Food Production News and Research

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Trade restrictions by a few countries could create global food price spikes

Recent events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, locust infestations, drought and labour shortages have disrupted food supply chains, endangering food security in the process.

29 Jan 2021

New project seeks to determine the potential for sustainable food-fish aquaculture

A new three-year, $250,000 project led by the University of Minnesota Sea Grant program seeks to determine the potential for a sustainable food-fish aquaculture industry in Minnesota.

28 Jan 2021

Study highlights need to develop new measures to improve conservation outcomes in protected areas

Protected areas are critical to mitigating extinction of species; however, they may also be in conflict with efforts to feed the growing human population.

20 Jan 2021

Bacteriophage can play important role in microbial control

Crop plants and animals can be infected by bacterial pathogens that reduce yield, cause food wastage, and carry human pathogens that spread disease on consumption.

5 Jan 2021

Research highlights how bacteria can work together to improve plant growth

Certain bacteria, known as plant-growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB), can improve plant health or protect them from pathogens and are used commercially to help crops. To further improve agricultural yields, it is helpful to identify factors that can improve PGPB behavior.

29 Dec 2020

Global food system will need to be transformed to prevent habitat loss worldwide

The global food system could drive rapid and widespread biodiversity loss if not changed, new research has found.

22 Dec 2020

Plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that threaten human health, shows new report

Plastics contain and leach hazardous chemicals, including endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that threaten human health.

16 Dec 2020

New electrochemical technology helps produce ammonia-based fertilizer from urea

Self-sufficiency in waste management and food cultivation is very important from the perspective of upcoming societies, particularly in highly closed surroundings, like a space station. However, there is still a dearth of technology to realize this dream.

15 Dec 2020

New portable optical sensor can monitor plant stress

The portable device allows rapid detection of nitrogen deficiency - a critical nutrient for plant health. When tested on popular vegetables such as Spinach and Kai-Lan, the device was also able to detect levels of other metabolites; allowing measurement of a wider range of plant stress phenotypes such as drought, heat/cold, saline, and light stress.

11 Dec 2020

Study shows temporal crop diversity is a key factor in securing agricultural production

Securing food supplies around the globe is a major challenge facing humanity, especially in light of the predicted increase in the world's population to almost ten billion people by 2050 and the effects of climate change.

10 Dec 2020

Researchers use wheat starch hydrogels to produce food by 3D printing

It is already possible to produce food with a 3D printer, potentially delivering products that suit consumer preferences regarding taste, texture, cost, convenience, and nutrition.

4 Dec 2020

New model predicts potential outcomes for plants’ “investment” in roots

You might have observed plants competing for sunlight -- the way they stretch upwards and outwards to block each other's access to the sun's rays -- but out of sight, another type of competition is happening underground.

4 Dec 2020

Researchers design living plant-based sensor to track arsenic levels

For the first time, researchers from SMART have engineered a living plant-based sensor for the detection of arsenic in the belowground environment

3 Dec 2020

New modified wheat variety increases grain production

Researchers at the University of York have created a new modified wheat variety that increases grain production by up to 12%.

26 Nov 2020

Research provides the most comprehensive atlas of wheat genome sequences

In a landmark discovery for global wheat production, a University of Saskatchewan-led international team has sequenced the genomes for 15 wheat varieties representing breeding programs around the world.

26 Nov 2020

Microbes could make phosphorus trapped in soils more accessible to crops

Phosphorus is a necessary nutrient for plants to grow. But when it's applied to plants as part of a chemical fertilizer, phosphorus can react strongly with minerals in the soil, forming complexes with iron, aluminum and calcium.

25 Nov 2020

Study highlights factors and strategies to implement sustainable biofuel production

That biofuels can contribute to a cleaner global energy mix is widely accepted, but the net benefits of bioenergy in terms of mitigating greenhouse gases (GHG) are moot.

20 Nov 2020

Study examines factors that drive water withdrawals in U.S. agriculture, food production

Climate change and a growing world population require efficient use of natural resources. Water is a crucial component in food production, and water management strategies are needed to support worldwide changes in food consumption and dietary patterns.

17 Nov 2020

Researchers examine UK's consumer attitudes for food produced using several agricultural methods

New economic research from the University of Kent, University of Reading, and IHS Markit reveals the extent to which UK consumers dislike food produced using production methods such as hormones in beef and chlorine-washed chicken.

16 Nov 2020

New report provides a comprehensive analysis of Australia's changing climate

Continued warming of Australia’s climate, an increase in extreme fire weather and length of the fire season, declining rainfall in the southeast and southwest of the continent, and rising sea levels are some of the key trends detailed in the latest State of the Climate report, released today by the Bureau of Meteorology and CSIRO.