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12/04/2018 / By Tracey Watson

Scientists: Long history of fertilizer use on land is threatening our water quality today

Imagine you’re driving down a long, straight road through rural farmland. One either side of you are beautiful green farms. The produce being grown on these farms looks healthy and appears to be thriving. Now picture the land beneath those farms as massive sponges. Like all sponges, put enough liquid in and eventually the absorption […]

12/03/2018 / By Ralph Flores

Ozone is a safer and greener alternative to toxic insecticides

People who are looking for natural alternatives to synthetic insecticides need not look any further than a gas found in the atmosphere. In a recent study, researchers from the Universidad Centroccidental Lisandro Alvarado in Venezuela suggest using ozone, a naturally occurring gas in the stratosphere, to get rid of insect pests. Their findings, which appeared in the […]

11/13/2018 / By Janine Acero

Soils treated with organic fertilizer are healthier; produce stronger plants

Come to any local gardening center and you may see rows and rows of plant- and animal-based fertilizers that boast of faster growth, beautiful blooms, or abundant produce from your plants. But which type of fertilizer can actually deliver these promises? A study published in the journal Biological Agriculture & Horticulture assessed the effect of plant- and animal-based soil amendments […]

11/07/2018 / By RJ Jhonson

Silicon can be an ideal natural amendment for farms that have high salinization

Researchers have found that amending the soil with silicon can mitigate the impact of salt stress on corn plants, providing a solution that will benefit countries facing problems with soil salinity. Too much salinity exerts stress on plants, impairing their photosynthetic apparatus and preventing them from efficiently converting water and carbon dioxide into the glucose […]

11/06/2018 / By Janine Acero

Green manure helps with the organic production of horticultural crops

A study published in the journal Biological Agriculture & Horticulture assessed soil nitrogen mineralization through field incubation and analyzed the rate of nitrogen release by commercial fertilizers compared with farmyard manure compost. For the study, a three-year organic crop rotation was set up in a field with sandy loam, with a cover crop of rye and vetch grown over […]

11/02/2018 / By Edsel Cook

Manure-based fertilizers are ideal alternatives to conventional varieties, according to a study

A seven-year-long study conducted by Spanish researchers in a farm under the Mediterranean sun has concluded its comparison of natural and synthetic fertilizers. The researchers reported that manure-based fertilizer greatly improved the crop yield, both on its own and when added to chemical fertilizer. The goal of the Universitat de Lleida (UDL) research team was […]

10/27/2018 / By Janine Acero

Oak tree adaptation: Trees found to coordinate volume of acorns released each year in an effort to produce better reproductive results

In some years, oaks, beeches, chestnuts, and other woodland trees produce huge numbers of seeds, and in others they are almost barren. This mysterious phenomenon, typically in oak trees, occurs at irregular intervals of five to 10 years. It is called “mast years” or simply mast, which affects the populations of various animals that rely […]

10/20/2018 / By RJ Jhonson

Pomegranate peel extract found to be a safe and natural pesticide

Tomatoes are among the most popular crops in the world, but they are also a magnet for pests and plant diseases. A study published in the journal Archives of Phytopathology and Plant Protection evaluates the potential uses of pomegranate peel extracts for controlling Meloidogyne javanica, a tomato pest, offering farmers a safe and organic solution […]

10/13/2018 / By Rhonda Johansson

New study finds we need to support decentralized, small-scale farming to meet our growing demand for nutritious food

Experts suggest that by 2050, there will be a need to increase food availability by 70 percent to meet the demands of the growing population. Nevertheless, volume is not the only thing that is needed for sustainability. Researchers say that food systems need to produce highly nutritious food in terms of crops, livestock, and fish […]

10/13/2018 / By David Williams

Use of compost and cover crops improves soil nutrients, helps mitigate the impact of extreme weather on vegetable crops

The benefits of using cover crops and compost in growing all sorts of plants have been known for a long time. However, the effects of adding them in specific configurations haven’t exactly been well-studied. In fact, certain long-term impacts of adding organic matter through cover crops (CC) and compost in the soil are poorly understood. […]

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