A research accident in the Binder lab at the University of Tennessee led to an unprecedented discovery about how plants respond to a hormone called ethylene.
A farmer spreads fertilizer in a wheat field outside Amritsar, India.
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Did the Green Revolution, which brought high-tech agriculture to developing nations in the 1960s, prevent famine? Recent research takes a much more skeptical view.
Without spices, our meals would have less color and flavor.
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Native plants help damaged landscapes by stabilizing soil, fighting invasive species and sheltering pollinators. Two horticulture experts explain what they’re doing to help develop new seed sources.
These stowaways can do a lot of damage.
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Invasive species cause billions of dollars in damage across the US every year. Hikers and backpackers can take simple steps to avoid spreading seeds and making the problem worse.
Waiting for repairs can cost farmers time and money.
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Mangroves support a significant amount of biodiversity and their soils can capture a great deal of carbon.
Planting corn near Dwight, Ill., April 23, 2020. Virtually all corn seeds planted in the U.S. are coated with neonicotinoid insecticides.
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Studies suggest that seeds coated with neonicotinoid insecticides may harm nontarget insects, mammals and birds. In response, states are starting to restrict use of these products.
Soybean plants on an Arkansas farm. Those at left show signs of damage from dicamba; others at right were planted later in the season.
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Farmers are stuck in a chemical war against weeds, which have developed resistance to many widely used herbicides. Seed companies’ answer – using more varied herbicides – is causing new problems.
Forests around the world will need to shift their ranges to adapt to climate change. But many trees and plants rely on animals to spread their seeds widely, and those partners are declining.
Ghana’s Green Revolution has not been as successful as portrayed.
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James Boafo, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) e Kristen Lyons, The University of Queensland
Realities on the ground tell a different story from the claim that a Green Revolution ensures food security and increased income for smallholder farmers in Ghana.
Cultivating traditional plants is a way of creating a space that is familiar within a new and often alienating environment.
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Seedkeeping can create a sense of home, reconnect communities with ancestral crops and preserve biodiversity and culturally significant crops for future generations.
Farmers, Rui Vaz village, Santiago island, Cape Verde.
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