Pollinnation Articles
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Risks of neonicotinoid insecticides to honeybees
The European honeybee, Apis mellifera, is an important pollinator of agricultural crops. Since 2006, when unexpectedly high colony losses were first reported, articles have proliferated in the popular press suggesting a range of possible causes and raising alarm over the general decline of bees. Suggested causes include pesticides, genetically modified crops, habitat fragmentation, and ...
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Rising Temperature, Rising Food Prices
Agriculture as it exists today developed over 11,000 years of rather remarkable climate stability. It has evolved to maximize production within that climate system. Now, suddenly, the climate is changing. With each passing year, the agricultural system is becoming more out of sync with the climate system. In generations past, when there was an extreme weather event, such as a monsoon failure in ...
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Indigenous biodiversity `crucial` to forest futures
Forestry experts are calling for an increase in the use of native tree species in reforestation projects, arguing that they are better for biodiversity and can slow the pace of global warming. The recommendation appears in a report published by the International Union of Forest Research Organizations (IUFRO) that was presented during the UN climate change conference in Doha, Qatar, earlier this ...
By SciDev.Net
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Woodland Burial Sites
The Funeralcare Co-operative Plan Bee Wildflower Meadow Creation As part of the ambitious Plan Bee project (which aims to save the plight of honey bees and pollinators across the UK), the Funeralcare Co-operative Woodland Burial Sites have been awarded funding to create bee friendly wildflower corridors. BritishFlora are managing the habitat creation of two wildflower meadows in Dorset of up ...
By BritishFlora
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Threshold velocity of pollination in urban area of the city of Brno
Wind velocity directly influences pollen release rate from mother plants and subsequently, the transport of pollen grains. The threshold velocity of pollination is defined as the lowest wind velocity with evidence of pollen concentration above the threshold pollen concentration. Only a limited number of published papers deal with the relationship between wind velocity and pollen concentration. ...
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Desert Year: Robust Economy and Lessons of the Sonoran Agave
Guest Blogger, Energy Efficiency Markets Reposted from Real Climate Economics August 17, 2011 John ‘Skip” Laitner is an economist, enjoying a desert year while on research sabbatical from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. Skip is discovering some surprising insights from his time in the desert that can inform the way one looks at the economy and social systems. ...
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Let the kids go wild outdoors
A number of international studies have shown that children in developed nations spend an average of 55 hours a week indoors using electronics. Even though this means that the youth in these countries are techno-savvy, it often results in them spending less and less time outdoors. How do we change this, and get our kids to experience the wonders of nature, develop creativity and learn to ...
By green24
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Earth out of sync rising temperatures throwing off seasonal timing
A newly hatched chick waits with hungry mouth agape for a parent to deliver its first meal. A crocus peaks up through the snow. Rivers flow swiftly as ice breaks up and snows melt. Sleepy mammals emerge from hibernation, and early frog songs penetrate the night. Spring awakening has long provided fodder for poets, artists, and almanac writers. Even for a notoriously fickle time of sunshine, ...
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Comparison of certified and farm-saved seed on yield and quality characteristics of Canola
Relatively high seed prices and low canola (Brassica napus L.) grain prices created a controversy over using farm-saved seed from hybrids. Agronomic implications of saving seed from a canola crop were investigated by planting certified seed and saved-seed of an open-pollinated and a hybrid canola cultivar at eight site-years in Saskatchewan and Alberta, Canada. In one series of experiments ...
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A Conceptual model for describing processes of crop improvement in database structures
Rising research costs, broadening goals, intellectual property rights, and other concerns increase the need for robust management of crop improvement data. The data model of the International Crop Information System (ICIS) allows breeding processes to be recorded unambiguously in a relational database. This paper describes this model, which underlies the Genealogical Management System (GMS) of ...
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Bumble bee pollinators in red clover seed production
Bumble bees pollinate red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) but impact on seed production depends on the species, abundance, and synchrony with bloom. The objectives of the current study were to examine pollination by a native bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii (Radoszkowski), determine the bumble bee fauna associated with red clover in Oregon, and assess if seed set is limiting. In a cage study, ...
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When is early generation selection effective in self-pollinated crops?
Despite widespread use of early generation testing and selection (EGT) in breeding for self-pollinated crops, its effectiveness remains largely an unresolved issue. This issue is tackled here using elaborated genetic models that enable genetic and nongenetic effects to be assessed for the effectiveness of EGT in terms of (i) the selection response at one or more early generations relative to the ...
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Pollinator effects on genotypically distinct soybean cytoplasmic male sterile lines
Poor seed-set limits potential for soybean hybrid seed production. The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of different pollinators on the rate of seed set in three soybean cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) lines, JLCMS9A, JLCMS82A, and JLCMS89A. The following five treatments were applied under net room isolation-conditions: (i) insecticide application and release of alfalfa leafcutter ...
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Investigation on cross-compatibility barriers in the Biofuel Crop Jatropha Curcas L. With wild Jatropha species
Interspecific hybridization in Jatropha species plays a significant role in crop improvement by transferring useful traits such as yield, high oil content, maximum number of seeds, more femaleness, and hard stems for promoting Jatropha as a biofuel crop. The wide crosses among the species resulted in limited success due to pollen incompatability. Hence, the objective of the study was to assess ...
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Diversity in seed production characteristics within the USDA-ARS limnanthes alba germplasm collection
Meadowfoam (L. alba) seeds are a source of long-chain fatty acids which are stable under diverse conditions. The fatty-acid composition makes this seed oil valuable for use in cosmetics, lubricants, rubber additives, and plastics. While a few meadowfoam cultivars have been developed, high-yielding germplasm is required for further crop improvement. The objective of this study was to evaluate ...
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Selective advance for accelerated development of recombinant inbred QTL mapping populations
Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping resolution of recombinant inbred lines (RILs) is limited by the amount of recombination they experience during development. Intercrossing during line development can be used to counter this disadvantage but requires additional generations and is difficult in self-pollinated species. It is desirable to improve mapping resolution for success of marker-assisted ...
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Genetic variation within and among wildrye (Elymus canadensis and E. Virginicus) populations from the Southern Great Plains
There is interest in Canada wildrye (CWR, Elymus canadensis L.) and Virginia wildrye (VWR, E. virginicus L.) for conservation and forage uses. Our objectives were to identify a set of molecular markers to assess genetic structure within and diversity among populations of CWR and VWR from the Southern Great Plains and to determine if these populations had an associated fungal endophyte. Nine CWR ...
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Bahiagrass tetraploid germplasm: Reproductive and agronomic characterization of segregating progeny
The tetraploid germplasm of bahiagrass, Paspalum notatum Flüggé, is an unexploited source of variability that can be used for the genetic improvement of this species as forage or turf. The objectives of this research were to develop a segregating population by hybridizing induced sexual and apomictic clones and to characterize the resulting population for mode of reproduction, seed fertility, ...
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Predicting outcrossing in maize hybrid seed production
Controlling pollination of the female inbred is critical to achieve maximum kernel set and high levels of genetic purity in maize (Zea mays L.) hybrid seed production. Although kernel set associated with inbred flowering dynamics is fairly predictable, it has not been possible to predict the level of outcrossing resulting from adventitious pollen entering the seed field. Our objective was to ...
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Assignment of individual genotypes to specific forage cultivars of perennial ryegrass based on ssr markers
Assignment or exclusion of an individual to specific populations or cultivars based on molecular genetic markers provides an attractive approach for varietal identification at the individual level in cross-pollinated plant species. The objectives of this study were (i) to explore the molecular diversity and relationships between Australasian perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) populations; ...
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