cultivator News
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First Quinoa Sown
Wageningen UR has sown the first quinoa fields at its test facilities in Lelystad and Vredepeel. A number of fields have been sown for nitrogen trials and a number of fields for research into varieties. A further five hectares have been sown for conventional cultivation. Sand and clay The research into varieties is taking place at two locations in order to discover whether the varieties grow ...
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Crossbreeding GM crops may increase fitness of wild relatives
A new study has investigated the effects of interbreeding a genetically modified squash crop with its wild relative. The findings demonstrate that it could cause wild or weedy relatives to become more resistant to disease. Genetic Modification (GM) can be used to develop crops that are resistant to specific pests. However, there are concerns that if a GM crop interbreeds with its wild or weedy ...
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Jatropha can revive degraded land, says study
Large-scale cultivation of Jatropha – known as a potential source of biofuel – can improve the soil quality of degraded lands and address climate change, says a new study. Jatropha curcas seeds yield oil that can be processed into biodiesel, but scientists at the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), Hyderabad, have found that Jatropha plantations ...
By SciDev.Net
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Limiting bioenergy crops to marginal land would not work, says study
Large-scale cultivation of bioenergy crops on marginal land is unfeasible, according to a recent study. While limiting bioenergy crops to less productive land could cut the sector’s impact on food prices, the financial incentive to grow crops on more productive land may be too strong for landowners to ignore, the researchers suggest. During recent decades, there has been a growing interest ...
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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
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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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Lima beans domesticated twice
Lima beans were domesticated at least twice, according to a new genetic diversity study by Colombian scientists. Big seeded varieties known as “Big Lima” were domesticated in the Andean Mountains, while small seeded “Sieva” and “Potato” varieties originated in central-western Mexico. The researchers also discovered a “founder effect,” which is a ...
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Bayer CropScience and Farm Frites jointly implement sustainable practices in European potato cultivation
Bayer CropScience and Farm Frites recently started a Food Chain Partnership initiative designed to implement sustainable agricultural practices in potato cultivation in the Netherlands and Belgium. The goal of the partnership is to support a bottom-up approach with potato farmers addressing value-adding sustainable potato-growing practices at individual farm level. This is intended to minimize ...
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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 ...
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Could Oysters be used to clean up chesapeake bay?
Chronic water quality problems caused by agricultural and urban runoff, municipal wastewater, and atmospheric deposition from the burning of fossil fuels leads to oxygen depletion, loss of biodiversity, and harmful algal blooms. This nutrient pollution is prevalent in many coastal marine and estuarine ecosystems worldwide. Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in North America and although many ...
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International crop breeding programme needed for African farming
Climate change poses a large threat to African agriculture, but there is little research on how to respond. A recent study indicates that traditional adaptation methods are not enough and international collaboration is needed in 'planned adaptation' by collecting and conserving certain crops for the future. A large proportion of the African population - mainly the poor - depend on agriculture ...
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Keeping a pulse on the soil
Leaving behind stubble is not ideal when shaving, but it’s a good practice to leave behind crop “stubble” after harvest. According to soil scientist Frank Larney, crop residue anchors the soil against wind and water erosion. Avoiding bare soils is one part of a soil conservation package he and his research team demonstrate in a 12-year experiment growing pulses in southern ...
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Africa and India cultivate agricultural research ties
Africa and India are gearing up to further enhance cooperation in agricultural science, technology and innovation, and move beyond dialogue to a range of practical options from a virtual biotech platform to agribusiness centres, seed investments and even joint donor-aided projects. Willy Tonui, chief executive officer of Kenya’s National Biosafety Authority, said that studying how India ...
By SciDev.Net
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Smart Technology And Digital Solutions Drive The Agenda Of The First European Edition Of Gfia In The Netherlands
The first European edition of the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture, GFIA Europe, welcomed an international audience to the Netherlands where smart technology and digital solutions drove the agenda as the accelerators to the future of sustainable agricultural innovations. As the world’s largest showcase of sustainable agriculture innovations, GFIA Europe saw collaboration between ...
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Peanuts: more genetically diverse than expected
Virginia-type peanuts, the big ones sold in the shell or used in cocktail nut mixes, are more genetically variable than previously assumed, according to a new study from North Carolina State University. Before now, cultivated peanuts showed very little variability for molecular markers, leading some to conclude that there was virtually no genetic variation in the species. However, anyone who has ...
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Keeping tabs on the next generation of transgenic crops
A team of government and university crop scientists from across Canada has developed a scientific framework for monitoring the release of second-generation genetically modified crops. The framework is designed to assess the risks of novel genes entering wild populations. First-generation genetically modified (GM)/transgenic crops with novel traits have been grown in a number of countries since ...
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Cotton’s global genetic resources
A multinational collaborative effort among cotton scientists produced a report on the status of the global cotton genetic resources. According to the report, cotton production relies primarily on two species, with 48 other species catalogued in the various seed collections that have largely been poorly characterized and under-utilized in crop improvement efforts. Based on the findings of this ...
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Hemp homecoming: Rebirth sprouts in Kentucky
Call it a homecoming for hemp: Marijuana's non-intoxicating cousin is undergoing a rebirth in a state at the forefront of efforts to reclaim it as a mainstream crop. Researchers and farmers are producing the first legal hemp crop in generations in Kentucky, where hemp has turned into a political cause decades after it was banned by the federal government. Republican U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell ...
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Agricultural Bacteria: Blowing in the Wind
It was all too evident during the Dust Bowl what a disastrous impact wind can have on dry, unprotected topsoil. Now a new study has uncovered a less obvious, but still troubling, effect of wind: Not only can it carry away soil particles, but also the beneficial microbes that help build soil, detoxify contaminants, and recycle nutrients. Using a powerful DNA sequencing technique, called ...
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Cereal Crops Feeling the Heat
LIVERMORE, California (ENS) - Warming temperatures since 1981 have caused annual losses of about US$5 billion for six major cereal crops, new research has found. This is the first study to estimate how much global food production already has been affected by climate change. From 1981 to 2002, fields of wheat, corn and barley throughout the world have produced a combined 40 million metric tons ...
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