Climate-friendly farming strategies can improve the land and generate income for farmers

Farmers can help slow climate change by mixing native grasses into croplands, restoring wetlands and raising perennial crops. These strategies also conserve soil and water and build new markets.

Lisa Schulte Moore, Professor of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Iowa State University • conversation
April 28, 2021 • ~10 min

Mutant roots reveal how we can grow crops in damaged soils

Researchers have unearthed a 'biological switch' which could boost crop yield worldwide.

Sacha Mooney, Professor in Soil Physics and Director of the Hounsfield Facility at the University of Nottingham, University of Nottingham • conversation
Jan. 14, 2021 • ~7 min

We found a way to turn urine into solid fertiliser – it could make farming more sustainable

If rolled out worldwide, our method could replace a quarter of all the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used in agriculture.

Jenna Senecal, Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental Engineering, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences • conversation
Nov. 6, 2020 • ~7 min

When plants and their microbes are not in sync, the results can be disastrous

Just as humans can suffer from an imbalance of microbes in their gut, plants can suffer a similar syndrome in their leaves. This finding opens up new possibilities for improving food security.

Sheng-Yang He, University Distinguished Professor, HHMI Investigator, Michigan State University • conversation
Aug. 28, 2020 • ~8 min

Crop pathogens are more adaptable than previously thought

Fungi and other organisms called oomycetes are highly adaptable. That's bad news for the global food supply.

Antonis Rokas, Cornelius Vanderbilt Chair in Biological Sciences, Professor of Biological Sciences and Biomedical Informatics, and Director of the Vanderbilt Evolutionary Studies Initiative, Vanderbilt University • conversation
June 23, 2020 • ~5 min

Crops could face double trouble from insects and a warming climate

Plants have evolved techniques for protecting themselves from heat and insect attacks – but when both these stresses happen at once, one defense may neutralize the other.

Nathan Havko, Postdoctoral Fellow in Plant Research, Michigan State University • conversation
April 7, 2020 • ~7 min

Modern tomatoes are very different from their wild ancestors – and we found missing links in their evolution

Through genetic detective work, scientists have identified missing links in the tomato’s evolution from a wild blueberry-sized fruit in South America to the larger modern tomato of today.

Ana Caicedo, Associate Professor of Biology, University of Massachusetts Amherst • conversation
Jan. 30, 2020 • ~6 min

/

3