It may surprise you to learn that wild potatoes grow like weeds in South America. While farmers in the United States battle weeds like pigweed and lamb’s quarters, farmers in the Andes […]
Like humans, plants experience stress. One of those stresses is temperature changes. And, to continue having food security in a changing climate, scientists are working to make more heat resilient crops. Wheat […]
It’s quite possible that you have seen a commercial for “23 and Me”, advertising an ancestral DNA test. The “23” represents the DNA in a human being, contained in 23 chromosomes. Now […]
Cash crops like corn, soybean, wheat, rice, and cotton are responsible for most of the food and fiber consumed by humans and animals around the globe1. These annual crops and others are […]
Just like human beings, plants get sick. Microorganisms such as fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, viruses and nematodes (tiny worm like organisms) can infect their plant hosts, with deadly consequences. This might not be […]
Yes it does! Various crops are sensitive to water stress at different growth stages. The rule of thumb is that reproduction is sensitive to low moisture. The amount of moisture available at […]
When you buy your packet of squash seeds each spring, you plant them in the ground, and expect plants to sprout! It seems like an easy process, but there’s a lot of […]
Are you friends with a person who can eat anything they want and still not gain weight? Part of that could be in how their body metabolizes the food they eat. Of […]
Global warming and changes in the amount – and location – of water, are key factors in the need to continue crop breeding programs. In addition, there are many diseases that affect […]
That’s the stubble – basically scalped stalks – and other scraps left in the field. The farmer has left this stubble on the field intentionally…but it’s not always possible to do. Let’s […]