Science briefs

In a new Crop Science article, researchers evaluated seed yield in different parts of soybean plants that were provided high or limited N. Photo courtesy of Nicolas Cafaro La Menza, University of Nebraska–Lincoln.

Nitrogen supply affects soybean yield differently within the canopy

October 28, 2025

Healthy barley kernels (top) and kernels infected with Fusarium head blight. Photo courtesy of Brian Steffenson, University of Minnesota.

Global barley collection provides genetic insights on resistance to devastating fungal pathogen

October 24, 2025

In phenomics, specific sensors are used to analyze different plant traits. These sensors range in affordability, so researchers outlined which ones are the most accessible in a recent The Plant Phenome Journal review. Illustration courtesy of Valerio Hoyos-Villegas, Michigan State University.

Affordable phenomics for crop breeders

October 20, 2025

Greenhouse experimental setup of column culture to study the root system architecture of buckwheat. Plants were grown in polyvinyl chloride pipes, which were filled with equal amounts of soil and sand. Photo courtesy of S. M. Zargar, Diksha Singh, and P. A. Sofi, Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology of Kashmir.

Investigating root system architecture to make climate-resilient buckwheat

October 17, 2025

Soybeans emerging within a cereal rye cover crop strip trial near New Market, IA. Left: Cereal rye residue. Right: No cover crop. Photo courtesy of Teresa Middleton, Iowa State University.

Two sides to the cover crop coin

October 9, 2025

Aerial imagery captures the distinct effects of two organic amendments—rice straw and biochar—applied at varying rates as a partial substitute for chemical fertilizer. Contrasts in canopy development demonstrate that both the type and the application rate of the amendment significantly influence rice growth patterns, highlighting the two amendments as potential sustainable fertilizer alternatives. Labels indicate one representative replication of a treatment from a randomized field trial.

Rice straw and biochar reduce reliance on fertilizer

October 9, 2025

Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock.

Transfer learning: a powerful tool to improve genomic prediction accuracy

October 8, 2025

Texas A&M's maize field early in the growing season (College Station, TX). Photo courtesy of Fatma Ozair.

Improvements in grain yield performance prediction for maize hybrids

September 23, 2025

Predictive ability overestimates the relative accuracy of phenomic prediction (PP) versus genomic prediction (GP) models. Colored dots correlate with different traits tested in each case study. (A) Differences between estimated PP and GP accuracies are plotted against their estimated predictive abilities. Points to the right of the line are where the accuracy of these PP models tends to be overestimated compared with GP models, even when the PP models are actually less accurate (lower right quadrant).

Do not directly compare cross-validation results between genomic and phenomic predictions

September 23, 2025

Some of the seed diversity found in lentil. Photo courtesy of Derek Michael Wright.

Breeding potential for increased protein in lentil

September 22, 2025

Soybean Planting Insights

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