News & Articles By Edsel Cook
10/17/2018 / By Edsel Cook
A tropical fruit found to be an effective natural fruit fly killer
There is an irony about a tropical fruit providing a natural means of killing a fruit fly. Brazilian researchers  investigated the possibility of using extracts from the seeds of Annona (Annonaceae) fruits as organic insecticides against the spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii). They reported that the seed extracts could kill the fruit flies and stop them from […]
10/17/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Controlling the soil-borne fungus Verticillium dahliae using natural approaches
American researchers tackled the means by which the spread of the pathogenic soil fungus Verticillium dahliae could be managed through natural means. They envisioned an approach where farmers would avoid planting infected seeds and instead cultivate broccoli crops that are immune to Verticillium wilt. The University of California supported this review. The researchers published their efforts in the […]
10/06/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Disease-causing bacteria attack tomato and pepper plants by injecting a protein that manipulates nutrients and hormone balance
Xanthomonas bacteria are known to damage economically important crops by using destructive effector proteins that break down plant cells. Recently, a German research group discovered the specific means by which one of these effectors interrupted a plant’s nutrient supply and disrupted its hormones, reported a ScienceDaily article. The researchers hail from four respected German institutions: […]
10/05/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Essential oils provide a natural way to reduce crop diseases
Essential oils are being thoroughly studied for their numerous benefits on human health. But they are also capable of protecting plants from fungal diseases that would ruin entire crops. Brazilian researchers investigated the anti-fungal activity of essential oils from 17 different plants against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, the fungus that causes white mold. White mold is also known as white rot […]
10/02/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Want bigger, healthier potatoes? Use straw mulch; it improves soil quality and suppresses weeds
Want to get the most yield and the biggest tubers from your crop of potatoes, protect them from certain pests and weeds, and not use any artificial chemicals? An American study reported that adding straw mulch to the soil around emerging potatoes will result in bigger, healthier tubers. Mulch was also shown to protect the […]
10/01/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Researchers look into more ways of turning food waste into good livestock feed
A lot of perfectly good food goes to waste every day, especially in developed countries. Researchers believe that some of that food waste can be converted into animal feed for livestock, a biological means of recycling food into a fresh supply. Redirecting otherwise wasted food to animals would reduce pollution associated with this wastage. It would […]
09/30/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Functional recycling: Spent coffee grounds can make soil more fertile
Once you are done with your cup of brewed coffee, what do you do with the used grounds? Do you throw them away as garbage or consign them to the compost heap? Spanish researchers believe that using spent coffee grounds as a means of organic soil amendment will offer many benefits in agriculture and for […]
09/28/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Application of straw mulch increases potato yield
American researchers reported that adding straw mulch to the soil around emerging potatoes increases the size of the individual tubers and the yield of the crop for two different cultivars. They further added that the straw mulch managed broadleaf weeds better than mechanical means of removing the weeds. The study was supported by the University […]
09/24/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Scientists find a way to increase soybean yield through biological fixation, could remove the need for nitrogen fertilizers
Nitrogen fertilizers are a double-edged sword for soybean farmers. While they’re vital for large crops, they’re also expensive and potential pollutants. Thankfully, Brazilian researchers found a different way to boost yields by increasing the number of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the plant’s roots, according to a ScienceDaily report. Nitrogen is essential to the production of protein. Soybeans […]
09/21/2018 / By Edsel Cook
Fungal strains found naturally in the soil, including a relative of penicillin, could be an alternative to herbicides
Penicillium molds have been used to ripen cheese and produce the life-saving antibiotic penicillin. Now, a member of the large and common genus of fungi could serve as a natural alternative to synthetic herbicides. The discovery was made by Nigerian researchers from the University of Ilorin, who were looking for local microbes that could reduce the need for chemical weed-killers that polluted the environment […]
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