Bugs need symbiotic bacteria to exploit plant seeds

Aggregations of the red and black colored firebugs are ubiquitous under linden trees in Central Europe, where the bugs can reach astounding population densities. While these insects have no impact on humans, their African, ...

Want bigger plants? Get to the root of the matter

Plant scientists have imaged and analyzed, for the first time, how a potted plant's roots are arranged in the soil as the plant develops. In this study, to be presented at the Society for Experimental Biology meeting on 30th ...

Trouble on the horizon for GM crops?

(Phys.org) -- Pests are adapting to genetically modified crops in unexpected ways, researchers have discovered. The findings underscore the importance of closely monitoring and countering pest resistance to biotech crops.

Conflict between plant and animal hormones in the insect gut?

Cis-OPDA (12-oxophytodienoic acid) is a highly reactive plant hormone which simultaneously serves as a precursor molecule of the metabolic "master switch" jasmonic acid. Both signal herbivory in leaves and shoots of plants ...

Nematode has potential to reduce cotton yields by 50 percent

The reniform nematode is one of the most commonly found pests of cotton, with the ability to cause severe economic damage. In order to assess exactly how much damage the reniform nematode can cause, plant pathologists at ...

Fungi found in cotton can decrease root knot nematode galling

Texas A&M University scientists found that a surprising number of fungi naturally associated with cultivated cotton were capable of curtailing the negative effects of a plant parasite known as the Southern root knot nematode, ...

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