crop species News
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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. ...
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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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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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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
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Resistance genes from wild relatives of crops offer opportunities for more sustainable agriculture worldwidew
Growing crops with stacks of two or more resistance genes from closely related species, introduced into the crop via for instance genetic engineering, combined with the simultaneous introduction of resistance management, can ensure the long-term resistance of these plants to economically significant and aggressive diseases. The combination offers opportunities to make agriculture more sustainable ...
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Scientists Develop Fast-Growing Sorghum for Biofuel
COLLEGE STATION, Texas, October 9, 2007 (ENS) - American cars and trucks may soon be fueled with sorghum. Not used widely as a food grain in the United States, sorghum is one of the five top cereal crops in the world, along with wheat, oats, corn, and barley. It was cultivated in Egypt in ancient times, and Africa still is the largest producer of sorghum today. Now, energy crop company Ceres, ...
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Lifeasible Enlarged Its Offerings for Plant Breeding Services
Lifeasible, a biotechnology company specialized in agricultural science, recently enlarged its offers for plant breeding services which now cover a wide range of plant species including major food crops, economic plants, and bio-energy feedstock plants. Plant breeding is the science of creating new varieties by modifying plant genomes, which can accelerate the production of plants with desired ...
By Lifeasible
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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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Wild Tomato Species Focus of Antioxidant Study
Tomatoes are known to be rich in antioxidants such as vitamin C, lycopene, β-carotene, and phenolics. Antioxidants, substances capable of delaying or inhibiting oxidation processes caused by free radicals, are of interest to consumers for their health-related contributions, and to plant breeders for their ability to provide plants with natural resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. While ...
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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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What means does a new bill on genetic protection mean for Jamaica?
It is unlikely that the new bill on genetic resource will have the expressed impact without a fundament change in current views and values about how knowledge is acquired and used, says policymaker Arnoldo Ventura. A bill providing for the protection of Jamaica’s plant genetic resources was passed in the Senate last month (18 January). The bill is related to the International Treaty on ...
By SciDev.Net
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