AgriTech Review

Claims of a hairless animal taking livestock near Ciudad Juárez have revived the chupacabra legend, but officials say they have received no reports of unusual attacks.

Investor appetite stays strong as AgTech funding exceeds $2 billion and deal volume jumps. The post Q3 2026 AgTech Venture Capital Investment and Exit Round Up appeared first on CropLife.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have developed an artificial intelligence system that organizes decades of food science research, helping engineers identify food properties and uncover previously unreported scientific relationships.

A large-scale computational analysis links distinct soil and climatic conditions with significant differences in predicted biosynthetic gene cluster richness among terrestrial Streptomyces populations.

A critical review finds that cobalt’s narrow window between plant stimulation and toxicity, together with variable soil availability and accumulating fertiliser inputs, undermines the case for routine enrichment.

American agriculture has a long history of adopting technology to improve productivity and efficiency. From advancement in seed genetics, to the precision technology that guides equipment down the field with… Source

A two-year Tanzanian field study found that bag gardens could produce African indigenous vegetables with higher levels of some nutrients and plant compounds, but the measured differences varied by crop, year and location.

A 1,607-sample Junggar Basin field survey found that soil butane-oxidizing bacteria tracked reservoir geometry and enrichment, although seven validated wells and environmental corrections limit generalizability.

AI that touches project decisions must meet three tests, says Newforma. Answers must be explainable, verifiable against the source data, and accurate enough to act on. The post Lumi AI finds new home at Newforma as agentic analytics gathers pace appeared first on AgFunderNews.

One former employee claimed the firm had “rapidly scaled headcount only to issue a sudden massive layoff months later, with some employees let go just weeks after starting.” The post Layoffs at Carbon Robotics as firm “realigns costs due to broader economic conditions” appeared first on AgFunderNews.

A coupled material-flow model and local predictive controller reduced soybean cleaning loss, impurity and breakage in three field repetitions while maintaining baseline clean-grain throughput on one harvester.

Bacteria get a bad reputation—with all the outbreaks, infections and deaths.

A survey of 101 farmers in Punjab found that greater AI diffusion was associated with higher perceived productivity and profitability, but the cross-sectional design could not establish causation.

A vegetation-aware strategy combining L-, C- and X-band satellite soil-moisture data improved model accuracy by selecting observations according to canopy conditions, with the largest gains in central and western China.

A massive study of more than 460,000 Americans found that ultra-processed foods were not associated with increased colorectal cancer risk overall, challenging a widely held assumption. While processed meat was linked to higher cancer incidence, ultra-processed whole grains and dairy products were associated with lower incidence.

The world is falling short of its biodiversity commitments because nature is still treated as an afterthought in decisions about housing, infrastructure, agriculture, energy, mining and conservation, according to a new UNSW report.

Jordan Novet / CNBC: OpenAI says it will make its AI models available on Google Cloud's model garden and Antigravity coding tool in the coming weeks, after launching on AWS in April  —  OpenAI will make its artificial intelligence models available for developers through Google's cloud, following years of competition between the two companies.

A four-agroecosystem survey and synthesis of 138 global soil profiles link deep-soil viruses to microbial carbon scavenging, necromass formation and mineral-associated organic carbon.

Researchers at Pennsylvania State University have developed an artificial intelligence system that organizes decades of food science research, helping engineers identify food properties and uncover previously unreported scientific relationships.

Washington State University and the USDA opened a plant bioscience research facility Oct. 14.

A laboratory study found that phytic-acid-modified corn-stalk superabsorbents adsorbed fertilizer solutions and reduced early urea and KDP release in soil tests.

A two-year Nigerian field trial found that wide spacing and high NPK improved several cucumber quality traits, while close spacing maximized yield and CU 999 produced firmer fruit than Monalisa.

An IoT-integrated hydroponic maize system completed three sequential validation cycles and produced fresh-biomass conversion indices of 2.82:1 to 4.03:1 using municipal tap water without chemical adjustment.

