Summaries | Headlines

Community Gardens, Alternative Food Networks Can Lead To Healthier Eating (October 12, 2007) -- In the light of growing concerns about the separation of producers and consumers in our food system and the power of big supermarkets, new research provides valuable insights into the motivations and ... > full story

Increase In Ethanol Production From Corn Could Significantly Harm Water Quality (October 11, 2007) -- If projected increases in the use of corn for ethanol production occur, the harm to water quality could be considerable, and water supply problems at the regional and local levels could also arise, ... > full story

Pest-resistant Eggplant Under Development For South Asia (October 11, 2007) -- Scientists are developing a pest-resistant eggplant, which is expected to be the first genetically engineered food crop in South Asia. The engineered eggplant expresses a natural insecticide derived ... > full story

New Hope For Horse Lovers As Effective Control For Killer Ragwort Is Proposed (October 11, 2007) -- An effective natural control alternative for ragwort -- a weed that the British Horse Society has warned "poses a real threat to the horse population in the UK" -- is being proposed. It is estimated ... > full story

Genetically Engineered Corn Could Harm Aquatic Ecosystems (October 10, 2007) -- A widely planted variety of genetically engineered corn has the potential to harm aquatic ecosystems. Pollen and other plant parts containing toxins from genetically engineered Bt corn are washing ... > full story

Diet With A Little Meat Uses Less Land Than Many Vegetarian Diets (October 10, 2007) -- A low-fat vegetarian diet is very efficient in terms of how much land is needed to support it. But adding some dairy products and a limited amount of meat may actually increase this efficiency, new ... > full story

Serotonin Inhibits Milk Synthesis, Secretion (October 10, 2007) -- Researchers have identified the neurotransmitter serotonin as the chemical responsible for inhibiting milk production and secretion in human mammary glands. As growing demand outstrips milk supplies ... > full story

Potatoes Chock Full Of Phytochemicals (October 10, 2007) -- Americans love their spuds, consuming 130 pounds per person annually. Now that culinary love affair could grow even more passionate with new findings that some potato varieties are packed with ... > full story

Important Rice Production System Under Pressure (October 10, 2007) -- In the face of growing pressure on one of Asia's most important food production systems, experts are warning that farmers must get more help to make them more efficient. Irrigated rice production ... > full story

Elephants' Fear Of Angry Bees Could Help To Protect Them (October 9, 2007) -- At a time when encroaching human development in former wildlife areas has compressed African elephants into ever-smaller home ranges and increased levels of human-elephant conflict, a new study ... > full story

Fortifying Feed With Biodiesel Co-products (October 9, 2007) -- Biofuel research isn't just a matter of finding the right type of biomass--corn grain, soybean oil, animal fat, wood or other material--and converting it into fuel. Scientists must also find ... > full story

Switchgrass: Bridging Bioenergy And Conservation (October 9, 2007) -- An important part of the answer to the country's energy woes could be blowing in the prairie wind, according to a plant geneticist. He has spent the past 10 years breeding switchgrass, an ... > full story

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Organic farming methods -- Organic farming methods combine scientific knowledge and modern technology with traditional farming practices based on thousands of years of agriculture. In general, organic methods rely on naturally ... > full article

Sustainable agriculture -- Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities. Sustainable agriculture refers to the ability of a farm to ... > full article

-- Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science that deals with the study of crops and the soils in which they grow. Agronomists work to develop methods that will improve the use of soil and increase ... > full article

Animal husbandry -- Animal husbandry is the agricultural practice of breeding and raising livestock. As such, it is a vital skill for farmers and, in some countries in many ... > full article

Agroecology -- Agroecology is the science of applying ecological concepts and principles to the design, development, and management of sustainable agricultural systems. Agroecology is the science of sustainable ... > full article

Organic gardening -- Organic gardening is a form of gardening that uses substantial diversity in pest control to reduce the use of pesticides and tries to provide as much fertility with local sources of nutrients rather ... > full article

Legume -- The term legume has two closely related meanings in botany, legume can refer to either the plant itself, or to the edible fruit (or useful part). Legumes are noteworthy for their ability to fix ... > full article

Alfalfa -- Alfalfa, also known as Lucerne, Purple Medick and Trefoil, is a perennial flowering plant cultivated as an important forage ... > full article

Organic farming -- Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on ecosystem management and attempts to reduce or eliminate external agricultural inputs, especially synthetic ones. It is a holistic production ... > full article

Livestock -- Livestock are domesticated animals intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to make produce such as food or fibre, or for their labour. Livestock include pigs, cattle, goats, deer, sheep, yaks ... > full article

Heirloom plant -- An heirloom plant is an open-pollinated cultivar that was commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but which is not used in modern large-scale agriculture. Since most popular heirloom ... > full article

Monoculture -- Monoculture describes systems that have very low diversity. In agriculture, "monoculture" describes the practice of relying on a very small number of genetic variants, or cultivars of a food crop for ... > full article

Fish farming -- Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that ... > full article

Agriculture -- Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and many other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). The practice of ... > full article

Weed control -- Weed control, a botanical component of pest control, stops weeds from reaching a mature stage of growth when they could be harmful to domesticated plants, sometimes livestocks, by using manual ... > full article

Transgenic plants -- Transgenic plants are plants that have been genetically engineered, a breeding approach that uses recombinant DNA techniques to create plants with new characteristics.They are identified as a class ... > full article

Fertilizer -- Fertilizers or fertilisers are compounds given to plants with the intention of promoting growth; they are usually applied either via the soil, for uptake by plant roots, or by foliar spraying, for ... > full article

Greenhouse -- A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse or hothouse) is a building where plants are cultivated. A greenhouse is built of glass or plastic; it heats up because the sun's incoming electromagnetic ... > full article

Slash and burn -- Slash and burn (a specific practice that may be part of shifting cultivation or swidden-fallow agriculture) is an agricultural procedure widely used in forested areas. Although it was practised ... > full article

Cereal -- Cereal crops are mostly grasses cultivated for their edible seeds (actually a fruit called a caryopsis). Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities worldwide than any other type of crop and ... > full article