginia Tech professors are leading research teams that will work with scientists and small-scale farmers in South America and the Caribbean to increase food production, improve soil quality, and reduce ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Mar 15, 2010 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Increased insecticide use in the Midwest linked to landscape change

The continued growth of cropland and loss of natural habitat have increasingly simplified agricultural landscapes in the Midwest. A Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) study concluded that this simplification ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Jul 11, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

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