A Portuguese field experiment found that woody biochar increased pasture productivity from 6 to 9 tonnes per hectare, raised protein yield by 52%, reduced deeper-layer soil hardness and eased selected nutrient and drought constraints.

A review finds that agricultural allelopathy depends on plant identity, chemical mixtures, soil processes, microbial transformations and realistic exposure.

A 21-year Belgian cropland study found that soil inventories, process modelling and eddy-covariance measurements disagreed about carbon-stock trends, while agreeing that farmyard manure was the strongest driver of accumulation.

Korean peacekeepers deployed under the United Nations Mission in South Sudan are leveraging advanced agricultural science to help improve food security in one of the country's most vulnerable regions. The initiative, led by Korea’s Rural Development Administration in partnership with the military’s Hanbit Unit, integrates high-yield crop technologies into civil-affairs operations to help local communities work toward long-term agricultural self-sufficiency. Rather than relying solely on short-term food aid, Korean agricultural experts are embedding field-tested farming techniques into military civil assistance, establishing a scalable model for military-led development assistance. South Sudan, which gained independence in 2011 following decades of conflict, continues to suffer from severe food insecurity compounded by seasonal flooding, internal instability and economic shocks. The ongoing crisis in neighboring Sudan has further strained local resources as more than 1.4 million

A two-season Egyptian field trial found that combining Rhizobium with organic amendments and mineral fertilizer improved faba bean yield, nutrient availability, plant condition, and indicators of soil biological functioning in marginally saline soil.

Author(s): T. Rick Perche, Francesco Gozzini, and Markus K. OberthalerAn impurity in a Bose-Einstein condensate with time-tunable coupling realizes an Unruh-DeWitt detector of the condensate’s effective relativistic phonon field. [Phys. Rev. Lett. 137, 170401] Published Tue Oct 20, 2026

Public and private investments must address the financial barriers preventing women from benefiting fully from digital technologies and artificial intelligence as multiple global crises and aid cuts bite.

The family farmers who produce the lion’s share of Brazil’s staple foods are opening their arms to cutting-edge Chinese artificial intelligence in a bid to modernise operations and secure their future. Brazil and China agreed to a five-year cooperation programme in September aimed at giving smallholders – the backbone of the Brazilian agricultural sector – an AI boost after a decade of declining employment and limited access to affordable technology. Representatives of the Brazilian Agricultural...

Ag robotics specialist Reservoir is opening a new site in Washington State as its on-farm community for physical AI expands to tree fruit and blueberries. The post Reservoir Farms expands to Pacific Northwest to accelerate physical AI appeared first on AgFunderNews.

Advances in weed management technology could reduce reliance on herbicides and manual labor, but a new review from the University of Mississippi and Cornell University indicates those tools also bring steep costs and potential challenges.

A laboratory study found that peptide-modified nanocellulose made from dairy sludge and crustacean waste achieved reported removal efficiencies of 97.80% for COD, 93.60% for BOD₅ and 96.40% for TOC under optimized conditions, with approximately 95%, 92% and 89% retained after five adsorption–desorption cycles.

A first-season Austrian citizen science field study found amphibians in 38% of 289 newly installed garden mini-ponds and signs of reproduction in 10%.

A cytogenetic study of 30 Quasipaa spinosa frogs from one Hunan farm found 26 chromosomes in both sexes, with nine metacentric and four submetacentric pairs.

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Morphological and three-locus phylogenetic analyses identified Chloridium jiangxiense and Paragongromeriza jiangxiensis as two new fungal species isolated from a Jiangxi bamboo forest soil.

A two-season greenhouse pot study found that weekly Azolla or Moringa extract applications improved geranium growth, physiology, nutrient uptake and essential oil output in sandy soil, with 10% Moringa producing the largest measured responses.

