In September 2017, Taiwan government announced a 10-year policy target for reducing the amount of chemical pesticide applied over the fields by half, a series of subsidies for biological control agents is provided for the purpose of reducing the dependence on chemical pesticides. On May 25, 2018,...
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2019.04.01
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Biopesticides and biofertilizers are the natural, environmentally friendly alternative to chemical pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Biofertilizers can make better soil condition, healthier plants growth, and enhance sustainable environment. By the late March 2019, there are 33 biofertilizer...
2019.07.01
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Evaluating the effectiveness of fertilizer through comprehensive tests on crop yield, nutrient analysis, and soil analysis takes a long time. It might hinder the progress of fertilizer development. Over the last few years, the hyperspectral image analysis was conducted to evaluate nutrient...
By boosting crop yields and cutting down on farm input costs at the same time, could microbes be the biofertilizer of the future?
“I’m interested in how we can take microbes and improve yields for farmers,” said Barney Geddes, NDSU assistant professor of microbiology in Fargo, N.D.
Geddes’ research is on the cutting edge of technology in agriculture – finding ways to reduce farmer inputs through manipulating the plant microbiome to act as a natural nitrogen source and grow certain crops better, such as soybeans.
Geddes understands how input costs can level a farm’s profits. He grew up on a farm north of the border in Manitoba, where alfalfa was the main crop. They also raised cattle and his dad always emphasized sustainability.
“Fertilizers are becoming the main inputs in most farmer’s agriculture systems, but nitrogen is expensive and it’s getting more and more expensive. The price actually doubled in 2022 and went up higher with the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said.
Read more here.