Nitrogen fertilizers used in agriculture contribute significantly to global warming. A new breeding concept, specifically for wheat, could help reduce nitrogen fertilization. This holobiont principle places the complex interactions between plants and soil microbiomes at the center of plant breeding. In combination with machine learning, this could lead to the use of new wheat varieties, as well as other crops, that are more resilient to climate change and contribute to soil health. Two recent studies led by Wolfram Weckwerth from the University of Vienna have been published in the journals Plant Biotechnology and Trends in Plant Science.

Hydrogen fluoride (HF) is the simplest and cheapest fluorinating reagent available, but its volatility and toxicity limit its practical use. Now, researchers from Shibaura Institute of Technology, Japan, introduce a new approach for the generation of HF, which is both safe and scalable. Using the cation exchange method between Potassium fluoride (KF) and Amberlyst 15DRY, they generated HF and converted it to amine-3HF complexes, thereby expanding the range of accessible complexes for fluorination reactions.

In the largest ever survey of rainforest birdlife, scientists have discovered that deforestation to create pastureland in Colombia is causing around 60% more damage to biodiversity than previously estimated.

A study by UCO's Department of Agricultural Economics, Finance and Accounting identifies stability and flexibility as the two components of farms' economic resilience and underscores the need for more targeted agricultural policies to ensure their effectiveness

New University of South Australia research is providing evidence of biological triggers of oil production in oats, a discovery that will help processing and potentially drive further demand for Australian-grown oats.