Field: Agriculture

Making plants grow on the Moon could be instrumental in helping gardens to grow greener on Earth in the face of climate change.

Billions of bananas are wasted every year, but that may change soon.

Researchers are using remote sensing observations to build high-resolution systems to monitor drought from space.

New lines of naturally pest-resistant tomatoes could help end farmers’ reliance on pesticides to protect their crops.

Researchers have found an effective new method for removing carbon dioxide from salt water in the ocean.

ESA is researching how to pull valuable nutrients from lunar regolith so that future astronauts can use them in hydroponic gardens.

AI technology could transform how growers protect their harvests, by detecting plant diseases very early on.

By using CRISPR to insert an alligator gene into catfish, Alabama scientists radically increased their disease resistance.

French startup Meropy has developed an agricultural robot that can autonomously inspect crops from above and below.

The USDA has conditionally approved a honey bee vaccine to protect the important insects from American foulbrood, a brutal bacterial infection.

Using the powerful gene-editing tool CRISPR, researchers are altering crops and animals to add desirable traits and remove undesirable ones.

By installing a hydroponic farm inside a grocery store, an Egyptian company is combating climate change while delivering a fresher product.

Carbon Robotics’ LaserWeeder is a smart farming robot that identifies weeds and then kills them using high-power lasers.

In a small study, researchers have engineered soy plants to have higher yields thanks to improved photosynthesis.

The Agricultural Internet of Things involves technologies such as wireless underground communications and antennas in soil.

A Yale study focused on how photosynthesis works in the common weed purslane puts us closer to engineering crops resistant to climate change.

Through the largest analysis of commercial cannabis flower yet, Colorado researchers have found that the current labeling system falls short.

Alt-meat startup MyForest Food has opened a new vertical mushroom farm in New York.

Most U.S. adults aren’t ready to put insects on their plates but are much more willing to consume meat from livestock that are fed bugs.

Could autonomous tractors, drones, and seed-planters fill the growing labor shortage in the agricultural industry?

A new artificial photosynthesis technique could boost crop yields on existing farms or allow us to grow plants in new locations — like space.

The Gene Ranking Artificial Intelligence Network (GRAIN) identifies genes that act at a fundamental level in crop metabolism.

An underwater garden off the coast of Italy is introducing the world to a new type of sustainable agriculture.

A new gene-edited wheat contains 90% less of a compound that can turn into acrylamide — a likely carcinogen — when the crop is cooked.

This marks a historic moment in humanity’s relationship to the planet.

Enset, a perennial banana-like fruit cultivated in southwestern Ethiopia, is an underexploited starch crop with significant potential.

Which countries and rivers emit the most plastic to the ocean? What does this mean for solutions to tackle plastic pollution?

A robot that automates a common technique for animal cloning has been used to produce a litter of pigs in China.

A pair of harvesting robots are picking raspberries in Portugal, demonstrating the ability of tech to help combat seasonal labor shortages.

Amogy, a startup founded by four MIT grads, has transformed a John Deere into the world’s first zero-emission, ammonia-powered tractor.

Lunar soil was used to grow plants for the first time, suggesting that we may be able to produce food for astronauts off-world.

Researchers have resurrected an ancient version of the enzyme Rubisco in the hope of supercharging photosynthesis in today’s plants.

Inside vast warehouses, millions of fruits sit and slowly ripen. To help packers know when fruit has got to go, a biotech startup is turning to small sensors.

Using CRISPR to knock out a single gene in corn and rice increased crop yields by up to 10% in field trials.

A line of honey bees bred to resist the Varroa mite parasite has proven itself in a large-scale trial involving more than 350 bee colonies.

Over 75% of the world’s maple syrup production is in Quebec. But with climate change threatening their seasons, West Coast producers are looking to tap in.

The panels are mounted high enough for crops to be grown underneath, sheltering them from the sun and allowing rainwater harvesting.

Rather than turning to rodenticides to deter pests, a new study is testing the effectiveness of owls to manage the problem.

Beef cattle genetically altered to be less susceptible to heat stress have been cleared for human consumption by the FDA.

3D ocean farming can help us feed Earth’s growing population while also improving the health of the oceans.

California’s aging power infrastructure has contributed to catastrophic wildfires and multiday outages. Solar canals can help.

Here are five vertical farming companies to keep an eye on — and a bonus nine that are selling food you can buy right now.

Upward Farms plans to build what will be the world’s largest vertical farm in Pennsylvania — and fish are going to fertilize its crops.

John Deere has just debuted an autonomous tractor it plans to sell in 2022 — bringing the self-driving tech into the mainstream.

Scientists have created single-sex litters of mice using gene editing. This work could spare countless animals from needless death, improving animal wellbeing in both scientific research and agriculture.

California startup Monarch Tractor has raised $61 million to increase production of its self-driving electric tractor.

Researchers are turning to CRISPR to create barley better able to remain dormant in climate change — while being still ready to make beer.

Agrivoltaics combines farming with renewable energy, using the shade of solar panels to help plants thrive in a changing climate.

Dumping and burning agricultural waste causes pollution and contributes to climate change. An India-based startup called Takachar promises to turn the problem into profits.

Imagine growing fish and vegetables in a shipping container in your closest parking spot.

California startup Tastry is using its wine “tasting” AI to help save wines impacted by wildfire smoke.

GreenForges is building an underground farm it thinks will deliver the benefits of vertical farming without two of its major shortcomings.

