To bolster food security in a warming world, engineers are developing a coating that could better protect seeds, such as beans, from drought in semiarid regions. The coating mimics a mucilage-based hydrogel produced naturally by some seeds, such as basil and chia. The hydrogel traps moisture, regulates nutrient retention, and creates an environment around the seed which promotes the growth of beneficial microorganisms. The artificial coating is accordingly tailored to help protect seeds during germination and early seedling growth. In semiarid regions, water stress caused by a lack of available moisture during these sensitive periods of a plant's development is the highest cause of crop loss worldwide. This water stress on agricultural crops in drought-prone, marginal lands is expected to substantially increase in coming decades because of global climate change. See also: Agricultural engineering; Drought; Farm crops; Global climate change; Mucilage; Seed

Humans have used dried bovine dung (manure) as a fuel source since prehistoric times. In India, for example, many people burn cow or buffalo dung for cooking fuel. This bioresource provides a low-cost fuel as well as an efficient means of waste disposal. However, in rural India, the burning of dung is simultaneously a source of hazardous indoor and outdoor air pollution, resulting from the emission of fine particulates that are 2.5 micrometers or less in diameter (PM_2.5). Such combustion byproducts are considered the most dangerous to human health, because PM_2.5 can be inhaled deep into the lungs, impairing lung function as well as and affecting other organs, such as the heart and brain, or causing cancer. See also: Air pollution; Indoor air pollution

One of history’s worst agricultural catastrophes was the great Irish potato famine of 1845–1849, which killed more than a million people in Ireland, forced the emigration of 1.5 million others, and fueled resentments between the Catholic and Protestant factions of the country for generations. The precise pathogen responsible for that catastrophic failure of the Irish potato crop was long a matter of speculation among agricultural researchers. In 2013, however, using DNA-based analytical techniques on samples of old potato leaves preserved in herbariums, an international team of scientists pinned the blight to a single strain of a common fungus. Beyond the value of this discovery in illuminating what triggered the potato famine, it marked the first time that researchers were able to study the genome of an extinct botanical pathogen from traces in old cuttings of its host plant. See also: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA); Disease ecology

Approximately 75% of flowering plants—including about a third of agricultural food crops—depend on the distribution of pollen by an array of animals known collectively as pollinators. These animals include insects such as bees and wasps (hymenoptera), butterflies (lepidoptera), beetles (coleoptera), and flies (diptera), as well as avian species such as hummingbirds and honeycreepers, and some mammals, most prominently bats (chiroptera). Alarmingly, pollinators are experiencing dramatic declines in their populations in many parts of the world. In Europe, for instance, researchers have observed a decline in at least 37% of bee species and 31% of butterfly species. A new study has now compiled the first planetary risk index of the probable causes driving these declines. In addition to helping resolve some of the scientific uncertainty about these causes, the analysis provided by the study better identifies the ultimate risks to humans and could inform strategies and action plans to slow and eventually reverse pollinator decline. See also: Agriculture; Aves; Coleoptera; Diptera; Farm crops; Food; Hymenoptera; Insecta; Lepidoptera; Pollen; Pollination

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), of all the food produced worldwide, 14 percent—estimated at approximately USD$300 billion—goes to waste each year along the food supply chain, from farms to the retail market, while an additional 17 percent is wasted at the retail and consumer levels. At farms, food may be lost due to drought, pests, or overproduction. At the retail and consumer levels, food waste often results from overbuying due to poor planning or badly managed inventory. Food waste poses both a food security problem in terms of access to adequate food and nutrition and an environmental/sustainability problem in terms of energy use, water use, water pollution, and greenhouse gas production. See also: Agriculture; Environmental impact of food waste; Food; Greenhouse effect; Nutrition; Sustainability; Water conservation; Water pollution

Organic foods are plant and animal products certified as having been produced by organic farming practices, which generally prohibit the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, antibiotics, growth hormone, and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and which encourage the use of natural farming practices such as crop rotation, manure for fertilizer, and outdoor access for animals. Prohibited substances and best farming practices vary among countries where organic food is produced. See also: Agricultural science (animal); Agricultural science (plant); Agricultural soil and crop practices; Agriculture; Antibiotic; Fertilizer; Genetically engineered plants; Genetically modified crops; Pesticide

Food insecurity—when people lack reliable access to enough nutritious and affordable food—is predicted to increase significantly over the next two decades. Extreme events caused by climate change, human conflicts, and pest and disease outbreaks are projected to drive this increase. Although individual problems relating to these events have been studied, researchers have noted an overall lack of cohesiveness in considering these problems and their potential solutions in combination. For example, an abundance of research has examined the effects of climate change on crop yield, but not on how these effects subsequently impact supply chains. In response to this knowledge gap, an international team of researchers has newly conducted a study in which they asked 69 food system experts, ranging from academics to leaders of government and non-governmental organizations in a variety of fields, to identify the most serious threats to food security for the next two decades. The researchers further asked how these threats should be addressed as part of a horizon scan and priority-setting exercise activity. Through the expert panel, 39 distinct threats were identified. All these threats were then presented to each expert, who subsequently ranked the threats based on (1) their impact on food security and (2) probability of happening. The goal of this exercise was to identify priorities for researchers and funders who are in positions to address global food security issues moving forward. See also: Agricultural soil and crop practices; Food manufacturing; Food preservation; Food processing; Global climate change; Probability; Supply chain management

Silvopasture is an agricultural technique in which livestock graze in an environment integrated with trees. Studies have shown that the inclusion of trees into the landscape can have profound effects on agricultural output and productivity. For instance, livestock in silvopasture display more optimized grazing as the presence of trees encourages grazing over a larger area of land. Trees provide shade for the livestock, resulting in reduced heat stress, which allows them to retain more energy throughout the day and overall be healthier and live longer. Foliage that falls from the trees onto the pasture can provide additional nutrients for the livestock as well as increase fertilization of the soil upon decomposing. Plus, the ingraining of tree roots into the pasture reduces the chances of soil erosion and increases nitrogen content through the introduction of nitrogen-fixing legumes found in the trees’ roots. Moreover, the trees increase water quality and biodiversity in the area. According to a new study, silvopasture offers still other benefits by helping to reduce the effects of climate change. The agricultural technique's application results in the release of lesser amounts of planet-warming greenhouse gases compared to traditional open pasture, without reducing soil productivity. The findings suggest that silvopasture could be a useful tactic in addressing climate change. See also: Agricultural science (animal); Agricultural science (plant); Erosion; Fertilizers and nutrient management; Legume; Nitrogen fixation; Soil

New regulations by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that went into effect on January 1, 2017, banned the use of antibiotics as feed supplements to help livestock and poultry grow faster. The new rules, prohibiting the over-the-counter sale to farmers of medically important antimicrobial drugs for humans, were enacted in an effort to stem the growing resistance of bacteria to antibiotics. See also: Antibiotic; Agricultural science (animal); Animal feeds; Antimicrobial resistance; Medical bacteriology; Public health; Rise of antibiotic resistance in bacteria