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Dutch researchers bet on bacteria to reduce pesticide use
Researchers at the University of Wageningen in the Netherlands will study the potential of bacteria to fight plant pests without damaging the soil ecosystem. Crucial is the action of peptides, biodegradable proteins produced by the microorganisms

Pesticide impact on plants and soil grows in Germany
Over the past 25 years, pesticide total toxicity in Germany has increased for fish, land plants and soil organisms, a research from the Technical University of Kaiserslautern-Landau has found. EU wants to cut use of chemicals in half by 2030 but its metrics are not convincing

US potatoes survive pests thanks to lobster shell
Ground shells from lobsters can feed communities of beneficial microbes, creating a line of defense against soil pests. Researchers from University of Maine researchers offer a potential circular solution to safeguard the state's major crop. Which would also avoid tons of waste

Missing invertebrates: the UK has already lost a third of its earthworms
The biodiversity crisis is also affecting invertebrates. In the United Kingdom, says a study by the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the abundance of earthworms in the soil declined by 33 to 41 percent. Poor agricultural practices are a crucial determinant

Australian researchers mimic plants to clean up soil
Through solar-powered evaporators, the presence of heavy metals in soil can be significantly reduced. The solution, developed by the University of South Australia, could find application in other contexts and for other substances

Drones open a new frontier in soil mapping
Drones equipped with light spectrometers can map the ground and explore otherwise inaccessible areas, Dutch researchers have found. This application can also provide crucial data for soil protection and remediation

Bees rejoice: the popular proposal for a EU law reaches one million signatures
The EU Commission has confirmed the validity of the signatures of the European popular initiative bill "Save bees and farmers". Now the European institutions will have to express on the request to ban synthetic pesticides, responsible for the collapse in the number of pollinators, by 2035

Ants better than pesticides in protecting soil health and increasing agricultural yields
According to a research ants provide crucial services for crops such as decreasing pest activity and plant damage while leading to higher yields

FAO: “Soil protection is the first response to the global food crisis”
Soil is responsible for the production of 95 percent of our food, says FAO during the Global Symposium 2022. But land management is often unsustainable. Without a change of direction, 8 percent of the world's population could still face hunger in 2030

Flour-based pesticides hit the market as scientists are concerned
Fluorinated pesticides account for nearly 70 percent of all new pesticides introduced worldwide from 2015 to 2020, a research has found. But the environment struggles to deal with them. And their impact on human health is not negligible