agriculture research papers

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

View all journals

Agriculture articles from across Nature Portfolio

Agriculture is the cultivation of plants, animals, and some other organisms, such as fungi, for the production of food, fibre, fuel, and medicines used by society.

Meat reduction in small portions

Reductions in meat consumption require dietary shifts and structural changes to our food system. Yet, a simple measure such as reducing the size of meat portions can already have an impact — and may help kick-off a longer-term shift.

Machiel J. Reinders
Hans Dagevos

Evolutionary innovation hints at ways to engineer efficient photosynthesis in crops

By comparing related plants, researchers have identified a cause of a switch in gene expression that enabled a more efficient form of photosynthesis to evolve — paving the way for engineering crops that are more productive.

Monalisha Rath
Dominique Bergmann

Tomato engineering hits the sweet spot to make big sugar-rich fruit

A genetic regulator of tomato sweetness has been identified through comparison of wild and domesticated varieties of the plant. Genetically engineering tomatoes to alter this gene increases sugar content without affecting fruit size.

Amy Lanctot
Patrick M. Shih

Latest Research and Reviews

Improved alternate wetting and drying irrigation increases global water productivity

Alternate wetting and drying (AWD) optimizes water use in rice cultivation. This study shows that a soil water potential-based AWD scheme could minimize yield loss while increasing water productivity in 37% of global irrigated rice areas.

Optimisation of cell fate determination for cultivated muscle differentiation

Single-nucleus RNA sequencing gives insights into heterogeneity during bovine skeletal muscle differentiation, informing the design of improved medium formulations for cultivated meat production.

Lea Melzener
Lieke Schaeken
Joshua E. Flack

Rural land systems both support and hinder the Sustainable Development Goals across Europe

European agricultural subsidies are mainly allocated to rural regions where agriculture is intensified such as southern Europe, the Lowlands, and the Balkans, instead of Nordic and Central Europe which are more sustainable, according to a spatial hotspot analysis of 24 sustainability indicators

Kimberly A. Nicholas
Murray Scown

US land sector mitigation investments and emissions implications

There are continuing questions on how much investments in land-based mitigation activities could deliver in terms of abatement. This study shows that annual investments of $2.4billion in the U.S. land could deliver abatement of around 80 MtCO2e/yr.

Alice Favero
Christopher M. Wade
Bruce A. McCarl

Smaller meat portions contribute the most to reducing meat consumption in the United Kingdom

Strategies to change meat consumption patterns remain poorly understood. Using decomposition analysis, this study shows that the decline in UK meat consumption is driven by the consumption of smaller portions of meat, followed by reducing the number of days and occasions on which meat is consumed.

Alexander Vonderschmidt
Lindsay M. Jaacks
Cristina Stewart

Whole-chain intensification of pig and chicken farming could lower emissions with economic and food production benefits

A scenario analysis demonstrates that integrated crop–livestock optimization combined with intensive monogastric livestock production could reduce greenhouse gas emissions and redirect cropland use from feed to food production.

Xiuming Zhang

News and Comment

Co-benefits of agricultural diversification and technology for the environment and food security in China

Land consolidation in China is seen as a key strategy to increase resource use efficiency while maintaining high yields, yet it often reduces crop diversity. Reconciling consolidation, diversity and agricultural technology is key for food and nutrition security.

Thomas Cherico Wanger
Estelle Raveloaritiana
Shenggen Fan

Nitrogen management across croplands

Effective nitrogen management at the local scale, through targeted practices, can enhance agricultural sustainability. However, it also necessitates consideration of climate change and socio-economic transformations.

Ouping Deng

India’s US$20-billion fertilizer subsidies could do more for farmers — here’s how

Making payments directly to farmers can encourage them to use fertilizer more wisely, thereby improving soil health, yields and the environment.

Asim Biswas

Quick links

Explore articles by subject
Guide to authors
Editorial policies

Agricultural Research

The official publication of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (NAAS), India
Focuses on new and emerging fields and concepts in agricultural sciences.
Provides a forum for Agricultural Scientists to deliberate on important issues.
Aims to catalyze policy development on issues impacting rational agricultural growth and development globally.
Recognizes and encourages cutting-edge research in various fields of agricultural sciences.
Anupam Varma