Targeting seed microbes to improve seed resilience

Fonio (Digitaria exilis), a type of millet, is the oldest indigenous crop in West Africa and one of the fastest-maturing cereals. Despite its low yield, the combination of quick maturation and drought tolerance and its ability ...

How a wayside weed builds up explosive force to hurl seeds

Hairy bittercress is one of those plants that hurl their seeds in all directions to spread them effectively. A research team has now discovered that to do this, the plant uses a previously unknown mechanism that makes the ...

Asexual propagation of crop plants gets closer with new study

When the female gametes in plants become fertilized, a signal from the sperm activates cell division, leading to the formation of new plant seeds. This activation can also be deliberately triggered without fertilization, ...

Invasive rodent research may help protect Hawaiian forests

O'ahu, Hawaii, is an island rife with lush nature, expansive ocean views and, increasingly, invasive rodents. House mice, black rats and Pacific rats all have contributed to ecological destruction in Oʻahu's forests, and ...

Wildflowers increasingly doing without insect pollinators

Scientists at the CNRS and the University of Montpellier have discovered that flowering plants growing in farmland are increasingly doing without insect pollinators. As reproduction becomes more difficult for them in an environment ...

Scientists discover new component in world's best-studied plant

Wageningen researchers have discovered a previously unnoticed component within the thale cress: a thin film that encases the embryo in the seed. This discovery is particularly noteworthy because this species has been intensively ...

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