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Understanding the long-term impact of climate change on Indian crops

April 24, 2023

Over the past few decades, it has become obvious that climate change, and consequent extreme weather events, can wreak havoc on crop yields. Concerningly, there is a large disparity in agricultural vulnerability between developed and developing countries. In a new study, researchers have looked at major food grains in India to understand the long- and short-term effects of climate change on crop yields.


April 24, 2023


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RIPE researchers prove bioengineering better photosynthesis increases yields in food crops for first time ever

August 18, 2022

For the first time, RIPE researchers have proven that multigene bioengineering of photosynthesis increases the yield of a major food crop in field trials. After more than a decade of working toward this goal, a collaborative team led by the University of Illinois has transgenically altered soybean plants to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis, resulting in greater yields without loss of quality.


August 18, 2022


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Illinois research shows crops have drought ‘memory,’ help reduce yield loss

November 9, 2021

According to new research from the University of Illinois, crops that experience drought conditions or extreme temperatures during their early stages of growth and survive are better able to deal with those same conditions later in their growth cycle. This ‘memory,’ or adaptation by the plant, could help reduce yield loss that year and help researchers prevent future yield loss.


November 9, 2021


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Ozone pollution harms maize crops, study finds

April 5, 2021

Although stratospheric ozone protects us by filtering out the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, tropospheric ozone is a harmful pollutant. A new study has shown that ozone in the lower layers of the atmosphere decreases crop yields in maize and changes the types of chemicals that are found inside the leaves.


April 5, 2021


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Technology to screen for higher-yielding crop traits now more accessible

March 16, 2020

Like many industries, big data is driving innovations in agriculture. Scientists seek to analyze thousands of plants to pinpoint genetic tweaks that can boost crop production—historically, a Herculean task. To drive progress toward higher-yielding crops, a team from the University of Illinois is revolutionizing the ability to screen plants for key traits across an entire field.


March 16, 2020


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Yield-boosting stay-green gene identified from 118-year-old corn

July 12, 2019

A corn gene identified from a 118-year-old experiment at the University of Illinois could boost yields of today’s elite hybrids with no added inputs. The gene, identified in a recent Plant Biotechnology Journal study, controls a critical piece of senescence, or seasonal die-back, in corn. When the gene is turned off, field-grown elite hybrids yielded 4.6 bushels more per acre on average than standard plants.


July 12, 2019


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Crop achilles' heel costs farmers 10 percent of potential yield

January 23, 2017

Scientists assumed leaves at the top of a plant would be the best at turning higher levels of light into carbohydrates--through the process of photosynthesis -- while the lower shaded leaves would be better at processing the low light levels that penetrate the plant's canopy of leaves. Turns out that in two of our most productive crops, these shaded leaves are less efficient than the top leaves, limiting yield.


January 23, 2017


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Something new under the Arizona sun: a robotic revolution in plant breeding

July 6, 2016

On a bright, hot day this June in Arizona, a vehicle the size of a Golden Retriever, designed and constructed at the University of Illinois, rolls on miniature tank treads between two rows of young plants. A group of researchers, policy-makers, and farmers have gathered to see the early fruits of an unusual hybridization in modern agriculture: a crop of semi-autonomous robots designed to monitor the growth of sorghum and other crops, born of a cross between plant biology and engineering.


July 6, 2016


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