Tag: agriculture

From lethal spider toxins to eco-friendly pesticides

Biological insecticides are naturally derived pesticides that represent an environmentally friendly alternative to many of the existing pesticides used in agriculture. More recently, spider toxins have been employed to develop highly specific pest control agents that have been introduced to the market.

How should we regulate GMOs?

Regulation of GMOs must accommodate both scientific developments and public perception of the risks associated with biotechnology.

Bio-refineries could reduce imports of environmentally harmful soy

Animal feed mixed with imported soy beans is a drain on the environment. A new report suggests that environment-friendly protein can be produced in bio-refineries.

Manure can spread antibiotic resistance

Manure from farm stables can promote genes in bacteria that help make them resistant to antibiotics, shows new study.

No scientific proof that organic food is healthier than non-organic food

A major report on organic food cannot say if it is healthier than conventionally farmed products.

Algae: the future sustainable super crop

Research into algae makes it increasingly clear that these plants have huge potential for the sustainable production of everything from food to medicine.

Scientists are "teaching" plants to use insects as a natural defence

Rebreeding crops to attract and reward certain insects will boost their natural defences and cut the use of pesticides, suggest scientists.

Volcanoes linked to cultural upheaval since early Roman times

Large volcanic eruptions have cooled the global climate many times in the last 2,500 years and coincided with devastating famine across Europe, new research shows.

A new GMO technique that organic farmers will love

Genetic engineering of plants can restore characteristics lost through traditional breeding.

Global warming may benefit some farmers

Danish scientists predict that while global warming will lead to drought and flooding across the world, Danish agriculture may well benefit.

Few global warming doubters among Norwegian farmers

But few do anything to address the problem.

Swedish farmers have doubts about climatologists

Farmers rely more on their own experiences with changing weather than on climatologists who have no agricultural experience, according to Swedish research.

Saving butterfly meadows

They are hit hard by modern land management, but butterflies can be saved by simple practical measures.

Scientists: Use animal manure's stinking wealth of resources

New textbook shows farmers how they can get stinking rich while they are up to their knees in it.

Potato famine genome secrets unlocked

Using historical botanical collections, scientists have unlocked the genetic code of potato blight – the disease behind the great Irish Potato Famine. New study shows what made the potato famine so ruthlessly dangerous and why it’s still costing billions to fight it.

Denmark’s first farmers were immigrants

A new study of flint axes suggests that the first farmers in southern Scandinavia were not Scandinavian hunter-gatherers; they were central European immigrants.

Fungi and rust can stifle smell of slurry

New study shows how fungal spores and rust can help reduce the stench of slurry in biofilters, which help prevent harmful substances from being released into the atmosphere.

Plant sap is twice as sweet as cola

A new study has looked at how sweet plant juice needs to be to give the plant the optimal energy yield. Ideally, it should be twice as sweet as cola.

New signs of pre-Viking life on the Faroe Islands

The earliest traces of human life on the Faroe Islands date back to the Viking era. But new pollen analyses suggest that people, and perhaps even agriculture, existed on the islands long before the Vikings arrived.

Robots will soon replace the tractor

Drone-like helicopters and field robots that can automatically detect weeds are only a couple of years away, say researchers.

How the heavy plough changed the world

New technology ploughed its way to prosperity in medieval Northern Europe.

Cheese waste can replace antibiotics in pig feed

Farmers are feeding their pigs with so many antibiotics that we are becoming increasingly resistant to them. Now a Danish researcher has discovered that cheese waste with added bacteria can replace some of the antibiotics used by farmers.

Turning toxic vegetable refuse into nutritious animal feed

New research makes it possible to remove growth-inhibiting natural toxins from protein-rich waste products.

New invention helps reduce pesticide suicides

Pesticides are one of the world’s most common suicide methods. New container makes it difficult to gain access to these deadly substances.

No more salmonella in Danish poultry

New statistics reveal that the battle against salmonella in Danish eggs and poultry is now finally coming to an end. The fight to free pork continues, however, while the hostile bacteria have now also seized fruit and vegetables.

Hybrid fungus threatens agriculture

A new breed of fungus appeared less than 500 years ago, when the genes of two different types were accidentally mixed. Such hybrid fungi may be a threat to agriculture.

Disappointed scientists: damn, kangaroos fart methane

Kangaroo farts contain methane. This means that the key to lowering greenhouse gas emissions is not hidden in the stomachs of kangaroos.

Less Salmonella in outdoor and organic herds

A study surprisingly reveals a lower incidence of Salmonella bacteria in outdoor and organic pig herds than in conventional herds.

Herbs and berries can preserve meat

Why should the shelf life of meat products be extended by a chemical preservative, nitrite, if nature’s own products, grown ecologically, can be used? Researchers have found eight herbs and berries that can preserve meat – and also offer new flavours.