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Agricuture News - September 2009 Archives
Exposure to light and possibly photosynthesis itself could be helping disease-causing bacteria to be internalized by lettuce leaves, making them impervious to washing, according to research published in the October issue of the journal Applied and Environmental Microbiology.
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Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded research, published this week in Chemical Communications, describes how scientists have discovered molecules that could confuse insects' ability to detect plants by interfering with their sense of smell. This could reduce damage to crops by insect pests and contribute to food security.
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 | A team from the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology has developed a new method for identifying the flammability of plant species by using a device that measures how construction materials react to fire. The technique, which is being presented this week at the Fifth Spanish Forestry Congress, can be used to improve fire risk maps. ...> Full Article |
 | It's been cultivated for at least 7,000 years and spread from South America to grow on every continent except Antarctica. Now the humble potato has had its genome sequenced. "The potato is the most important vegetable worldwide," said Robin Buell, an MSU associate professor of plant biology. She was part of the consortium that released the first draft sequence of the potato genome. "This first draft that is being released will help breeders improve yield, quality, disease resistance and nutritional value." ...> Full Article |
 | A new computing tool that could help scientists predict how plants will react to different environmental conditions in order to create better crops, such as tastier and longer lasting tomatoes, is being developed by researchers ...> Full Article |
 | By unraveling an unexpected twist in grapevine DNA, German researchers have shown that a long-established tool for distinguishing among Old World, New World, and hybrid varieties is unreliable. Classification matters because 19th-century hybrids that helped save the European wine industry from American pests also left a legacy of "foxy" tasting wine. This biomolecular detective work opens the way for accurate classification, accelerated breeding, and potentially the production of European-tasting wines from American species and cultivars. ...> Full Article |
 | The American chestnut was a dominant species in eastern US's forests before a blight wiped it out in the early 1900s. Today it's being returned to the landscape thanks in part to work by a University of Tennessee Forestry alumna and the UT Tree Improvement Program. ...> Full Article |
 | A new process would allow cattle producers to select which embryos are valuable before spending the time, effort and expense of producing a calf only to find out that it has genetic defects that render it of little value. ...> Full Article |
Scientists from York, Calgary and Sweden have shown that the main shoot dominates a plant's growth principally because it was there first, rather than due to its position at the top of the plant.
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Two Iowa State University researchers are looking at a way to genetically modify soybeans to prevent damage from aphids. If successful, soybeans will carry in-plant protection from aphids, similar to the way genetically modified corn now keeps the European Corn Borer from destroying corn yields.
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 | Ecologists have discovered that timber plantations in Hawaii use more than twice the amount of water to grow as native forests use. Especially for island ecosystems, these findings suggest that land management decisions can place ecosystems -- and the people who depend on them -- at high risk for water shortages. ...> Full Article |
A breed of pea seeds has been created that contains antibodies against coccidiosis, a disease caused by a parasite that attacks chickens. Researchers writing in the open-access journal BMC Biotechnology describe the development of the GM seeds, and demonstrate their effectiveness in preventing this economically important illness.
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Bean plants' natural defenses against bacterial infections could be unwittingly driving the evolution of more highly pathogenic bacteria, according to new research published today in Current Biology. The study sheds new light on how bacterial pathogens evolve and adapt to stresses from host plants. This information could help researchers develop new ways of tackling pathogens that cause extensive and costly damage to beans and other food crops.
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Mulched maple and oak leaves reduce dandelions in established Kentucky bluegrass
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"Salt-loving algae could be the key to the successful development of biofuels as well as being an efficient means of recycling atmospheric carbon dioxide", Professor John Cushman of the University of Nevada told the Society for General Microbiology meeting at Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, today, Sept. 10.
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 | Spain is one of the leading European countries, along with Sweden, in terms of wood production for paper paste, but this uses large amounts of energy. Spanish and Swedish scientists have compared the environmental load stemming from forestry operations, and have concluded that the Spanish sector uses more energy than the Swedish one. They are proposing improvements, such as the use of biofuels, in order to make forestry production more sustainable.
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Turning grape juice into wine is a stressful business for yeasts. Dr. Agustin Aranda from the University of Valencia, Spain has identified the genes in yeast that enable it to respond to stress and is investigating ways to improve yeast performance by modifying its stress response mechanism.
