There really is a balance of nature, but as accepted as that thought is, it has rarely been studied. Now, researchers have found that more balanced animal and plant communities typical of organic farms work better at fighting pests and growing a better plant.

The Swiss wanted to rear cattle in Tanzania and in so doing completely disturbed the ecosystem: the example of the Mkwaja Ranch shows how dependent agriculture is on a functioning ecosystem. And what a serious effect its encroachment can have on a sensitive balance.

A botanist who first profiled and named the delta bulrush says the plant has natural properties that could help reduce the impact of the Gulf oil spill on the Mississippi delta.

The authors write that "some researchers report that down-regulation of photosynthesis under elevated CO2 is strongly linked to an increased carbon:nitrogen ratio of the photosynthesizing leaves, when the increased uptake of CO2 cannot be matched by a sufficient nutrient supply," which is the crux of the progressive nitrogen limitation hypothesis. But is this concept correct?

Hugh Grant, the CEO of agricultural giant Monsanto, often cites the world's booming population as the core reason global citizens should embrace the genetic engineering of plants to make them resistant to herbicides, pesticides or bestow them with other traits that theoretically permit higher crop yields. Upon closer inspection however, this 'get-on-board-or-perish' position is not as solid as it might seem. The Union of Concerned Scientists reminds us that there exist traditional ways to boost crop yield,

Better known as a former Democratic state senator from a prominent political family, Karcher now is focused on the timeless challenges of raising a marketable crop. Three years after the first tiny lavender sprigs went into the ground, Pleasant Valley is making a modest debut this season as New Jersey's first commercial lavender farm.

With anticipated devastation of plant life in the wetlands along the coast from the spill, there is anxiety that land loss will increase in the future. The group of slim barrier islands that Grand Isle is a member of help protect the coast from storm surges during hurricanes and are replete with bird life. There are efforts to conserve and restore the barrier islands because of the increased recognition of their role in the complex ecosystem.

Socotra's dragon blood tree (Dracaena cinnabaribe) grows only on the plateau. The crimson sap that gives this tree its name was once believed by traders to be actual dragon's blood, with powerful medicinal purposes. The trees, which stand scattered across the highlands, resemble giant umbrellas blown inside out by the wind. Their branches intertwine before thinning into thick, pointed leaves.

As curator of the Neil A. Harriman Herbarium at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh, Thomas Lammers keeps current by reading an array of botany journals. Usually he makes note of anything that might enhance the herbarium's collection of more than 115,000 prepared plant specimens from around the world. And as a recognized expert in the flowering plant family Campanulaceae, Lammers is attuned to articles about bellflowers.

Two University of Iowa students curious about how the Gulf Coast oil spill is affecting plant life are eagerly working to figure out a way to help the plants survive the exposure to oil. They will also plant 100 plugs of the smooth cord grass into test tubes. During the plant's growth, Beenk and Gwinnup will contaminate the test tubes with oil, and then observe the plants to see how they can break down the oil. Beenk references past research that concluded that plants can process environments of oil up to sixty percent.

Teemu Teeri, from the University of Helsinki, Finland, worked with a team of researchers to carry out the studies. He said, "Gerbera, a member of the sunflower family, bears compressed inflorescence heads with three different flower types characterized by differences in both sex and floral symmetry. To understand how such a complex inflorescence structure is achieved at the molecular level, we have characterized the array of Gerbera MADS box genes".

Science Daily has reported that nepetalactone, an essential oil in catnip, is ten times more effective than DEET, based on a study by researchers from Iowa State University. more...

...like most farmers markets, (ours) features smaller farmers interested in selling directly to consumers. They do not necessarily have to sell in large quantities at low margins to stay in business. They do not have to contract to grow 200 acres of one peach variety for a processor that must be harvested all within the same week. They can grow 2 acres each of 20 different unusual varieties that ripen over several months and sell them directly to you and me. In this model, they do what large scale growers don't. They help preserve the biodiversity of our food crops.

Researchers have engineered photosynthetic bacteria to produce simple sugars and lactic acid. This innovation could lead to new, environmentally friendly methods for producing commodity chemicals in bulk. It could also lead to reduced carbon dioxide emissions, greater availability of biodegradable plastics, and the capture of harmful CO2 emissions from power plants and industrial facilities.

A team of researchers has found a central part in the machinery that turns plants green when they sense light. In the Rube Goldberg world of cellular mechanics, this key player turns out to be a garbage truck.

In Guiana, symbiosis between Azteca ants and the Cecropia tree (or trumpet tree) is frequent. However, a surprising discovery has been made: one species of ant (Azteca andreae) uses the 'Velcro' principle to cling on firmly to the leaves of Cecropia and thus capture very large prey.

Researchers have shown for the first time that in plants, fathers, as well as mothers, can influence the size of seeds. Their findings could open new avenues to increase crop yields and improve food security for an ever-growing global human population.

Mark Blumenthal, founder and executive director of the nonprofit American Botanical Council (ABC), will receive the American Society of Pharmacognosy's (ASP) Varro E. Tyler Prize during the 51st meeting of ASP. This annual event will take place July 10 -14, 2010, in St. Petersburg Beach, Florida, and will be held in conjunction with the Phytochemical Society of North America.

Three dogs, a mixed-breed shepherd and two German shepherds, and 12 humans surveyed a field for spotted knapweed during four sets of seasonal trials in Montana. The dogs, Nightmare, Tsavo, and Rio, had an overall success rate of 81 percent while the humans were successful 59 percent of the time. With small infestations, the dogs registered a 67 percent success rate versus 35 percent for the humans.

Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Plant Biology have published a pair of articles detailing how the complex Gerbera inflorescence is formed and how this process differs from other model plants, such as the more simple flowers of Arabidopsis species.