Dr Elena Velado-Alonso at the University of Göttingen has been awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellowship to launch “METAGROLAND: Understanding metacommunity dynamics through plant–pollinator interactions in agroecosystems to improve the efficiency of agri-environmental schemes.” Agri-environmental schemes (AES) are government-funded schemes set up to help farmers manage their land in an environmentally friendly way. The new 24-month project will investigate how AES can better sustain pollinator communities and the fundamental interactions that underpin plant reproduction and crop yields. Supported by the European Union’s Horizon Europe programme, METAGROLAND will develop tools to guide the design of more effective, large-scale AES and help build more resilient agricultural ecosystems.

Researchers in China and Australia generated the first extraordinary aromatic tomato plants by simultaneously mutating both SlBADH1 and SlBADH2 genes in tomato varieties using CRISPR/Cas9.

Researchers discovered hybrid combinations capable of overcoming hybrid lethality and producing numerous offspring using tobacco.

Corn bred with genes from wild relatives can reshape soil microbial communities and reduce nitrogen loss — with no yield reduction — according to new research from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

For generations, farmers have spent backbreaking hours tearing down and rebuilding fences just to move livestock to fresh grazing fields. Now, thanks to a groundbreaking project at the University of Missouri’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture, that chore is becoming a thing of the past.

The John Innes Centre and its industrial and academic partners have been awarded UK Government funding to help deliver four ambitious projects that unleash the potential of precision breeding.

Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) have identified a bacterial genus that promotes root growth and nitrogen uptake in plants. The findings open new possibilities for developing customized “plant probiotics” that could contribute to more resource-efficient agriculture by reducing the need for nitrogen fertilizer.

Rainbow trout fed a fish-free, plant-based diet from first feeding showed lower food intake and reduced growth compared with fish fed a conventional fishmeal and fish oil diet. Brain responses linked to hedonic control were time-dependent: opioid-system gene expression changes were limited in early fry but became pronounced after long-term exposure (8 months), alongside higher serotonin turnover. The results suggest that plant-based feeds may reduce palatability and that opioid markers could help assess feed acceptance and welfare.