Nature surrenders flowery secrets to international team – A recent publication in Science reports a mathematical model describing how plants arrange their flowers on the stem. The researchers integrated into their model knowledge from several disciplines – plant molecular biology, mathematics and evolution, creating a unified theory of flower branching diversity.

Calif. farmers fear spread of apple moth – The larvae of the light brown apple moth indiscriminately eat the leaves of over 200 plants including tomato, alfalfa, and citrus fruits, causing significant damage. Recently, a quarantine to prevent the spread of the moth in Northern California was put in place after a retired entomologist spotted the pest in his back yard.

Uganda shelves plan to convert rainforest – The Ugandan government has suspended plans to convert thousands hectares of rainforest into a palm oil plantation due to fears of negative publicity towards the government and towards Palm Oil Uganda, the private firm bankrolling the plantation. This comes after a proposed sugar plantation was shelved due to violent protests.

News Briefs:

Climate Change:
Combating Climate Change: Farming Out Global Warming Solutions

Alternative Fuels:
Novel Sugar-To-Hydrogen Technology Promises Transportation Fuel Independence
Cleaner Manure Burns Hotter In Ethanol Processing

Technology:
Nanotechnology used in plant biology

Genetically Modified Foods:
Genetically Modified Crops Survive Weed-Whacking Herbicide