Agriculture
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Farmers have long known that it's a good idea to rotate crops. A Swiss study now indicates that wheat yields are boosted when those crops are planted in fields previously used to grow maize, which altered the soil's microbiome.
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Move over, cow burps. A team of scientists has shifted gears from the front to the back end of these methane-production powerhouses, using algae to curb gas emanating from their poop. It's a crap gig, but nature's best methane inhibitor is on the job.
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Just like their field-dwelling counterparts, plants grown in greenhouses are preyed upon by flying insects. The Dutch-designed PATS system is designed to help, by sending tiny drones to chop those insects up in mid-air.
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Great strides are being made in the field of lab-grown meat, but its price remains a barrier to wide use. British startup Moolec has created what it claims is a less costly alternative, in the form of soya plants that produce pig-protein-rich beans.
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There are now several devices that help you keep food waste out of landfills by converting it to compost … but what if you don't have a garden? Well, the Mill converts such waste into dried grounds which are sent off to feed chickens.
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While farmers have to perform a number of difficult tasks, tending to the grain stored inside grain bins (aka granaries) is particularly arduous – not to mention dangerous. That's where the Grain Weevil grain bin management robot is made to come in.
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Aquaponics operations combine aquaculture and hydroponics, with nutrient-rich water from the former being used to fertilize plants in the latter. Soon, such systems could also be powered by methane biogas derived from their own fish feces.
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The spotted lanternfly is a serious invasive pest, causing considerable damage to crops such as apples, grapes and hops. That's why it's important to destroy the insect's eggs – which is exactly what the TartanPest robot is designed to do.
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Herbicide resistance represents a huge problem for the agricultural sector. Exploiting molecular similarities between bacteria and plants, researchers have repurposed a "failed" antibiotic as an effective weedkiller that's safe for humans.
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By digging up and eating sown wheat seeds, mice can have a huge impact on farmers' crops. In an eco-friendly effort to stop the rodents from doing so, scientists are now using wheat germ oil to make entire fields smell appetizing.
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We may be one step closer to using technology to ensure productive, disease-free crops, thanks to the development of a multifunctional electronic patch ‘worn’ by plants that monitors for the presence of pathogens and environmental stressors.
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If a plant is stressed but no one hears it, does it still make a sound? Researchers say yes, it certainly does, although it emits a popping noise in a range too high for us – but not for other animals – to hear.
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