crop species News
-
Healthy Soil Can Become Your Farm’s Biggest Asset. Learn How at SFA’s ‘Dirt Rich’
Understanding how to measure and build soil health requires a hands-on approach, and SFA’s upcoming “Dirt Rich: Building Soil Health Experts” workshops offer farmers and ag professionals a chance to do just that while digging deeper into soil health opportunities, challenges and monitoring. In 2018, two separate “Dirt Rich” events are scheduled: Aug. 28 in Red Lake ...
-
Soil Health from Local Farmers & Experts On Tap at Free SFA Cafe Chats
The Sustainable Farming Association is again hosting its series of popular Cafe Chats, free events featuring area farmers who are practicing soil health principles like cover crops, more diverse species, reduction in soil disturbance and adding livestock. At each Cafe Chat, area farmers share their soil health experience, followed by open questions and discussion. SFA Livestock & Grazing ...
-
SFA Soil Health Cafe Chat is April 1 in Amboy
As part of our popular event series, SFA is hosting a final spring Soil Health Cafe Chat from 3 to 6 p.m. Mon., April 1, at Amboy Cottage Cafe, 100 E Main St, Amboy. This free event features area farmer Scott Haase (above), who is practicing soil health principles like cover crops, more diverse species, reduction in soil disturbance and adding livestock. SFA Livestock & Grazing Specialist ...
-
Biofuel crops `can invade tropical ecosystems`
Biofuel crops are more likely than other plants to become invasive in tropical and subtropical ecosystems worldwide, scientists have found. They say that a weed risk assessment (WRA) — which examines a plant's biology, geographic origin, known pest status and behaviour — can be used to predict whether a species of biofuel crop will become invasive, enabling countries to avoid environmental and ...
By SciDev.Net
-
History sheds revealing light on crop sequencing
Forty years of crop sequencing trials have recently been collated by the Department of Agriculture and Food WA (DAFWA), giving Western Australian grain growers real insights into the rotational benefits of break crops. Representing more than 160 crop sequence experiments, the results were presented by DAFWA’s Mark Seymour at the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) supported 2009 ...
-
Increasing diversity through crop rotation boosts soil microbial biodiversity and productivity
Planting a variety of crop species in rotation in agricultural fields increases the diversity of soil microbes below ground, recent research has found. This in turn positively affects soil organic matter, soil structure and aids the healthy functioning of the soil. The researchers say that rotational diversity can help farmers to grow crops in a more sustainable way that promotes soil stability. ...
-
Bee pollination improves crop quality as well as quantity
Bee pollination improves the shape, weight and shelf-life of strawberries, contributing a staggering €1.05 billion to the European strawberry market per year, new research suggests. By blocking bees from a set of plants, the researchers demonstrated the substantial effects of bee pollination on the quality of the fruit. It is well established that insect pollination increases the quantity ...
-
Flexible management better for coexistence of GM and non-GM crops
Flexible measures, such as pollen barriers, for regulating the cultivation of GM and non-GM crops in the same landscape are more likely to encourage the adoption of GM technology by farmers than rigid measures, such as isolation distances, according to a recent study. The EU has recommended guidelines1 for developing national strategies by all Member States for the coexistence of genetically ...
-
Agroforestry can fix Pakistan’s depleting tree cover
Using a mix of trees and crop species can help rejuvenate Pakistan's deteriorating forests, a study reported. The study is based on physical and chemical analyses of 400 soil samples, collected during a survey of farms and plantations to compare the four agro-ecological zones of the Punjab province. Results of the findings published in the African Science Journal of Environmental Sciences and ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Oilseed rape genome sequenced
An International consortium of more than 30 research institutes, coordinated by scientists at INRA and CEA-Genoscope and associating CNRS and University of Evry, just succeeded in deciphering the complex genome of the recent oilseed rape1 (Brassica napus L, also known as rapeseed, rape or canola), the most important oilseed crop in Europe, Canada, and Australia. This scientific breakthrough paves ...
-
Which seeds to sow for bees?
Farmers could help to maintain populations of bees and other pollinators by sowing inexpensive seed mixes on their land, a new study suggests. Researchers surveyed pollinators visiting study plots in Berkshire, UK, and explored how sowing different seed mixes and using different management techniques affected the flowers produced and the pollinators visiting them. Overall, 84% of the crop ...
-
Potential of insects as resources for animal feed
Insects can provide a sustainable and environmentally-friendly option for animal feed, in addition to already being a mainstay of human diets for 2 billion people worldwide, FAO Assistant Director-General Eduardo Rojas-Briales told an international gathering of researchers in The Netherlands. Rojas spoke during the opening session of the conference, “Insects to Feed the World,” ...
-
Research confirms first glyphosate resistant wild radish
The world’s first populations of glyphosate resistant wild radish will be announced at Perth’s Agribusiness Crop Updates, but researchers stress further cases can be minimised if farmers adopt diverse control strategies. Australian Herbicide Resistance Initiative (AHRI) research has confirmed glyphosate resistance in three populations of wild radish, all from different locations in ...
-
Making agriculture sustainable
Agriculture is possibly the most important sector of global activity. It is a source of foods, fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It provides livelihoods and subsistence for the largest number of people worldwide. It is vital to rural development and therefore critical to poverty alleviation. Up to 40% of the land’s surface is used for agriculture, along with 70% of the world’s fresh water supply. ...
-
Lifeasible Provides Seed Vigor Testing Service for Plant Breeding
Lifeasible, a plant biotechnology company that offers efficient and reliable seed testing services with expanding capacities, now provides seed vigor testing service to meet the diverse requirements of its customers. Seed vigor is the sum of all essential properties that determine the potential for rapid, uniform germination as well as the ability to develop into normal seedlings under a wide ...
By Lifeasible
-
Asia–Pacific Analysis: Launching a second Green Revolution
Feeding South-East Asia's rapidly growing population requires a second Green Revolution, says Crispin Maslog. The Day of Seven Billion was proclaimed by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on 31 October 2011 as a historic milestone — the day the world's population reached seven billion people. And the world is on a steep growth curve for the rest of this century. More than half ...
By SciDev.Net
-
Creating the Perfect Environmental and Atmospheric Conditions for Vertical Farming
The global population is rapidly expanding, and new technologies are required to enable us to keep up with rising food demands. Vertical farming provides a secure supply of food year-round while using minimal space, water, and energy. Creating the perfect environment, and especially the perfect CO2atmosphere, in vertical farms is essential for optimizing crop yields and farm economics. ...
-
Feeding a growing population that relies on ecosystem services (Part II of II)
The future of farming, food supply, and protection of natural resources are utterly interdependent. While all economic sectors depend to some degree on ecosystem services, agriculture has the most intimate relationship with nature. Agriculture depends on healthy ecosystems for services such as pollination for nearly 75% of the world’s crop species, freshwater, erosion control, and climate ...
-
Nitrogen use by warm-season grasses for biomass production
Perennial, warm-season grasses are being evaluated as potential renewable energy crops. These species are well-suited for the production of biomass for energy applications because they utilize C4 photosynthesis and are perennial. Grasses that employ the C4 photosynthetic pathway use water, nitrogen (N), and solar radiation more efficiently than plants having the C3 pathway, and therefore are ...
-
Insect-eating bats save global maize farmers €0.91 billion a year from crop damage
Insect-eating bats are estimated to be worth US$ 1 billion (€0.91 billion) a year to maize farmers around the world, a new study has revealed. Not only do bats reduce crop damage by eating adult corn earworm crop pests, they also suppress fungal infections in maize ears. Bats and their habitats need to be better protected for their ecological and economic contributions, say the study’s ...
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you