Trends in agronomy, crop, and soil science to be discussed.

Building on plant virus research started more than 20 years ago, a biologist at Washington University in St Louis and his colleague at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St Louis have discovered a technology that reduces infection by the virus that causes Rice Tungro Disease, a serious limiting factor for rice production in Asia.

By Rachel Melcer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Feb. 8--Imagine an oilseed, not part of the food chain, that can produce biodegradable plastic and improve the economics of making biodiesel. That is the vision of scientists at Cambridge, Mass.-based Metabolix Inc.

By Rachel Melcer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch May 11--The challenge of turning plants and earth into a source of fuel was evident Wednesday at the 2007 World Congress, a gathering of international policy, business and academic experts. Scores of participants gathered by the St.

By Rachel Melcer, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Dec. 21--Missouri Gov. Matt Blunt is weighing a plan that could free up more than $30 million a year in state funding for life-science research and commercialization by earmarking it solely for agricultural biotechnology.