Plants

It's a sad fact that even though bees are essential to pollinating crops, they're also harmed by the pesticides used on those very same plants. Thanks to a new discovery, however, a bee-friendly pesticide could soon be cheaper and easier to produce.

We've all heard how it's a good idea to have plants in your home, as they purify the air. Well, the bioengineered Neo P1 is said to excel in that department, as it's reportedly equivalent to up to 30 regular houseplants in terms of air purification.

When most people think of a grain crop, they picture a field full of one type of plant. A new study, however, indicates that crops made up of mixed grains are both more resilient and higher-yielding than their conventional counterparts.

When we think of agricultural robots, we tend to picture things that pick produce or apply chemicals. The SentiV is different, though, in that it's designed to check crops for problems while autonomously wandering the fields.

Breeding plants can give them new beneficial traits, but trees have a frustratingly long reproductive cycle. Now, scientists at the University of Georgia have used CRISPR gene-editing to make poplar trees flower within months rather than a decade.

Although plain popcorn is a relatively healthy snack, it's still not one that most people would think of as being very nutritious. That could change, however, as a new variety reportedly offers nearly twice the normal levels of an important nutrient.

Farmers are increasingly being encouraged to plant cover crops, which take the place of their main crops during the off-season. According to a new study, however, the use of cover crops can actually reduce main-crop yields.

Studies have shown that synthetic chemicals can harm the bees that are vital to the pollination of plants. New research now indicates that fertilizers disrupt bees' ability to identify flowers, reducing the likelihood of the insects landing on them.

Just like many of the flowers in your garden, rice has traditionally been an annual plant – that means new crops have to be sown every year. A perennial version is now available, however, which comes back on its own over multiple growing seasons.

Along with their use in foods, soybeans have also been utilized as a source of graphene, a greener alternative to mulch, and an ingredient in longer-lasting tires. Now, they're additionally being used to extend the life of asphalt roads.

In order to grow big and strong, plants require the red and blue light that are part of the visible "white" light produced by the sun. Scientists have now developed a plant-boosting film, that converts the sun's UV light into more red light.

It would certainly be logical to think that plants don't do well when exposed to forest fire smoke. New research, however, suggests that certain crops get hardier and more disease-resistant when liquid smoke is added to the soil.