Agricultural and Forestry Science

CSIRO Plant Industry has developed a simple high-throughput testing system that accurately identifies wheat and barley varieties.

“Accurate identification of wheat and barley varieties provides assurance of quality for products that require different grain characteristics, like bread, noodles and beer,” says Dr Kevin Gale, CSIRO Plant Industry. “This is vital in maintaining Australia’s export reputation in product standards.” The variety ID system tests leaf or grain samples using a panel o

An analysis of ground water and stream pollution 30 years after an agricultural study of nitrate began suggests that nitrate fertilizer can influence the watershed for decades.

Nitrate pollution from agricultural fertilizers can make water unsafe to drink, and may be causing a “dead zone” near the outlet of the Mississippi River in the Gulf of Mexico. For these reasons, farmers are being encouraged to alter their practices to use nitrogen more efficiently, but environmental improvemen

Scientists have developed a new “intelligent” reliable soil moisture sensor that is set to ensure horticulturists accurately irrigate staple crops such as potatoes and fruit, and enhance environmentally friendly farming practices. A collaboration between the University of Warwick and Herefordshire based McBurney Scientific led to the development of the new product that harnesses enhanced sensor technology for measuring soil moisture with wireless communication and the processing power and convenience

A western American pasture grass crossed with wheat can improve resistance to a fungus that can be toxic to plants, animals and people, according to Purdue University researchers.

Resistance genes in the grass that replaced genes in wheat increased protection against Fusarium head blight, or wheat scab, the scientists said. In the December issue of the journal Theoretical and Applied Genetics the researchers also report that they located and mapped the small bits of DNA, or markers, associa

To society, the word means racial, ethnic and cultural differences. To scientists interested in biological diversity, the meaning is no different.

So assembling Hispanic, African-American and Caucasian students and professors to examine the genome of grain sorghum, and tap into the collection of 40,000 different varieties from around the world, seems like the sensible thing to do.

Outreach to under-represented groups in hopes of attracting new scientists is part of a $2 million so

As squirrels gather nuts for winter, they also plant the seeds of future forests — but the different ways squirrel species hoard nuts, coupled with changes in squirrel populations, may significantly alter the course of forest regeneration, according to a Purdue University study.

The study examined differences in the hoarding behavior of red squirrels and gray squirrels in west-central Indiana. The researchers used that information to develop a model that predicts how these differences may i