How the humble marigold outsmarts a devastating tomato pest
Scientists have revealed for the first time the natural weapon used by marigolds to protect tomato plants against destructive whiteflies.
Scientists have revealed for the first time the natural weapon used by marigolds to protect tomato plants against destructive whiteflies.
Biotechnology
Mar 1, 2019
3
1470
Tomato plants emit an aroma in order to ward off bacterial attacks. This volatile compound is hexenyl butyrate (HB), and according to testing by researchers at the Institute for Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology, it has ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 14, 2019
0
11
Plant breeders at the University of Göttingen and Agrecol have launched a joint initiative to protect seeds as common property. Agrecol developed an Open Source Seed Licence, which legally protects seeds as commons (i.e., ...
Plants & Animals
Jan 10, 2019
0
10
The chili pepper, from an evolutionary perspective, is the tomato's long-lost spitfire cousin. They split off from a common ancestor 19 million years ago but still share some of the same DNA. While the tomato plant went on ...
Biotechnology
Jan 7, 2019
5
243
Researchers of the Ecophysiology and Biotechnology group of the Universitat Jaume I (UJI) in Castellón, Spain, have taken part in a study that reveals how agricultural biodiversity is an effective tool for combatting plagues ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 14, 2018
0
7
From elongated oblongs to near-perfect spheres, vegetables come in almost every size and shape. But what differentiates a fingerling potato from a russet or a Roma tomato from a beefsteak? Researchers at the University of ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 12, 2018
0
175
The crops we rely on today have been bred over thousands of years to enhance certain characteristics. For example, sweetcorn started life as a wild grass called teosinte.
Biotechnology
Oct 24, 2018
0
5
Crops such as wheat and maize have undergone a breeding process lasting thousands of years, in the course of which mankind has gradually modified the properties of wild plants into highly cultivated variants. One motive was ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 2, 2018
0
155
It is well known that certain wasps suppress the immune systems of their caterpillar hosts so they can successfully raise their young within those hosts. Now researchers at Penn State show that, in addition to suppressing ...
Ecology
May 1, 2018
0
32
In many places in the world, fresh fruits and vegetables are hard to come by—and not just in the places you'd think. Often, certain areas within cities, called nutritional islands, have the lowest levels of access to these ...
Biotechnology
Oct 30, 2017
0
14