The Land Institute and HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology have assembled the first chromosome-scale, haplotype-phased genomes for Silphium integrifolium (rosinweed, silflower) and Silphium perfoliatum (cup plant, silphie). The findings are published in the journal Nature Communications. This landmark research promises to expand and accelerate the development of more climate-resilient, sustainable perennial crops for food, fiber, forage, and medicines.

A major two-year trial by RMIT University, Westernport Water and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO measured the impact of floating platforms of native plants on greenhouse gas emissions from a wastewater lagoon in Phillip Island, southeast Australia.  

The results published in the Journal of Environmental Management reveal dramatic results, with CO₂ emissions dropping by up to 36%, methane by up to 66% and nitrogen by 18% in the lagoon with a floating wetland installed, compared to the control lagoon with no wetland platform. 

Foliar application of ZnO nanoparticles at booting outperforms ZnSO₄ in direct-seeded rice, simultaneously raising polished grain Zn, spikelets per panicle and 1000-grain weight while lowering amylose and chalkiness. Transcriptomics links these gains to upregulated α-amylase genes (OsAmy1C, OsRAmy1A) and suppressed cytokinin-degrading OsCKX2, revealing a nano-specific transcriptional rewiring that breaks the yield–quality trade-off.

A U of A study maps recoverable phosphorus in U.S. soil, manure and agricultural waste and charts a path toward supply resilience before domestic reserves are exhausted.