Leaving some weeds between crops can help to combat pests on agricultural land, according to a new study carried out by the University of Bonn. This step has particularly positive effects in combination with other measures: the cultivation of different types of crops and planting strips of wildflowers. The results have now been published in the Journal of Pest Science.

The European Horticulture Congress in May 2024 in Bucharest, Romania attracted 700 participants from 67 countries. The congress was held in the Palace of Parliament, the largest administrative building (for civil use) worldwide built for Nicolae Ceauşescu. After 4 European congresses as ‘SHE’ in Vienna, Angers, Chania and Stuttgart (online), this 5th European congress was renamed EHC in line with the IHC (International Horticultural Congress).

Dr. Caroline Marcon has been awarded the Theodor Brinkmann Science Prize by the Faculty of Agriculture at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn. During the Faculty Council meeting in April 2024, Dean Prof. Dr. Heiko Schoof recognized her exceptional habilitation thesis titled “Functional genomics of maize (Zea mays L.) seedling roots.”

Maize can grow successfully in very different local conditions. An international study headed by the University of Bonn has now demonstrated the important role of the plant root system. The researchers analyzed more than 9,000 varieties in the study and were able to show that their roots varied considerably – depending on how dry the location is where each variety was cultivated. They were also able to identify an important gene that plays a role in the plant’s ability to adapt. This gene could be the key to developing varieties of maize that cope better with climate change. The results were recently published in the prestigious journal Nature Genetics.