Indoor plant factories have high energy costs since LEDs replace the sunlight outdoor plants get for free. Scientists found a way to dial back how much light is needed by breaking it into tiny bursts.
Fruit ripening is all about plants getting animals to eat the seeds that are inside their fruits. This helps the plants get their seeds to somewhere new where they can grow into a new plant.
Both natural and artificial Christmas trees have environmental impacts, but they’re not major. What matters most is what happens to the trees after the holidays.
A wood and glass case invented in the early 19th-century transformed the movement of plants around the world. In Melbourne, several thousand people greeted a primrose on its arrival from England.
LED lights can actually improve upon the sun and help grow plants in space. A Canadian team of researchers is helping to refine and perfect LED technology.
Hua Lu, University of Maryland, Baltimore County et Linda Wiratan, University of Maryland, Baltimore County
Precisely calibrated timekeepers are found in organisms from all domains of life. Biologists are studying how they influence plant/pathogen interactions – what they learn could lead to human medicines.
The legal cannabis industry will have to develop scientific research and evidence based growth methods and technology if it is to succeed against the secretive illicit industry.
Brazil has been throwing money at Amazonian cattle farmers, hoping they’ll adopt ‘greener’ crops like fruit or corn. A new study shows why loans won’t fix the environmental issue presented by ranches.
If you want to live on Mars, you’re going to need to grow food. Seeds are naturally equipped to handle challenging Earth environments, but how well can they survive what they’ll encounter off-planet?
Inserting a random DNA mishmash into a plant or bacterium directs it to make a novel protein. Sifting through the resulting molecules, researchers may find ones have medical or agricultural uses.
William Powell, State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Adding a single wheat gene helps the American chestnut withstand a fungal pathogen that nearly wiped these hardwood trees out of the eastern forests they once dominated.
Plants on the International Space Station must figure out how to grow in a completely novel environment. Their adaptability hints at how they’ll react to changes here on Earth – or in future space outposts.
A tiny mite has been killing honey bees all around the world, and will inevitably reach Australian shores. So what is this destructive mite, and what we can do to protect Australian honey bees? The Varroa…