Boosting soybean yields

Peopria Public Radio (Peoria, Ill., Nov. 23) – Researchers at Illinois have found that reducing the number of leaves on soybean plants can increase crop yield by 8 percent. Project lead Praveen Kumar, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Illinois, says producing more food without using more land is vital. “We are probably maxed out in terms of available arable lands, so we really need a different strategy to increase productivity.” Also: Science Daily (Nov. 19), The Detroit News (from The Associated Press; Nov. 24), Farm Journal's Ag Pro (Nov. 28), The Guardian U.S. (New York, Dec. 18).