Agricultural and Forestry Science

Scientists are working to understand what controls flowering time and maturity in soybean production
Scientists from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are investigating the importance of flowering and how to control it. Early flowering and maturity reduces the risk of frost damage and this is an important variety trait for soybeans grown in areas with short growing seasons.

Flowering time in soybeans is controlled by day length. Soybean plants will flower early during short days a

New findings improve the way we take and analyze field measurements

A more accurate and robust method to measure the water content in soil is now available, thanks to a study conducted by researchers from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.
Researchers have developed a numerical model for simulating the waveform in soil by using Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) and a new calibration equation. The results are published in the May/June issue of Soil Science Society of America

The results of twenty years of experiments into the behaviour of bacteria in foods are now freely available on the internet. In an international collaboration between the Food Standards Agency, Institute of Food Research and US Department of Agriculture, the database will help food safety and quality to be predicted quickly and free of charge.

“The behaviour of food poisoning pathogens and spoilage organisms has been intensely studied since the early 1980s in response to major food poisonin

Genetically modified crops could help small-scale farmers in developing countries according to the Nuffield Council on Bioethics in The use of genetically modified crops in developing countries, a Discussion Paper published today. The Nuffield Council is inviting comments on the draft paper which aims to contribute to ‘GM Nation?’, the public debate organised by the government in the UK during the next six weeks.

In 1999, the Nuffield Council recommended that there was a moral imperative f

All gardeners know that their plants have to compete against insects and weeds. We apply insecticides to protect plants from the munching hordes, and we apply herbicides, or hoe, to protect plants from weeds. But, according to Stan Finch and Rosemary Collier of Horticulture Research International, Wellesbourne, the latter is a bad move that actually helps insects to find our crop plants.

Writing in the June issue of Biologist, Finch and Collier provide evidence that specialist insects, those

Technology is bringing precision agriculture one-step closer to widespread use

USDA-Agricultural Research Service scientists at the George E. Brown, Jr. Salinity Laboratory, Riverside, California, have developed general guidelines for soil mapping using mobile equipment. This advanced technology is valuable for looking at changes in soil quality over time; including the presence of pollutants such as salts, pesticides, and fertilizers; and for use in precision agriculture to determine