Over millennia, natural selection and humans have systematically adapted the plant species that provide food and other vital products, changing their physical and genetic makeup for enhanced productivity, nutrition and resilience. Plant breeders apply science to continue improving crop varieties, making them more productive and better adapted to climate extremes, insects, drought and diseases.

Water, heat and lime transform grain in a traditional Central American maize processing method.

The most essential nutrient in global crop production is also one of the most challenging to work with.

Farming method can boost yields, increase farmers’ profits and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

What they are, why they are important for your health, and how to identify them.

Farmers are increasingly adopting conservation agriculture practices. This sustainable farming method is based on three principles: crop diversification, minimal soil movement and permanent soil cover.

Wheat blast is one of the most fearsome and intractable wheat diseases in recent decades. It spreads through infected seeds, crop residues as well as by spores that can travel long distances in the air, posing a major threat to wheat production in tropical areas.