Background: Cultivation of oilseed rape Brassica napus is pesticide-intensive, and alternative plant protection strategies are needed because both pesticide resistance and legislation narrow the range of effective chemical pesticides. The entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana is used as a biocontrol agent against various insect pests, but little is known about its endophytic potential and role in plant protection for oilseed rape. First, we studied whether B.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIncreasing agricultural soil carbon sequestration without compromising the productivity of the land is a key challenge in global climate change mitigation. The carbon mitigation potential of grass-based agriculture is particularly high because grasslands represent 70% of the world's agricultural area. The root systems of grasses transfer large amounts of carbon to below-ground storage, and the carbon allocation to the roots is dependent on the grasses' photosynthesizing shoot biomass.
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