Great Plains Farmers Are Diversifying
The days of growing wheat every other year or two and leaving the ground bare the rest of the time are a thing of the past in the Great Plains states.

Genome Study Of Beneficial Microbe May Help Boost Plant Health
In a study expected to greatly benefit crop plants, scientists have deciphered the genome of a root- and seed-dwelling bacterium that protects plants from diseases...

Fight Weeds With Plant Pathogens
Although plant pathogens are typically viewed as detrimental, plant pathologists say plant pathogens may be a successful, eco-friendly tool for managing weeds.

Management to reduce nitrogen losses in animal production
This review quantifies N losses for various animal production strategies and to discuss the major management options available for reducing these losses.

Breeding for high water-use efficiency
Progress in breeding for improved water-use efficiency of rain-fed wheat is reviewed to illustrate the nature of some of these interactions and to highlight opportunities that may be exploited in other crops as well as potential pitfalls.

Mechanisms underlying plant resilience to water deficits: prospects for water-saving agriculture
In this paper, the major constraints to carbon assimilation and the metabolic regulations that play a role in plant responses to water deficits, acting in isolation or in conjunction with other stresses, is reviewed.

Phosphorus Runoff from Agricultural Land and Direct Fertilizer Effects
This review highlights and discusses some options that have recently become available that may make a significant contribution to the task of sustainable management of nutrient losses from agriculture.

New Carrots Offer Colorful Surprises--and Health Benefits
News: Researchers have been breeding carrots that come in a palette of totally unexpected colors including yellow, dark orange, bright red--even purple.

Copper Oxide Effective Against Nematodes In Small Ruminants
Using copper oxide wire particles to control internal parasites in small ruminants, such as sheep and goats, is safe and effective when two grams or less are used.

Increased CO2 Levels Are Mixed Blessing For Agriculture
News: A new study suggests that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could be a boon for agricultural crops, as this greenhouse gas helps crop plants grow and reproduce more.

Researchers Discover New Way to Boost Grain Crops' Drought Tolerance
News: Researchers report the development of technology that increases the tolerance of grains crops to drought by decreasing the amount of an enzyme that is responsible for producing the plant hormone ethylene.

Signal Chemical Primes Plants For Pest Attack
Physically damaged or chewed plants produce a volatile chemical that may serve as a primer to prepare nearby plants to defend themselves against insect attack, according to a team of researchers.

Biofortified, iron-rich rice improves the nutrition of women, study by Cornell researcher shows for the first time
News: For the past decade, plant breeders have been trying to boost the vitamin and mineral content of rice and other staples through traditional plant breeding and genetic engineering.

Wealth Of Nations Depends On Jack Frost, Research Finds
News: Why do the rich get richer and the poor stay poor?When it comes to nations, the answers may include frost, according to a study that for the first time links economic and new global climate data.

Mouse-Ear Can Be Defeated
News: Pecan growers battling a tree ailment called "mouse-ear" can now rest assured that help is on the way, thanks in part to Agricultural Research Service scientists who discovered that the condition is caused by a nickel deficiency in the pla

Researchers Compost Old Mobile Phones & Transform Them Into Flowers
News: Researchers at the University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group, in conjunction with PVAXX Research & Development Ltd, have devised a novel way to recycle discarded mobile telephones - bury them and watch them transform into the flower of

Can Compost Teas Help Flowers Battle Blight?
News: Compost teas may prove helpful in protecting wholesale and retail nursery plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, viburnums and oak saplings from what's known as ramorum blight, also called ramorum die-back or sudden oak death.

Microbes In Manure Can Minimize Potential Pharmaceutical Pollution
News: According to scientists, microbes--including several types of bacteria--can be a farmer’s ally when it comes to reducing the risk that antibiotic-containing manure may pose to the environment.

Wormholes -- Yet Another Avenue For Pollution?
Notes: There's no doubt that earthworms benefit agriculture by their tunneling. But a recent study has shown that their burrows might also be funneling liquid manure--and possibly other contaminants--to underground drainage pipes.

Genetically Modified Crops May Pass Helpful Traits To Weeds, Study Finds
News: For the first time, researchers have shown that a gene artificially inserted into crop plants to fend off pests can migrate to weeds in a natural environment and make the weeds stronger.