Virus attracts bumblebees to infected plants by changing scent

Plant scientists at the University of Cambridge have found that the cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) alters gene expression in the tomato plants it infects, causing changes to air-borne chemicals - the scent - emitted by the plants. ...

Breeding wildness back into our fruit and veg

Wild tomatoes are better able to protect themselves against the destructive whitefly than our modern, commercial varieties, new research has shown.

Stopping a soil-borne fungus using charcoal

They are a staple in billions of people's diet worldwide, but a soil-borne fungus is threatening the health of tomato plants. Scientists are using novel techniques to understand the relationship between the disease and the ...

Automated ion analyzer for space missions

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is scheduled to launch its Eu:CROPIS research satellite into orbit in early 2017. Its purpose is to test a biological life-support system for future human space missions. The satellite's ...

Light gene boosts tomato yields by a fifth

Scientists on Tuesday said they had found a gene in wild tomatoes that enables farmed tomato plants to be grown 24 hours a day under natural and artificial light, boosting yields by up to 20 percent.

Whitefly confused by cacophony of smells

Bombarding pests with smells from many different plants temporarily confuses them and hinders their ability to feed, new research has shown.

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