crop quality News
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Increasing potato production
Despite sophisticated nutrient management of potato crops, quality and yield still see wide variability. Although nutrients are already well understood, the influence of other environmental factors remains understudied. A research team from Michigan State University conducted a study to determine how the chemical and physical properties of soil, along with the light waves the plant absorbs and ...
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Identifying federal research dollars for Ag
“Food, Nutrition, Agriculture, and Natural Resource Sciences in the FY 2011 Budget,” is the title of a book chapter written by key staff at American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America. Authors Karl Glasener, Director of Science Policy, and Caron Gala Bijl, Science Policy Programs Coordinator, highlight programs and trends across ...
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DAFWA researcher wins Seed of Light award
The winner of the 2014 Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) western region Seed of Light award is Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) research officer Ben Biddulph. The presentation of the award – made annually to someone who makes a significant contribution to communicating the outcomes of grains research – took place today at Perth’s Agribusiness Crop ...
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Decision support-based approach for sustainable water reuse application in agricultural production - DSWAP
Launched in July 2019, the main goal of DSWAP is to develop modular cost- and energy-efficient wastewater treatment systems specifically designed for wastewater reuse in the context of crops irrigation that safeguard public health, environmental and soil quality and long-term agronomic sustainability. This goal encompasses five specific objectives: Optimization and evaluation of ...
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Kansas senator honored with soil stewardship award
A long-time champion for agriculture, research, and the United States’ soil resources, Senator Pat Roberts, a Kansas Republican, will be presented today (Mar. 18) with the 2013 Excellence in Soil Stewardship Award by the Soil Science Society of America (SSSA). The award recognizes policy makers whose exemplary leadership has strengthened the U.S. agricultural enterprise and the natural ...
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Grass strips help curb erosion, herbicide transport
Grass filter strips placed in riparian zones not only curb soil erosion, but can help block and degrade the widely used herbicide atrazine, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report. Atrazine has been used extensively to suppress weeds in corn production for decades, but because it's applied directly to soil it's especially prone to losses in surface runoff. The contamination of ...
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Using genetic mapping to save wheat production
Stem rust disease has the potential to devastate wheat production worldwide. In the 1950s, large epidemics spread across North America and through other parts of the world. Developing a stem rust resistant gene stopped the spread of the disease. In 1999, a new race of stem rust was discovered in Uganda and identified as Ug99. Previously developed stem rust resistant genes are no longer effective ...
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Loss of wild pollinators would hit crops, finds study
The loss of wild pollinators from agricultural landscapes could threaten global crop yields, a study has found. Led by Lucas Garibaldi, an assistant professor at the National University of Río Negro inArgentina, a team of researchers compared fields containing many wild pollinators — mostly insects — with those containing few. They studied 41 crop systems across all continents ...
By SciDev.Net
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Self-seeding: an innovative management system
US researchers have investigated the potential for rye and wheat cover crops to perpetuate themselves, saving time and money for farmers while providing environmental benefits Winter cover crops provide important ecological functions that include nutrient cycling and soil cover. Although cover crop benefits to agroecosystems are well documented, cover crop use in agronomic farming systems ...
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Workshop Discusses Whether Agriculture Can Significantly Reduce Off-Site Movement of Soluble Nutrients
Growers who plant cover crops and vegetative systems in agriculture will find that it can tie up phosphorus in a stable phosphorus form that remains in the soil which can increase phosphorus use efficiency, according to a soil researcher from Ohio State’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences. The question of whether agriculture can significantly reduce off-site ...
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Target the crop not the soil - to reduce fertiliser use
Feed the crop not the soil’ is the message of a new review into sustainable phosphorus use. Currently, phosphorus fertiliser is applied to the soil, and plants then take it up through the roots. However, more precise nutrient management is needed on farms, the researchers say, so that the phosphorus is targeted at the crop just as it needs it. Modern agriculture is dependent on phosphorus, ...
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VISCA “Vineyards´ Integrated Smart Climate Application”
Climate change is threatening different varieties of agriculture species; the wine-grapes are especially sensitive to subtle differences in micro-climate impacts causing changes in the crops (i.e. decrease of the grape quality and quantity, changes in alcohol, acid, sugar, etc.) which directly affects the European wine industry. VISCA (“Vineyards´ Integrated Smart Climate ...
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One Billion Hungry: ASA offers new program in South Asia
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization released a report on June 19, 2009 stating that one in six people in the world — or more than 1 billion — is now hungry, a historic high. Compared with last year, there are 100 million more people who are hungry, meaning they receive fewer than 1,800 calories a day, the Food and Agriculture Organization said in the new estimate of food insecurity. ...
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Method to differentiate open pollinated varieties of maize developed
Open pollinated varieties of maize are going to be easier to distinguish from each other, thanks to scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Africa and Mexico. They have developed a new technique to differentiate the genes of one open pollinated variety from another, particularly important to African farmers, most of whom do not plant hybrid varieties. The ...
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Tillage and reduced-input rotations affect runoff from agricultural fields
A new study from researchers at the USDA Agricultural Research Service provides information about runoff under different management practices and can help farmers choose the practice that is best for them. No-till management practices can reduce soil erosion, but evidence suggests they can also lead to increased runoff of dissolved phosphorus from soil surfaces. Meanwhile, farmers looking to ...
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New Tool Offers Growers Easy Option to Measure Soil Organic Matter Content
Researchers with Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences have developed a new tool that allows farmers to easily predict soil organic matter content and can help them make decisions about whether or not to sell crop residue. The tool can benefit growers by providing information for more timely planting and harvesting, reducing operating costs, increasing ...
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Crop Science Society of America announces the 2010 class of fellows
The CropScience Society of America(CSSA) will continue a time-honored tradition this year with the presentation of the following individuals as 2010 CSSA Fellows at a special Awards Ceremony during their Annual Meeting on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Long Beach, CA, www.acsmeetings.org. Members of the Society nominate worthy colleagues based on their professional achievements and meritorious service. Only ...
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Soil science society of America announces 2010 award recipients
The Soil Science Society of America (SSSA) will present the following 2010 Awards during their Annual Meetings on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 in Long Beach, CA, www.acsmeetings.org. Kirk Scheckel – Marion L. and Chrystie M. Jackson Soil Science Award. Kirk Scheckel is a research soil scientist in the National Risk Management Research Laboratory of the U.S. EPA. He is an adjunct faculty member at the ...
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Can GM crops feed the hungry?
Golden Rice burst into the public imagination a decade ago, in the form of a cover article in Time magazine that claimed the genetically modified (GM) rice could 'save a million kids a year'. The rice gets its golden hue from an excess of beta carotene, a precursor to vitamin A that could help half a million children who go blind each year from an often-fatal vitamin A deficiency. But ten ...
By SciDev.Net
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