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 | Scientists in China are reporting the "intriguing" discovery that a natural plant hormone, applied to crops, can help plants eliminate residues of certain pesticides. The study is scheduled for the Sept. 23 issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication. ...> Full Article |
 | Estimates say more than 70 million ash trees have been destroyed nationally by the emerald ash borer insect. Mark Widrlechner, assistant professor of agronomy and horticulture at ISU, is racing the clock to collect seeds from different ash species including green, white, blue and black ash, and many variations within each species before they are killed by the pest. He thinks he may be about 10 percent there. ...> Full Article |
 | Findings yield deep insights into the pathogen's remarkable adaptability, suggest a '2-speed' genomic strategy that enables it to outwit plant hosts ...> Full Article |
Wheat experts from 26 countries warn that rapidly-moving, wind-borne transboundary wheat diseases continue to threaten food security and wheat genetic diversity worldwide -- particularly in the ancient breadbasket stretching from the Middle East to India -- as they vowed new action to isolate and interrupt the steady march of dangerous wheat rust diseases.
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 | Cowpeat viable substitute for peat in container plant propagation ...> Full Article |
Leafy green vegetables such as lettuce, Asian greens, and spinach can accumulate high concentrations of nitrate?nitrogen (NO3-N), which are potentially harmful if consumed by humans. Measuring NO3-N concentration in plant tissue requires sophisticated equipment and trained technicians and can be time-consuming, expensive, and impractical outside of a laboratory setting. Researchers undertook a study to determine if rapid, less-expensive methods can substitute for traditional procedures.
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 | Peat, or semi-decayed vegetation matter, has been used by commercial growers and amateur gardeners since the middle of the 20th century. Peat is added to potting soil to help retain moisture and provide additional nutrients. Concerns about the environmental impact of extracting peat from wetlands are mounting. Researchers from the University of Turin's Department of Agronomy evaluated five materials as partial peat substitutes. The results show these alternatives have potential. ...> Full Article |
 | Plants that live in the soil don't live alone -- a mere teaspoon of soil teems with an estimated billion microscopic organisms.Yet comparatively little is known about which of these tiny organisms interact with plants or how they may affect plant performance and crop yields, according to Harsh Bais, assistant professor of plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware. ...> Full Article |
 | To measure turfgrass performance, professionals have relied on trained human evaluators who provide visual assessments of turf quality. But human evaluators require training and may be distracted by many factors that can affect accuracy and consistency of the assessments. Researchers assessed a handheld optical sensor (GreenSeeker) for evaluating turfgrass quality, and compared the combined time required for visual evaluation and data entry with the time required using the handheld sensor. ...> Full Article |
New research sheds light on the origins and success of flowering plants
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Advanced matted-row system proves most environmentally sustainable
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Researchers seek disease-resistant cultivars to sustain watermelon crop production
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 | Organic apple farming starts from the ground up. Maintaining a healthy orchard floor is the key to preventing weeds and keeping soil healthy. Researchers compared three methods of orchard floor maintenance; alfalfa hay mulch treatment, applied by hand in the spring and fall; a flame burning technique in which a propane burner was used to heat the weeds and the Swiss sandwich system, which leaves a strip of vegetation to grow in the tree row. ...> Full Article |
 | Field trials of a new cotton are verifying previous lab and greenhouse studies indicating the crop could become a source of protein for millions of malnourished people in the world.
The cotton was engineered so that the toxic gossypol is reduced to tolerable levels in the high-protein seed but remain at higher levels in the rest of the plant to ward off pests and disease. The work was done at Texas AgriLife Research. ...> Full Article |
 | A group of researchers from the Fat Institute (CSIC) and the University of Seville have confirmed that some wild plants have a high nutritional value. The scientists have found that several species of lupines from the mountains of Andalusia have a protein content similar to that of other cultivated legumes, as they publish in the online version of the Food Chemistry magazine. ...> Full Article |
 | Scientists said today at the 2nd World Congress of Agroforestry that a type of acacia tree with an unusual growth habit -- unlike virtually all other trees -- holds particular promise for farmers in Africa as a free source of nitrogen for their soils that could last generations. ...> Full Article |
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