Hot 5: Short Corn. Solar Caps. Melinda Gates. Dr. Lindsay Campbell. Anthropocene video.

By on May 18th, 2012

1. Purdue Researcher Has Developed Short Corn Plants Requiring Fewer Inputs But Having Equivalent Yields
A man by the name of Burkhard Schultz, a plant researcher at Purdue thinks that short varieties of corn and other grains could be the answer to farming in the future. With equivalent yields, the smaller plants would require less water and fertilizer. He has already created tiny corn by using a fungicide called propiconazole to inhibit steroid biosynthesis to “feminize” the plants, greatly reducing the cost of the research involved. This could also aid seed producers and potentially create grass that doesn’t need mowed as often. The overall environmental impact of farming could be reduced.

 

2. Gardening: Solar Caps can be Used as Mini-Greenhouses

I spoke with Mikl Brawner of Harlequin’s Gardens, my favorite nursery here in Boulder, about a product which he is promoting called a “solar cap.” According to Brawner, a commercial tomato grower in Wyoming developed it to help tomatoes get an early start in Wyoming’s cooler climate. Brawner has been able to start tomatoes in mid-April which produce by July using these caps. The cap is made up of a frame similar to a short tomato cage surrounded by a water filled bag similar to a wall o water complete with a plastic cover. He puts a slit in the cover to plant the tomato and then lets it grow through the slit as it gets taller all season long. Most importantly, the device needs set up a few days prior to planting the tomato to warm the soil first, which makes microorganisms available to the tomato plant.

 

3. TED Talk by Melinda Gates: Let’s Put Birth Control Back on the Agenda

In April of this year, Melinda Gates gave a TED talk in Germany saying that the issue of contraception “should be a totally uncontroversial topic. But unfortunately, it’s become incredibly controversial.” She makes the case for the world to re-examine an issue she intends to lend her voice to for the next decade.

 

4. Australian University of Sydney Agriculture Professor Speaks of His Concerns about Peak Oil and Agriculture


Sydney University Agriculture and Environment Professor Dr. Lindsay Campbell is concerned about “peak oil” in agriculture.

He listed these changes which he sees ahead:

  • will change the way farmers farm
  • will change the way farmers export, changing their target markets
  • will increase the price of farm chemicals, nitrogen, and phosphate
  • will increase freight costs from farm to market (which currently represents 10-12% the cost of the commodity)
  • predicts that farmers will be turning back the clock to the 1970s
  • legumes will again be used to fix nitrogen
  • farmers will turn from today’s specialization back to mixed farming systems

 

5. Anthropocene: Why You Should Get Used to the Age of Man
Categorized under: corn, energy and agriculture, gardening, genetic modification, greenhouses, population.
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