Agriculture and forestry

Over the decades, plant breeding has continuously increased the yield of arable plants. But would these modern high-performance varieties be superior to their predecessors from before the intensification of agriculture even without fertilizers, chemical pesticides and changing climatic conditions? Researchers at the Justus Liebig University in Giessen, together with colleagues from other German universities and the Julius Kühn Institute, have presented empirical facts on this controversial question for the first time.

Proteins are an important component of animal feed. However, protein-rich crops such as lupins and peas are still niche products on European fields. The protein used in European cattle feed mainly comes from soya and fish meal imports.

The thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana serves plant researchers as a model organism because its genome is relatively simply structured. However, it is impractical if the model plant is not a good model for other plant species. Researchers have recently discovered that this may be the case with thale cress.

Worldwide, an estimated 100,000 animal species produce toxins. Some serve to protect against predators, others to hunt prey. What many poisons have in common is that they can have the opposite effect in small doses: Important antihypertensives, anticoagulants and pain killers are based on animal toxins, and a toxin of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis is making waves as a biological insecticide. Unlike snakes or spiders, little is known about the toxins of predatory flies.

In agriculture, mineral fertilizers play an important role in supplying plants with nutrients. But these fertilizers are problematic as both their energy-intensive production and import are harmful to the climate. In addition, the reserves that can be economically exploited are limited and will probably be exhausted within a few decades. Biobased fertilizers are therefore becoming increasingly important - but they too can have their problems.

Strenzfelder, Lacaune or Lizagarotte - in Europe there are about 5,000 landraces of maize. They were developed during the 400 years of cultivation without systematic breeding. But for about 50 years, they have existed almost exclusively in gene banks, and elite breeding lines have taken their place. While the latter have been optimized for yield and quality, the land races have other strengths: they are more robust because they are well adapted to different environmental conditions.

Around one million animal and plant species are currently in danger of extinction, the World Biodiversity Council warned a few weeks ago in its latest report. Only 1.75 million species are known to date. Seed banks conserve the seeds of many plant species in order to preserve plant diversity and, last but not least, preserve the genetic potential, for example for pharmaceutical research. However, the stocks are only of value if they are still viable. Plant researchers at the University of Osnabrück have now developed a simple rapid test for this purpose.

From climate crisis to extinction of species - agriculture is significantly contributing to many ecological problems. However, it does not have to be this way, but is a consequence of agricultural practices. The European Union could exert great influence on these, since its agricultural subsidies have a steering effect. Around 40% of the European Union's land area - 174 million hectares - is used for agriculture. By its own account, the European Commission wants to tackle the sustainability problem with a reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

The need for land for the cultivation of food is growing. However, erosion and climate change cause available land areas to shrink, instead. At the same time, competition for the use of these areas is increasing, for example for energy crops or raw material crops for the chemical industry. One possible solution could be so-called vertical agriculture, in which fruit and vegetables are cultivated in layers. The plants grow in a controlled environment in daylight or artificial light in nutrient solutions and do not require arable land or soil.

Late summer is the time of the catsear, a herb that is often confused with the dandelion. Hypochaeris radicata, as botanists say, blooms bright yellow until late fall. Researchers from the University of Kiel have now taken a closer look at the journey of the herb's pollen and analyzed how it adheres at the various stations of its journey.