News & Comment

Maintaining a global food supply in the face of climate change will require the development of new crops that can thrive at higher temperatures. And that means using water more efficiently.

When Mr Yuan Longping passed away on 22 May 2021 at the age of 91, in Changsha, Hunan Province, China, the field of agricultural science lost a true giant. Mr Yuan was one of the greatest agricultural scientists of our time, and a hero who will be forever remembered in China and around the world. He devoted his entire life to the research of hybrid rice and made great contributions to global food security and poverty alleviation.

The end of the COVID-19 pandemic is still a long way away. However, it is already a good time to reflect on how we have tried to maintain a vibrant research community.

With public understanding and academic enthusiasm for plant science dwindling, now is the time to take the fascination for plants to the people.

After the tumultuous weeks and months surrounding the 2020 United States presidential election, the President’s choice for a key post in his administration gives a broad outline of how land-use policy and politics could change going forward.

The rapid development of plant biotechnologies is profoundly shaping crop breeding and catalysing the next revolution in agriculture.

The year 2020 was dominated by COVID-19 and the multiple unforeseen challenges it created. As we enter a second year of the pandemic those difficulties continue, but so too does the resilience of the research community.

January is traditionally a time for looking back over years past and making plans for the year to come. For Nature Plants, this means a first transformative step towards open access.