Agricultural and Forestry Science

A robust, new geographic information systems (GIS) software tool developed by a University at Buffalo geographer is helping the U.S. Forest Service to more quickly and accurately assess and contain the devastation wrought by forest fires, such as last summer’s Hayman Fire, Colorado’s worst wildfire ever. That fire, which covered more than 137,000 acres and blazed for more than two weeks, destroyed 133 homes and caused damage of approximately $39 million.

The new tool, to be presen

Long-time farmers’ friend shows promise against parasitic worms

Roundworms, hookworms, watch out. Scientists this week announced that a soil bacterium’s crystal proteins, long an effective weapon against many insect pests, are toxic to some nematodes, too.

The crystal proteins – created by some strains of Bacillus thuringiensis, more commonly known as Bt – thwart the development of some nematodes and kill others outright. The findings raise the possibility that thes

Fruits and veggies grown organically show significantly higher levels of cancer-fighting antioxidants than conventionally grown foods, according to a new study of corn, strawberries and marionberries. The research suggests that pesticides and herbicides actually thwart the production of phenolics — chemicals that act as a plant’s natural defense and also happen to be good for our health. Fertilizers, however, seem to boost the levels of anti-cancer compounds.

The findings appear in the

Adding composted biosolids rich with iron, manganese and organic matter to a lead-contaminated home garden in Baltimore appears to have bound the lead so it is less likely to be absorbed by the bodies of children who dirty their hands playing outside or are tempted to taste those delicious mud pies they “baked” in the backyard.

The garden soil in the study is similar to potentially hundreds of thousands of yards contaminated with lead in Baltimore and other inner cities, according to Sally

The method that has been used for the last twenty years to measure the production of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) from different natural sources is not working. Due to this, the size of some of the sources of this greenhouse gas has locally probably been underestimated. This conclusion is drawn by Nicole Wrage in her PhD thesis that she is going to defend at Wageningen University (Netherlands) on February 28.

The research of the PhD student at Wageningen University focussed on the productio

Researchers from St. Petersburg have invented a way to check the viability of grains and seeds of agricultural plants without prior germination. The scientists assume that injuries of the germ and tissues of seeds can be revealed through X-ray photomicrography with the help of computer recognition system. This methodology allows determining the quality of wheat, barley, oats, rye and other crops seed grain.

The yield of agricultural cultures depends on viability and quality of seed grain. Re