crop yield News
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Agricultural ammonia emissions could be reduced without affecting crop yield
Ammonia released by nitrogen fertilisers in Spanish agriculture could be reduced by up to 82% with only a very minimal impact on crop yield, finds new research. This could be achieved by combining optimised management of manure with the use of non-urea synthetic fertilisers. Agriculture accounted for almost 94% of total European atmospheric emissions of ammonia in 2011. The main sources of these ...
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Fertiliser can offset heat for African farmers
[NAIROBI] African smallholders in dry areas can overcome climate change and even double crop yields if they invest in fertiliser use and harvest rainwater, researchers have found. Farmers in arid and semi-arid areas usually protect themselves from climate-related losses by investing as little as possible in farm inputs such as fertilisers. But in doing so they fail to grab opportunities for ...
By SciDev.Net
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Desert bacteria could help boost crop yields
Desert soil microbes could help halt desertification and boost agriculture in arid regions of the Middle East and North Africa, according to a study. Scientists from the United Arab Emirates [UAE] have isolated local salt- and drought-tolerant strains of Rhizobia, soil bacteria that fix nitrogen when they become established inside the root nodules of legumes. Rhizobia bacteria establish a ...
By SciDev.Net
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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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Agroecology a `spectacular` success, says UN expert
Agroecology, a science-based, ecological approach to agriculture, has been underestimated by policymakers even though it could play a vital role in boosting crop yields and advancing economic development, says a UN report. The approach relies on the natural environment to boost soil productivity and protect crops against pests, instead of using external inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides. ...
By SciDev.Net
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Patches of flowers boost pollinator diversity and lead to higher crop yields
Falling levels of insect pollination are causing declining yields of important agricultural crops. However, new research from South Africa now indicates that planting small patches of native flowers in agricultural fields can be a profitable and sustainable method of increasing pollination and yield. Insect pollination is a vital ecosystem service as animal-pollinated crops form an essential ...
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Banana compost could boost crop yields, a study finds
Using old banana trees to make compost may help boost crop yields while cutting down water and fertiliser use, according to an Egyptian researcher. Banana-based fertiliser could cut about 20 per cent of the water used in irrigating maize and lead to better yields and improved soil properties — such as availability of micronutrients and soil moisture — a researcher at Egypt's National ...
By SciDev.Net
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How much water is used for irrigation in European agriculture?
Agriculture plays a large role in the management of water in the EU. However, there is little consistent information on water use in irrigation. New EU supported research has estimated how much water is used for irrigation in European countries, providing a framework to analyse agricultural pressures on water quantity. Water scarcity is an increasing problem in the EU and the situation is ...
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New crop of plant scientists emerges at CSIRO
Under the CSIRO Plant Industry Summer Student Program, 17 students are engaged in a range of important agricultural research projects designed to discover, for example, how high temperatures affect crops and the genetic bases of crop development. The Program, which runs from 6 December to 11 February, provides university students with real insights into the day-to-day working lives of some of ...
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In-crop nitrogen key to summer sorghum yields
With the summer cropping season on our doorstep, growers are weighing up their planting options against the market, seasonal conditions and gross margin calculations. For many the summer cropping rotation will include sorghum and maximising crop yield and profitability will be a key driver of all pre-plant and in-crop agronomic decisions. Recent research funded by the GRDC, Queensland Alliance ...
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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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UF/IFAS avocado irrigation app should save money, water
Avocado growers now know that a University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences mobile irrigation app works well to save money while maintaining crop yields. This data, reported in a new study, is critical for an industry that has a $100 million a year economic impact on Florida. It’s also important because agriculture uses about 70 percent of the world’s water, the ...
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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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Overseas Lab Seeks U.S. Weed Control `Recruits`
The search is on for insects, mites, microbes or nematodes that could be used in a biologically based approach to controlling silverleaf nightshade, an invasive weed from the Americas that has spread to southern Europe, Africa, India, Australia and elsewhere. According to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) entomologist Walker Jones, the perennial weed, Solanum elaeagnifolium, is being targeted ...
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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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Late-Planted Corn Can Still Reap Strong Yields
Growers worried about delayed planting for corn, take heart – late-planted corn sometimes has reaped better yields than early planted corn, says an agronomist in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University. It’s true that the optimal time to get corn planted in southern Ohio is between April 10 and May 10 and in northern Ohio between ...
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India-UK fund to boost agro-innovation in Africa and Asia
The Indian and UK governments are tapping into agricultural innovation outside the traditional international development community with the launch of a £20 million (US$32 million) programme for food security. Sustainable Crop Production Research for International Development (SCPRID) will allow scientists to research stressors, ranging from pests to climate change, on five key crops ...
By SciDev.Net
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Cereal Crops Feeling the Heat
LIVERMORE, California (ENS) - Warming temperatures since 1981 have caused annual losses of about US$5 billion for six major cereal crops, new research has found. This is the first study to estimate how much global food production already has been affected by climate change. From 1981 to 2002, fields of wheat, corn and barley throughout the world have produced a combined 40 million metric tons ...
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Urgent Action Needed to Address Africa’s Soil Health Issues, Say Experts
One of the best prospects for feeding Africa’s rapidly growing population is to increase the sustainable use of fertilizers, a high-level panel of experts is expected to say today at an international meeting of the World Food Prize. Despite 10-year-old commitments to expand the use of fertilizer in African agriculture, the continent still averages around one-tenth of fertilizer use per ...
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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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