Peter Hirst, professor of horticulture at Purdue University has found that an anomaly in certain causes some apples grow to a size well above the rest, because their cells do not divide the blocks as normal.

The finding shows that the new variety is approximately 38 per cent heavier and has a diameter 15 percent larger than normal.

The phenomenon has never before been seen in apples. It is a rarity for this fruit. (more…)

A team of scientists has deepened in an evolutionary dilemma: When there are few infectious agents in the environment, plants more resistant to diseases grow more slowly and are less competitive than their less resilient parents.

The individuals of the same plant species often differ greatly in their ability to resist pathogens: a rose bush while succumbing to bacterial infection, your neighbor may be prospering happily. (more…)

Someday, astronauts aboard space missions of long duration may include in their diet fruits and vegetables grown on board their own spaceship or base to another world. And a team of researchers at Purdue University has found a healthy candidate to join that group of plants: a drill that requires little maintenance and low energy. (more…)