banana News
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Farm to school program highlights local produce
Bananas are being shipped in from other islands for inclusion in public school students’ lunches. w Editor’s note: This is the entirety of an article printed in TGI’s Jan. 17 Wellness section, as much of the original article was unreadable due to formatting errors. LIHUE — Local bananas are being showcased in schools this month through the state Department of ...
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Cultural change in Kenyan banana farming
Farmers in Nkubu, Meru County, central Kenya, are experimenting with a new banana production method with the help of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology and the Kaguri Agricultural Training Centre The introduction of laboratory grown tissue culture banana seedlings has significantly boosted the local economy. Such tissue cultures allow farmers to grow more robust ...
By SciDev.Net
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Inaugural National Banana Day to champion industry
AUSTRALIANS love bananas. We eat them at breakfast, drink them in smoothies, pack them in lunchboxes, and we even sing jingles about how they make our bodies sing. So it is fitting that an entire calendar day has been dedicated to celebrate the much loved Aussie favourite. Wednesday, May 1, has been earmarked as the first ever National Banana Day. Developed and funded by Hort Innovation, in ...
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New treatment extends shelf life of bananas
Around the world, bananas are one of the most popular tropical fruits. Despite their popularity, bananas have a relatively short shelf life that creates challenges for both producers and consumers. A new study revealed that a postharvest treatment with a natural phospholipid can extend bananas' shelf life, thus enhancing the fruit's marketability. Scientists Zienab F.R. Ahmed from South Valley ...
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GM bananas could cut blindness, anaemia in East Africa
Bio-fortified bananas that could reduce blindness, diarrhoea and anaemia are a step closer, according to the preliminary results of a joint research project between Ugandan and Australian scientists. Genetically modified (GM) bananas containing genes to boost their vitamin A and iron content have been planted in Australia and Uganda over the past two years (2009–2010). The first harvest ...
By SciDev.Net
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The changing face of global banana trade
Despite the continued importance of multinational companies in the global trade of bananas, their involvement in banana production has fallen dramatically over the past three decades, shifting their sphere of action to favor other areas in the sector and opening the door to opportunities for other companies. This view of the changing nature of the global banana trade is captured in a new FAO ...
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New $13.8 million project aims to boost banana production in Uganda and Tanzania
Millions of smallholder banana farmers in Tanzania and Uganda are set to benefit from a new $13.8 million project to develop and distribute higher-yielding, disease-resistant hybrid banana varieties. The effort is being funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). Rony Swennen, a professor at KU Leuven (Belgium) and ...
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`Banana has a future after all`
The banana has been severely affected by fungal diseases that can only be combated by using omore and more plant protection products. In the last century, the much-loved Gros Michel banana variety was wiped out as a result of Panama disease. But now the replacement variety Cavendish – available in every supermarket – is at risk. At his inauguration as professor by special appointment ...
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Packaging beliefs contested in ACP report
A report examining some of the most common concerns about packaging has been published by the Government’s Advisory Committee on Packaging (ACP). It challenges some widely held beliefs such as ‘bins are full of packaging’ and ‘packaging is increasing’ with statistics that show packaging makes up less than 3% of all UK solid waste. Packaging research organisation Incpen director Jane ...
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DNA of banana fungus unravelled for more sustainable banana crops
An international consortium led by scientists from Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) has unravelled the DNA of Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the fungus that causes the much-feared black Sigatoka disease in bananas. The findings provide leads for increasing the sustainability of banana cultivation, for instance through the development of a resistant banana plant. The results were ...
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Fight against Black Sigatoka must continue to save small Caribbean banana farms
FAO warns that without increased commitment to combat Black Sigatoka Disease, which has ravaged banana and plantain production in the Caribbean, vulnerable people could face food insecurity if the disease situation is allowed to further deteriorate. Black Sigatoka disease is considered one of the most dangerous diseases of banana and plantain. It spread from Asia and reached the Caribbean in ...
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Global programme seeks to contain serious threat to the world’s bananas
A fungus poses major risks to the world's banana production and could cause vast commercial losses and even greater damage to the livelihoods of the 400 million people who rely on the world's most traded fruit as a staple food or source of income. FAO and its partners Bioversity International, the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and the World Banana Forum have launched a global ...
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Banana Leaves Instead of Plastics
A supermarket was spotted opting out of using plastic to wrap their produce. Instead they are choosing to use something biodegradable, aesthetically beautiful, non-toxic, waterproof and much cheaper than plastic. They are bundling their fruits… A supermarket was spotted opting out of using plastic to wrap their produce. Instead they are choosing to use something biodegradable, ...
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Banana compost could boost crop yields, a study finds
Using old banana trees to make compost may help boost crop yields while cutting down water and fertiliser use, according to an Egyptian researcher. Banana-based fertiliser could cut about 20 per cent of the water used in irrigating maize and lead to better yields and improved soil properties — such as availability of micronutrients and soil moisture — a researcher at Egypt's National ...
By SciDev.Net
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FAO urges countries to step up action against destructive banana disease
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is warning countries to step up monitoring, reporting and prevention of one of the world’s most destructive banana diseases, Fusarium wilt, which recently spread from Asia to Africa and the Middle East, and which has the potential to affect countries in Latin America. The TR4 race of the disease, which is also known as ...
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Dietary considerations during fracture recovery
In order to help fracture patients recover as soon as possible, in addition to functional reduction, and then use anxin polymer bandage splint for fixation, but also to pay attention to their own eating habits. Especially in the recovery of fracture should pay more attention to, so as not to cause sequelae. What does the food notice of that common fracture have? Here we talk about common fracture ...
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Uganda starts `historic` trials on GM staple crops
Ugandan researchers will carry out a series of field trials on some of the major food crops that have been genetically modified (GM), following several recent approvals by the Uganda National Biosafety Committee, despite a lack of clear legislation on commercialising any such products within the country. They will seek to develop both transgenic and conventional maize varieties tolerant to ...
By SciDev.Net
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More chocolate = more happiness all around
Equal Exchange, the nation's leading Fair Trade brand, is proud to introduce their new 3.5 oz (100g) Fair Trade chocolate bars: Organic Ecuador Dark Chocolate (65% cocoa content) and Organic Chocolate Caramel Crunch with Sea Salt (55%). These two bars combine the highest quality organic ingredients with Swiss craftsmanship and the assurance they were sourced in the most socially and ...
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U.S. Supreme Court Denies Review of EPA Decision on Carbofuran Domestic Tolerances
The U.S. Supreme Court today denied a petition by FMC Corporation and three national grower groups for review of a lower appellate court ruling which had upheld the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) decision to deny an administrative hearing on the revocation of domestic tolerances for carbofuran. "We are greatly disappointed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision not to review the lower ...
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Chiquita Brands International, Inc : Chiquita Brands Set to Celebrate Earth Day With Community Outreach
Chiquita Brands Set to Celebrate Earth Day With Community OutreachEmployees to Volunteer in Local CommunitiesOpportunity to Showcase That Every Day is Earth DayCHARLOTTE, N.C.- April 19, 2013 - On Monday, April 22, 2013, people all around the world will celebrate Earth Day. To mark the occasion, Chiquita Brands (NYSE: CQB) will be getting hands on. Employees from the company's headquarters ...
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