crop genetic News
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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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Statement by Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation, Regarding Launch of U.S.-EU Trade Negotiations
WASHINGTON, D.C., June 17, 2013 – “The beginning of comprehensive trade negotiations, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP), between the United States and the European Union holds the promise of expanded market access and an improved, science-based regulatory approach for agriculture and food. A constant commitment to removing barriers to agricultural trade is ...
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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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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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Integral Consulting Scientist Authors Article on Aquatic Effects of Genetically Engineered Corn in Agroecosystems
Dr. Peter Jensen of Integral Consulting is the lead author of “Exposure and Nontarget Effects of Transgenic Bt Corn Debris in Streams,” which was published in the April 2010 issue of the peer-reviewed journal, Environmental Entomology. The article describes laboratory and field studies that were undertaken to evaluate the risk of plant incorporated pesticidal proteins to nontarget ...
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Predicting disease and improving crops through genetics
Can scientists accurately predict when an individual will develop a disease? What if we could predict how to increase drought resistance in plants? Or offer patients personalized medicine? Researchers are looking for answers to these questions and more using a plant or animal’s obvious traits, called phenotype prediction, a field that will be discussed in a free workshop presented by the ...
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Genetic makeup of thousands of rice varieties placed in global seed data pool
Genome sequences of more than 3,000 rice varieties have been placed with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) by the world's leading rice research institute in a move boosting plans to set up a global data exchange system for crop genetic resources. The Philippines-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and the Treaty (ITPGRFA) made ...
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Floating vegetative mats may help clean fishery wastewater
The feasibility of using floating vegetation to remove nutrients from fishery wastewater is being tested by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. The researchers' long-term goal is to develop a system to treat the wastewater, return it to ponds for reuse, and use the nutrients to produce biomass or plant material. The floating mats act as filters to remove the nutrients from the water. ...
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Genetically modified benefits
Despite the proclamations of the so-called “organic” movement and the anti-industry activists, small farmers in developing countries are benefiting significantly from genetically modified crops, according to a large review of the peer-reviewed research literature by US consultants. Writing in the International Journal of Biotechnology, Janet Carpenter of JE Carpenter Consulting LLC in ...
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EPA Files Motion for Voluntary Vacatur and Remand of Enlist Duo Registration
On November 24, 2015, in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Case No. 14-73353, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Respondent; EPA) filed a motion for voluntary vacatur and remand of EPA’s registration, as amended, of Dow AgroSciences LLC’s (Dow) Enlist Duo herbicide under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). The motion for vacatur is ...
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Basic food crops dangerously vulnerable
In the case of wheat, for instance, as a deadly new strain of Black Stem Rust devastates harvests across Africa and Arabia, and threatens the staple food supply of a billion people from Egypt to Pakistan, the areas where potentially crop and life-saving remnant wild wheat relatives grow are only minimally protected. “Our basic food plants have always been vulnerable to attack from new strains of ...
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Agricultural technologies must be `appropriate`
How an agricultural technology is generated and where it comes from — be it through local efforts or global centres — are not as important for development as whether the product is appropriate, says development expert, Sara Delaney. 'An appropriate technology is accessible, affordable, easy-to-use and maintain, effective — and most importantly, it serves a real need', says Delaney. A ...
By SciDev.Net
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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, ...
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New project will collect vital knowledge about tree genetic resources to support conservation
A workshop in Nairobi, Kenya last week saw representatives from 43 African nations participate in an ambitious project to document the status of the world's forest genetic resources; a vital step in conserving and sustainably managing forests. "Forest genetic resources are unique and irreplaceable; from plants that provide timber and essential nourishment when crops fail to those that may be ...
By SciDev.Net
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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 ...
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Disaster relief seeds `should be more diverse`
African farmers who lose their seeds in floods and droughts could restore their crop biodiversity quicker by trading local seed varieties at markets and through informal social links than by receiving seeds from aid agencies, a study suggests. The genetic diversity of crops allows plant populations to adapt to changing environments and provides the raw materials for crop improvement programmes. ...
By SciDev.Net
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Battle over genetically modified foods in Oregon
Unable to find a good solution to protecting their certified organic seed crops from potential contamination from genetically engineered crops, small organic farmers in this Oregon valley are appealing to a higher power: voters. They wanted to protect their crops from being cross-pollinated by genetically modified ones, and asked voters in two counties to ban the cultivation of GMOs - a move ...
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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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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, ...
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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 ...
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