A research team developed a drone-based, semi-supervised learning pipeline that detects both maize seedlings and missing plants at early growth stages.

Recently, a research team led by Professor Caifu Jiang from China Agricultural University published a study titled "The ZmMPK3-ZmGRF1 module promotes maize growth by enhancing cell proliferation under salt stress" in Science Bulletin. This study shows that the ZmMPK3-ZmGRF1 module facilitates maize growth under salt stress through enhanced cell proliferation, providing new insights into how MPK signaling pathways and GRF growth regulators govern plant responses to saline environments. Furthermore, these findings offer valuable genetic resources for developing salt-tolerant maize varieties.

Many soil microbes play a vital role in ecosystems, as they help plants access nutrients and water and assist in stress tolerance such as during drought and to defend against pathogens. One such group of soil microbes are arbuscular mycorrhizal, aka AM, fungi, which are associated with the roots of approximately 70% of plant species on land.  new Dartmouth-led study reports on how global climate conditions affect AM fungal spore traits and the species biogeographic patterns. The results are published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.