Agriculture sciences

Blueberries are in demand: their acreage has more than doubled in recent years to over 3,000 hectares. However, as with many perennial plants, insect pests are causing difficulties for fruit growers. The cherry vinegar fly, for example, lays its eggs in the berries, rendering the fruit unusable for trade. And the larvae of the chokecherry weevil and white grubs eat the blueberry roots, causing the plants to suffer or even die. The HOPE collaborative research project aims to develop sustainable, non-chemical solutions to both problems.

The black soldier fly has long been identified as a valuable building block of a bio-based circular economy: it can use a wide variety of residual and waste materials as feed, its larvae gain weight quickly and contain high-quality proteins. As a feed additive and soy substitute, they are therefore already approved in pig and chicken farming. Other applications - including for food - are under development.

Heat, drought, storms and pests have taken their toll on the forest in recent years. Spruces, pines and Douglas firs in particular are suffering massively from the ongoing drought. Reforestation is therefore a key task to make the ecosystem fit for the future. Mediterranean plants could be an alternative that will soon populate native forests, as researchers from the Bavarian Office of Forest Genetics (AWG) and the Forest Research Institute Baden-Württemberg (FVA) have shown.

At the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), experts and interested parties come together at the beginning of the year to discuss key future issues of global agricultural and food policy. Due to the pandemic, the 14th edition of the World Food Conference will take place online from January 24 to 28.

Microplastics are not only found in oceans and inland waters, but also in aquacultures. Consequently, they enter the food chain via fish. One of the reasons for this are so-called growth bodies, which are used in closed pond systems for water treatment. The problem: these filters are made of petroleum-based plastics. Researchers at Hof University of Applied Sciences have come up with an alternative for aquaponics, the joint cultivation of fish and vegetables.

Many people associate Katjes primarily with fruit gums and licorice. But the confectionery company from Emmerich am Rhein has also been one of the pioneers of vegan confectionery for years. The company has long dispensed with animal gelatin in the manufacture of its products. As early as 2016, it converted its entire Katjes range in Germany to vegetarian products. With Katjes Greenfood, the confectionery manufacturer has also established a platform to further promote plant-based foods.