Researchers have discovered the secrets behind how plants move sugar using a protein called the SUC transporter. This breakthrough solves a long-standing mystery of the plant ‘heart’ and sheds new light on how plants defend themselves from pests.
Tomatoes, bananas, cabbages, melons, pumpkins and cucumbers… are just some of the 150 crops of commercial interest that are victims of Fusarium oxysporum, one of the most important pathogens in the world due to the millions of dollars in losses it is responsible for and its ability to attack different types of plants. Although it can go unnoticed in the soil for more than 30 years, when it detects the roots of a host plant, it grows towards them, colonizing its vascular system and causing crops to wilt.
New research has tracked Japanese hanami (flower viewing) via social media images, producing an unprecedented map of cherry blossoms across Japan to document their annual bloom and calculate its peak in major cities.
A new study analyzed DNA from ancient local winegrape seeds discovered at archaeological excavations in the Negev.
Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a legume grown in many parts of the world as a source of animal fodder. It is prized in the forage industry for its high protein content and biomass yield. Recently, alfalfa protein has found applications in aquaculture, pet food industry and human diet. Furthermore, it is seen as an environmentally beneficial crop, with positive impacts on biodiversity and soil nitrogen conservation.
Scientists have warned of the ‘devastating’ impact that fungal disease in crops will have on global food supply unless agencies across the world come together to find new ways to combat infection. Worldwide, growers lose between 10 and 23 per cent of their crops to fungal infection each year, despite widespread use of antifungals. An additional 10-20 per cent is lost post harvest. Academics predict those figures will worsen as global warming means fungal infections are steadily moving polewards, meaning more countries are likely to see a higher prevalence of fungal infections damaging harvests.
According to a new study ditches in forestry-drained peatlands release less methane into the atmosphere than what has previously been estimated.
New research has identified a new protein complex in plants that regulates temperature response by the circadian clock. As climate change influences daily and seasonal temperature patterns – such as warmer nights and winters – it is critical to better understand how plants interpret and react to thermal cues.
An international team of researchers has fully sequenced the genome of a climate resilient bean that could bolster food security in drought-prone regions.
Plant trichomes are highly specialized structures that develop from the epidermal pavement cells of different plant tissues. They are known to defend plants from biotic and abiotic stresses such as water loss, insect-inflicted damage, pathogen attacks, deadly ultraviolet radiation, and leaf temperature reduction. A research team from China recently utilized computer vision, artificial intelligence, and deep learning techniques to develop an automatic algorithm to count and measure maize trichomes.
