Plants

It can be challenging, trying to selectively kill off an invasive plant that grows in amongst non-target native species. A new initiative is aiming to do just that, however, by introducing a weed-eating mite into the Canadian environment.

If you've ever eaten okra, then you'll know that the stuff can be pretty … gooey. According to new research, that quality could allow a compound from the plant to be used in a less toxic method of removing microplastics from drinking water.

In East Africa and other regions, potato crops are currently threatened by a worm known as the potato cyst nematode. There could be new hope for protecting the plants, however, in the form of biodegradable paper made from banana waste.

Artificial devices usually don’t communicate well with nature. Now, researchers have created artificial organic neurons and synapses that can integrate with natural biological systems, and demonstrated this by making a Venus flytrap close on demand.

Although genetically modified crops have some advantages over their regular counterparts, creating the modified plants can be quite challenging. Scientists have now developed a simpler approach, in which normal plants are altered with a crop spray.

Scientists in Germany are exploring an interesting solution to the problem of soils contaminated with microplastics, and have demonstrated how birch trees might be used to soak up the small plastic particles with their roots.

Ammonia is commonly used in commercial crop fertilizers, which in turn can pollute waterways when they run off of fields. New research, however, suggests that engineered bacteria could one day take the place of such fertilizers.

Stefano Boeri Architetti's Easyhome Huanggang Vertical Forest City Complex in central China includes two residential towers covered in thousands of trees and plants. The firm claims that the greenery absorbs significant amounts of CO2 from the air.

The DNA mutations that drive evolution are generally thought to be random, but a new study suggests otherwise. Comparing the genomes of plants grown in a lab, scientists found mutations are far less likely to occur in genes essential for survival.

For many years now, people in parts of Africa have used a tea made from the leaves of a certain plant to treat malaria. Scientists recently identified the active ingredient, and believe that it could be used in alternative treatments for the disease.

Many indoor growing systems aimed at supplying users with a steady supply of year-round greens have started life as startup dreams on Kickstarter. But the latest is a freestanding appliance from consumer electronics giant LG called the Tiiun.

Not only are herbicides harmful to the environment, but they're also one more expense for the farmers who use them. That's where the Greeneye selective spraying system comes in, as it's claimed to only dispense herbicide when weeds are detected.