Posts Tagged ‘agriculture’
Earth & Environment - May 7, 2010 12:48 - 3 Comments
Organic farming no boon for biodiversity
U. LEEDS (US)—The limited benefits organic farms offer to birds, bees, and butterflies don’t compensate for the lower yields produced, according to a new study. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Apr 30, 2010 7:09 - 0 Comments
Biofuel subsidies costly, but worth it
MICHIGAN STATE (US)—States aiming to lead the emerging biofuel industry may need to ante up substantial subsidies and tax incentives to ethanol producers just to get in the game, but the effort will be effective in the long run, new research shows. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Apr 21, 2010 18:01 - 0 Comments
Food vs. fuel showdown on the farm
MICHIGAN STATE (US)—Using productive farmland to grow crops for food instead of fuel is more energy efficient, but the ideal scenario may be a combination of both. (more…)
Science & Technology - Apr 20, 2010 12:02 - 0 Comments
How to grow corn rich in vitamin A
MICHIGAN STATE (US)—A research team has uncovered the mechanism by which the amount of beta-carotene, or provitamin A, is increased in corn, a finding that can help combat vitamin A deficiency and improve human health in the developing world. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Apr 14, 2010 10:58 - 2 Comments
Speedy approach to pure inbred corn lines
IOWA STATE (US)—New technology will allow corn breeders to produce inbred lines in two generations instead of the five to eight generations that it normally takes. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 29, 2010 12:03 - 1 Comment
Dipstick test curtails rice paddy pollution
UC DAVIS (US)—A simple water test is helping farmers in Uruguay know if rice fields are safe to drain, and will be instrumental in efforts to stop pollution of the country’s water sources and a globally valuable nature preserve. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 18, 2010 13:32 - 0 Comments
‘Livestock revolution’ taking a toll
STANFORD (US)—The growing worldwide demand for meat is likely to have a significant impact on human health, the environment, and the global economy in the next 50 years, according to a new report by an international research team. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 17, 2010 14:31 - 0 Comments
‘Green’ bean gene triggers nitrogen fix
STANFORD (US)—Nitrogen-producing bacteria living inside legumes, such as soybeans, could blunt the negative effects of fertilizer and aid efforts to make agriculture more sustainable. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Mar 2, 2010 19:40 - 0 Comments
On tropical farms, bigger is not better
U. MICHIGAN (US)—Small family-owned farms—not industrial-scale agriculture—offer the best way to produce large amounts of food and still preserve biodiversity in tropical regions undergoing massive deforestation. (more…)
Society & Culture - Feb 25, 2010 13:21 - 0 Comments
Going steady with a local farmers’ market
U. ILLINOIS (US)—A new study shows that based on what they offer, farmers’ markets self-select people who are on a specific mission—and visiting other retail stores isn’t one of them. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 23, 2010 11:47 - 1 Comment
Pesky aphid thrives despite weak defenses
EMORY (US)—Pea aphids, expert survivors of the insect world, appear to lack major biological defenses, according to the first genetic analysis of their immune system. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Feb 23, 2010 11:05 - 0 Comments
Roots key to second Green Revolution
PENN STATE (US)—Root systems are the basis of the second Green Revolution, and the focus on beans and corn that thrive in poor growing conditions will help some of the world’s poorest farmers, according to a Penn State plant scientist. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Feb 12, 2010 12:18 - 9 Comments
Genetically modified crops here to stay
UC DAVIS (US)—Global climate warming and population growth will necessitate sweeping changes in how the world produces its food and fiber. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Feb 2, 2010 23:30 - 5 Comments
California’s troubled waters
UC IRVINE (US)—Space observations reveal that since October 2003, the aquifers for California’s primary agricultural region—the Central Valley—and its major mountain water source—the Sierra Nevada—have lost nearly enough water combined to fill Lake Mead, America’s largest reservoir. (more…)
Science & Technology - Feb 2, 2010 12:08 - 0 Comments
Virus entices insects to spread infection
PENN STATE—A common plant virus lures aphids to infected plants by making the plants more attractive. When the insects taste the plant, they quickly leave for tastier, healthier ones, rapidly transmitting the disease. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 27, 2010 18:02 - 0 Comments
Sweet corn’s field of dreams
U. ILLINOIS (US)—In what amounted to a kind of census of sweet corn grown for processing, three years of data from 175 fields in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota shed light on what works and what doesn’t. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Jan 15, 2010 17:53 - 0 Comments
Pest with an appetite for biofuel crops
U. ILLINOIS—The western corn rootworm beetle, a pest that feasts on corn roots and corn silk and costs growers more than $1 billion annually in the U.S., also can survive on the perennial grass Miscanthus x giganteus, a potential biofuels crop that would likely be grown alongside corn, researchers report. (more…)
Society & Culture - Jan 6, 2010 16:42 - 6 Comments
Apple picking by the label
U. ILLINOIS—When asked to compare apples to apples, consumers said they would pay more for locally grown apples than genetically modified (GMO) apples. However, when described as having a “reduced environmental impact,” the GMO apples came out on top. (more…)
