Agriculture
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Focus
Cosmos Q&A: Threat to our soils
Scientists highlight damaging impact of bushfires.
The Australian Academy of Science this week called for greater attention to be paid to the significant damage bushfir...
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Focus
The twin values of an indigenous seed bank
Providing food security and preserving culture.
In the central highlands of Guatemala, Rosalia Asig Cho ushers a small group of visitors into a one-room building, fi...
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Watching rice grow from up high
Radio sensors provide a very different view.
Rice paddies can be picturesque, but rarely this colourful. This view of rice-growing areas of the Mekong Delta in...
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Partner Content
Clever farming in changing times
The secrets to maintaining meat and dairy production.
When he was working as a veterinarian with sheep, goats and dairy cattle in India in the heat of summer, Dr Surinder ...
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Seaweed-eating sheep of the Orkneys
Farming became established on some inhospitable islands after animals adapted their diet. Barry K...
Whether it’s a credit to the adaptability of early farmers or the animals they farmed remains to be determined, but n...
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Add protein for faster photosynthesis
Researchers find a way to relieve a bottleneck. Nick Carne reports.
Australian and British scientists say they have found a way to speed up photosynthesis in some plants, potentially bo...
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Not burning a win-win for Indian farmers
Study highlights economic benefits of alternative approach.
Embracing alternative farming practices would allow some Indian farmers to make more money while also cutting their g...
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Garlic on broccoli may keep pests away
The right odours can repel insects. Amelia Nichele reports.
Strong flavours such as garlic, thyme and cinnamon are a good way to hide the flavours of vegetables you don’t like.T...
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The strategy of augmentative biocontrol
Augmentative biocontrol involves some complexities, study suggests. Amelia Nichele reports.
The effectiveness of releasing natural enemies to combat crop pests depends on the landscape surrounding the field, n...
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Global farming trends ‘a threat to food security’
Study finds too little diversity and too great a dependence on pollinators. Natalie Parletta repo...
Industrial agriculture’s growing dependence on single, pollinator-dependent crops is jeopardising global food securit...
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For food production, diversity brings strength
Mathematical research suggests that when it comes to growing crops, more is more. Natalie Parlett...
Higher crop diversity could have a substantial impact on stabilising national food harvests and mitigating sharp decl...
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Chickpea genome clues to more robust crops
Multinational research reveals pathways to boosting the world’s second largest legume crop. Bipla...
An international research team has identified genes responsible for heat and drought tolerance in chickpeas. This fin...