crop data News
-
Phenome Networks and Delair Establish Strategic Collaboration to Accelerate Plant Breeding and Variety Testing with Drone Data
At the annual ISF World Seed Congress, on June 3-5, Phenome Networks, a premier plant breeding software company, and Delair, a leading supplier of commercial drone solutions, will present their strategic collaboration to offer a combined system to accelerate plant breeding and variety testing. Seed breeders and variety testers will benefit from an integrated and easy-to use workflow to merge the ...
-
GM crops could reduce need for herbicides
Analysis of large-scale European field trial data reveals that lower quantities of herbicides are applied to crops genetically modified for herbicide-resistance compared with conventionally grown crops. However, the data also suggest that biodiversity may be reduced if genetically modified (GM) crops are grown widely. Transgenic crops are currently grown in 22 countries across the world, ...
-
Grasslands: The future of sustainable agriculture
Grassland: Quietness and Strength for a New American Agriculture was written to increase our awareness of the vital role grass and grassland plants have in ensuring a sustainable future for American agriculture. Published by the American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America, the book's content is geared toward agriculturists, students, the ...
-
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
-
Turfgrass that wears down and springs back up
Kentucky bluegrass, a turfgrass frequently grown on sports fields, is more tolerant to wear during the spring compared to other seasons, and shows better recovery during spring, according to research from Rutgers University. The study also identified which varieties of bluegrass showed the most wear tolerance. Researchers Bradley Park, T.J. Lawson, Hiranthi Samaranayake, and James A. Murphy, ...
-
Time is ticking for some crop`s wild relatives
New edge of extinction research is creating a revival of conservation and interest in what these old plants mean to the future Experts and photos available on this topic! A botanist brings a species of alfalfa from Siberia, to the United States. His hope? The plant survives, and leads to a new winter-hardy alfalfa. But what also happened during this time in the late 1800's, isn't just a story ...
-
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 ...
-
Using genetic mapping to save wheat production
Stem rust disease has the potential to devastate wheat production worldwide. In the 1950s, large epidemics spread across North America and through other parts of the world. Developing a stem rust resistant gene stopped the spread of the disease. In 1999, a new race of stem rust was discovered in Uganda and identified as Ug99. Previously developed stem rust resistant genes are no longer effective ...
-
Scientists find four-leaf clover gene
Ending a period of “bad luck” for clover researchers, scientists report finding the gene that turns ordinary three-leaf clovers into the coveted four-leaf types. Masked by the three-leaf gene and strongly influenced by environmental condition, molecular markers now make it possible to detect the presence of the gene for four-leaves and for breeders to work with it. The results of the ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
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 ...
-
Soil gives away soybean pathogen’s presence
New research reveals that soil pH is a useful guide for farmers and agronomists to detect and manage soybean cyst nematode, a devastating soybean pathogen. The investigation uncovered a relationship between high soil pH, which is already outside the ideal growing conditions for soybean, and high populations of cyst nematodes. Scientists from Iowa State University and University of ...
-
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 ...
-
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
-
Crop breeding gets boost from sweet potatoes
In Uganda, the sweet potato is a major staple crop. Behind China and Nigeria, Uganda produces the most sweet potatoes in the world. Nationwide, families grow the crop to feed themselves, their livestock and to use as a source of income. Small scale agricultural operations use a large number of sweet potato varieties in their planting. These varieties are steadily being lost due to weevils, sweet ...
-
Maize seedlings predict drought Tolerance
Scientists have developed a new method for measuring drought tolerance in maize. By comparing the shoot-to-root ratio in seedlings stressed by low water, scientists can predict whether a plant has the right mix of genes for adapting to drought conditions. The ideal drought-resistant maize should have a higher ratio of root surface area compared to leaves and stems. Developing enough adult plants ...
-
Increasing the shelf-life of cassava
Crop scientists have identified several genetic mechanisms to improving the shelf-life of cassava roots. Long an unsolvable problem, the research has the potential to benefit the poorest of the poor, widening and strengthening the markets for cassava, reducing marketing costs, and losses along the marketing or value addition process. The research team, led by Hernán Ceballos at the ...
-
Method to differentiate open pollinated varieties of maize developed
Open pollinated varieties of maize are going to be easier to distinguish from each other, thanks to scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Africa and Mexico. They have developed a new technique to differentiate the genes of one open pollinated variety from another, particularly important to African farmers, most of whom do not plant hybrid varieties. The ...
-
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 ...
Need help finding the right suppliers? Try XPRT Sourcing. Let the XPRTs do the work for you