Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi help to promote the health and function of plant roots. It is commonly assumed that the composition of these microbes is dependent on the properties of the ...

Looking around, you might not realize it, but corn is everywhere. In one form or another, it’s in the cereals in your cupboard, the cosmetics and medicines in your bathroom, the kibble in your pet’s ...

When a maize plant is attacked by the fungus Ustilago maydis, tumor-like tissue growths occur at the site of infection. How the pathogen causes this response in its host has long been unknown. But a ...

An important gene in maize called HPC1 modulates certain chemical processes that contribute to flowering time, and has its origins in 'teosinte mexicana,' a precursor to modern-day corn that grows ...

In 1716, Cotton Mather described maize which Americans call corn and pumpkins which are also known as squash as hybrid plants. On longer evolutionary time scales, hybridisation can lead to local ...

The rains are here and farmers are busy. Maize farmers should understand the growth and development of the plant to do proper crop husbandry to maximise yields. Although farmers have no control of ...

In just about every corner of the globe, maize is an essential crop. Americans, who call it corn, dedicate more than 90 million acres to it — roughly the same size as the entire state of Montana. But ...

Brad Ripley receives funding from Applied Centre for Climate & Earth Systems Science (ACCESS), Rhodes Unversity and Grain SA. Susanne Vetter receives funding from the Applied Centre for Climate & ...