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Peptides produced by bacteria can target plant pathogens without harming the soil's useful microbiome. Photo: Pxhere CC0 Public Domain Free for personal and commercial use No attribution requiredPxhere CC0 Public Domain Free for personal and commercial use No attribution required

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
Over the past 25 years, pesticide total toxicity has increased in Germany for fish, terrestrial plants, and soil organisms. Photo: Stefan Thiesen Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)Stefan Thiesen Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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
The focus of scientists' interest is chitin, a substance that makes up 75 percent of lobster exoskeleton and is also contained in fungal and bacterial pathogens. Photo: Aileen Devlin | Virginia Sea Grant Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)Aileen Devlin | Virginia Sea Grant Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic (CC BY-ND 2.0)

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
Invertebrates, play key functions in soil balance. Photo: s shepherd Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) s shepherd Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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
By applying the technique on a large scale, researchers say, it would be possible to address the problem of global soil pollution. Photo: Marco Verch https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/51093188777 Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/Marco Verch https://www.flickr.com/photos/30478819@N08/51093188777 Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

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
With the use of a spectrometer, drones allow effective mapping of soils inaccessible by land. Photo: David Rodriguez Martin Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)David Rodriguez Martin Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

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
Lo striscione esposto dagli attivisti di PAN Network poco dopo la notizia della validità del milione di firme raccolte nell'ambito dell'Iniziativa popolare europea per vietare i pesticidi chimici entro il 2035. FOTO: Pan Europe.

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 play an effective role in counteracting plant pests. Photo: Abdulmominbd Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)Abdulmominbd Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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
Soil is responsible for the production of 95 percent of global food. Photo: James Almond Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)Photo: James Almond Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)

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
Fluorinated pesticides account for nearly 70 percent of all new pesticides introduced worldwide from 2015 to 2020. Photo: jetsandzeppelins Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)jetsandzeppelins Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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

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