(Natural News) Bees may be tiny, but home gardeners and farmers rely on these hardworking insects for pollination. However, a recent study has found that crop yields in the U.S. are declining because of a lack of pollinators. The study, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, has researchers from Rutgers […]

(Natural News) Scientists from the Punjab Agricultural University in India found that organic fertilizer can greatly improve soil health. In their study, which was published in the Archives of Agronomy and Soil Science, they noted that the organic amendments, aside from being easily decomposable, can help microbes with carbon sequestration in highly saline soils and effectively […]

(Natural News) You’ve probably heard that GMOs are bad, and that’s absolutely accurate – but it’s also an oversimplification. It’s not like high fructose corn syrup, a toxic ingredient that you can easily avoid by not purchasing foods that are made with it. The problem is far more complex and insidious, and it’s killing people […]

(Natural News) Organic farming is becoming a trend – even for big agricultural companies which normally make use of conventional farming methods – and for good reason: Researchers found that using organic fertilizers promote greater plant growth. A team of Brazil-based researchers conducted a study to see how differently plants – soybean, in particular – will grow […]

(Natural News) A study published in the journal Biological Agriculture & Horticulture assessed soil nitrogen oxidation through field incubation, and analyzed the rate of nitrogen release by commercial fertilizers compared with farmyard manure compost. For the study, a three-year organic crop rotation was set up in a field with sandy loam, with a cover crop of rye and vetch for […]

(Natural News) Come to any local gardening center and you may see rows and rows of plant- and animal-based fertilizers that boast of faster growth, beautiful blooms, or abundant produce from your plants. But which type of fertilizer can actually deliver these promises? A study published in the journal Biological Agriculture & Horticulture assessed the effect of plant- and animal-based […]

(Natural News) The benefits of using cover crops and compost in growing all sorts of plants have been known for a long time. However, the effects of adding them in specific configurations haven’t exactly been well-studied. In fact, certain long-term impacts of adding organic matter through cover crops (CC) and compost in the soil are […]

(Natural News) The potato is an important food plant around the world, especially in Saudi Arabia. Given the limited amount of arable land, improving the yield of the food crop is important. Saudi researchers went through the effort of compiling a soil and water quality index (SWQI) that helps determine the best mix of soil […]

(Natural News) Neonicotinoid pesticides are destroying wildlife around the world, but proponents claim that they are useful for increasing agricultural production. Of course, losing the planet’s most important pollinators is going to have an even bigger effect on the food supply and human life in the long run, and now there’s another very convincing argument […]

(Natural News) A wild, genetically-superior type of banana is on the verge of extinction, and the implications are huge for the survival of the world’s edible banana crop. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature has included the species (Ensete perrieri) on its official Red List, warning the world that, without proper conservation, the […]