All Soil & Plant Science articles – Page 4
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News
First-ever imaging of pathogens on lettuce leaves in real-time
Researchers have developed a method that allows for imaging common plant infections. For the first time, this can be done without killing the plant and significantly faster than conventional microscopy.
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Presence of bacteria in soil makes flowers more attractive to pollinators
Bacteria that live in soil and help roots fix nitrogen can boost certain plants’ capacity to reproduce by enhancing the attractiveness of the plant’s flowers to pollinators via a relationship known as mutualism that is widespread in plants and animals.
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Scientists develop 2-stage process to transform caragana waste into nutritious ruminant feed
In a breakthrough in agricultural waste management, scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences have devised a method to convert Caragana korshinskii Kom. waste, a common forestry byproduct in China, into a potential ruminant feed. The research, published in the Journal of Bioresources and Bioproducts, details a ...
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Additive could help cut greenhouse gas emissions from silage fed to livestock
A study monitoring simulated silage from three key crops over four weeks revealed that all produced substantial amounts of N2O, indicating that forage conservation could be the third largest contributor to agricultural N2O emissions.
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Human urine could be used as eco-friendly crop fertilizer
Bacterial communities in soil are as resilient to human urine as synthetic fertilisers – making recycling the bodily fluid as a fertiliser for agricultural crops a viable proposition, according to a new study.
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Bacteria ‘doing their job’, as nitrogen fertilizer for soybeans offers limited yield benefits
Researchers tested whether modern high-yielding soybeans benefit from nitrogen fertilizer, with results suggesting additions are largely unnecessary.
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‘Mother plants’ can stop viruses passing to their progeny
Scientists have learned how plants keep viruses from being passed to their offspring, a finding that could ensure healthier crops. The discovery could also help reduce the transmission of diseases from mothers to human children.
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Plant pathogen battle: SlSYTA protein’s dual role in defense and susceptibility
A pivotal study has uncovered the dual role of the Solanum lycopersicum Synaptotagmin A (SYTA) SlSYTA protein in regulating tomato plants’ immune response.
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Bacterial strains from Himalayan night-soil compost support plant growth in crops
Researchers have isolated a consortium of bacterial strains from night-soil compost in a Himalayan valley that support plant growth in wheat and maize, offering promise as a bioinoculant for sustainable agriculture in cold semiarid conditions.
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Careers
Meet the Global Ambassadors: Our Q&A with Ashley Shade
The Microbiologist chats with our new Global Ambassador for France, Ashley Shade, who is Director of Research with Le Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) at the Universite Claude Bernard Lyon 1.
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Cofitness network connectivity determines a fuzzy essential zone in open bacterial pangenome
Based on a robust Tn-seq analysis of independent mariner transposon insertion libraries of Sinorhizobium strains, scientists have identified a strain-dependent variation in the fitness network of the Sinorhizobium pangenome under a nutrient-rich condition.
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Plant prebiotics offer new ally in the fight against pathogens
Disruptions to the community of microbes that live inside the leaves of a spindly plant called <i>Arabidopsis</i> can compromise a plant’s ability to tell harmless invaders from harmful ones – effectively turning the plant’s defensive arsenal against itself.
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Ramie rhizosphere study unveils secrets of the volcano
Volcanic soil plays a key role in the formation of microbial community diversity and subsequently influences the diversity of microorganisms residing in the rhizosphere of Boehmeria nivea L.
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Soil pH is driver of microbial community composition - and need to address toxicity shapes the community
Researchers have determined through both statistical analysis and in experiments that soil pH is a driver of microbial community composition – but the need to address toxicity released during nitrogen cycling ultimately shapes the final microbial community.
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Scientists to explore role soil microbes play in helping hemlocks survive woolly adelgid
Scientists are investigating why some stands of Eastern hemlock are able to resist a non-native, hemlock-loving invasive species known as the hemlock woolly adelgid which is wiping out the trees throughout the East Coast of the U.S.
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Fungal foe fended off: DNA demethylation boosts tomato resistance
A recent study discovered that applying 5-Azacytidine, a DNA methylation inhibitor, significantly reduces tomato susceptibility to gray mold, a common postharvest fungal disease.
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Attenuated viruses could be used to enhance crop performance
Researchers propose using viruses as vehicles for crop improvement, an approach established in human therapies but little explored in agriculture.
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Study reveals how pathogen breaches plant defences by hijacking plant protein
A recent study has uncovered how the pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum disrupts plant defenses through its type III effector RipAF1.
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The apple’s battle plan: Unraveling the molecular response to fungal infections
A new study reveals critical insights into how apple trees respond to Glomerella leaf spot (GLS), a severe fungal disease impacting apple yields, and offers promising pathways for breeding disease-resistant apple varieties.
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Climate change increases foodborne illness risk from raw produce
New research shows that bacterial leaf spot of lettuce and high humidity promote Salmonella enterica growth in lettuce, and climate change is predicted to increase humid periods.