Food & Agriculture

Droplets of an herbicide-loaded hydrogel stick their landing

C&EN: A new herbicide-carrying hydrogel’s droplets can land on leaves and stay there without bouncing off or breaking up (ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng. 2020, 10.1021/acssuschemeng.0c03396). Such hydrogels could help reduce agrochemical losses when they are sprayed, potentially cutting the amount…

After Years of Neglect, Algae Biotechnology Makes a Comeback

Labiotech.eu: Despite their ability to create matter out of thin air, algae and cyanobacteria have long been neglected by the biotech industry. Recently, however, they have started to gain traction in new market niches. In the center of Paris, just…

Spanish to make fertilizer from green hydrogen

C&EN: Two Spanish companies, the fertilizer producer Fertiberia and the energy firm Iberdrola, plan to build Europe’s largest plant making green hydrogen for industrial use—ammonia production in this case. The companies will build a facility with capacity to produce 720…

Biological Fungicide Clears Wheat of Rust Disease in European Field Trial

Labiotech.eu: Every year, over 5 million tons of wheat are lost to rust disease globally, which is equivalent to a loss of €840M. Rust disease is caused by more…