agriculture crop News
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Improved crops can double European agriculture production
Roadmap Will Help to Make Food Crops “Future-Proof” Wageningen University & Research is working within the CropBooster-P EU project on a roadmap to make agricultural crops future-proof. The project will develop a pathway to sustainably doubling Europe’s crop yields by 2050 and preparing these crops for the needs and the future climate of Europe Ensuring sufficient food ...
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Could sun-reflecting crops help keep us cool?
Temperatures in central Europe, central Asia and North America could be reduced by 1°C in the summer, if crops with extra-reflective foliage were chosen, according to a new study. Such crops could reflect sunlight back into space and reduce regional warming by one fifth of projected temperature rises. Many suggestions have been proposed to curb rising temperatures under a changing climate. These ...
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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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Greatest scientific challenge: understanding bioresources
The Crop Science Society of America (CSSA) has recently identified key Grand Challenges that our scientific Society faces. As these challenges were developing, I often reflected on the challenges I faced in my job as a state corn extension agronomist and how those challenges related to what other CSSA members were experiencing around the world. My fundamental challenge is understanding ...
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USDA Seeks Public Review and Comment on Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Herbicide-Resistant Corn and Soybeans
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) released on Friday 3 2014 its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) as part of its review to determine whether to deregulate genetically engineered (GE) corn and soybean plants that are resistant to several herbicides, including one known as 2,4-D. APHIS is performing an assessment of these GE ...
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New crop of plant scientists emerges at CSIRO
Under the CSIRO Plant Industry Summer Student Program, 17 students are engaged in a range of important agricultural research projects designed to discover, for example, how high temperatures affect crops and the genetic bases of crop development. The Program, which runs from 6 December to 11 February, provides university students with real insights into the day-to-day working lives of some of ...
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Climate change and agriculture: food and farming in a changing climate
Climate change is already affecting the Earth’s temperature, precipitation, and hydrological cycles, with detrimental impacts on U.S. and global agricultural systems. The interaction of these dynamic factors can lead to a decrease in plant productivity, increasing the price for many important agricultural crops. On Wednesday, June 16, 2010, between 10:30-11:30am, in Room 328A of the Senate ...
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Healthier processed food? Essence of strawberry could be the key
University of Florida scientists believe they have pinpointed the exact compounds in strawberries that give the fruit its delightfully unique flavor – findings that will allow UF breeders to create more flavorful varieties even faster. What’s more, the researchers believe that eventually, those naturally occurring compounds will be used to make processed foods taste sweeter, using ...
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Climate change to shift global spread and quality of agricultural land
New areas of land suitable for agriculture will open up under climate change’s effects, new research predicts, particularly in far northern regions of the world. However, the overall quality of land for farming will decline and many regions, including Europe, could lose large areas of suitable land. Demand for agricultural products is expected to rise by 70–110% by 2050. This is ...
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Plant strategies for optimising nitrate intake
The less nitrogen there is in the soil, the better plants are at using it. Researchers from INRA, CNRS and CIRAD, in cooperation with Czech colleagues, have recently shed light on the crucial role of a protein that enables plants to not only assess their environment but also activate the proper adaptive response based on the conditions. This research, published in the 2 March 2015 issue of Nature ...
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Big bucks from carbon sequestration - fact or fiction?
With carbon credits in the news and Australia developing policies to meet its Kyoto targets, many farmers are intrigued by soil carbon’s potential to not only boost soil productivity but put money in the bank by selling carbon credits. But just how realistic is that goal? Dr Jeff Baldock of CSIRO Land and Water, SA, will address this and other aspects of soil carbon in the Grains Research and ...
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Underlying motives fuel pesticide bills
It’s that time of year again in the Legislature. In the session that’s just a couple of weeks old, 29 pesticide-related bills have been introduced, but many use stealth techniques to attack the cultivation of genetically engineered crops in addition to further restricting pesticide. That’s one less than during the last session, though it’s not really progress. Some of ...
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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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Ozone pollution reduces tomato fruit yield and viability
Ozone harms pollen viability of tomatoes, leading to reduced fruit weight, size and quality, a recent study has revealed. The researchers suggest the effect of ozone on pollen could be a useful way to rapidly test for pollution-induced stress on crop plants in risk assessments. Ground-level ozone damages plants as well as posing a risk to human health. It negatively affects crop yields and ...
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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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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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China`s agricultural patents on the rise
[BEIJING] Patent applications for agricultural innovations, particularly for genetically modified (GM) crops, have surged in China in the past decade, according to intellectual property experts. Statistics from the China Center for Intellectual Property in Agriculture (CCIPA) show that applications doubled between 2002 and 2008, from 4,500 to 9,300. The rise is against a backdrop of even ...
By SciDev.Net
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Bayer CropScience to acquire the seed business of Granar S.A.
Bayer CropScience announced today that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the seed business of Granar S.A., based in Encarnacion, Paraguay. The private company, founded in 2001, specializes in the breeding, production and marketing especially of improved soybean seeds adapted to the growing conditions that prevail in subtropical regions. Granar S.A. has a strong presence in Paraguay and ...
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Floods wash away Pakistan`s crop research efforts
The recent Pakistan floods have caused substantial damage to the country's crop research, washing away new seed varieties and test crops planted in the fields, and damaging buildings and equipment, leaving the country's research institutes in disrepair. So far, the floods have killed more than 2,000 people and affected a further 21 million, killed 200,000 livestock and destroyed 4.25 million ...
By SciDev.Net
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Decision could boost use of popular weed killer
Faced with tougher and more resistant weeds, corn and soybean farmers are anxiously awaiting government decisions on a new version of a popular herbicide - and on genetically modified seeds to grow crops designed to resist it. Critics say more study is needed on the effects of the herbicide and they are concerned it could endanger public health. The Environmental Protection Agency is expected ...
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