An Icelandic firm is growing genetically modified barley plants with special “growth factors” that could create lab-grown meat.

At a massive vertical farm in Denmark, food tech startup Nordic Harvest is demonstrating the benefits of moving agriculture indoors.

Vertical farming is a radical new way to feed our growing population sustainably. But can it replace traditional farming?

A process for making synthetic starch from CO2 eliminates the need for growing resource-intensive starchy plants.

A gene-edited fish that grows up to 60% more muscle on the same amount of feed could help revitalize Japan’s aquaculture industry.

To combat the negative environmental impact of cow urine, researchers have proven it's possible to potty-train calves.

As salt encroaches on productive agricultural land, a handful of startups are finding ways to make crops grow in seawater with genetic modification and transforming solar saltwork.

Researchers created a mini radioactive sky on Earth to study how cosmic radiation might impact how astronauts on Mars grow food.

Kenya is moving forward with developing a cassava plant that’s been genetically modified to resist cassava brown streak disease.

Swiss researchers have developed a way to make lab-grown chocolate, using a single cocoa bean to create unlimited chocolate.

An oral cholera vaccine that’s grown in genetically modified rice and can be stored at room temperature has passed its first human trial.

Using gene editing, researchers created disease-resistant pigs that could save the pork industry billions of dollars every year.

A new CRISPR technology that focuses on gene activation rather than deactivation could help us create the superior crops of the future.

The Grain Weevil robot helps farmers manage stored grain, keeping them out of bins where they might lose their lives to grain entrapment.

African scientists have used CRISPR to create a disease-resistant banana that is indistinguishable from unmodified plants.

Beehives are under threat from common insecticides. But researchers created pollen-like microparticles to deliver an antidote.

Scientist Yuan Longping's hybrid rice helped feed the world. His wild rice discoveries and hybrid rice inventions in the 1960s and 1970s helped alleviate food scarcity across Asia and Africa.

At a smart farm in Australia, robots and AI will do all the manual labor, potentially foreshadowing agriculture’s "hands-free" future.

California startup Crop Swap LA has planted a “microfarm” in an LA resident’s front yard and is now distributing the crops throughout the local community.

Male chicks are killed as soon as they hatch, in a gruesome process called chick culling. Gene editing could save them.

Vertical farming saves water, land, and energy — and it could be how we grow food on Mars.

Monarch Tractor’s all-electric, self-driving tractor could save farmers money, while also benefiting the environment.

Phytomining, a technique that uses trees to soak the metals out of contaminated soil, could offer new ways to mine for metals that are more sustainable than the existing, environmentally destructive methods.

It may not be your number one idea, but having beetles pee themselves to death could be the next pesticide.

Researchers found that feeding dairy cows just a touch of seaweed dramatically lowered the amount of methane emissions they released.

Edible insects could more than make up for the world's protein deficiency while cleaning up waste and using fewer resources. But we don't have to eat them. We can use them in animal feed instead.

Billions of locusts descended on East Africa in 2020, where new technology helped stop their spread.

Food waste makes up nearly a quarter of landfill material. A new startup aims to change that by automating the process of trucking produce with artificial intelligence.

A brand new species of bacteria has been discovered on the International Space Station — and it could one day help astronauts grow plants on Mars.

A plant gene has been discovered in whiteflies, marking the first known example of horizontal gene transfer of a functional gene between plants and insects.

The locust swarms in East Africa are destroying crops, but The Bug Picture plans to transform them into profits.

Scientists engineered plants to stop fungus that causes grey mold. This could lead to natural fungicides that protect food crops without toxins.

Scientists have uncovered the genetic underpinnings of the duckweed, the fastest growing plant, and it could help optimize future crops.

Tractor hacking is a fast-growing trend in the farming community — but it’s not outsiders breaking in.

Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde’s new GROW installation features multicolored LED lights dancing over a field of leek plants.

A newly demonstrated technique for making lab-grown wood could overcome several shortcomings of traditional logging, if it's scalable.

A parasitic nematode used in Europe to kill slugs was just discovered in Oregon, supporting calls to have its use for pest-control approved Stateside.

In a world’s first, Singapore has approved the sale of cultured meat, a major win for the meat alternatives industry.

Ÿnsect is building the world’s largest insect farming facility in Amiens, France. The mealworms grown there may end up feeding your pets and the salmon on your plate.

A massive farm robot is analyzing crops in Arizona, helping identify ones that could grow in hotter climates to help secure the future of food.

A locust swarm is flying famine, devouring millions of pounds of crops. Researchers have found the swarming trigger — and perhaps an answer to stopping it.

Farmers in Afghanistan are taking advantage of cheap solar panels to power the water pumps they use to irrigate crops for food and opium production.

Cosmo the bull calf has an extra SRY gene, which makes him more likely to sire male cows — and also makes him a strong candidate for use as a GMO food.

Using data from NASA satellites, researchers are scouring East Africa for areas where a desert locust swarm might be born — so they can destroy the eggs.

Norway's Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also known as the “Doomsday” Vault, now contains more than one million varieties of seeds from across the globe.

In the impoverished community of Bonton, it takes a three-hour bus ride just to reach the nearest grocery store. But the neighborhood is now home to one of the largest urban farms in the US - offering jobs, nutrition programs, and more.

Inspired by the food shortages witnessed in New York City following Hurricane Sandy, this husband and wife team came up with the idea for a sustainable farm that floats on the sea.