Stories from our other publications
Non-harmful native fungus could supplant ones that cause harmful toxins
It’s not good when a fungus contaminates crops. Safe native fungi, however, show promise in the fight against toxic fungal contamination. One such harmful fungus is Aspergillus flavus, which can infect several crops, including corn, other cereal crops and some legumes. Some varieties, or strains, of A. flavus produce aflatoxins. Aflatoxin contamination costs farmers billions […] Read more
Results suggest that excess levels can affect soil microbes
Excessive phosphorus fertilizer may do more harm than good for crop yields, say scientists at Penn State University. In a study published in Phytobiomes Journal, a team led by Terrence Bell and Jenny Kao-Kniffin found that soil treated with high amounts of phosphate can result in poorer plant performance and that it appears the soil […] Read more
Ram sperm frozen in 1968 successfully used to impregnate 34 ewes
Semen stored since 1968 in a laboratory in Sydney, Australia has been defrosted and successfully used to impregnate 34 Merino ewes, with the resulting live birth rate as high as sperm frozen for just 12 months. “This demonstrates the clear viability of long-term frozen storage of semen. The results show that fertility is maintained despite […] Read more
The development isn’t commercially ready yet, but it could change the budding cannabis and hemp industries
Before Canadian hemp and cannabis growers have even begun to capitalize on new markets, they could have new and novel competition. University of California synthetic biologists have engineered brewer’s yeast to produce marijuana’s main ingredients — mind-altering THC and non-psychoactive CBD — as well as novel cannabinoids not found in the plant itself. Feeding only […] Read more
They seem to be being unintentionally introduced the same way their prey is
Regulatory limits to the introduction of biocontrols like parasitic wasps may prove to be a moot point. They could already be being unintentionally released into Canada along with their prey. Paul Abram, of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has been looking for native predators for the brown marmorated stink bug, a pest introduced to B.C. in […] Read more
These symbiotes are also sometimes screens when it comes to establishing plant ranges
Fungi can help plants thrive — but it turns out they can also filter them out. That’s according to new research from an international team of researchers led by Germany’s University of Göttingen. The results appeared in the journal Nature Ecology & Evolution. For example, in the colonization of islands by plant species, it isn’t […] Read more
The downside of climate change could have a bigger-than-expected effect on nature
When it comes to global warming, it would appear the effect of cold temperature variability is being severely underestimated. A team of researchers from Binghamton University, State University of New York, say public attention often focuses on the effect of rising average temperatures. The researchers discovered that cold temperatures make amphibians more susceptible to road […] Read more
This concentration is coming as farms become larger and more industrial everywhere
A new University of Toronto study suggests that globally we’re growing more of the same kinds of crops, and this presents major challenges for agricultural sustainability. The study, done by an international team of researchers led by U of T assistant professor, Adam Martin, used data from the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to […] Read more
A new method promises to make finding and using these genes much easier and faster
A global alliance of researchers has pioneered a new method to rapidly recruit disease-resistance genes from wild plants for transfer into domestic crops. The technique promises to revolutionize the development of disease-resistant varieties. The technique called AgRenSeq was developed by scientists at the John Innes Centre in Britain working with colleagues in Australia and the […] Read more
Carefully siting natural habitat on a farm can more than offset the small losses from setting land aside
Modern agriculture’s large monoculture fields grow a lot of grain. The outputs can be measured both in dollars paid in the market and also in non-market costs, known as externalities. Soil, nutrients, groundwater, pollinators, wildlife diversity, and habitat (among other things) can be lost when crop yields are maximized. Now it appears that prairie strips […] Read more
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