breeding research News
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Farmers fund research to breed gluten-free wheat
Kansas farmers are paying for genetic research to figure out exactly why some people struggle to digest wheat. The hard science is aimed at developing new varieties of wheat at a time when the gluten-free industry is worth nearly a billion dollars a year in the U.S. alone. The Kansas Wheat Commission is spending $200,000 for the first two years of the project, which is meant to identify ...
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Wheat Initiative launches its Strategic Research Agenda
To meet the expected 60% raise in demand for wheat by 2050, coordination of research and significant investments are needed to increase wheat sustainable production globally. The Wheat Initiative presented today its Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) to the G20 Agricultural Chief Scientists gathered in Turkey. Wheat is a staple food worldwide and provides 20% of all calories and protein, both in ...
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The dire need to support ‘orphan crop’ research
In spite of debate over its definition, the term ‘orphan crops’ refers to crops that are under-researched and underfunded due to their limited importance in the global market. These include cereals, legumes, vegetables, root crops, fodder crops, oil crops, fibre crops and medicinal plants that are largely indigenous to Africa, Asia and Latin America. They are characterised by their ...
By SciDev.Net
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New plant protein discoveries could ease global food and fuel demands
New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population. That’s the conclusion of 12 leading plant biologists from around the ...
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DAFWA researcher wins Seed of Light award
The winner of the 2014 Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC) western region Seed of Light award is Department of Agriculture and Food (DAFWA) research officer Ben Biddulph. The presentation of the award – made annually to someone who makes a significant contribution to communicating the outcomes of grains research – took place today at Perth’s Agribusiness Crop ...
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Independent variety trials show productivity of wheat varieties continues to increase
Nowhere in the world is the average grain yield as high as in the Netherlands, where it is over ten tonnes per hectare. Research by Wageningen UR shows that the introduction of new varieties has caused yields to increase by approximately 8 to 10 per cent per decade. Converted to a hectare of winter wheat, this represents an increase of 800 to 1,000 kilograms; a huge achievement for breeders of ...
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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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Fight against wheat rust needs sustained investment
Developing countries need help with crop surveillance and the development of strains resistant to wheat rust, say agricultural research leaders. Today's food security situation is being worsened by strains of wheat rust disease that are emerging more frequently and spreading much faster and to new areas — changes fuelled by climate change and conducive environments in increasingly fragile ...
By SciDev.Net
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