New research in the Society of Chemical Industry’s Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture shows that oregano oil works as well as synthetic insecticides to combat infestation by a common beetle, Rhizoppertha dominica, found in stored cereals.

The inland areas of the Pacific Northwest, where rainfall averages only 4 to 12 inches per year, present growing challenges for vineyard owners and wine grape producers. The arid conditions in this part of the country have not been conducive for vineyard owners who produce and market high-quality wine grapes.

Methyl bromide, an odorless, colorless gas used as an agricultural pesticide, was introduced in the 1980s as an effective way to control weeds and increase fruit yields. Agricultural production nurseries around the world relied on methyl bromide (MB) to produce healthy plants for export and domestic sales.

Wind farms generally improve the scenery of locations that were not that picturesque to begin with. According to a study in Geographical Research published by Wiley-Blackwell, wind farms have a negative impact on landscapes with a high scenic quality, but a positive effect on dull and mundane landscapes.

UN's food and agricultural organization FAO says world must seize chance to boost agriculture as the growing food prices signal a crisis.

When Kansas State University graduate student Ben Wileman was a practicing veterinarian in Belle Fourche, S.D., natural and organic labels were a big focus for the beef producers he saw.

The Federal Coalition ranks have been dealt a blow, with former Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran announcing his retirement from politics.

China promised on Wednesday to increase financial support for agricultural production as part of a larger effort to cool an inflation surge blamed on food shortages.

Changes in soil carbon occur with changes in land management. Scientists at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and The University of Tennessee investigated quantifying soil carbon changes over large regions. They integrated remote sensing products with a national carbon accounting framework in a project funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Earth Science.

Can organic cropping systems be as productive as conventional systems? The answer is an unqualified, “Yes” for alfalfa or wheat and a qualified “Yes most of the time” for corn and soybeans according to research reported by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and agricultural consulting firm AGSTAT in the March-April 2008 issue of Agronomy Journal.

To meet the needs of a growing population and to provide it with a higher quality of life, increasing pressures are being placed on the environment through the development of agriculture, industry, and infrastructures.

Some soil microorganisms are capable of forging associations with plant roots in the form of symbioses. Certain of these relationships play a highly important ecological and agronomic role. Arbuscular mycorrhizal symbiosis (which links a plant to a fungus) thus gives plants a mechanism for improving their supply of water and mineral nutrition.