Crops

Hemp, which produces valuable CBD oil, is set to become recognized as an agricultural crop this year, and could provide a much needed influx of revenue for Western agriculture.

• By Matt Weiser

In a remote village in Kenya, where it is difficult to cultivate crops, women have begun reshaping their fortunes by harvesting aloe plants and turning them into beauty products.

• By Daniel Sitole

The world needs to double its food supply, and scientists have proposed a major genetic engineering program to make it happen.

• By Michael White

It depends on the species and the stage of the plant’s life cycle.

• By Kate Wheeling

As human populations swell and require more food, climate change will likely create a planet that produces less and less.

• By Kate Wheeling

A new generation of biotechnology crops designed to appeal to consumers is likely to radically change the controversy over GMOs.

• By Michael White

Neonicotinoids, toxic to bees and other insects, are spreading to farms through direct seed treatments—a factor that's gone unmeasured until now.

• By Nathan Collins

Raising cattle won't wreck the environment—if we do it right.

• By Temple Grandin

New research offers hope for prodding corn, wheat, and rice into a partnership with nitrogen-fixing bacteria.

• By John Upton

Scientists have used computer models to imagine a world where crops are specially bred to reflect away more light and heat, without compromising productivity.

• By John Upton

At a time when the worldwide wheat supply needs to grow, we might not even be able to keep it from diminishing.

• By Michael White

Even as corn prices rise with the demand for biofuels, a simmering dispute percolates in Mexico where genetically modified imports from the U.S. are both welcomed and damned.

• By Melinda Burns