A cross-sectional study of 2,437 occupationally exposed people around Poyang Lake found varying avian influenza antibody reactivity across subtypes, locations and years from 2018 to 2025 without establishing infection or local circulation.

A two-season greenhouse pot trial found that combined poultry manure extract, humic acid and dry yeast produced the highest lavender biomass, essential-oil yield and several biochemical measures in sandy soil, but field validation remains needed.

AGCO to explore Digit robot use in manufacturing operation for repetitive, hazardous tasks. The post AGCO and Agility Robotics Advance Smart Manufacturing with Humanoid Robot Pilot in Hesston, KS, Facility appeared first on CropLife.

Biochar can store carbon in the soil and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere—yet we still know too little about how long the biochar will persist. Now, researchers from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences have found a new way to measure this, using wood from the 1960s that was affected by nuclear weapons testing. The paper is published in the journal Radiocarbon.

Curtin University researchers have detected traces of hundreds of plants and animals by collecting DNA from the air as they drove more than 1,100km (684 miles) across Western Australia.

A review of animal and human evidence links crop-specific amino acids, fats, fiber and phenolics to pathways involved in fatty liver while emphasizing that processing, crop variability and whole-food context limit translation.

Marine scientists have conducted the first re-survey of northern Patagonia's kelp forests in more than 50 years and discovered dramatic changes across one of the world's most remote marine ecosystems due to human activities.

A survey of 276 Sierra Leonean farms mapped widespread cassava diversity, regionally variable pest pressure and cassava mosaic disease associated chiefly with contaminated cuttings.

Donald Trump has announced an $8 billion programme offering one-off payments to farmers to help offset high diesel costs during harvest, with key details still unavailable

On today’s episode of the AgNet News Hour, Richard Fordyce, USDA Under Secretary for Farm Production and Conservation, discussed billions of dollars in upcoming farm safety-net payments and new opportunities ... Read More The post USDA Announces $13.8 Billion in Farm Payments as Autonomous Spraying Technology Advances appeared first on AgNet West.

A two-year rainfed field trial across six barley varieties found that glycine betaine and zeatin increased average grain yield by 3.64% and 8.01%, respectively, compared with the control.

Scientists have uncovered a possible explanation for why some people struggle to taste food more than a year after recovering from COVID-19. By examining taste buds from patients with lingering symptoms, researchers discovered molecular abnormalities that weaken the signals responsible for detecting sweet, bitter, and savory flavors.

A one-year study of 505 dairy-cattle fecal samples from a single Inner Mongolia farm documented seasonal prevalence and genetic diversity of two intestinal pathogens.

Donald Trump announced an $8bn USDA fuel relief programme for farmers at a Kansas rally, while campaigning for Senator Roger Marshall and gubernatorial candidate Ty Masterson.

As concerns about farmer mental health continue to grow, agricultural researchers are compiling more data on the complex nature of suicide awareness among those who may be able to offer help.

A GIS-based RUSLE assessment estimated annual soil loss of up to 51.4391 tonnes per hectare across Rwanda’s 3,402-square-kilometre Akanyaru Catchment, with modeled hotspots linked to bare land, steep cropland, erodible soils and intense rainfall.

By sticking to in-store menu prices and a flat 5 percent fee, Olo wants to take the sting out of ordering dinner.

An international model estimates that smart-farming technologies are already profitable on 42% of global cropland and could pay off on 50% within 20 years.

A case report of severe leptospirosis in a 35-year-old farmer found that Weil’s syndrome can mimic acute cholangitis despite the absence of biliary obstruction.

A review identifies seven described freshwater planarian species in Chile and shows that sampling, mature-anatomy documentation and access to voucher specimens remain limited.

A comparative 2021 survey of 28 sites in Austria and Luxembourg found that extensive grasslands performed better in Tyrol, while cultivated wildflower fallows supported more bees in Luxembourg.

A study tested two wind forecast models and found that more accurate one does not mean more savings. The post Laser tech could slash grid penalties for wind farms, because their forecasts are less wrong at the right times appeared first on Renew Economy.

