Stay updated with the latest developments and discoveries in the world of plants and horticulture with our News Articles category. Here, you’ll find timely updates on conservation efforts, botanical breakthroughs, gardening trends, and industry news. Whether it’s a new species discovery, tips for sustainable gardening, or global botanical initiatives, this section keeps you informed and connected to the ever-evolving plant world. Perfect for enthusiasts, researchers, and nature lovers looking to stay in the know.
Sormac, a technology manufacturer specializing in fresh produce processing, is set to introduce four new advancements at Fruit Logistica. The company will present these developments alongside updates to existing technology and equipment designed for processing carrots, onions, peppers, melons, and other…
Sormac to unveil new equipment in fresh produce processing technology Read More »
Does anyone have experience with sheet mulching (like 10-12” thick) over areas with Bermuda grass nearby? I’ve been solarizing it in two year cycles. Each year, I start solarizing other sections directly adjacent to whatever I started solarizing the year before. This has been the only way I’ve seen success with eradicating it and getting other things established in the meantime. I’m curious if anyone has experience with sheet mulching over areas where Bermuda grass used to be and is still relatively nearby. I just hate to go to the work and expense if the Bermuda will just laugh in its face like it does most other efforts to shade it out that aren’t strictly black plastic. I’m hoping there is life on the other side of this. I know I’ll never be rid of it, but I’m hoping I can find a place where it’s manageable and not my entire lawn 😬
submitted by /u/mutant-in-charge
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Sheet Mulching Bermuda Grass Read More »
Marine scientists highlights the complex interplay between heat stress, disease onset and coral mortality. They found that 66 percent of the colonies were bleached by February 2024 and 80 per cent by April. By July, 44 percent of the bleached colonies had died, with some coral genera, such as Acropora, experiencing a staggering 95 percent mortality rate.
Cycle of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef now at ‘catastrophic’ levels Read More »
Marine scientists highlights the complex interplay between heat stress, disease onset and coral mortality. They found that 66 percent of the colonies were bleached by February 2024 and 80 per cent by April. By July, 44 percent of the bleached colonies had died, with some coral genera, such as Acropora, experiencing a staggering 95 percent mortality rate.
Cycle of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef now at ‘catastrophic’ levels Read More »
Smaller poops from smaller birds carry very low risk of foodborne pathogens on farms, finds a new study.
Little birds, little poops, little food safety risk Read More »
Hi all,
I moved onto 2.4 acres in the Twin Cities metro area last year and would love any input on how to lay out my space. Some notes:
Here’s a quick list of everything I’d love to plant over the next five years (not all on the map currently, and no I’m not certain it will all work well in my climate):
Thanks so much for any input! FYI I made this using the permapeople garden planner…it isn’t perfect but it’s getting the job done.
submitted by /u/gladearthgardener
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Help laying out my space Read More »
Hi folks. This is my first post in this sub. I recently moved from a big city in Texas to a town in the midwest, and I’m planning my new garden. Back in Texas, I had an unpleasant encounter with a neighbor (she’s actually the reason we moved, but that’s a story for a different group) about a peach tree I planted in my front yard, about 8 feet inside of my property line. No branches over her yard, I kept it pruned.
My neighbor was always crabby about (everything including) the tree. I was out of town when the peaches were in season last Spring, so I asked my friend to go over and harvest them. Nasty Neighbor comes running out of her front door and accosts my friend:
“Who the !@#% puts a fruit tree in the front yard. What kind of tacky person does that. It’s so trashy to see someone picking fruit in the front yard of a high class neighborhood,” etc.
My friend was gobsmacked. Note: her house, much more beautiful than mine, also has peach trees out front.
Of course I’m going to put fruit trees in the front yard of my new house, but I’m curious — has anyone else ever heard of anyone calling this practice tacky or undesirable? After 14 years of living next door to the Peach Tree Hating Wicked Witch of the West, I have a hard time distinguishing what’s normal and what’s bonkers sometimes. Thanks!
submitted by /u/RosexKx
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Is There a Social Stigma Against Front Yard Fruit Trees? Read More »
Echeveria ‘Madiba Carunculated’ is a unique succulent that typically forms a solitary rosette of triangular leaves, some of which feature …
The post Echeveria ‘Madiba Carunculated’ appeared first on World of Succulents.
Please click “Continue Reading” for a more detailed description, scientific and common names, scientific classification, origin and habitat, care tips, and photos!
