crop production

A biostimulant for wheat

May 28, 2025 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Feeding a global population projected to reach nearly 10 billion by mid-century is a massive challenge. Wheat provides a fifth of the calories in the global human diet and is a significant source of protein, minerals, vitamins, and fiber. Finding ways to increase the yield of wheat crops has great value. However, wheat has complex genetics, which makes it difficult to improve yields by traditional breeding methods or even by genetic engineering.

Researchers at Oxford University and the nearby Rosalind Franklin Institute have developed a biostimulant that can deliver increased wheat yields of up to 12%. It is applied as a spray and a four-year study in Argentina and Mexico demonstrated that it delivers major yield improvements irrespective of weather conditions.

The biostimulant is based on trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P), which is a natural molecule that regulates the plant equivalent of blood sugar. T6P prompts plants to produce more starch and increases the rate of photosynthesis.

Naturally occurring T6P cannot be applied topically because it cannot cross cell membranes. The researchers developed a membrane-permeable precursor of T6P that releases T6P into a plant in the presence of sunlight.

The biostimulant can be manufactured on an industrial scale and would be inexpensive to use.

The researchers have created SugaROx, a spinout company whose mission is “to increase the productivity, resilience, sustainability, and profitability of crop production” using active ingredients inspired by powerful natural plant molecules.

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New biostimulant treatment significantly boosts wheat yields, field studies confirm

Photo, posted July 28, 2014, courtesy of Brad Higham via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio

The Decline Of Pollinators Threatens Food Security | Earth Wise

August 24, 2020 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

Scientists have been sounding the alarm on the global struggle of pollinators for many years. According to a United Nations-sponsored report, 40% of invertebrate pollinator species, including bees and butterflies, are facing extinction. Approximately 80% of all flowering plant species, which are responsible for 35% of global food production, depend on pollination.

According to new research led by Rutgers University, crop yields for apples, blueberries, and cherries in the United States are being reduced by a lack of pollinators. The study, the most comprehensive of its kind to date, found that crop production would be increased if crop flowers received more pollination. In the U.S., the production of crops that depend on pollinators generates more than $50 billion a year.

For the study, which was recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, researchers collected data on insect pollination of crop flowers and yield of apples, highbush blueberries, sweet cherries, tart cherries, almonds, watermelons, and pumpkins at 131 farms across the United States and British Columbia, Canada. Four of those seven crops – apples, blueberries, sweet cherries, and tart cherries – showed evidence of being limited by pollination, meaning that their yields are lower than they would be with full pollination.

The researchers observed that honey bees and wild bees provided similar amounts of overall pollination, so managing habitat for native bee species or stocking more honey bees would boost pollination levels and, in turn, crop production.

Bees and other pollinators play a critical role in food production, and their continued decline could have devastating consequences.

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Decline of bees, other pollinators threatens US crop yields

Photo, posted April 22, 2012, courtesy of Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.

Agrivoltaics

September 24, 2019 By EarthWise Leave a Comment

A new study by Oregon State University has found that the most productive places on Earth for solar power are farmlands. In fact, if less than 1% of agricultural land was converted to solar panels, it would be sufficient to fulfill global electricity demand.

The concept of co-developing the same area of land for both solar photovoltaic power and conventional agriculture is known as agrivoltaics.

The synergy between agriculture and solar power is not surprising. People have been growing crops around the planet for at least 8,000 years and, long ago, farmers found the best places to grow them which turn out to also the best places to harvest solar energy. The needs for solar panels are pretty similar to those of food crops. The efficiency of the panels decreases if they get too hot. Barren land is hotter than cropland, so the productivity of solar panels is less in such places.

The Oregon State Study analyzed power production data collected by Tesla, which had installed five large grid-tied, ground-mounted solar electric arrays owned by Oregon State. The researchers monitored air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, wind direction, soil moisture, and incoming solar energy. With the data, they developed a model for the best conditions for solar panel productivity and they coincide with excellent conditions for agriculture. Solar panels are kind of like people with regard to the weather: they are happier when it is cool and breezy and dry.

Previously-published research shows that solar panels actually increase crop yields on pasture or agricultural fields.

These new results have implications for the current practice of constructing large solar arrays in deserts. Agricultural lands may be a much better option for both solar production and crop production.

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Installing solar panels on agricultural lands maximizes their efficiency, new study shows

Photo, posted April 20, 2011, courtesy of U.S. Department of Agriculture via Flickr.

Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.