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Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 03.03.2023

Additive to make slurry more climate-friendly
Study by the University of Bonn confirms reduction of the greenhouse gas methane by 99 percent Livestock farming produces large quantities of greenhouse gases, especially methane, which is particularly harmful to the climate. Among other things, it escapes during the storage of animal excrement, the slurry.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 28.02.2023

Modelling to protect crops of the future
International research team shows benefits of adapting barley varieties to climate change Extreme weather events such as heavy rains and flooding triggered by the intensification of the water cycle due to climate change, are increasingly threatening food security. Large collaborative research projects around the world are working to better adapt plant genetics to the climate conditions of current and future barley-growing regions.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 17.02.2023

Clever orchard design for more nuts
International research team investigates pollination performance in macadamia plantations To reduce biodiversity loss in agricultural landscapes, more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural practices are needed. A research team from the Universities of Göttingen and Hohenheim in Germany, and Venda in South Africa, investigated how ecosystem services such as pollination could be improved in macadamia plantations.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 08.02.2023

Extensive global wetlands loss over past 300 years
International research team including Göttingen University investigates extent of drainage and conversion The drainage of natural wetlands has been useful for farming, forestry and peat extraction, but has also had a major impact on greenhouse gas emissions, flood control, nutrient loss and biodiversity.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 01.02.2023

Browsing Herbivores Increase Savanna Resilience to Droughts
Biologist Katja Irob from Freie Universität publishes results of a joint study carried out by German and Namibian researchers in the Journal of Applied Ecology Extreme climate events pose an ever-increasing threat to savannas around the world. However, the ability of these mixed woodland-grassland ecosystems to resist periods of drought can be improved with a higher number of browsing herbivores - i.e., animals such as kudus, springboks, and common elands that feed on woody vegetation.

Agronomy / Food Science - 23.01.2023

Meat import ban in Africa hurts local population
Study by the University of Bonn analyzes effects of European chicken exports to Ghana The EU regularly exports large quantities of poultry meat to West African countries. These exports have been criticized for harming importing countries in West Africa and exacerbating poverty there. The reason: Cheap imports depress the local price of chicken, making life difficult for local smallholders.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 17.01.2023

Mixture of crops provide ecological benefits for agricultural landscapes
Researchers at Göttingen University investigate attractiveness of wheat-bean crop mixtures for pollinating insects There are often too few flowering plants in agricultural landscapes, which is one reason for the decline of pollinating insects. Researchers at the University of Göttingen have now investigated how a mixture of crops of faba beans (broad beans) and wheat affects the number of pollinating insects.

Health - Agronomy / Food Science - 08.12.2022

Fat-busters: Walnuts, green tea and duckweed
News from Abdominal fat poses a serious health risk. Also known as visceral fat, it is closely linked to the onset of heart disease, diabetes and hypertension. Now an international research team including the Faculty of Medicine at Leipzig University have discovered that a certain Mediterranean diet can help banish unwelcome belly fat.

Agronomy / Food Science - Life Sciences - 08.12.2022

Agriculture makes the weed
How intensive agriculture turned a wild plant into a pervasive weed Agriculture is driving rapid evolutionary change, not just on farms, but also in wild species in the surroundings. New research shows how the rise of modern agriculture has turned a North American native plant, common waterhemp, into a problematic agricultural weed by mutations in hundreds of genes related to drought tolerance, rapid growth, and resistance to herbicides.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 25.11.2022

Biodiversity in drylands can mitigate climate change
International team of researchers completes first global field study on the ecological impact of grazing in drylands Grazing is a form of land use which sustains the livelihood for billions of people. It is especially important in drylands, which cover around 41 percent of the Earth's land surface, hosts one in three humans inhabiting our planet and over 50 % of all livestock live.

Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 02.11.2022

Ambrosia beetles breed and maintain their own food fungi
Experiment at the University of Freiburg provides first evidence of a bark beetle species' agricultural capability Freiburg, Nov 02, 2022 Ambrosia beetles practice active agriculture: A bark beetle species breeds and cultivates food fungi in its nests and ensures that so-called weed fungi spread less.

Agronomy / Food Science - Chemistry - 27.09.2022

Germany’s oldest beer scientifically considered
Study reveals molecular profile of 19th century beer sample After almost 140 years, researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) opened a lager beer that had been kept at room temperature throughout to analyze it. The beer, dating back to 1885, has now been characterized sensorially and analytically.

Agronomy / Food Science - 21.09.2022

Combating malnutrition
Combating malnutrition - Egg powder suitable as a food supplement? Category: Research, Top-News Malnutrition is a key challenge not only in African countries. As an international study now shows, egg powder is a food with great potential to improve the nutritional situation of children in deprived areas.

Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 05.09.2022

Aphids and their favorite colors
Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Kassel present new model for analyzing color vision in aphids Aphids are one of the least welcome garden visitors. These small insects can cause all the more damage in agriculture. But how do they actually choose their host plants? What are the basic mechanisms behind this? Researchers from the Universities of Bonn and Kassel now present two novel models that can be used to analyze aphid color vision and thus how the animals respond to plants.

Agronomy / Food Science - Life Sciences - 03.08.2022

Utilizing substantial genetic potential for higher yields
The disruptions in global trading markets resulting from the war in Ukraine, among other causes, have focused public attention on the issue of securing a sufficient supply of high-quality foods for the global population. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) are searching for modern methods to boost global harvests and thus to ensure global food security.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 15.07.2022

Urban agriculture can promote bee communities in tropical megacities
Research team led by Göttingen University compares biodiversity across rural and urban landscapes Urbanization is a primary threat to biodiversity. However, scientists know little about how urbanization affects biodiversity and ecosystem services in tropical regions of the Global South.

Agronomy / Food Science - Life Sciences - 08.07.2022

Key to global food security?
International research team investigates genetic yield gaps in wheat Exploiting the genetic yield gap in wheat could significantly improve global food security. This is one of the key findings of an international study on yield gaps in wheat, in which the University of Göttingen was involved. The study, which uses a novel process-based modeling approach, also suggests that global wheat production could be doubled if wheat genotypes were better adapted to their target environment.

Life Sciences - Agronomy / Food Science - 06.07.2022

Photorhabdus luminescens - a true all-rounder: Insect pathogenic bacterium also helps to combat fungal infestation
Using beneficial microorganisms in plant protection not only as bioinsecticides but also as biofungicides could make agriculture more sustainable and improve food security Future food shortages are expected to become exacerbated in many parts of the world. With this in view, sustainable biological techniques are being explored that could increase the yield of cereals and other food crops and which, unlike the use of chemical pesticides, are environmentally compatible.

Agronomy / Food Science - Innovation - 03.06.2022

Saving Resources with Precision Agriculture
Developing Sustainable Agriculture and Saving Resources with New Measurement Techniques Using smart sensor and measurement techniques to make farming more efficient and sustainable is the goal of a team of researchers at TUM. The core idea of precision agriculture is simple: The more farmers know about soil conditions, the weather, and plants and animals, the better they can adapt their decisions to the circumstances.

Environment - Agronomy / Food Science - 18.05.2022

Organic farming or flower strips - which is better for bees?
Research team including Göttingen University assess the efficiency of agri-environmental measures from different perspectives How effective environmental measures in agriculture are for biodiversity and wild bee populations depends on various factors and your perspective. This is shown by agroecologists from the University of Göttingen, Germany and the Centre for Ecological Research in Vácrátót, Hungary.