https://phys.org/biology-news/agriculture en-us Agriculture, livestock, farming and food processing news The corn leafhopper Dalbulus maidis has become a serious problem for farmers. This tiny insect is now widely distributed in the Americas, from the south of the United States to the north of Argentina. In Brazil, it uses only corn plants as hosts, and little is known about its survival mechanisms in the absence of these plants. In corn, it causes damage directly by sucking sap from the phloem, the vascular tissue that conducts sugar and other metabolic products downward from the leaves. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-fungus-corn-leafhopper-extremely-pest.html Ecology Agriculture Wed, 06 Mar 2024 12:42:04 EST news628951321 Scientists have discovered the gene that enables marine algae to make a unique type of chlorophyll. They successfully implanted this gene in a land plant, paving the way for better crop yields on less land. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-marine-algae-implants-boost-crop.html Biotechnology Agriculture Wed, 06 Mar 2024 11:17:18 EST news628946232 Once a housewife in rural India, Sharmila Yadav always wanted to be a pilot and is now living her dream remotely, flying a heavy-duty drone across the skies to cultivate the country's picturesque farmlands. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-india-drone-sisters-farming-social.html Agriculture Wed, 06 Mar 2024 04:30:01 EST news628921282 Natural predators like birds, beetles and bugs might be an effective alternative to pesticides, keeping crop-devouring pests populations down while boosting crop yields, researchers said Wednesday. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-birds-beetles-bugs-pesticides.html Agriculture Wed, 06 Mar 2024 04:19:14 EST news628921149 In the pursuit of enhancing almond genetic diversity for the ever-expanding global demand, researchers have delved into a private almond germplasm collection, shedding light on the potential for new cultivars adapted to diverse growing conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-exploring-genetic-diversity-almond-accessions.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 17:00:03 EST news628880401 The Georgia blueberry industry has experienced significant growth over the past two decades, leading to increased demand for rooted cuttings. This prompted many growers to begin propagating cuttings both for their own use and for sale to other growers. No preferred method has been established for either propagation per se or disease management during propagation. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-revamping-production-tactics-blueberry-nursery.html Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:54:03 EST news628880041 Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is one of the most economically important perennial fruit species growing in temperate regions. However, partly due to climate change and biological pressures from pathogens, sweet cherry production in France has been declining since the 1980s. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-sweet-cherry-insights-genotyping-sequencing.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 16:50:01 EST news628865220 Melon, with its significant economic value and extensive phenotypic diversity, has been cultivated globally for over 4,000 years, featuring two main subspecies that have undergone independent domestication processes. Recent advancements have led to the assembly of several high-quality melon genomes, enhancing our understanding of genetic diversity and improving genetic mapping. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-telomere-genome-melon-high-quality.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:50:01 EST news628865214 The blood orange, renowned for its vibrant color due to anthocyanins, is a focus of increasing demand in the nutraceutical industry, with 'Tarocco' [C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck] being the most widespread variety. Current research sheds light on the genetic mechanisms underpinning anthocyanin production, such as the activation of the RUBY1 transcription factor and the importance of the MBW complex. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-alternative-splicing-transcription-factor-interplay.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:00:01 EST news628865227 'Vanilla' (XQC, brassica variety chinensis), a Brassica rapa subspecies chinensis, is a vital vegetable crop in the Brassicaceae family, renowned for its intense volatile fragrance. Despite the significant progress that has been made in understanding the genomes of Brassica species, including the discovery of a whole-genome triplication event, XQC's genome remains unexplored. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-deciphering-fragrance-code-high-quality.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:53:03 EST news628865582 Pear ring rot, a significant threat to pear production, is caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea, leveraging the complex dynamics of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during infection. Initially, plants employ their innate immune system, detecting pathogens through conserved molecular patterns and triggering a defense mechanism that includes ROS bursts, restricting pathogen growth. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-role-pbrchia-chitinase-ros-antifungal.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:50:01 EST news628865208 Whether you're a gardener growing food for your household, a small-scale farmer or a commercial producer, soil matters. You cannot really tell the difference between healthy and unhealthy soil just by looking at it. But there are organisms in the soil— creatures you can't see with your naked eye—which scientists use to measure soil health. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-tiny-worm-creatures-soil-destroy.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:44:03 EST news628865041 Australian authorities are on high alert amid the spread of lumpy skin disease in cattle and buffalo across South-East Asia. While Australia remains free of the disease, the virus is likely to breach our borders at some stage. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-lumpy-skin-disease-threat-australian.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 12:33:42 EST news628864418 To understand the food production resources necessary to help feed a growing global population, accurate and up-to-date data, such as crop, livestock, aquaculture and fisheries statistics, are crucial for the implementation of effective food system interventions. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-global-food-production.html Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 09:51:02 EST news628854659 "War is hell" usually applies to war zones, but the Ukraine-Russian war's protracted battles can take a toll on biodiversity as far away as the United States or Brazil. