Pollinators found to make a big impact on edamame marketability

Soybeans can pollinate themselves, but a new study by UMD researchers shows that pollen from multiple plants can greatly increase their yields. What's more, the addition of a strip of wildflowers near rows of soybeans amplifies ...

Bloom times vary in Malus species due to floral development rate

The domesticated apple (Malus Ă—domestica) is an economically valuable crop and an important source of nutrients and calories throughout temperate regions of the world. Fruit production is directly influenced by bloom time, ...

New 'CRISPR-Combo' method boosts genome editing power in plants

Ten years ago, a new technology called CRISPR-CAS9, made it possible for scientists to change the genetic code of living organisms. As revolutionary as it was, the tool had its limitations. Like the first cell phones that ...

The mechanisms that produce 'menopause' in plants identified

In those plants with a single reproductive episode, called monocarpics, the onset of reproduction is marked by the formation of the first flowers. The signals that control the start of flowering are highly studied (light, ...

Bumblebees speed up flowering by piercing plants

When pollen is in short supply, bumblebees damage plant leaves in a way that accelerates flower production, as an ETH research team headed up by Consuelo De Moraes and Mark Mescher has demonstrated.

The challenges of North American specialty cut flowers

Across the United States and Canada, demand for local specialty cut flowers is increasing, and production has correspondingly jumped. To accurately assess the needs of the industry, John Dole, Cristian Loyola, and Rebecca ...

Insect species that prefer crops prosper while majority decline

Many species of flower-visiting insect are in trouble in Britain, according to a new report from the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH) near Oxford, which drew on almost 750,000 observations of insects between 1980 and ...

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