News by Subject Agriculture

To reduce dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels, scientists are investigating renewable biomass as a host for valuable compound production. Generating economically competitive quantities of these bioproducts involves metabolic engineering: editing cells' genetic blueprint. Researchers at the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation (CABBI) have developed a set of three genetic tools to aid in manufacturing organic acid with the yeast strain I. orientalis.

Pigs have better feed conversion rates with copper in their diets, but until now, scientists didn't fully understand why. Existing research from the University of Illinois shows copper doesn't change fat and energy absorption from the diet. Instead, according to new research, the element seems to enhance pigs' ability to utilize fat after absorption, resulting in increased energy utilization of the entire diet.

As cities physically expanded worldwide between 1970 and 2010, the population in those cities became less dense, according to a study led by a Texas A&M university professor.

As the collective body of microbiome data for diverse crops grows, the lack of consistency in recording data makes it harder for the data to be utilized across research projects. In a recent article published in Phytobiomes Journal, Dundore-Arias and others in his field discuss the need for agriculture-specific metadata standards for microbiome research.

Pollinator issues have emerged as critical within public awareness. As a result, many consumers and activists have advocated for the removal of commonly used pesticides. As various media and activist groups provide information (positive, neutral, and negative) about the impact of pesticides on pollinators, no information exists regarding how consumer behavior is altered based on such information. The authors determined how both information source and information type have an impact on a consumer's decision to purchase pollinator-friendly plants in the future.

The growing threat of drought and rising water demand have made accurate forecasts of crop water use critical for farmland water management and sustainability. But limitations in existing models and satellite data pose challenges for precise estimates of evapotranspiration -- a combination of evaporation from soil and transpiration from plants. A new high-resolution mapping framework called BESS-STAIR can provide accurate, high-resolution information on a daily basis, for farmers around the globe.

The climate crisis means that an agricultural disaster comparable to the Dust Bowl of the Great Depression can't be excluded in the long term. A new study forecasts that its effects would exhaust 94% of American wheat reserves, and echo throughout the global trade network to cause shortfalls around the world. These results demonstrate that today's global food system is highly vulnerable to shocks.

Citrus greening, also called Huanglongbing (HLB), is devastating the citrus industry. Florida alone has experienced a 50 to 75 percent reduction in citrus production. There are no resistant varieties of citrus available and limited disease control measures. Three plant pathologists at the University of California-Berkeley and United States Department of Agriculture conducted research into ways to boost citrus immunity and protect the valuable fruit against citrus greening.