Old ways help modern maize to defend itself

Many modern crops have high productivity, but have lost their ability to produce certain defence chemicals, making them vulnerable to attack by insects and pathogens. Swiss scientists are exploring ways to help protect 21st ...

Rootworms may fall victim to greater crop rotation

(Phys.org) —After a long battle with corn rootworm, Midwest farmers thought they'd found relief in genetically modified seeds with engineered-in toxins to beat back the best. But recent research confirms what farmers have ...

Nematodes encapsulated to better battle corn pests

Each spring, the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera) awakens from its winter slumber to wreak havoc on corn crops across the United States. The pest emerges in larval form, hatching from small white eggs deposited ...

Benefits of Bt corn go beyond rootworm resistance

Engineered to produce the bacterial toxin, Bt, "Bt corn" resists attack by corn rootworm, a pest that feeds on roots and can cause annual losses of up to $1 billion. But besides merely protecting against these losses, the ...

Quantifying corn rootworm damage

Every year farmers spend a lot of money trying to control corn rootworm larvae, which are a significant threat to maize production in the United States and, more recently, in Europe. University of Illinois researchers have ...

Green leaf volatiles increase plant fitness via biocontrol

To solve the acute, global problem of securing food resources for a continuously growing population, we must work constantly to increase the sustainability and effectiveness of modern agricultural techniques. These efforts ...

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