Agriculture Crops News
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Major crop losses in Central America due to El Niño
Prolonged dry weather associated with the El Niño phenomenon has severely reduced this year’s cereal outputs in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, putting a large numbers of farmers in need of agricultural assistance as the subregion tries to recover amidst ongoing dryness, FAO said today. This is the second consecutive year that the region's main season cereal harvest ...
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FAO Food Price Index registers sharpest fall since December 2008
International food commodity prices continued to decline in August as ample supplies, a slump in energy prices and concerns over China's economic slowdown all contributed to the sharpest fall of the FAO Food Price Index in almost seven years. The index averaged 155.7 points in August 2015, down 5.2 percent from July, the steepest monthly drop since December 2008, with virtually all major food ...
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Simulated Seawater Flooding Decreases Growth of Vegetable Seedlings
Crop production in coastal areas is threatened by seawater intrusion, which increases soil salinity. Excessive salinity in soil and irrigation water, in combination with waterlogging, can significantly affect the growth and quality for agricultural crops, especially those vegetables that are sensitive to salinity. A new study determined salt-tolerant vegetable seedlings for coastal area ...
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End-of-production LED Lighting Increases Red Pigmentation in Lettuce
Growing vegetables in greenhouses extends crop production seasons in northern latitudes, but the greenhouse environment is far from ideal for providing plants with optimal photosynthetic light. In fact, available photosynthetic daily light in greenhouses can be reduced by up to 50% or more by the structures' glazing material, superstructure, and shading. In northern latitudes, low light is ...
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New UF/IFAS-developed avocado app helps guide irrigation
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences faculty have developed a new app for avocado growers that provides an irrigation schedule so users save an estimated 20 to 50 percent on the water they apply to their orchards. “Weather changes daily, and the app takes into account these changes in the irrigation schedule it provides,” said Kati Migliaccio, an ...
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Marrone Bio Innovations Announces Opening of New Greenhouse to Facilitate and Expand Research and Product Development Capacity
Marrone Bio Innovations, Inc. (MBI), (Nasdaq:MBII), a leading provider of bio-based pest management and plant health products for the agriculture, turf and ornamental and water treatment markets, today announced the opening of its new greenhouse to facilitate and expand its research and product development capacity. The new greenhouse, located adjacent to MBI's corporate headquarters at 1540 ...
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637 kW EnviWaste Plant Put into Operation in Meuse (France)
EnviTec technology for converting residues into biogas scores in France Lohne, 14 April 2015 - Residual material and byproducts are produced in all production plants, be it in the agricultural or food processing industries, cosmetics sector or in livestock breeding. The quantity of organic waste produced by the citizenry is also significant for communes – about half a ton per year per ...
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Living mulch, organic fertilizer tested on broccoli
Cover crops provide many benefits to agricultural production systems, including soil and nutrient retention, resources and habitat for beneficial organisms, and weed suppression. In regions where short growing seasons can hinder the establishment of productive cover crops between cash crop growing periods, living mulch systems may provide vegetable crop growers with opportunities to establish ...
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Plant strategies for optimising nitrate intake
The less nitrogen there is in the soil, the better plants are at using it. Researchers from INRA, CNRS and CIRAD, in cooperation with Czech colleagues, have recently shed light on the crucial role of a protein that enables plants to not only assess their environment but also activate the proper adaptive response based on the conditions. This research, published in the 2 March 2015 issue of Nature ...
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FAO food price index declines further in February, led by sugar
The FAO Food Price Index declined to a 55-month low in February, dropping 1.0 percent from January and 14 percent below its level a year earlier. Lower prices for cereals, meat and especially sugar more than offset an increase in milk and palm oil prices. The FAO Food Price Index averaged 179.4 points in February, down from 181.2 points in January and 208.6 points in February 2014. Its ongoing ...
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Leading cereal experts discussing challenges and new approaches to enhance wheat yield and quality
About 230 experts and representatives from 30 cereal growing countries across the globe have met on February 11 and 12 at the Bayer CropScience Cereal Future Forum in Brussels, Belgium, to discuss current challenges and future opportunities in wheat production. The conference aimed to stimulate fresh perspectives on topics ranging from agronomic challenges such as integrated weed and pest ...
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Climate change to shift global spread and quality of agricultural land
New areas of land suitable for agriculture will open up under climate change’s effects, new research predicts, particularly in far northern regions of the world. However, the overall quality of land for farming will decline and many regions, including Europe, could lose large areas of suitable land. Demand for agricultural products is expected to rise by 70–110% by 2050. This is ...
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Food Chain Partnership: A successful decade of ‘Working Together for Sustainable Agriculture’
Year-around availability of high-quality fruits and vegetables at affordable prices is one crucial demand consumers have today: From February 4 to 6, Bayer Crop Science’s Food Chain Management team welcomed experts and partners from different stages of the food value chain. The key focus was the exchange on views about consumer demands, perfect quality and how to keep consistency of food ...
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Leading corn and soybean experts meet to discuss new approaches and promote more sustainability in future cultivation
Against the backdrop of a growing world population, the global demand for corn and soybean products is rising steadily. To further increase agricultural productivity without compromising the environment, a sustainable intensification of corn and soybean production is needed. On October 30 and 31, more than 200 experts and representatives from corn- and soybean-growing countries across the globe ...
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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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Good harvests and ample stockpiles continue to drive international food prices down
Food markets are more stable and prices for most agricultural commodities are sharply lower than they have been in recent years, according to the latest edition of FAO's biannual Food Outlook report and a new update to the Organization's monthly Food Price Index, both out today. Bumper harvests and abundant stockpiles are key factors helping drive down international cereal prices, according to ...
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Clove Oil Tested for Weed Control in Organic Vidalia Sweet Onion
Weed control is one of the most challenging aspects of organic crop production. Most growers of certified organic crops rely heavily on proven cultural and mechanical weed control methods while limiting the use of approved herbicides. A new study of herbicides derived from clove oil tested the natural products' effectiveness in controlling weeds in Vidalia sweet onion crops. "Cultivation with a ...
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West Africa: Ebola outbreak puts harvests at risk, sends food prices shooting up
Disruptions in food trade and marketing in the three West African countries most affected by Ebola have made food increasingly expensive and hard to come by, while labor shortages are putting the upcoming harvest season at serious risk, FAO warned today. In Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, quarantine zones and restrictions on people's movement aimed at combating the spread of the virus, ...
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Muck Crops Field Day is July 31
Agricultural producers are welcome to attend the Muck Crops Field Day and learn the newest vegetable care and growing tips from state experts at Ohio’s oldest outlying agricultural research station. The 2014 Muck Crops Field Day is July 31 at the Muck Crops Agricultural Research Station, located in Willard. This event is sponsored by the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center ...
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Exciting Farming Projects Benefit from £18M Government Funding
There were some exciting announcements in farming this week as Defra revealed 15 agri-tech projects that are due to receive a share of £18 million from the Government and industry to help speed up agriculture innovation and their commercial viability. According to Farmers Guardian, they are the first industrial research awards to be funded by the £70 million Agri-Tech Catalyst, which ...
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