Tag: agriculture

Skin cancer can be detected early by cell phone. Now a Sri Lankan startup is protecting coconut trees by detecting red palm weevil when it attacks. The parasite is responsible for the destruction of 10% of coconut trees globally as well as 30% of some other 40 types of palm species. Highly sensitive, acoustic sensors are placed inside the...

Protein from spider’s silk enhances prosthetic flexibility, while algae protein helps blind people see. Now, using biotechnology, a Californian startup is giving plants the power of speech. Equipped with a special protein, plants can communicate fungal- and insect infestation or water and nutrient deficiencies by emitting different coloured light signals. All visible from tractors, drones, or even satellites. A...

Medical aid is becoming more affordable in Africa. And now, thanks to an English startup, agricultural firms can get in contact directly with farmers in Kenya and Tanzania by SMS and voicemail. Telephone services in East Africa being both more readily available than the internet and cheaper for smallholders to use. The platform translates messages, allowing communication to take...

Banana leaves protect potatoes and sponges made from pollen absorb oil. Now, an Indian startup founded by siblings is making compostable packaging from farm stubble. Their newly developed technology splits the stubble into different fibres. Making cellulose that can be used to produce paper and particle board as well as lignin, which serves as a binding agent. Any resulting...

Meat-free pet food is already available. But insects aren’t so popular with fruit and veg. Now, a team from NC State University has developed a fabric that protects plants from small insects without using pesticides. Key to their approach: time. If insects don’t find food quickly enough, they either give up or die. The team sandwiched a structured, knitted...

Converting salt water into drinking water, and accelerating plant growth with coloured light can help provide for more people. But according to a team based at Cambridge University, it would make more sense to reimagine the global agricultural map. Their research shows where to situate arable land areas to maximise worldwide yield and minimise environmental impact. Growing wheat, barley...

Urine can be made into fertiliser. Like beer waste mixed with cow dung which also reduces parasite infestation. Potatoes discharge a substance into the soil from their roots which attracts harmful worms. In some parts of Africa, these have reduced harvests to 40%. A science team in North Carolina discovered that banana ‘paper’ can protect against such pathogens if...

Bushes can be a good thing. But the jury’s out on rapid-spreading gorse. Now a Scottish government research team is highlighting the plant’s advantages. For, according to research, some types contain up to 21% protein. Previously burned or fed to animals, recent polling suggests that around 60% of UK residents might be willing to try it. Another advantage is...