Conservation NewsBriefs: 11/10/11

Research shows health of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay is improving
United Press International 
The water quality of Maryland's Chesapeake Bay is improving through efforts to reduce the flow of fertilizers, animal waste and other pollutants, U.S. researchers said. An analysis of bay water quality records from the past 60 years show the size of mid- to late-summer oxygen-starved dead zones has been declining since the 1980s, when a concerted effort to cut nutrient pollution was initiated through the federal Chesapeake Bay Program.More

Crop sensors outperform farmers at choosing nitrogen rates
Agronomy Journal via Crop Science Society of America

Researchers make variable-rate irrigation simpler to use
University of Georgia via Southeast Farm Press

Amending soils with gypsum
Crops & Soils magazine

Company wants to tap Mojave aquifer; conservationists worry about impact
The Associated Press via MSNBC

Expert: Kenya's agricultural sector at risk as biodiversity loss accelerates
Africa Science News

Genome of 'orphan crop' cracked; pigeonpea set for sustainable food production
ScienceDaily