All Agriculture articles
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NewsBiochar ‘switches on’ natural oxygen chemistry to suppress soil-borne pathogens and reshape healthier microbial communities
A new study reveals how specially prepared biochar can directly suppress a destructive soil-borne pathogen while helping rebuild a richer and more stable soil bacterial community.
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NewsBiochar and smarter water management could help make rice safer in polluted soils
A new study suggests that pairing iron and manganese modified biochar with carefully chosen irrigation strategies can reduce cadmium and mercury buildup in rice, offering a practical path toward safer food production in co-contaminated paddy fields.
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NewsUnder the Lens: Plant microbiomes could cut agriculture’s dependence on chemicals, says Davide Bulgarelli
Understanding the hidden microbial communities that surround plant roots could pave the way for more sustainable farming, according to award-winning plant microbiologist Dr Davide Bulgarelli in conversation with Professor Emmanuel Adukwu.
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NewsCould ‘Trojan horse’ microbes that exploit symbiotic systems be candidates for new biological pesticides?
Researchers have discovered a new insect pathogen that invades the gut symbiotic organ of stink bugs by mimicking their symbiotic microorganism, and this pathogen ultimately kills the host bugs.
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NewsNovel plasmid confers phosphorylation-driven streptomycin resistance in plant pathogen
The genetic basis underlying the unusually high-level streptomycin resistance observed in the field-derived strain TX-0702 of Clavibacter michiganensis has remined unknown until a new study identified a previously uncharacterized plasmid.
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NewsMeet EcoBOT: The autonomous lab standardizing plant-microbe research
Berkeley Lab’s new “self-driving” laboratory, EcoBOT, automates complex plant experiments to eliminate human error, solve biology’s replication crisis, and accelerate bioenergy research.
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NewsRice-grown chaga reveals genes behind valuable triterpenoids
New study links triterpenoid accumulation in Inonotus obliquus with rising expression of key biosynthetic genes, providing a genetic foundation for future work to improve sustainable production of Chaga-derived compounds.
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NewsDrone index tracks wheat mildew
A new study addresses the need for rapid, field-scale monitoring of wheat powdery mildew in smallholder farms, where disease spread can be spatially uneven and difficult to capture through manual scouting alone.
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NewsMicrobe–fertilizer pair cuts greenhouse soil emissions
A new study shows that inoculating organic fertilizers with denitrifying bacterium, especially when paired with mushroom residue organic manure, reduces N₂O emissions by reshaping the soil microbiome.
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NewsBiochar helps paddy soils lock away carbon by reshaping microbial life underground
A new study reveals that straw and biochar both increase soil organic carbon, but biochar stores carbon more efficiently by guiding soil microbes toward stable carbon formation.
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NewsRice-crayfish farming strengthens soil nutrient cycling
Using metagenomic sequencing, a study has shown that integrated rice-crayfish systems increase the abundance of functional genes involved in methane oxidation, nitrogen degradation, denitrification, organic phosphorus mineralization, and phosphorus transport compared with rice monoculture. Source: Brian Tomlinson from Milton Keynes, UK Crayfish. The paddy planting area within ...
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NewsSoil pH regulates the symbiosis between stink bugs and gut bacteria
A new study shows soil pH regulates the symbiosis between stink bugs and gut bacteria, revealing alternative strategies to pesticides in agricultural pest control.
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NewsThe miracle microbes that could save crops from impact of rising sea levels
A new study reveals a previously unknown mechanism by which microbes help plants – including maize, tomato and rapeseed - survive in harsh environments, with major implications for agriculture worldwide.
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OpinionFungi that inspired The Last of Us may hold the key to a pesticide-free agriculture
They may be the stuff of our nightmares, but Aditya Singh Ranout reveals how invisible allies underneath our feet in the form of entomopathogenic fungi are transforming agriculture - and why these fascinating microbes may hold the key to a pesticide-free agriculture.
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NewsMicrobes reveal how tillage shapes soil carbon storage
A new study on maize fields in Jilin Province, China, found adding organic carbon sources on top of straw had different effects on the organic carbon in the topsoil in comparison to the subsoil.
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NewsResearchers aim to autonomously eliminate plant-killing bacteria from hydroponic farming systems
Three researchers have received a nearly $600,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop a system that can autonomously detect and remove crop-killing microbes from hydroponic farms before they cause damage to plants.
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NewsTea’s molecular shield against anthracnose
Researchers investigating inducible immune mechanisms activated by tea plants after pathogen infection said the findings show that tea anthracnose resistance is not simply a matter of possessing a resistance-related gene, but of how strongly and rapidly the plant activates its defense network.
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NewsThe drive to protect Missouri’s $4 billion cattle industry from tick threats
A tiny parasite-carrying tick is posing an outsized threat to Missouri’s cattle. Now, researchers are stepping in to protect the state’s $4 billion cattle industry by tracking different ways the American dog tick spreads a deadly disease known as bovine anaplasmosis.
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NewsScientists uncover hidden phosphorus reservoir vital for future food production
Researchers have developed a simpler and more cost-effective method to measure a biologically important form of phosphorus in soils, providing new insights into nutrient cycling that could help improve sustainable agricultural management.
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NewsNanozeolite-coupled biochar fertilizer may help bamboo forest soils hold on to carbon
A new study finds that a biochar-based phosphate fertilizer can reduce soil carbon loss and lower the temperature sensitivity of carbon decomposition in Moso bamboo forests.