Plants
Potatoes have their roots in ancient tomatoes
Knowing potatoes’ origin story could help future-proof the crucial crop against climate threats.
Agriculture
More Stories in Agriculture
- Plants
A bacteria-based Band-Aid helps plants heal their wounds
Recent research into bacterial cellulose patches may speed plants' recovery, improve grafting and help with preservation.
- Agriculture
Exploiting a genetic quirk in potatoes may cut fertilizer needs
A gene controlling potato growth limits the plant’s fertilizer uptake. Tweaking related genes could lead to more sustainable potato varieties.
- Agriculture
Megafire smoke may dampen California’s nut harvests
The summer after wildfire smoke blocked sunlight for long stretches, harvests at some almond tree orchards in California’s Central Valley dropped.
- Agriculture
‘Smart lighting’ might make vertical farming more affordable
A new computer program adjusts grow lights to cut down on electric bills without sacrificing photosynthesis.
- Climate
Can solar farms and crop farms coexist?
Researchers working in the field of agrivoltaics are studying how to combine solar farming with grazing, crop production or ecological restoration.
- Agriculture
Can scientists make fruits and veggies resilient to climate change?
Combining traditional plant breeding with new genomics tools is allowing scientists to grow plants that are better adapted to a warming climate.
- Climate
How powdered rock could help slow climate change
A method called enhanced rock weathering shows promise at capturing carbon dioxide from the air. But verifying the carbon removal is a challenge.
- Agriculture
50 years ago, scientists ID’d a threat to California wine country
Fifty years after scientists identified the cause of Pierce's disease, which damages vineyards, there still isn't a cure.
- Agriculture
Mixing up root microbes can boost tea’s flavor
Inoculating tea plant roots with nitrogen-metabolizing bacteria enhances synthesis of theanine, an amino acid that gives tea its savoriness.