Community-led fieldwork in Boyacá, Colombia, documented two endangered vanilla crop wild relatives, including the first Colombian record of Vanilla karen-christianae and the first V. dressleri population east of the Magdalena River.

A morphology-and-DNA study identified three new Cunninghamellaceae species from soil in Guangdong and Yunnan, with each forming a distinct, strongly supported phylogenetic lineage.

As governments prepare to gather in Yerevan, Armenia, this week for the U.N. Biodiversity Conference (COP17), new research identifies 13% of Earth's land area as hotspots for biodiversity conservation, highlighting where conservation efforts are most urgently needed.

A hybrid attention model combined six years of field observations with orchard geography to forecast occurrence levels and intensity for four citrus pests and diseases within one Chinese orchard.

A controlled paddy-soil experiment found that manganese-loaded wheat-straw biochar increased nitrogen-conserving microbial activity and reduced cumulative nitrous oxide emissions by about 89%.

Irrigation level was the dominant influence on the biochemical and hormonal response of aronia, Aronia melanocarpa, in a study that tested the plant across both water deficit and surplus conditions.

The career of Swiss entomologist Jacques Derron demonstrated how ecological research, biological control and carefully calibrated intervention thresholds can make crop protection more evidence-based and sustainable.

A new non-venomous keelback snake from southeastern Yunnan is distinguished by its anatomy, coloration and mitochondrial DNA, revealing another layer of hidden biodiversity in East and Southeast Asia.

"Why haven't farm animals evolved to protect themselves against humans?—Sarang, age 15, Latur, Maharashtra, India"

A modular cytidine base editor that separates its Cas9 nickase and deaminase produced fewer unwanted DNA changes in moss and wheat, despite editing less efficiently than a conventional fused system.

A new review in Plant Biosystems details how plant and seaweed extracts regulate hormone signaling, antioxidant defenses, root microbiomes and even aquaporin-mediated water transport to help crops withstand drought, salinity, heat, cold and disease.

The use of robots, drones and AI tools in agriculture is already paying off on 42% of the world's cropland. This could increase to 50% in the next 20 years and to as much as 75% if every country tightened environmental regulations. If every country loosened its regulations, it would fall to 31%.

A previously unknown population of immune cells in chickens has been discovered by researchers from the University of Bristol Veterinary School in collaboration with The Pirbright Institute. The finding could help transform the way poultry vaccines are developed.

Researchers grafted biomass-derived furan rings onto an iron metal-organic framework to create a hydrophobic, acid-base bifunctional catalyst that converts water- and fatty-acid-laden waste oils into biodiesel with yields up to 98.48 percent.

A first-of-its-kind survey of Virginia's shallow subterranean habitats using buried Limburger-baited traps uncovered 345 arthropod morphospecies and 256 genetically distinct species, many new to science.

A sweeping analysis of 17 million citizen-science records shows that cities flatten the classic latitudinal diversity gradient of native birds in North America, most dramatically during winter.

Melania Trump's Rose Garden exchange drew scrutiny at a women's health signing. Here's what happened and what the new executive order changes.

Scientists have isolated a karst soil bacterium, Serratia marcescens BP-2, that dissolves insoluble calcium phosphate through citric acid secretion and significantly boosts the growth and phosphorus uptake of the medicinal orchid Bletilla striata.

A genetically engineered Citrobacter soil bacterium reshapes the rice rhizosphere microbiome and reprograms root proteins to cut cadmium uptake, according to a new BMC Genomics study.

Forestry contractors face growing demand for timber, forest management, and wildfire-resilience but struggle to find and retain reliable operators. The post Kodama nets $7m to scale physical AI for ‘intelligent forestry’ appeared first on AgFunderNews.

Whole-genome resequencing of 197 gardenia accessions from nine Chinese populations reveals millions of genomic variants, clear geographic structure, and selection signals in pathways tied to the plant's medicinal and ornamental value.

