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Some relationships can be complicated. Take the one between sweet potato crops and soil nitrogen, for example.

Too little nitrogen and sweet potato plants don’t grow well and have low yields. Too much nitrogen, however, boosts the growth of leaves and branches at the expense of storage roots. That also leads to low yields.

The warming ocean may cause the larvae of bottom-dwelling snails to hatch earlier in the spring, when waves are larger, potentially impacting their ability to survive and serve as food for other sea creatures.

Trying to tackle climate change by replacing forests with crops for bioenergy power stations that capture carbon dioxide (CO2) could instead increase the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, scientists say.

Scientists have identified a key gene that helps seeds decide whether to germinate.

The MFT gene stops seeds germinating in the dark or under shady conditions, where their chances of survival would be poor, according to new research from the University of York.

Tropical Storm Ileana continued to move north along the coast of western Mexico on Aug. 7 but cloud tops warmed as a result of interaction with land and nearby Hurricane John. Infrared data from NASA's Aqua satellite provided forecasters with temperature data that showed cloud top temperatures in Ileana were strongest around its center.