agriculture research News
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Introducing system models into Ag Research
In order to develop sustainable agricultural systems that address environmental challenges, more quantitative guidance and site-specific decision tools must become available to producers. Field research requires a quantitative approach to ensure complex interacting factors are taken into account. Process level models of cropping systems are based on synthesis and quantification of important ...
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Global alliance to strengthen research–farmer links
An international alliance of research institutions will try to implement the results of agricultural research and to communicate findings to smallholder farmers in developing nations. The Association of International Research and Development Centres for Agriculture (AIRCA) was launched last month (30 October) at the Second Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development in Uruguay. ...
By SciDev.Net
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Australian soil could help fortify US sunflowers
Improved disease resistance could be in store for tomorrow’s sunflower varieties, thanks to plants that ARS scientists collected in Australia and are evaluating in greenhouse trials in Fargo, North Dakota. ARS plant pathologist Thomas Gulya and ARS botanist Gerald Seiler collected seeds of wild sunflowers while in Australia from February 17 to March 14, 2007. The ARS Plant Exploration Office ...
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Satellites help keep Chesapeake Bay clean
Space-age technologies to help Maryland implement and monitor an expanded winter cover crop program that is vital to the Chesapeake Bay's health are being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Beltsville, Md. Soil scientist Gregory McCarty and colleagues Dean Hively, Ali Sadeghi and Megan Lang with the ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville are ...
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Japanese Professional Agro-Industrial Delegation to Visit Israel this Week
A delegation comprised of 25 executives and researchers from a variety of Japanese agricultural enterprises, arrived to Israel Sunday for a week-long visit. The visit's aim is to study the Israeli agricultural model and encourage cooperation between Israeli and Japanese agricultural sectors. During their stay the delegation will get acquainted with Israeli methods of greenhouses, desert ...
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Cassava disease monitoring goes mobile
Mobile phones are the unlikely weapons being used to fight cassava disease in Tanzania, in a collaboration between scientists and farmers. As part of the Digital Early Warning Network (DEWN) farmers from ten districts in the Lake Zone region of Tanzania will be trained to recognise the symptoms of Cassava Mosaic Disease (CMD) and Cassava Brown Streak Disease (CBSD). They will then send monthly ...
By SciDev.Net
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African farmers need more relevant climate predictions
Seasonal climate predictions have been limited in their ability to meet the needs of rural farmers in Sub-Saharan Africa, according to a study. Uncertain rainfall and climate affect 70 per cent of Sub-Saharan Africa's population, hampering efforts to promote agricultural production, improve food security and reduce poverty, according to a paper published in Experimental Agriculture this month (5 ...
By SciDev.Net
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Statistical analysis can estimate crop performance
Scientists at Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom, in collaboration with the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria have developed a method of accounting for spatial trend in single crop field trials. Spatial trend refers to the variations in crop yield and other characteristics observed when repeating this single crop field trial. Usually plant breeders ...
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Food prices decline but remain high
Global food prices declined by 6 percent over the last quarter, but are still not far from their historical peaks, according to the World Bank Group’s latest Food Price Watch report. Wheat markets remain tight; and weather-related concerns in Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Ukraine, and the Russian Federation may further drive up wheat prices over the next few months. Domestic prices showed ...
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Fight against wheat rust needs sustained investment
Developing countries need help with crop surveillance and the development of strains resistant to wheat rust, say agricultural research leaders. Today's food security situation is being worsened by strains of wheat rust disease that are emerging more frequently and spreading much faster and to new areas — changes fuelled by climate change and conducive environments in increasingly fragile ...
By SciDev.Net
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New App Involves Farmers in Investment Decisions in Rice Breeding
Investment Game Application (IGA), a new tablet app, helps farmers in South and Southeast Asia participate in an “investment market” for public rice breeding. By playing IGA, farmers reveal their preferences for the rice breeding products they most urgently need in order to improve their livelihoods. The app also helps them prioritize the traits they want in their rice varieties while ...
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Early cotton planting requires irrigation
Cotton growers can produce more cotton if they plant early, but not without irrigation. That’s the finding of an article published in the September-October 2010 Agronomy Journal, a publication of the American Society of Agronomy. Bill Pettigrew, a scientist with the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Stoneville, Mississippi, tested the performance of cotton under irrigated and ...
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Satellite data plus conservation equals better crop yields
Combining remote sensing technology with water and soil conservation techniques can help raise crop yields in South Asia, scientists have reported. Satellite data can help identify specific problems on farmlands such as moisture shortage, excessive soil wetness and flood occurrence. Using the data along with appropriate resource conserving technology (RCT) will increase productivity, a study ...
By SciDev.Net
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2015 Farm Science Review Takes On Sharp Edge
Farmers and producers can gain a sharper edge and glean cutting-edge ideas from experts from the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University during this year’s Farm Science Review Sept. 22-24 at the Molly Caren Agricultural Center in London, Ohio. The Review will again emphasize the best agricultural research, resources, information and access for ...
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Ohio State Agronomy Workshop Jan. 19 to Focus on Soil Fertility
Healthy soils are a key ingredient to produce strong crop yields, and understanding what nutrients your soils need is a fundamental step in that process, says an educator in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. Soil fertility is crucial to maximizing yield potential when growing crops, said Amanda Douridas, an Ohio State University Extension ...
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2014 Guide on Corn, Soybean, Wheat and Alfalfa Available for Growers
With wet weather continuing to create harvest and planting delays, a new guide developed by agronomists from Ohio State University’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences is available to help growers check their crops’ development. The 2014 Corn, Soybean, Wheat and Alfalfa Field Guide is now available for $12.50 and can be purchased through the Ohio State ...
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Plant and soil science conference emphasizes food, energy and environmental security
A conference is coming to Long Beach Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 that presents the latest research in plant and soil science, emphasizing the security of food, energy and the environment in the next green revolution. More than 3,000 international scientists, professionals, educators, and students will present new technologies and discuss emerging trends in food security, bioenergy, climate change, soil ...
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Decolonizing agricultural science: Are we ready to embrace change?
The continued influence of colonialism on research and the need to structurally transform the processes and practices of science were the focus of a panel discussion at the CGIAR GENDER Impact Platform Conference in 2023. Centering local voices to break down the underlying power relationships between the researcher and the researched is a key part of decolonizing science. The discussion, focused ...
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CSIRO aiming to lead the world in agricultural modelling
The joint venture has been formed to further develop the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM) – a computer simulation model which takes into account many of the factors affecting a farm’s success, including different plant, soil and management approaches, to inform on-farm management decisions. APSIM has a broad range of applications including: farming systems design, assessment of ...
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EU launches new computer model for policy changes on agriculture
Researchers from 15 European countries have come together to build a computer model that can evaluate the effects of policy changes on agriculture. This new model allows policy makers to investigate the likely effects of policy change on agriculture. Importantly, the model will allow the effects of policy to be examined at all scales, from farming in a single region to the whole European and ...
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