A study of 900 samples from Pakistan's poultry sector found that two-thirds of recovered Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates were multidrug-resistant, with ESBL, carbapenemase and mcr-1 genes frequently co-occurring.

New research shows that OSA-type lipopolysaccharide and Las quorum sensing protect Pseudomonas aeruginosa from phagocytosis and extracellular killing by Dictyostelium discoideum amoebae, suggesting that human virulence traits evolved as defenses against environmental predators.

Six newly described species of Absidia and Gongronella from Chinese soils significantly expand the known biodiversity of the fungal family Cunninghamellaceae.

A 90-day incubation study shows that mixing corn straw with biochar at a 1:3 ratio immobilizes cadmium and zinc, relieves microbial carbon limitation and stabilizes soil organic carbon better than either amendment alone.

Swiss volunteers buried 2,000 pairs of cotton underwear. Lawns broke them down the least, and some gardens held far more phosphorus than plants need.

Investment in the project totals 1.2 billion yuan, or more than $178 million

A newly described soil fungus from the Netherlands, Garciamycella chlamydospora, founds a new sordarialean genus and produces rare papulacandin antifungals, including the novel papulacandin G and the potent Mer-WF3010.

A new review in The Science of Nature argues that the volatile organic compounds released by companion crops can be deliberately engineered into field odourscapes to divert pests, recruit natural enemies and reduce pesticide dependence.

According to two new UNSW studies, researchers often choose research topics based on personal preferences and cultural attitudes, including exposure to films, TV shows and even zoos, rather than attempting to fill the most pressing gaps in knowledge. The studies are published in the journal Ecology and Evolution.

A large-scale analysis of marine species names reveals that nearly one in five epithets within the same genus differ by three edits or fewer, exposing hidden risks in the fuzzy matching tools that underpin biodiversity big data.

A 24-year Cuban fertilization trial shows that sugarcane rhizosphere microbial communities stay taxonomically stable while their bacterial-fungal interaction networks reorganize in nutrient-specific ways.

The 2026 Nobel Prize-winning optogenetics technology is now being adapted to probe plant immune signaling, screen novel insecticides, and guide pollen tube research in crops.

A new collaborative survey in the Italian Botanist documents dozens of new and confirmed records of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens across Italy, including rediscoveries of species absent for over a century.

Researchers converted rainbow trout processing waste into an enzymatic protein hydrolysate that improved tomato growth, physiology, and fruit quality in soilless greenhouse cultivation, with effects peaking at different doses.

Laccase enzyme pretreatment dramatically strengthens humic-rich soil for solidification but adding the ABTS mediator improves slurry dewatering instead, revealing that enzyme-mediator formulations must be tailored to the intended engineering process.

New records of the Stenothoe gallensis species complex from Greek aquaculture farms expose how sex, size and maturity distort the diagnostic characters used to define these invasive amphipods.

Researchers at Fujian Medical University developed Mind Garden, a theory-driven mobile app designed with older adults to support depression self-management, and report encouraging early usability results.

arXiv:2610.22765v1 Announce Type: new Abstract: Precise pedicel-targeted grasping in strawberry harvesting remains a critical bottleneck due to the pedicel's small diameter (1.3-3 mm), color similarity with surrounding foliage, and precise force control required for clean abscission zone detachment. As a market-grade crop, strawberry aesthetic value makes bruise-free pedicel detachment essential over direct fruit grasping. Classical approaches struggle to unify vision models, motion planning, and contact manipulation into a robust framework, particularly in occluded canopy environments. Therefore, this work presents a visuomotor imitation learning pipeline for pedicel-targeted strawberry harvesting that unifies perception, motion planning, and contact manipulation from collecting human teleoperation demonstrations, training an Action Chunking with Transformers (ACT) policy with a ResNet-50 visual backbone, and deploying the learned policy autonomously on a Jetson AGX Orin edge