Hacking evolution, screening technique may improve most widespread enzyme
Scientists have developed tools to simulate millions of years of evolution in days to help plants adapt to changing conditions.
The time is RIPE to transform agriculture and feed the world
University of Illinois receives grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, FFAR, and DFID to catalyze photosynthetic improvements, increase yields for farmers worldwide
Cowpea protected from a devastating pest, free for smallholder African farmers
Across Africa, armies of hungry caterpillars destroy the flowers and pods of cowpeas; casualties can reach 80 percent of this staple food crop if no measures are taken. But the real victims are smallholder African farmers who feed their families on farms smaller than five acres. Next year, they will have the option to grow cowpeas that are resistant to one of these pests.
New 3D model predicts best planting practices for farmers
As farmers survey their fields this summer, several questions come to mind: How many plants germinated per acre? How does altering row spacing affect my yields? Does it make a difference if I plant my rows north to south or east to west? Now a computer model can answer these questions by comparing billions of virtual fields with different planting densities, row spacings, and orientations.
Mark your calendar for the 2017 Food & Fuel Field Day
Media, industry and policymakers are invited to see the plants that could help feed and fuel the world by 2050 and meet the scientists who engineered them at the 2017 Food & Fool Field Day on Thursday, July 13, at the University of Illinois Energy Farm. This free, day-long event will be held rain or shine with intimate round-table discussions, hands-on field tours and robot demonstrations, and one-on-one interviews.
RIPE Deputy Director elected to NAS
RIPE Associate Director Donald Ort is among four University of Illinois professors elected to the National Academy of Sciences this year.
Newly characterized protein has potential to save U.S. farmers millions annually
Instead of turning carbon into food, many plants accidentally make a plant-toxic compound during photosynthesis that is recycled through a process called photorespiration. University of Illinois and USDA/ ARS researchers report in Plant Cell the discovery of a key protein in this process, which they hope to manipulate to increase plant productivity.