AUSTIN, Texas — A new farming system developed by researchers at The University of Texas at Austin aims to solve one of the biggest problems in modern agriculture: the overuse of fertilizers to improve crop yields and the resulting chemical runoff that pollutes the world’s air and water. (more…)
In Malawi, the fields are full – and so are the children.
Through research led by Michigan State University, crop yields have increased dramatically. The children of Ekwendi, Malawi, also have gained weight and are taller. These improvements bring smiles to Sieglinde Snapp, MSU ecologist, and other researchers who have worked in Malawi for many years.
Snapp, a crop and soil scientist at MSU’s Kellogg Biological Station, shared the secrets of the initiative’s success at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Feb. 14-18 in Boston. (more…)
AUSTIN, Texas — Landscapes with large amounts of paved roads and impervious construction have lower numbers of ground-nesting bumblebees, which are important native pollinators, a study from The University of Texas at Austin and the University of California, Berkeley shows.
The study suggests that management strategies that reduce the local use of pavement and increase natural habitat within the landscape could improve nesting opportunities for wild bees and help protect food supplies around the word. (more…)
Palo Alto, CA — Food prices are soaring at the same time as the Earth’s population is nearing 9 billion. As a result the need for increased crop yields is extremely important. New research led by Carnegie’s Wolf Frommer into the system by which sugars are moved throughout a plant—from the leaves to the harvested portions and elsewhere—could be crucial for addressing this problem. Their work is published December 8 by Science Express.
Just as it’s necessary for the human body to move nutrients to all of the organs, it is vital for green plants to transport sugars to supply its various parts. In humans, this is the circulatory system’s job. But plants do not have a heart-like pump to move these vital energy sources. Instead, plants use a molecular pump. (more…)
