Study reveals beneficial microbes that can sustain yields in unfertilized fields
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Updates every hour. Last Updated: 5-Jul-2025 18:10 ET (5-Jul-2025 22:10 GMT/UTC)
Rice cultivation is known to be resource-intensive, but a study now reveals how root microbes help rice thrive without synthetic and organic fertilizers. Researchers from Japan analyzed microbial communities in rice roots from fertilized and unfertilized fields and discovered that high-yielding rice grown in nutrient-poor soils was enriched with nitrogen-fixing root microbes that naturally support plant growth. These findings could pave the way for microbial biostimulants, promising sustainable rice farming in the future.
A new study finds extreme heat reduces milk production by up to 10 percent and adding cooling technologies only offsets about half of the loss.
Biodiversity of European villages has been understudied compared to urban areas, forests, grasslands, or agricultural fields. A new study reveals their biodiversity potential and how nearby landscapes influence biodiversity patterns and human well-being. The research was led by an international team from the HUN-REN Centre for Ecological Research with 20 other institutes contributing from Hungary, Romania, Germany, and Italy. Published in Nature Sustainability, the study examines how landscape complexity and proximity to cities affect village biodiversity and socioeconomic conditions.
Scientists have developed lightning-produced ammonia in gas form – a new, more efficient method that brings us closer to sustainable production of ammonia and transition to a hydrogen-based economy.
Scientists who have written in the CABI One Health journal say there is an urgent need for aflatoxin control strategies in Pakistan’s feed supply chain to improve animal health, productivity, food safety and exports of animal-based products.