Wounding Leaves Produces Sweeter Organic Strawberries
Organic strawberry plants produce more phytochemicals to combat damage, resulting in stronger, sweeter fruits with more health benefits.
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Could Agriculture Save US Water Supply?
Population growth and climate change are making water an even more scarce resource. Does agriculture have the power to reduce water shortages? By Mackenzie Myers This article is part of a series about key science policy issues. Please use these articles to become an informed voter, ask political candidates about the issues, and put every candidate on record about science. This time of year in California’s Central Valley, it’s easy to see where the Golden State gets its nickname. Golden sun shines on golden grasses of rolling golden hills, parched…
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Curing Plant Blindness at Botanical Gardens and Farms
“Plant blindness,” the lack of awareness of plants and their importance, is addressed by botanical gardens and agricultural farms.
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Do We Really Need Fertilizers To Grow Crops?
Plants need nitrogen, and many plants depend on fertilizers to get enough. But scientists have been growing plants without fertilizers. By Radhika Desikan We all learn that plants can make their own food via a complex process called photosynthesis. However, to make their food, and to grow properly, plants need nutrients (chemicals) such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and calcium from the soil. Although these chemicals are naturally present in most soils, years of intensive farming have depleted soils of these nutrients. As a result, humans have resorted to using artificial…
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Space Farming Is More Than Just Plants
Scientists studied how plants can grow better in conditions that mimic microgravity in space, highlighting the prospects of future space farming.
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Honeybees Are Attracted to Fungicides and Herbicides
Scientists found that honeybees are attracted to fungicides and herbicides. Honeybees have a deadly attraction to the chemicals in Roundup. By Neha Jain Whenever you eat fruits, vegetables, and nuts, take a moment to thank honeybees for their pollination services that contribute $17 billion to the US economy each year. In fact, almonds are almost solely dependent on honeybees for pollination. Populations of these much-needed pollinators have mysteriously plunged over the past decade, and many studies suggest a link to the use of neonicotinoid insecticides among other factors such as…
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Urban Bees: A Pollination-Parasite Trade-Off
Are cities the ideal home for bees? European scientists found that urban bees can have surprisingly good pollination rates. By Jonathan Trinastic Few people would consider cities the ideal home for bees, but what if these dense population centers could provide the means for healthy cohabitation? Scientists from Europe recently examined how bumblebees visit and pollinate flowers across urban and agricultural regions and found that urban areas can have a surprisingly beneficial effect on pollination rates. The reasons behind these results not only provide insight into how cities could be…
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GMOs and the Risk to Our Genetic Heritage
In ancient Mexican corn varieties, a scientist detected the DNA signature of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Should we be concerned?
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Illegal Cocoa Farms Threaten Primates
When a team of researchers set out to count the endangered primates in Ivory Coast national parks and forest reserves, they expected to find monkeys. Instead they found that most of the protected areas had been deforested and turned into illegal cocoa farms. The team surveyed 23 protected areas in West Africa and found about three-quarters of the land in each area was being used for cocoa production. Most of the trees and the monkeys that lived in them were gone. Bitter Chocolate: Illegal Cocoa Farms “The world’s demand for…
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Nature’s Medicine Cabinet for Sick Bees
By Kate Stone Around the world, honey bees are in decline and under constant threat from parasites. This ongoing problem threatens fruits, vegetables and other crops that make up much of the food supply for people. However, naturally occurring chemicals found in flowers of certain plants could be just the right prescription for sick bees, according to new research from Dartmouth College. The chemicals that occur naturally in floral nectar “may play a vital role in reducing bee-parasite interactions,” according to researcher Rebecca Irwin. The study found that chemicals in…
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