Agriculture

Recent genetic research could be used to produce plants without prickles, making it easier for gardeners to pluck roses without getting jabbed.

Scientists Identify the Gene Behind Thorny Roses and Other Prickly Plants

A recent study could pave the way to cultivating various thornless plants, making them easier to grow and potentially more widely available

So-called “corn sweat,” the water vapor released by the process of evapotranspiration, can raise humidity in corn-producing areas on the hottest days of summer.

Feeling Sticky This Summer? 'Corn Sweat' Could Be Raising the Humidity

The natural process of plant evapotranspiration is pumping moisture into an already hot and humid atmosphere, especially in the corn-growing areas of the Midwest

DCPA is used on crops such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and onions.

'Dangerous' Pesticide That Could Harm Fetuses Is Pulled From the Market in Historic Move by EPA

Often used to kill weeds around crops, DCPA poses a health risk to the unborn babies of pregnant farmworkers, according to the agency

A woman and her equine push a herd of horses on a hazy morning near Grand Teton National Park.

See 15 Photos of Real-Life Cowboys and Cowgirls Wrangling Cattle and Riding Bucking Broncos

Giddyap and get a look at these stunning selections from the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest

A new butter alternative uses synthetic fat to create taste of dairy butter without the need for cows.

New 'Butter' Made From Carbon Dioxide Tastes Like the Real Dairy Product, Startup Says

The company, called Savor, uses a synthetic fat to approximate the taste of butter and is seeking regulatory approval

Crickets, beetles and moths are just some of the insects recently approved for human consumption by the Singapore government.

Singapore Approves 16 Insect Species for Human Consumption

The move comes amid broader efforts to improve food security and diversify food sources

The grape family had a complex, tumultuous history of extinction and dispersal in Central and South America.

Did the Extinction of the Dinosaurs Pave the Way for Grapes?

Newly discovered fossils in South America hint at the evolution and proliferation of grapes around the world

Robert DiNapoli, co-author of a new study about population dynamics on Rapa Nui, stands in front of a rock garden on the island. People used rocks to make the volcanic land more suitable for farming.

Easter Island Did Not Collapse From Overuse of Resources After All, Study Suggests

A new paper contradicts the idea that people used up the island's resources and experienced a significant population decline, instead proposing that a small society lived there sustainably

A horse herder in Inner Mongolia, China, in July 2019.

When Did Humans Domesticate Horses? Scientists Find Modern Lineage Has Origins 4,200 Years Ago

A new study suggests people in the Eurasian steppe bred horses around 2200 B.C.E., challenging earlier ideas about the beginnings of horse husbandry

Where do we get the seeds for seedless fruit?

Where Do We Get Seeds for Seedless Fruit? And More Questions From Our Readers

You’ve got questions. We’ve got experts

Scientists experimented with planting tomatoes, peas and carrots together and separately in several types of soil.

An Ancient Maya Practice Could Be the Key to Growing Vegetables on Mars

Researchers are exploring whether intercropping—a technique of growing different types of plants in close proximity to one another—could be the secret to agriculture on the Red Planet

Piles of coal sit in front of a power plant in Utah. Such coal-fired power plants emit greenhouse gases that drive climate change.

What Myths About the Anthropocene Get Wrong

These ten misconceptions underplay how much we have altered the global environment and undermine the new perspective we need to deal with a drastically changed world

Facsimile of an agricultural scene found in the tomb chapel of Nakht, a scribe and astronomer who probably lived during the reign of Thutmose IV

Stressed About Taxes? Blame the Ancient Egyptians

The civilization developed the world’s first known tax system around 3000 B.C.E.

A person has tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu just days after livestock across four states were reported to be infected.

First Human Case of Bird Flu in Texas Confirmed, Following Infections in Cattle—Here's What to Know

This marks only the second time in U.S. history that a human has contracted the H5N1 strain of avian influenza

State and federal officials say the milk from the infected cows had been discarded and destroyed. This cow, photographed in 2016, is not one of those infected.

Bird Flu Confirmed in U.S. Dairy Cows for the First Time, but Milk Supply Is Unaffected, Officials Say

Tests detected the virus at two farms in Texas and two farms in Kansas, but officials and scientists stress commercial dairy products remain safe to consume

Leaves and roots analyzed by botanist Mason Heberling

These Researchers Are Digging Into the Understudied Science of Roots

After centuries of neglect, botanists are using new techniques to understand roots

A single locust swarm can comprise between four billion and eight billion individual insects.

Giant Locust Swarms Could Expand to New Areas With Climate Change, Study Suggests

In the coming decades, erratic periods of rain and drought could create new hot spots for the ravenous grasshoppers in west India and west central Asia, threatening crops and food security

Natural gas flaring emits methane, a powerful greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. The majority of atmospheric methane comes from human activity, with the agricultural sector and the oil and gas sector contributing the most from human activities.

New Satellite Will Track Methane Emissions From Space and Pinpoint Their Sources With A.I.

The mission, set to launch next month, comes as countries and fossil fuel companies pledge to reduce emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas

Greenhouse gas emissions that result from burning fossil fuels drive climate change.

Six Big Ways Climate Change Could Impact the United States by 2100

Climate change is expected to affect all parts of the country in the coming decades, threatening everything from our food supply to our coastlines

Farmers have shown a renewed interest in planting coffee in the shade of other plants. The resulting farms are visited by a multitude of creatures from ants to birds to bats.

How Shade Coffee Aids Conservation

When managed in the right way, the farms that provide our morning brew can be a refuge for plant and animal biodiversity

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