plant genetic News
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Genetic makeup of thousands of rice varieties placed in global seed data pool
Genome sequences of more than 3,000 rice varieties have been placed with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) by the world's leading rice research institute in a move boosting plans to set up a global data exchange system for crop genetic resources. The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Treaty (ITPGRFA) made ...
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US–Nepal hybrid maize project runs into criticism
Uncertainty hangs over a proposed partnership between US and Nepalese scientists to promote hybrid maize in the Himalayan country, after the project sparked local concerns over the potential loss of traditional local varieties and weak biotechnology regulation. The pilot project of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), Nepal's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and US ...
By SciDev.Net
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Global wild seed hunt begins
An international project to collect seeds from the wild relatives of 23 of the world's major food crops including maize, rice, wheat and potato, has received its first funding. Last week (10 December) Norway, home to the world's largest seed bank, in Svalbard in the Arctic, pledged US$50 million towards the collection, which is expected to take ten years to complete. Research and planning will ...
By SciDev.Net
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Crop Science Society of America Presents Awards in Long Beach
The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) will recognize the following individuals at the 2010 Awards Ceremony on Oct. 31-Nov. 3 during their Annual Meetings in Long Beach, CA, www.acsmeetings.org. The annual awards are presented for outstanding contributions to crop science through education, national and international service, and research. Jianming Yu, Kansas State University –Early ...
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Transgenic Corn Found to Damage Stream Ecosystems
BLOOMINGTON, Indiana, October 11, 2007 (ENS) - A widely planted variety of genetically engineered corn has the potential to harm aquatic ecosystems, finds a new study by an Indiana University professor of environmental science and his colleagues. Pollen and other plant parts containing toxins from genetically engineered Bt corn are washing into streams near cornfields and harming a type of fly ...
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GM maize contaminates non-GM crops in Uruguay
Contamination of traditional maize crops planted near genetically modified (GM) maize fields may be common in Uruguay, where the cultivation of GM maize has been permitted since 2003, scientists have said. A study published in Environmental Biosafety Research (25 March) has found GM seedlings in three traditional maize fields. It is said to be the first report of cross-fertilisation between GM ...
By SciDev.Net
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Organic dairy farmer albert straus speaks out against USDA’s decision on GM alfalfa
As an organic farmer, I protest the USDA’s recent decision to approve the unregulated planting of genetically modified alfalfa. This is a ruling that seriously jeopardizes the integrity of the organic food chain, and could cause irreparable harm to organic farmers by ruining our ability to supply organic dairy foods to customers. I believe that allowing genetically modified alfalfa to be ...
By 3BL Media
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Segra Enters Into Strategic Plant Genotyping And Tissue Culture Agreement With Sugarbud
Segra International Corp. (“Segra“) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a strategic plant genotyping and tissue culture agreement with Sugarbud Craft Growers Corp. (TSXV: SUGR, SUGR.WT, SUGR.RT) (“Sugarbud“) through its wholly owned subsidiary Segra Biogenesis Corp. Under the terms of the agreement, which includes royalties tied to production success, Segra ...
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Carbon credits to be used to fund GM food crops
US biotech firm Arcadia Biosciences has announced a plan to help fund the planting of genetically modified rice with carbon credits. The company will work with the Chinese government to give farmers who plant their crops carbon credits, which they can then sell on the global carbon trading market. Arcadia is touting its GM rice as a greener alternative to the regular crop. The plant has had a ...
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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. ...
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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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German soil monitoring programme could assess impacts of GM crops
Effective regulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) calls for monitoring of the potential environmental risks. This study explored whether the German permanent soil monitoring programme could be a useful tool for this purpose. The researchers say the programme has potential to monitor the effects of GMOs on local soil communities, but that adaptations would be necessary. The first ...
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Science: what has it done for the millennium development goals?
When the United Nations published the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2000, with aspirations including the ending of poverty and hunger; the promotion of gender equality and a reduction in child mortality, there was little mention of science. Yet most people involved in working towards the goals accepted that achieving them would rely on the successful application of science. Now, ...
By SciDev.Net
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KeyGene and Phenome Networks enter into a strategic collaboration, cross licensing breeding and big data genomics software platforms
Today, the Crop Innovation Company KeyGene and Phenome Networks announce that they have signed an agreement to establish a strategic partnership in the growing market of breeding and big data genomics software. In the collaboration, Phenome Networks provides a license to KeyGene to its plant breeding software (PhenomeOne) to support KeyGene’s breeding of rubber-producing dandelion plants. ...
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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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Burundi set to embrace hybrid maize seeds
Farmers in Burundi are set to benefit from new high-yielding, fast-maturing hybrid maize seeds that are also resistant to maize streak virus. The varieties are being tested by the Burundi Institute of Agronomic Sciences (ISABU) and should be available to farmers in September. Two seed companies, Pannar and Naseco, based in Kenya and Uganda respectively, have developed the seeds. "These ...
By SciDev.Net
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Segra International Partners with Supreme Cannabis to Support Expansion Efforts Leading into Legalization
Segra International Corp. (“Segra” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with The Supreme Cannabis Company (“Supreme Cannabis”) (TSXV:FIRE) (OTCQX: SPRWF) (FRA: 53S1) to provide cannabis micropropagation services at Supreme Cannabis’ wholly owned 7ACRES facility in Kincardine, Ontario. Plant micropropagation, also ...
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Impact of volunteer GM maize on conventional crops is low
A recent EU-supported study has analysed the development of volunteer or 'rogue' GM (genetically modified) maize plants in a conventional crop field. It finds that their numbers are low and do not exceed the EU's threshold of 0.9 per cent for incidental GM content. Scientific data on the role of maize volunteers on cross-pollination is limited. The most detailed studies have been conducted in ...
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Genetics not enough to increase wheat production
The deep gene pool that has allowed wheat to achieve ever increasing gains in yield may be draining. Crop scientists estimate that 50% of the gain in wheat production over the past century has been due to breeding. According to a new study, however, that improvement has been slowing since the late 1980s, with little chance that future increases in yield can be met by breeding efforts alone. The ...
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GM seeds can remain in fields longer than previously thought
Despite management practices designed to reduce the risk of genetically modified (GM) volunteer plants setting seed, new research shows that rogue GM plants occur in fields which were planted with GM oil seed rape 10 years earlier. Volunteer plants (plants that have not been planted deliberately) arise because some seed is spilled during harvest and remains in the field to germinate in a ...
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