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Photo of a cyst nematode's head viewed through a high-power microscope

Disrupting ‘communication’ with plants could limit cyst nematode infections

28 April 2025

Targeting a newly discovered vulnerability in the signals that cyst nematodes use to infect plant roots could be a powerful method for reducing the damage the parasitic worms cause in crops such as soya beans. A new study from the University of Cambridge in collaboration with the John Innes Centre, Iowa State University...

Orange orchard in Alzira, Valencia Provence, Eastern Spain. Getty images. Credit © Allard Schager.

Safeguarding Europe’s citrus production: a blueprint in planning for future plant disease outbreaks

24 February 2025

A tool predicting how to protect European citrus farms from a deadly epidemic shows how mathematical modelling can help prepare for future plant disease invasions. Citrus greening or huánglóngbìng (HLB) is the most damaging disease of citrus worldwide. Citrus production in Florida has decreased by 80% since 2005, and...

UK peatland fires are supercharging carbon emissions as climate change causes hotter, drier summers

24 February 2025

A new study led by the University of Cambridge has revealed that as our springs and summers get hotter and drier, the UK wildfire season is being stretched and intensified. More fires, taking hold over more months of the year, are causing more carbon to be released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Fires on peatlands...

Cambridge University Botanic Garden Credit: Howard Rice

Botanic Gardens must team up to save wild plants from extinction

27 January 2025

The world’s botanic gardens must pull together to protect global plant biodiversity in the face of the extinction crisis, amid restrictions on wild-collecting, say researchers. A major study of botanic gardens around the world has revealed their struggles with one fundamental aim: to safeguard the world’s most threatened...

Locust swarm fills the skies in Ethiopia. Credit: Keith Cressman, FAO.

Early warning tool will help control huge locust swarms

23 December 2024

A new tool that predicts the behaviour of desert locust populations will help national agencies to manage huge swarms before they devastate food crops in Africa and Asia. Desert locusts typically lead solitary lives until something - like intense rainfall - triggers them to swarm in vast numbers, often with devastating...

Forests in Hong Kong. Photo by Aland Chan.

Naturally regenerated rainforests more wind-resistant than plantations, new study in Hong Kong shows

23 December 2024

Research into forest dynamics under the influence of typhoons in Hong Kong shows that natural rainforests in East Asia are surprisingly resilient to the storms. Currently, nearly half of the forest restoration commitments globally are achieved by monoculture plantations. Previous research has shown that monocultures fail...

Prescribed burning to maintain scrubby flatwood habitat at Archbold Biological Station, Florida, USA. Photo by Courtney Currier.

Study reveals widespread impact of wildfires on plant-soil water relations

19 December 2024

A study into global wildfires and ecosystem water cycling has shown for the first time the large-scale effects of fire on plant and soil water dynamics. The research team from the University of Cambridge used microwave satellite datasets to observe the effects of fire on plant and soil water content across the globe. They...

Trisna Tungadi on Kit Mikayi rock in Kenya when she worked with John Carr on a postdoctoral project in collaboration with bean growers in Kenya.

Alumni stories: Trisna Tungadi

9 December 2024

Studying Plant Sciences at Cambridge can open up a wealth of career opportunities. In this series, we hear from Plant Sciences alumni about their experiences of studying here, how it shaped their careers and what they are doing now. If you would like your alumni story featured, please email us at alumni@plantsci.cam.ac.uk...

Centre for Global Wood Security website goes live

5 December 2024

The Centre for Global Wood Security has launched a new website to promote and support the Centre’s work. The cross-disciplinary research centre led by Professor David Edwards from the University of Cambridge brings together over 50 partners from academic, industry, NGO and policy organisations. The aim is to deliver...

Electron microscopy images of cross sections of sorghum leaves. Credit: Dr Tina Schreier

Insights into how photosynthesis evolved could help develop climate-resilient crops

21 November 2024

A study into how plants evolved to cope with climate changes millions of years ago could help scientists develop modern-day crops that are more productive and resilient to global warming. Researchers from the University of Cambridge and the SALK Institute in California have uncovered genetic changes in the evolution of a...

Disrupting ‘communication’ with plants could limit cyst nematode infections

Safeguarding Europe’s citrus production: a blueprint in planning for future plant disease outbreaks

UK peatland fires are supercharging carbon emissions as climate change causes hotter, drier summers

Botanic Gardens must team up to save wild plants from extinction

Early warning tool will help control huge locust swarms

Naturally regenerated rainforests more wind-resistant than plantations, new study in Hong Kong shows

Study reveals widespread impact of wildfires on plant-soil water relations

Alumni stories: Trisna Tungadi

Centre for Global Wood Security website goes live

Insights into how photosynthesis evolved could help develop climate-resilient crops

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