Rooting for resistance

Rooting for resistance

How soybeans tackle nematode invaders is no secret anymore

Using advanced RNA sequencing, researchers have recently uncovered how varieties of soybean respond to different types of soybean cyst nematodes (SCNs), with potential implications for developing more resilient crops and reducing reliance on chemical treatments.

Tar spot can dry down corn quickly, but yield will be lost.

Tar spot continues on the move in Ontario corn

The disease can be controlled by timely application of fungicides

Tar spot spread across Ontario in 2024, skipping past Toronto and it was also found in Quebec. The fungal disease can have a 20 to 80 bushel impact on corn yields.

Soil’s secret language

Soil’s secret language

Researchers decode plant-to-fungi communication

University of Toronto researchers have cracked the code of plant-to-fungi communication in a new study using baker’s yeast. The researchers discovered that the plant hormone strigolactone activates fungal genes and proteins associated with phosphate metabolism, a system that is key to plant growth.