"Microplastics are now a ubiquitous part of our daily physical reality. They suffuse our #air, our #soil, the #food we eat and the #water we drink. They’re being detected everywhere, from Antarctic sea ice to human brains. A new #study published reveals how #microplastics hinder #photosynthesis across a wide range of plant species—including crucial food #crops." https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/microplastic-pollution-is-messing-with-photosynthesis-in-plants/

Crops under threat as surprise March heat wave hits Central Asia: study https://phys.org/news/2025-04-crops-threat-central-asia.html

Rocky was puzzled by the hovering spheres of soil over the Berkeley farm. Each ball was covered with green #crops. Each of those "north poles" bore signs.
'Taters.
Tomatoes.
Strawberries.
One day Rocky spied a farmer spraying water on those surfaces.
"Interesting farm you have" elicited a nod. "Why like this when you got all this?" Rocky gestured to the acreage around them.
"Welp, I done wanna teach my kids 'bout..." The hose stream jetted, setting a ball spinning. "...crop rotation!"
#wss366

#China to develop #geneediting tools, new #crop varieties in biotech initiative
The 2024-2028 plan aims to achieve "independent and controllable" #seed sources for key #crops, with a focus to cultivate high-yield, multi-resistant wheat, corn and high-oil, high-yield soybean and rapeseed varieties. Move comes as China intensifies efforts to boost domestic yields of key crops like soybeans to reduce reliance on imports from countries such as #US amid a looming #tradewar.
https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-agriculture-ministry-issues-guidelines-promote-biotech-cultivation-2025-02-14/

Agriculture accounts for 7.1% of Peru's GDP and 25.7% of employment. Agriculture has traditionally played an important role in the Peruvian economy and is the second major source of export earnings for the country after the sale of minerals.

https://globaltribune.net/current-state-and-prospects-for-agriculture-in-peru

So #ElonMusk went after a depository of carefully preserved #seeds and #plants and fired the #scientists who look after them, putting at risk one of the world's sources of #genetic #diversity for #crops.
And this #NYT article complains only about the #danger for Americans.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/22/opinion/doge-elon-musk-usda-crops.html?unlocked_article_code=1.504.kCEk.N097nAkPJN0u&smid=nytcore-android-share

#capitalism #techbros #oligarchy #doge #fascism #stupidity #science #food

NASA’s New Satellite Could Change the Way We Farm Forever
--
https://scitechdaily.com/nasas-new-satellite-could-change-the-way-we-farm-forever/ <-- shared technical article
--
https://nisar.jpl.nasa.gov/ <-- shared NISCAR page
--
https://youtu.be/ONHTazfGoiM?si=y2n0abh5B4UBAyuW <-- shared overview video
--
Precision Agriculture at Scale | Mapping Crops with Advanced Radar | Cutting-Edge Techniques for Crop Identification | Enhancing Crop Forecasts with NISAR Data | Tracking Soil Moisture for Smarter Farming
#GIS #spatial #mapping #farming #agriculture #farmingintelligence #spatialanalysis #spatiotemporal #fedscience #satellite #earthobservation #remotesensing #policy #planning #management #efficiency #radar #planting #irrigation #waterresources #tools #resources #economics #costs #moisture #crops #AI #machinelearning #water #hydrology #NISAR
@nasa | @ISRO | @JPL

Protecting #crops: #RNA-based substances open up new avenue to combat a widespread #plant #virus.

#mosaic_virus #agriculture #food_security #aphids #vectors #siRNA #edsRNA

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-crops-rna-based-substances-avenue.html

#Plant patch can detect #stress #signals in real time.

#sensor #hydrogen_peroxide #crops #agriculture #biohydrogel #microneedle

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-patch-stress-real.html

Small Is The New Great! How to fight against the sludge of 2025 - and how the tiniest things can change the world. I would be happy if you can find some hope in my new blogpost: https://steadyhq.com/en/naturematchcuts/posts/025f4904-2364-4711-8907-f7e55841993f

You can subscribe for my free newsletter or support my work as a member!

EU countries back compomise on new gene-editing rules for #crops: Currently, these technologies are subject to the EU’s strict GMO regulation, making their commercialisation in the bloc nearly impossible. https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/eu-countries-back-compomise-on-new-gene-editing-rules-for-crops/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=dlvr.it

#USDA fired the experts on #invasivepests that can decimate #crops
#farmers
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/usda-fired-expert-invasive-pests-can-decimate-crops-rcna194913

Climate Change Threatens Earth’s Major Crops, Study Finds https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-crops-food-security.html

@raymondpert @MugsysRapSheet
#Trump pardons Ross Ulbricht, has a number of Mexican druglords shipped to the USA along with the Tate brothers. Creates a #Crypto "reserve" (a necessity for drug traffickers).

He obviously loves those drug dealers and rapists and allows them to jump the borders, versus desperate people willing to pick US #farm #crops so #Americans can eat.

Exclusive: #ArmyCorps knew #Trump order would waste #California #water, memo shows

The #ArmyCorpsOfEngineers colonel responsible for releasing #reservoir water at Trump’s direction knew it wouldn’t reach Southern California as he promised, a memo obtained by The Post shows.

#FactCheck #TrumpLies #Climate #ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange #science #wildfires #drought #agriculture #farms #crops #DrinkingWater #USpol #idiocracy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/03/07/trump-water-release-california-fires/

#Butterflies in the #US are disappearing at a ‘catastrophic’ rate
Butterflies are rapidly fluttering out of existence from coast to coast at a rate that scientists worry could upend #ecosystems & undercut #pollination that sustains America’s #crops.
The total number of butterflies in the contiguous US has declined 22% over a 20yr period, as shrinking #habitat, rising #temperatures & a #toxic array of #pesticides kill off the delicate insects.
#ClimateCrisis #ClimateChange
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adw1633

#Solanum #pan-genome for crucial #crops paves the way for better #breeding.

#agriculture #food_security

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-solanum-pan-genome-crucial-crops.html

Near-complete #genome_assembly of Chinese spring opens the door for future #wheat breeding.

#agriculture #crops #Triticum #seed_storage_proteins #food_security

https://phys.org/news/2025-03-genome-chinese-door-future-wheat.html