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A picture of a man spraying hot foam on weeds

Plant-based hot foam kills weeds as effectively as chemical spray

19 September 2022

A plant-based foam mixed with hot water has worked as well as glyphosate weedkiller at removing weeds from olive groves and has also been used successfully in urban areas


Rows of soybean plants

Genetic tweaks to upgrade photosynthesis boost soy yield by a fifth

18 August 2022

Researchers have succeeded in making photosynthesis more efficient in soybean plants, in a major breakthrough that will mean less forest has to be cut down to make way for farms


Date palm

‘Near impossible’ plant-growing technique could revolutionise farming

22 December 2021

For the first time, grafting has been made to work in monocots, a type of plant including oats, wheats and bananas – and it might improve disease tolerance among these important crops


CX6R9A Green soy plant leaves in the cultivate field, against the sun

The way that leaves flutter can reveal when plants need more water

7 December 2021

Leaves vibrate at a different frequency depending on whether soy plants are under water stress


The Mammillaria spinosissima cactus has been found to emit sounds when stressed

Recordings reveal that plants make ultrasonic squeals when stressed

5 December 2019

For the first time plants have been recorded making sounds when stressed. The sounds differed when they were injured or thirsty, a finding that could help farmers


Inside China's attempt to boost crop yields with electric fields

Inside China's attempt to boost crop yields with electric fields

21 August 2019

In greenhouses across China, scientists are exposing lettuces and cucumbers to powerful electric fields in an attempt to make them grow faster. Can electroculture work?


Harsh: Europe's cannabis died just as the first farmers arrived

Harsh: Europe's cannabis died just as the first farmers arrived

17 May 2018

Cannabis – the source of the drug marijuana – virtually disappeared from Europe just as farmers arrived, so they didn’t get the chance to grow it for another 4500 years


Cocoa pods

Our lust for tastier chocolate has transformed the cocoa tree

27 December 2017

Ever since we domesticated the cocoa tree over 3000 years ago, we have been breeding them to make tastier chocolate – but in the process we have made them vulnerable


Field of sunflowers

Sunflowers work together to avoid overcrowding and soak up rays

10 July 2017

In very dense fields, sunflowers self-organise into an alternating-tilt pattern that maximises exposure to sunlight


Hundreds of newly-discovered plants may yield new crops or drugs

Hundreds of newly-discovered plants may yield new crops or drugs

17 May 2017

Even as we discover promising new wild relatives of key crops and medicinal plants, some of them are already endangered by pests and climate change  


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