Agriculture

  1. Plants

    A major crop pest can make tomato plants lie to their neighbors

    Insects called silverleaf whiteflies exploit tomatoes’ ability to detect damage caused to nearby plants.

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  2. Agriculture

    Prosecco production takes a toll on northeast Italy’s environment

    The soil in Northern Italy’s prosecco vineyards is washing away.

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  3. Animals

    This honeybee parasite may be more of a fat stealer than a bloodsucker

    Inventing decoy bee larvae prompts a back-to-basics rethink of a mite ominously named Varroa destructor.

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  4. Agriculture

    A new way to genetically tweak photosynthesis boosts plant growth

    A new chemical road map for a process called photorespiration in plant cells could reduce energy waste to increase plant productivity.

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  5. Agriculture

    50 years ago, screwworm flies inspired a new approach to insect control

    The United States has wiped out screwworm flies repeatedly since 1966 using the sterile male eradication technique.

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  6. Animals

    Hemp fields offer a late-season pollen source for stressed bees

    Colorado’s legal fields of low-THC cannabis can attract a lot of bees.

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  7. Agriculture

    Plants engineered to always be on alert don’t grow well

    Scientists bred a type of weed to lack proteins that help stem the production of bitter chemicals used to ward off insect attacks.

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  8. Agriculture

    Add beer to the list of foods threatened by climate change

    Barley crops around the world will be threatened by drought and heat.

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  9. Agriculture

    Can science build a better burger?

    Researchers hope to replace whole animal agriculture and feed the world with lab-made meats or plants.

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  10. Earth

    A new map reveals the causes of forest loss worldwide

    A new study shows where global forest loss is due to permanent deforestation versus short-term shifts in land use.

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  11. Agriculture

    How plant microbes could feed the world and save endangered species

    Scientists have only scratched the surface of the plant microbiome, but they already believe it might increase crop yield and save species from extinction.

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  12. Climate

    As temperatures rise, so do insects’ appetites for corn, rice and wheat

    Hotter, hungrier pests likely to do 10 percent to 25 percent more damage to grains for each warmer degree.

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