Crops

When it comes to monitoring the health of crops, aerial images captured by aircraft are only going to tell you so much. That's where an experimental new spectral sensor comes in, as it's mounted directly on the underside of individual plants' leaves.

The spraying of orchards and vineyards certainly isn't an eco-friendly process, with tractors spewing exhaust as they douse crops in herbicides and pesticides. That's one of the main reasons the electric, autonomous Prospr robot was created.

It's always best if farmers can detect drought stress before crop plants become wilted, weakened and lower-yielding. An experimental new portable device could help in that regard, as it uses ultrasound to spot such stress in its earliest stages.

Most of us don’t eat as much fruit and veggies as we know we should, but that goal might now be a bit more achievable. Scientists in Spain have engineered a new “Golden Lettuce” with 30 times more nutrients than the regular green stuff.

Glass-fragment waste typically just ends up in landfills, but perhaps that doesn't always have to be the case. A study shows that ground glass particles can be mixed with soil to produce a plant growth medium that's actually better than soil alone.

Everybody loves roses, but we'd probably love them even more if they didn't have those sharp thorns. Well, scientists have found a way of growing thornless roses, and their findings could lead to easier-to-harvest crops.

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a “smart soil” that can keep plants better hydrated and provide a controlled release of nutrients. In tests it drastically improved crop growth while using far less water.

Scientists have replicated the seed-delivery system used by wild oats, resulting in a seed-carrying bio-hybrid "robot." Scores of the tiny devices could one day be utilized for much easier, more effective aerial seeding of crops or even new forests.

Inspired by a carnivorous plant, scientists have created a sticky spray that could kill pest insects as effectively as traditional toxic pesticides. And what's more, it's derived from plain ol' vegetable oil.

Specially tagged "sentinel plants" could soon provide an early warning of crop problems such as insect damage or bacterial infection. These plants would utilize two "glowing" sensors that react to stress-related compounds in the leaves.

A worm-filled gel has been shown to protect crops from pests, without the use of environmentally-unfriendly pesticides. Its not-so-secret ingredient is scores of tiny nematodes, which ordinarily can't survive outside of their underground habitat.

The application of crushed rock to farmers' fields may not only reduce greenhouse gases, it could also boost crop yields by up to 16%. These are the findings of a new study conducted by scientists from the University of Sheffield.