Crops

An exploding population of hard-to-eradicate "super pigs" in Canada is threatening to spill south of the border, and northern states like Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana are taking steps to stop the invasion.In Canada, the wild pigs roaming Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba pose a new threat.Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan and one of Canada's leading authorities on the problem, calls feral swine, "the most invasive animal on the planet" and "an ecological train wreck." They are often…

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is a major advocate for fighting climate change and has a dedicated investment wing called Breakthrough Energy, who invest in technologies and startups that fight climate change. Gates believes how we raise livestock and use GM crops can save the planet…

It’s a basic fact that temperatures drop at night, and that can damage crops, equipment and infrastructure. A team of scientists has created a new film that selectively absorbs and reflects different wavelengths of infrared light to efficiently keep objects warm.Earth’s atmosphere is transparent to certain infrared wavelengths (i.e. heat energy), meaning they can pass right through and vent into the extreme cold of space. This phenomenon is being exploited by scientists developing radiative cooling systems for buildings,…

This is not your average coffee gear list. I grew up around coffee, working at my uncle’s coffee shop starting at age 14. Since then, I’ve gathered roughly 10 years of experience working in specialty coffee shops. Coffee is a personal and professional obsession of mine, and I’ve become truly fascinated with some of the technology in the marketplace today. Everything on this list I would use myself, and these gifts will absolutely improve the experience of any coffee lover you’re shopping for. Some pieces carry incredible…

For millennia, farmers have monitored the health of their potatoes, pumpkins, or pineapples by walking through the fields and looking at them. As you can imagine, this process is time-consuming and often inaccurate, especially over large areas.  German deep tech startup constellr believes there is a better way. A spin-off from the Fraunhofer, Europe’s largest organisation for applied science, constellr is developing a satellite-based crop monitoring system that acts as a farmer’s eyes in the…

A version of this story appeared in Science, Vol 380, Issue 6649.Download PDF Riverside, California—For the first astronauts to visit Mars, what to eat on their 3-year mission will be one of the most critical questions. It’s not just a matter of taste. According to one recent estimate, a crew of six would require an estimated 10,000 kilograms of food for the trip. NASA—which plans to send people to Mars within 2 decades—could stuff a…

When the CRISPR gene editor landed in U.S. plant science labs a decade ago, allowing researchers to tweak a crop’s own DNA instead of pasting in foreign genes, hopes rose that it would pave the way for looser regulation of genetically modified crops. Last year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) gave plant scientists much of their wish, exempting certain gene-edited changes to plants. But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking a tougher…

Global warming is significantly increasing the likelihood of extreme temperatures affecting wheat production in key regions in the U.S. and China, according to a study by Tufts University. Heat waves once rare could now occur more frequently, with serious implications for global food supply if these major grain-producing regions simultaneously face crop failure.A new study from the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University shows the likelihood of extreme weather in wheat-producing areas of the…

The market for hay is overshadowed by grains but can drive up food prices. The market for hay is overshadowed by grains but can drive up food prices. FOLLOW US ON GOOGLE NEWS Read original article here Denial of responsibility! Techno Blender is an automatic aggregator of the all world’s media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your…

House mice may look cute, but they’re little monsters when it comes to crops. The rodents destroy 70 million tons of rice, wheat, and maize each year by devouring and infesting stored grain. They also dig up and eat the seeds farmers have planted. Humans have been locked in a battle with these pests for millennia, using everything from cats to poisons. A new study may have found a better—and more humane—alternative: camouflaging fields with a scent that makes the…