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-war-biodiversity-enemy-peaceful-locales.html Ecology Agriculture Tue, 05 Mar 2024 08:59:41 EST news628851579 When broiler chickens are busy fighting the parasitic infection coccidiosis, they can't absorb nutrients efficiently or put energy toward growth. With consumer sentiment pitted against antimicrobials and other drugs, producers still have some options to ensure optimal growth during inevitable outbreaks. New research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign suggests diet changes might help. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-disease-broiler-chickens-nutrition.html Veterinary medicine Agriculture Mon, 04 Mar 2024 15:05:03 EST news628787101 Plant genomics has come a long way since Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) helped sequence the first plant genome. But engineering the perfect crop is still, in many ways, a game of chance. Making the same DNA mutation in two different plants doesn't always give us the crop traits we want. The question is why not? CSHL plant biologists just dug up a reason. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-evolutionary-mystery-million-years.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Mon, 04 Mar 2024 14:00:01 EST news628757086 Palm oil is used in a plethora of household products, from food items like packaged pastries and chips to cosmetics and soaps or even biofuels. But most palm oil is produced on mono-crop plantations, grown on huge tracts of land that were once tropical rainforests and other biodiverse ecosystems. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-tool-palm-oil-production.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 04 Mar 2024 12:30:02 EST news628775943 Researchers from the Department of Technical Physics and the Department of Environmental and Biological Sciences at the University of Eastern Finland have used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to investigate how the pathogen Phytophthora cactorum affects the growth and development of strawberry plants. This pathogen causes crown rot in strawberries and can lead to significant losses on horticultural crops. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-mri-crown-infection-strawberries.html Biotechnology Agriculture Mon, 04 Mar 2024 10:37:03 EST news628771021 On February 1, senior Australian and New Zealand ministers signed a Joint Statement of Cooperation, acknowledging the long history of collaboration between the two nations. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-fisheries-australia-zealand-opponent-ally.html Ecology Agriculture Sun, 03 Mar 2024 16:50:01 EST news628512149 Strong winds spread the largest wildfire in Texas history across more than 1 million acres of rangeland in the Panhandle, the heart of the state's cattle-producing region, and into Oklahoma in late February 2024. Light precipitation on Feb. 29 helped firefighters as they tried to contain the Smokehouse Creek Fire and other blazes threatening homes and livestock, but the heat and winds were forecast to pick up again. At least two people have died. https://phys.org/news/2024-03-texas-rangeland-recover-quickly-cattle.html Ecology Agriculture Sun, 03 Mar 2024 12:40:01 EST news628512046 Fonio (Digitaria exilis), a type of millet, is the oldest indigenous crop in West Africa and one of the fastest-maturing cereals. Despite its low yield, the combination of quick maturation and drought tolerance and its ability to thrive in poor soils make it a useful model for understanding how cereals can adapt to future climate change conditions. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-seed-microbes-resilience.html Cell & Microbiology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 15:56:40 EST news628444598 Over the next 25 years, reduced intake of marine food resources due to climate change will likely have a negative impact on the cardiovascular health of First Nations on Canada's Pacific coast, a new study suggests. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-fish-worse-health-climate-effect.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 14:41:25 EST news628440080 Spring frosts can have devastating effects on apple production, and a warming climate may be causing trees to blossom early, making them more susceptible to the damaging effects of extreme cold events. Growers' attempts to prevent the flowers from freezing by attempting to heat the canopies of their orchards largely have been inefficient. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-cyber-physical-apple-blossoms-orchards.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:57:44 EST news628433860 The University of Queensland has co-led a project to design a cost effective yet robust pen to expand fish farming into deeper ocean areas to help feed the growing global population. The research is published in the Journal of Marine Science and Engineering. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-lightweight-fish-pen-farms-deeper.html Biotechnology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 12:19:02 EST news628431541 Internal browning (IB) is a significant post-harvest issue in pineapples, impacting fruit quality and leading to substantial losses, yet its mechanism remains poorly understood. Studies have shown that the accumulation of phenolic compounds plays a key role in tissue browning development. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-mechanism-pineapple-internal-browning.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:55:03 EST news628430101 A greater understanding of how plants and microbes work together to store vast amounts of atmospheric carbon in the soil will help in the design of better bioenergy crops for the fight against climate change. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-fabricated-ecosystems-bioenergy-crops.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 11:26:04 EST news628428361 Crushed rock can remove about 3–4 metric tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) per hectare per year and improve crop yields, results of a pioneering study have shown. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-field-trials-reveal-boosts-carbon.html Ecology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:22:04 EST news628424521 A basic premise of how plants grow is that shoots grow up and roots grow down. A new study, published in Plant Physiology, reveals the answer to a fascinating question: why do weeping tree varieties defy this natural growth pattern? https://phys.org/news/2024-02-decipher-mysterious-growth-habit-peach.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 10:04:03 EST news628423441 A promising new fungicide to fight devastating crop diseases has been identified by researchers at the University of California, Davis. The chemical, ebselen, prevented fungal infections in apples, grapes, strawberries, tomatoes and roses and improved symptoms of pre-existing fungal infection in rice. https://phys.org/news/2024-02-biologists-fungicides.html Molecular & Computational biology Agriculture Thu, 29 Feb 2024 09:51:04 EST news628422661