Echeveria ‘Madiba Carunculated’ Read More »
With 51% of total production, farming is now the main source of fish, crustaceans and shellfish for human consumption. This figure, certified by the FAO, is set to increase in order to offer the growing world population healthy and safe food. It is therefore not surprising that researchers, industry investors and farmers are committed to reducing the impact of this increasingly important activity, so that it can continue to develop without damaging the planet.
‘Aquaculture for the planet’ is in fact the title of the opening session of the conference programme of this year’s Fair. The protection of biodiversity and peaceful coexistence with the rest of the environment, especially in marine farming are issues of the utmost relevance today. The Andalusian Livestock Farmers’ Association wants to demonstrate that such simultaneity is possible, with the candidacy of the Bay of Cadiz district as the first Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) of the aquaculture sector in the world. The GIAHS certification rewards food production systems that integrate tradition, ties with local communities and economic sustainability.
Energy is crucial for aquaculture. When electricity and gas prices soared three years ago, many farms, especially on land, entered into crisis. Although the situation is less critical now, farmers have learned valuable lessons. Self-production for self-consumption is the goal: biogas obtained from wastewater and by-products or electricity produced through various photovoltaic solutions, including floating ones, complaint with current technologies and regulations. Alessandra Scognamiglio, coordinator of the ENEA Sustainable Agriboltaic task force and President of the Italian Association for Sustainable Agrivoltaics, will talk about this possibility.
Some go further, like Nutritech, which has developed an aquaponic farming system (fish and vegetables) that is completely autonomous from an energy point of view, based on renewable sources. The system, currently market ready, is managed by an artificial intelligence that monitors environmental parameters and takes action when necessary. The plant is also capable of self-producing oxygen, used for management and hydrogen, which powers a fuel cell.
Replicating the same level of autonomy at sea is not possible, but a lot can be done. Integrated multitrophic aquaculture, which will be illustrated by CREA with the BlueBoost project, involves the breeding of different aquatic species belonging to multiple trophic levels in the same production site, for example fish of high commercial value (sea bass, sea bream, grey mullet), filter-feeding shellfish (mussels, clams, oysters), detritivorous invertebrates (sea cucumber) and autotrophic species (macroalgae). The excreta of one species constitute the food of another. In this way, high productivity is obtained with low environmental impact.
It is in fact the valorisation of all the resources of a system the basis of circularity in farming, at the centre of the closing session of the official AquaFarm program. We will start with the increasingly widespread use of fish processing waste for feed, reducing its impact of fishing. Enrico Bachis, Market Research Director of IFFO – International Fish Feed Organisation, will talk about it. Along the same lines, but with ‘terrestrial’ resources, the WIN4FEED – Waste & Insect for Feed project by Fondazione Mach works, aiming to use the by-products of food processing as a growth medium for insect larvae, a source of protein for fish feed. Instead of insects, the research by the University of Verona talks about microbes, with aim to modify anaerobic digesters for biogas to use the gestate as a substrate for the microbial production of proteins for feed.
For the circular trout farming project CircularRainbow, coordinated by the University of Udine, the material to be reused as much as possible is water. Trout farms on dry land throughout Europe have to deal with a greater irregularity in the availability of running water. The project therefore aims to recirculate water in a largely closed system. A further advantage of this solution is the possibility of recovering waste waters and sludge to feed them into biogas digesters and thus improve the energy balance of the farms. The session closes with a novelty among farming techniques: vertical haloponics (aquaponics in brackish water), which combines hydroponics, vertical farming and closed-cycle farming. In the version developed by the University of Padua, salt-tolerant plant species are grown in vertical hydroponics and used as food for shrimp. The sludge from the system is treated using vermicomposting techniques and valorised as bio fertiliser. Eartworms are finally used as a food supplement for the shrimp, closing the circle.
for more information, visit HERE.
The Aquaculturists
AquaFarm 2025: decarbonisation, biodiversity protection and circularity Read More »
I’m interested in developing a 2 acre plot of land that’s currently filled with invasives into a sort of combination wild-food-forest / wildlife habitat, with some human edible plants but really focusing on broad native biodiversity and shelter for rabbits, deer, turkey, etc.
This feels more sustainable to me, for my situation, than raising livestock directly. Perhaps it’s naïveté but it seems like it would be better for the habitat too.
Are there any permaculture-minded resources for hunting, native feed lots, and building habitats?
TIA
submitted by /u/AgreeableHamster252
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Developing a wildlife habitat + hunting Read More »
