crop performance News
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Assessing stressed crops from the sky
In Peru, the International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, uses drones to aerially assess crop performance under different stresses, such as pests, diseases, drought and frost — all of them widespread phenomena in the Andes, one area where CIP works. Having tested this technique, CIP submitted it to the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru. Now they work together on using drones to assist in ...
By SciDev.Net
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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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Crop performance matters when evaluating GHGs
Measuring the emission of greenhouse gases from croplands should take into account the crops themselves. That’s the conclusion of a study in the September-October issue of the Journal of Environmental Quality, which examined the impact of farm practices such as tillage on the greenhouse gas, nitrous oxide (N2O). Expressing emissions per unit of crop yield rather than on a more conventional ...
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SMS Field Trials at Work
As the growing season winds down, we are starting to look forward to harvest at our farm. Through the year we have been watching the fields turn from last year’s bean stubble, to a green hue, to leaves in the wind, to tassels, and now grain fill. The fertilizer trials that we put out in our farm last spring, and the weather that we had during the year are going to make for some interesting ...
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Ohio’s 2015 Soybean Crop Performance Trials Reveal Higher than Expected Yields
Despite the heavy rains that hit the region early during the growing season this year, soybeans in the majority of test plots planted by researchers with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University still managed to beat expectations. In fact, in four of the six test sites for the 2015 Ohio Soybean Performance Test, soybeans averaged over 70 bushels ...
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Seaweed extract benefits petunia, tomato transplants
Seaweed extracts are used widely in agriculture and horticulture production systems. Benefits of the extracts can include early seed germination and establishment, improved crop performance and yield, increased resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, and enhanced postharvest shelf life. A study in the August 2015 issue of HortTechnology determined the effects of rockweed extract, applied as a ...
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BIOCONSORTIA Announces Two New Nematicides
BioConsortia, Inc. has moved two new nematicides into its development and registration phase following excellent field trial results in corn and other important food crops. The new products control nematode pests and increase crop yields. Plant parasitic nematodes are tiny, ubiquitous roundworms that feed from plants. They directly target roots of major production crops and prevent water and ...
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Satellites help keep Chesapeake Bay clean
Space-age technologies to help Maryland implement and monitor an expanded winter cover crop program that is vital to the Chesapeake Bay's health are being developed by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists in Beltsville, Md. Soil scientist Gregory McCarty and colleagues Dean Hively, Ali Sadeghi and Megan Lang with the ARS Hydrology and Remote Sensing Laboratory in Beltsville are ...
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Analyzing agroforestry management
The evaluation of both nutrient and non-nutrient resource interactions provides information needed to sustainably manage agroforestry systems. Improved diagnosis of appropriate nutrient usage will help increase yields and also reduce financial and environmental costs. To achieve this, a management support system that allows for site-specific evaluation of nutrient-production imbalances is needed. ...
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Can simple measures of labile soil organic matter predict corn performance?
Organic matter is important for soil health and crop productivity. While an indicator of soil quality, a lot of organic matter is in extremely stable forms, and the nutrients in such forms are difficult for plants to use. The active, labile fraction, however, is a modest but important part of the organic matter. “The labile fraction is small – usually less than 20 or even 10 percent, ...
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In organic cover crops, more seeds means fewer weeds
Farmers cultivating organic produce often use winter cover crops to add soil organic matter, improve nutrient cycling and suppress weeds. Now these producers can optimize cover crop use by refining seeding strategies, thanks to work by an Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientist. In moderate climates, suppressing weeds in winter cover crops is important because weeds that grow throughout ...
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Syngenta signs global commercial agreement with Novozymes
Syngenta and Novozymes today announced an exclusive global marketing and distribution agreement to commercialize Taegro®, a fermented biological fungicide based on a naturally occurring bacterium Bacillus subtilis. It offers growers broad-spectrum disease control at very low application rates in a variety of crops. Its multiple modes of action make it highly complementary to Syngenta's ...
By Syngenta
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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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Strategic organic matter throughput helps to build soil carbon and boost crop yields
Potential improvement in crop yields and reduced greenhouse gas emissions were among the benefits of increased soil organic matter throughput according to the findings of a project funded by growers and the Australian Government through the Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) and the Victorian Department of Primary Industries (DPI). The relationships between organic matter inputs ...
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The future of cover crops
Winter cover crops are an important component of nutrient cycling, soil cover and organic matter content. Although its benefits are well documented, cover crop use in farming systems is relatively low. Research has shown that time and money are the two primary reasons why farmers are hesitant to adopt the technique. Developing innovative and cost-effective crop cover systems could increase the ...
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Self-seeding: an innovative management system
US researchers have investigated the potential for rye and wheat cover crops to perpetuate themselves, saving time and money for farmers while providing environmental benefits Winter cover crops provide important ecological functions that include nutrient cycling and soil cover. Although cover crop benefits to agroecosystems are well documented, cover crop use in agronomic farming systems ...
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Organic mulch lets insect pollinators do their job
As interest in organic agricultural and horticultural practices continues to grow, so does the need to identify alternative weed control practices. Mulching, a common practice used to control weeds and reduce the need for tillage, can also reduce insect pollinators' exposure to harmful pesticides; however, finding the right mulch materials that allow pollinators to flourish can be challenging. ...
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Vermicompost leachate improves tomato seedling growth
Worldwide, drought conditions, extreme temperatures, and high soil saline content all have negative effects on tomato crops. These natural processes reduce soil nutrient content and lifespan, result in reduced plant growth and yield, and ultimately translate to lower profits for tomato producers. As an alternative to unsustainable practices such as the use of synthetic fertilizers, producers are ...
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Potentially harmful effects of nanomaterials on soybean crops
A new study has examined contamination of fully grown soybean plants by two nanomaterials – nano-cerium oxide and nano-zinc oxide. The results could be concerning, as they indicate that the nanomaterials are absorbed by plants, possibly affecting growth, yield, and the fixation of nitrogen in soil, an important ecosytem service. With the rapid expansion of nanotechnology, there is concern ...
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Global Ecology Produces Its First Organic Soil Amendment in Alabama
Global Ecology Corporation (GEC) (OTCQB: GLEC) (PINKSHEETS: GLEC), through its wholly owned subsidiary GEC Organics, has produced its first supply of organic soil amendment, OSA1000. This first test run will yield 300 tons of a proprietary compost product designed to greatly enhance crop yield and turf growth while continuing to maintain soil integrity. The highly nutritious compost is made ...
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