News tagged with crop species

Green fuel is possible with artificial ecosystems

For algae to power our cars and planes, production needs to be low carbon and cost effective, which means working with natural processes, not against them, say scientists.

Biology / Biotechnology

created May 10, 2012 | popularity 2.5 / 5 (2) | comments 6 | with audio podcast

New tool for tracking a voracious pest

Since it first appeared in Texas in 1986, the Russian wheat aphid has cost U.S. wheat growers an estimated $200 million each year. But U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists have developed a new ...

Biology / Other

created May 09, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Is bioenergy expansion harmful to wildlife?

Despite the predicted environmental benefits of biofuels, converting land to grow bioenergy crops may harm native wildlife. Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig have developed a way to ...

Biology / Ecology

created Apr 03, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Integrated weed management best response to herbicide resistance

Over-reliance on glyphosate-type herbicides for weed control on U.S. farms has created a dramatic increase in the number of genetically-resistant weeds, according to a team of agricultural researchers, who say the solution ...

Biology / Ecology

created Feb 09, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

'Rules' may govern genome evolution in young plant species

A new University of Florida study shows a hybrid plant species may experience rapid genome evolution in predictable patterns, meaning evolution repeats itself in populations of independent origin.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 19, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 1 | with audio podcast

New research on newly formed plants could lead to improved crop fertility

A new University of Florida study shows genomes of a recently formed plant species to be highly unstable, a phenomenon that may have far-reaching evolutionary consequences.

Biology / Biotechnology

created Jan 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Planting trees may save Costa Rican birds threatened by intensive farming

(PhysOrg.com) -- The colorful birds of Costa Rica play a crucial role in the country's rural landscapes, by distributing seeds, controlling pesky insects and pollinating plants.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 15, 2011 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Spring's rising soil temperatures see hormones wake seeds from their winter slumber

Dormant seeds in the soil detect and respond to seasonal changes in soil temperature by changing their sensitivity to plant hormones, new research by the University of Warwick has found.

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 12, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Farming crucial for threatened species in developing world

A number of threatened species in the developing world are entirely dependent on human agriculture for their survival, according to new research by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 05, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Big pest, small genome: Blueprint of spider mite may yield better pesticides

(PhysOrg.com) -- An international research team decoded the genetic blueprint of the two-spotted spider mite, raising hope for new ways to attack the major pest, which resists pesticides and destroys crops ...

Biology / Biotechnology

created Nov 23, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Leaf litter ants advance case for rainforest conservation in Borneo

Studies of ant populations in Borneo reveal an unexpected resilience to areas of rainforest degraded by repeated intensive logging, a finding which conservationists hope will lead governments to conserve these ...

Biology / Ecology

created Oct 20, 2011 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

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

Which direction are herbicides heading?

2,4-D is coming back. What many might consider a "dinosaur" may be the best solution for growers fighting weed resistance today, said Dean Riechers, University of Illinois associate professor of weed physiology.

Biology / Ecology

created Oct 11, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

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 ...

Biology / Ecology

created Oct 10, 2011 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

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