For years, scientists and online databases presumed the presence of clubroot—one of the main diseases on cruciferous crops (such as broccoli, cabbage, and kale)—in Mexico. However, no evidence to support this supposition existed until a team of researchers donned their detective caps to pinpoint the clubroot pathogen.
Strawberry losses from Fusarium wilt could become less of a threat after researchers discovered genes that are resistant to the deadly soil-borne disease.
Researchers are forecasting that by 2040-60, Sosnowsky’s hogweed will likely exploit global warming to expand its habitat, threatening to infest almost the entire European part of Russia.
Researcher assess the development and performance of more tailored approaches to fertilizer application within sub-Saharan Africa; solutions to overcoming the stumbling blocks that are preventing more widespread adoption are discussed.
New research has identified more than 1,000 edible plants that could address vitamin B deficiencies for thousands of people.
Local and Indigenous communities warn of a significant decrease in the abundance of wild edible plants and mushrooms that negatively impacts their nutrition and food security, from local to global scales.
Researchers examine the formation of air channels in wetland plants, a protective trait that makes them resilient to environmental stresses.
How do you like your rice? Sticky, fluffy, brown, or white? These qualities, in addition to grain length, width, appearance, and other traits, are hugely important predictors of rice sales and consumption worldwide. And region matters. Rice preferences in Latin America, for example, are very different from those in West Africa, Japan, India, and elsewhere.
Dehydrated plant seeds can lay dormant for long periods–over 1,000 years in some species–before the availability of water can trigger germination. This protects the embryonic plant inside from a variety of environmental stresses until conditions are favorable for growth and survival. However, the mechanism by which the baby plant senses water and reactivates cellular activity has remained a mystery until now.
This autumn, as COVID-19 brings a sharp focus on the resilience of our food system and a need for distance learning options, the Lancaster Environment Centre is opening all three of its online Food Security courses to full-time as well as part-time students. This provides an opportunity to join well-established online courses that have already graduated more than 30 part-time students.
