Microscopic partners could help plants survive stressful environments

Tiny, symbiotic fungi play an outsized role in helping plants survive stresses like drought and extreme temperatures, which could help feed a planet experiencing climate change, report scientists at Washington State University.

Biological diversity as a factor of production

 (SLs) are a class of chemical compounds found in plants that have received attention due to their roles as plant hormones and rhizosphere signaling molecules.

Traditional Chinese medicinal plant yields new insecticide compounds

For hundreds of years, practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine have used an herb called Stemona sessilifolia as a remedy for parasitic infections, such as those caused by pinworms and lice.

Pollination is better in cities than in the countryside

Flowering plants are better pollinated in urban than in rural areas. This has now been demonstrated experimentally by a team of scientists led by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ).

Bacteria engineered to protect bees from pests and pathogens

Scientists from The University of Texas at Austin report in the journal Science that they have developed a new strategy to protect honey bees from a deadly trend known as colony collapse: genetically engineered strains of bacteria.

DRAFT COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF ONE DAY AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION STAKEHOLDERS MEETING ON THE WAY FORWARD TOWARDS EXTENSION OF NEW INNOVATIONS IN AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT HELD AT THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION (NCAM) ON TUESDAY, 28TH JANUARY, 2020.

Agriculture has contributed a great deal to the sustenance of Nigerian economy since independence; unfortunately, the discovery of crude oil has relegated it to the background. Low level of agricultural mechanization technologies have made agriculture unattractive among the youths who form the larger percentage of the nation’s workforce resulting in the loss of glory of the sector.

Wasps' gut microbes help them -- and their offspring -- survive pesticides

Exposure to the widely used pesticide atrazine leads to heritable changes in the gut microbiome of wasps, finds a study publishing February 4 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe. Additionally, the altered microbiome confers atrazine resistance, which is inherited across successive generations not exposed to the pesticide.

Images speak at the inception of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative held in Abuja

 Images speak at the inception of the  Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) initiative held in Abuja.. See more images below.

Biological diversity as a factor of production

The main question addressed by the study is: Does greater biodiversity increase the economic value of managed ecosystems? "We have found that the possible relationships between economic value and biodiversity are varied," says Professor Thomas Knoke, Head of the Institute of Forest Management at the TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan.

Bumble bees prefer a low-fat diet

Bees are an important factor for our environment and our sustenance. Without insect pollination, many plant species -- including various crops -- cannot reproduce.