The green revolution was launched, in large part, with rather squat plants. In the 1960s, farmers began using semidwarf varieties of wheat and rice that produced many grain-bearing branches known as tillers. When farmers added nitrogen fertilizer, the plants gained … Continue reading
Journal Club
Highlighting recently published papers selected by Academy members
Tag Archives: rice
Rice gene could make “green revolution” plants greener by cutting back on fertilizer
Categories: Agriculture | Climate science | Genetics | Sustainability Science
Tagged fertilizer, Green Revolution, greenhouse gas, NGR5, nitrogen, rice, tiller, wheat
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Intensive agriculture changes the soil microbiome
California rice farms dot the Sacramento Valley, converting native swampland into flooded paddies. The farms change California’s landscape both above ground and below it. A recent study shows in detail how rice plants shape the soil microbiome into a distinctive … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Microbiology
Tagged agriculture, disease, microbiome, rice, soil
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Journal Club: Ancient Chinese may have cultivated grass seeds 30,000 years ago
Typically, archaeological research into the origins of agriculture has focused on western Asia, in areas such as the Fertile Crescent (the present-day Middle East). Now scientists report that intentional collection of grass seeds may be traced back about 30,000 years … Continue reading
Categories: Agriculture | Journal Club | Plant Biology
Tagged agriculture, archaeobotany, China, millet, rice, seeds
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