Crops

With the release of Stardew Valley 1.6, the patch notes have been revealed, and it’s safe to say that Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has been one very busy man over the last few months. There’s a very, very long list of changes and additions to the game, so let’s take a look. Rather than going into absolutely everything, I’m going to focus on the most important aspect of 1.6 – the new features, items, and content we get to enjoy. For everything else, you can check the patch notes themselves and read them at your leisure. New…

Researchers at UC Riverside have discovered Steinernema adamsi, a new nematode species that kills insects, offering a promising biological control option for crop pests in challenging climates. This discovery adds a valuable tool to sustainable agriculture and pest management, with potential applications in understanding ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Steinernema adamsi being released from the body of a deceased host. Credit: Adler Dillman / UCRA new species of nematode has the potential to safeguard crops without…

When it comes to protecting crops via insect-blocking netting, you may think that the size of the holes in that netting is the most important factor. According to new research, however, the color of red netting makes an even bigger difference in effectiveness.Ordinarily, agricultural netting is either black or white, or sometimes blue or green. Although red netting generally isn't used, a 2015 study showed that when crops were irradiated with red light, pest insects known as onion thrips (Thrips tabaci) tended to stay…

If you’re ever on your lunch break in space, you might actually want to stay away from the salad. A team of scientists grew lettuce in a simulated microgravity environment on Earth and found that plants have a hard time protecting themselves against harmful bacteria in space.Modern Yet Retro | JBL Spinner BT ReviewSpace lettuce has been a hit on board the International Space Station (ISS), with astronauts tending to the leafy greens inside a space garden known as Veggie and even chewing on a patch of red leaf lettuce that…

A long the rim of Lake Okeechobee, the seasons aren’t marked by temperature or falling leaves but by the humidity, light, and plumes of ash that blanket this part of Florida come October. Just as the air dries, the wind turns east and sugar-cane farmers set to harvesting stalks of cane across half a million acres in Florida, but before the stalks are cut, growers set their crops on fire. Burning is an easy way to eliminate the outer leaves of sugar cane and reduce costs. Every year from October until May,…

A few years ago, a couple of Google employees reached out to a Minnesota scientist with an unusual proposal: What if they could teach computers to spot beaver habitats from space? "They wanted to know if I thought it was possible to find beaver wetlands from aerial imagery myself, and then if that could be scaled up with machine learning," Emily Fairfax, a University of Minnesota beaver researcher and assistant professor of geography, told As It Happens guest host Megan Williams.Fairfax knew that beavers' sprawling dams…

In late September, an international team of researchers fanned out across a remote New Mexico mountain range, in search of an elusive plant. The group trekked through the rugged landscape looking for signs of delicate vines hugging a tree, or lingering low on a dried creek bank.After seven days in the desert scrubland, the scientists left with a sample of nature’s bounty: wild tepary bean plants.The scientists wanted to collect the legume, which is native to arid regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern…

When a toilet is flushed in California, the water can end up in a lot of places: An ice skating rink near Disneyland, ski slopes around Lake Tahoe, farmland in the Central Valley.And — coming soon — kitchen faucets.California regulators on Tuesday approved new rules to let water agencies recycle wastewater and put it right back into the pipes that carry drinking water to homes, schools and businesses.It's a big step for a state that has struggled for decades to secure reliable sources of drinking water for its more than…

Histograms of crop mixes illustrate the crop shifting for the most prominent crops in each case study area. Alfalfa is reduced in five of the six study areas (all but San Joaquin) due to its high water consumption. All optimizations maintain or increase net farm profit in each HUC. The percentages shown on the x axis represent the extent to which any single crop can be reduced in each HUC. Credit: Nature Water (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s44221-023-00155-9…

Grinding coffee beans with a spritz of water can reduce static electricity, creating less mess and improving the taste of espresso, according to Oregon-based researchers who borrowed from the physics of volcanoes to design the experiment. The team of chemists and volcanologists found that the inside of a coffee grinder creates similar conditions to those inside a volcanic eruption.Zillow Says You’ll Buy Your Next House With… AI? | AI UnlockedDo your coffee grinds ever fly into the air or stick to your grinder? A…