Ever pulled a carrot from the ground only to find it split down the middle like a tiny orange lightning bolt? Or harvested a beet that looked perfect on the surface but betrayed you with jagged cracks ...

You can’t construct a strong building on a weak foundation, and you can’t grow a great corn crop on a weak root system. From freezing temperatures to voracious underground pests and other threats, ...

Farmers usually plant so-called cover crops after harvesting their main crop in the Fall. This prevents erosion of the soil and nutrient leaching. The roots of these crops also stabilize the structure ...

A new technique may make it easier to selectively breed crop plants for better, deeper roots. The non-destructive process involves quickly checking a plant's leaves to see how far down its roots go ...

Modern agriculture highly depends on the achievements of crop domestication and improvement. While these activities increase yields, they also reduce the genetic diversity of crops. At the same time, ...

When the cold winds start howling and your backyard garden turns into a frozen wasteland, most people assume the fresh harvest season is over. But here’s the secret your great-grandparents knew by ...

If you're working with a relatively small yard and want to be able to grow much of your own food, you may need to grow your plants relatively close together. This works fine for many plant ...

Scientists discovered that nitrous oxide can suppress certain soil microbes, potentially reshaping root microbiomes that help crops grow.

Conservation methods can help rejuvenate farmland, but the startup cost and uncertain results mean a risk many farmers still aren't willing to take. The University of Missouri Center for Regenerative ...

A new discovery raises hope that plants can fertilize themselves in close collaboration with soil bacteria and without artificial fertilizers.