Agriculture sciences

That insect decline and species extinction are a fact has been shown by numerous national and international studies. Now German scientists are once again drawing attention to the loss of species with a large-scale biodiversity study. A research team led by the Technical University of Munich (TUM) has come to the conclusion that the decline of insects in Germany is even more extensive than previously assumed. "Previous studies [...] either focused exclusively on biomass, i.e. the total weight of all insects, or on individual species or species groups.

For many pollutants such as pesticides, the legislator has set threshold values. Below these limits, exposure is considered harmless. However, this does not seem to apply to many living organisms, including humans, as ecotoxicologists at the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) have now been able to show.

The genetic engineering ruling of the European Court of Justice in the summer of 2018 has political repercussions: the European Council, the EU's leading political body, has asked the EU Commission to clarify how "novel genomic techniques" are to be legally classified and regulated in the future. The results of this study are to be presented by April 2021 - including proposals and an impact assessment.

Peppermint, lemon balm, wolf’s bane or chamomile are popular medicinal plants. They are used to soothe the symptoms of diseases in teas, but also in pharmaceuticals. But their cultivation is difficult. Even the smallest contamination by weeds can impair the effect of the medicinal plants. In the joint project Optimech, a team led by the University of Bonn is now investigating how medicinal plants can be cultivated in a way that is as soil-friendly as possible without having to use herbicides.

There are many environmental factors like drought and overfertilization that put plants under stress. In such cases, a complex signalling cascade is triggered inside the plant. This stress management apparatus works the same for all land plants - in moss just as in rye. An international research team led by the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in which the University of Göttingen participated, wanted to know exactly how stress management works. The scientists therefore focused on a specific gene for the receptor in this signalling cascade.

The industry is relying more and more on natural substances and, with this, satisfying consumer demand for more biobased and sustainably produced products. Plant-based products and ingredients are particularly in demand in the cosmetics industry. Through a new strategic partnership with the French company Plant Advanced Technologies (PAT), the Swiss chemical group Clariant intends to expand its involvement in this business field.

Red, pink, pink or white: the poinsettia is the most popular indoor plant in Germany second only to the orchid, even though Euphorbia pulcherrima is mainly used for Christmas decorations in this country. According to the marketing initiative of the European poinsettia breeders, Stars for Europe, around 32 million specimens are sold in Germany every year. More than 700 plant nurseries produce poinsettias in this country.

In agriculture, phosphorus as a fertilizer contributes to higher yields. In aquacultures, the element also has this function as a fertilizer or feed additive. While phosphorus fertilization in agriculture is strictly regulated, there are no such regulations for aquacultures.

Every year, 120 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) are released worldwide through the so-called soil and vegetation respiration. Plants simultaneously bind about 123 gigatons of CO₂. However, this near-balance is disturbed by the burning of fossil fuels - with serious consequences for the climate. Researchers around the world are therefore looking for ways to curb the increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Food packaging is designed to do one job above all others: to protect food so that it remains edible and arrives at the customer unscathed. Depending on their use, the materials must therefore be heat-resistant and have a high degree of stability. But the trend away from fossil resources also presents the packaging industry with ever new challenges. Sustainable alternatives are in demand in order to conserve both natural resources and the environment. One such alternative might be banana leaves.