(AP) -- Federal inspectors at U.S. border crossings repeatedly turned back filthy, disease-ridden shipments of peppers from Mexico in the months before a salmonella outbreak that sickened 1,400 people was finally traced to Mexican chilies.
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Ancient sunflower fuels debate about agriculture in the Americas
Ancient Sunflower Fuels Debate About Agriculture in the Americas Researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Florida State University have confirmed evidence of domesticated sunflower in Mexico — 4,000 years before what had been previously believed.
Brown chemist finds gray mold's killer gene
Gray mold is a gardener's nightmare. The fungus, also known by its scientific name
Botrytis cinerea, is a scourge to more than 200 agricultural and ornamental plant species, including staples such as tomatoes, strawberries, snap and lima beans, cabbage, lettuce and endive, peas, peppers, and potatoes. Gray mold envelops its target in a velvety vise, releasing a toxin that poisons the host plants' cells, eventually causing the plant to die.
Food crunch opens doors to bioengineered crops
(AP) -- Zeng Yawen's outdoor laboratory in the terraced hills of southern China is a trove of genetic potential - rice that thrives in unusually cool temperatures, high altitudes or in dry soil; rice rich in calcium, vitamins or iron.
Urban growers go high-tech to feed city dwellers
(AP) -- Terry Fujimoto sees the future of agriculture in the exposed roots of the leafy greens he and his students grow in thin streams of water at a campus greenhouse.
A big bunch of tomatoes?
Why do poppies and sunflowers grow as a single flower per stalk while each stem of a tomato plant has several branches, each carrying flowers? In a new study, published in this week's issue of the open access journal
PLoS Biology, Dr. Zachary Lippman and colleagues identify a genetic mechanism that determines the pattern of flower growth in the Solanaceae (nightshade) family of plants that includes tomato, potato, pepper, eggplant, tobacco, petunia, and deadly nightshades. Manipulation of the identified pathway can turn the well known tomato vine into a highly branched structure with hundreds of flower-bearing shoots, and may thereby result in increased crop yields.
Parasite-resistant peppers green alternatives to chemical pesticides
Root-knot nematodes are extreme parasites. These microscopic, omnipresent worms cause major damage to horticultural and field crops in sub-tropical regions, resulting in significant financial losses to growers and gardeners.
Chemical magic in the mouth
Scientists in Switzerland are reporting that bacteria in the human mouth play a role in creating the distinctive flavors of certain foods. They found that these bacteria actually produce food odors from odorless components of food, allowing people to fully savor fruits and vegetables. Their study is scheduled for the November 12 edition of the ACS bi-weekly
Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
New hybrid plants could prompt more prodigious pepper production in Southwest
By themselves or as an ingredient in a variety of foods, including salsa, America's top-selling condiment, peppers have found a warm spot in the hearts and stomachs of U.S. consumers.