Poaceae is a large monocotyledonous plant family encompassing the true grasses, characterized by herbaceous, often culm-forming stems with hollow internodes, leaves composed of sheaths, ligules, and linear blades, and a distinctive inflorescence of spikelets bearing reduced, wind-pollinated florets. Flowers are typically subtended by glumes and lemmas, with lodicules facilitating anthesis, and produce single-seeded dry fruits (caryopses) in which the seed coat is fused to the pericarp. Poaceae exhibits C3, C4, and intermediate photosynthetic pathways, occupies diverse terrestrial habitats worldwide, and plays central roles in primary productivity, biogeochemical cycling, and the evolution of grass-dominated ecosystems.
The soil microbiome is critical for the ecosystem, and agricultural practices that promote microbial diversity can support plant health and help protect against pests. But it is unclear which practices are most beneficial, ...
Agriculture
Feb 11, 2026
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New archaeological evidence reveals that seabird guano—nutrient-rich bird droppings—was not only essential to boosting corn yields and supercharging agriculture in ancient Peru, but it may have been a driving force behind ...
Ecology
Feb 11, 2026
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For blackberry breeders, white and pink flowers on blackberry plants are more than something to admire; they are a key early measure of the season's productivity.
Biotechnology
Feb 11, 2026
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The UK's wheat is under threat from a newly identified strain of the yellow rust pathogen, prompting an urgent mobilization of research institutes to protect harvests. The new strain, identified in 2025, has overcome a key ...
Ecology
Feb 11, 2026
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13
Scientists from Tokyo Metropolitan University have uncovered how fertilized rice seeds begin to divide and establish their "body axis." Using a new imaging method, they discovered that while the first cell divides in an asymmetric ...
Cell & Microbiology
Feb 9, 2026
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13
Climate change and evolving growing conditions present new challenges for breeding. It is important to take local environmental conditions into account. An international team led by the IPK Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 9, 2026
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Rising day and night temperatures are threatening rice, wheat, and maize production by disrupting plant growth, grain filling, and grain quality, putting global food security at risk. Precision breeding and genome editing ...
Biotechnology
Feb 6, 2026
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38
A new discovery by researchers from Adelaide University, in collaboration with Denmark's Carlsberg Research Laboratory, will allow barley growers to optimize seed dormancy for their crops and improve growing efficiency. The ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Feb 2, 2026
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11
With insect farming projected to produce millions of tons of insects in the coming years, Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station researchers offer evidence that the insect farming byproduct called "frass" can improve soil ...
Ecology
Jan 30, 2026
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49
Once a seed germinates, it is committed to one location. Plants are sessile—stuck where they started out—forced to cope with whatever conditions arrive next. The only way out of trouble is to rebuild themselves in place.
Ecology
Jan 29, 2026
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