crop research News
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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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Biofuel and crop research grows by AUS$1.6m
The research team will identify the genes associated with key plant properties responsible for growth, flowering and grain-filling in grasses. They will use the advanced robotic and imaging plant research tools of the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) to conduct the research. The US Department of Energy (DOE) has recognised the unique, world-class capability that the APPF affords by ...
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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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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 ...
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Vineland Creating Opportunities with Okra
Coupled with growth in demand for local food and exotic vegetables, diversification can provide Ontario growers with profitable alternatives to conventional crops. According to Statistics Canada, over six million kilograms of okra are imported into Canada every year, yet domestic production is limited. The ability to develop local production systems to supply this emerging market can help promote ...
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Flexible management better for coexistence of GM and non-GM crops
Flexible measures, such as pollen barriers, for regulating the cultivation of GM and non-GM crops in the same landscape are more likely to encourage the adoption of GM technology by farmers than rigid measures, such as isolation distances, according to a recent study. The EU has recommended guidelines1 for developing national strategies by all Member States for the coexistence of genetically ...
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Societies participate in USA science & engineering festival
The American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, and Soil Science Society of America (ASA, CSSA, and SSSA) are proud to be Official Partners of the inaugural USA Science & Engineering Festival. The Festival, which will be the country's first national science festival, is a collaboration of over 500 of the country's leading science and engineering organizations and aims to ...
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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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Commercial forestry – benefits for biodiversity?
Commercial forestry, often slated as monoculture, may have an important role to play in maintaining biodiversity. This beneficial effect occurs in nearby fields grazed by livestock, rather than the forest itself. This surprising finding could be important for the conservation of grassland species, which have declined dramatically over the past 100 years as agriculture has intensified in Europe. ...
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Renewed cooperation between CIHEAM and FAO
The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM) based in Paris and FAO will strengthen their cooperation under an agreement signed at FAO's Rome headquarters this week. The Agreement of Cooperation was signed by Bertrand Hervieu, Secretary General of CIHEAM and Hervé Lejeune, FAO Assistant Director-General and Directeur de Cabinet. In it, both organizations agreed ...
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2021 Accelerating a Generation Syngenta Scholarship Program recipients chosen
Six students looking to study everything from agronomy and crop science to environmental engineering have earned a $2,500 scholarship, plus a donation to the charity of their choosing, through the Accelerating a Generation Syngenta Scholarship Program. A talented crop of students applied to the 2021 scholarship program, in a partnership with Syngenta and run by the National FFA ...
By Syngenta
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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 ...
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Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief
Namibia urged to invest more in science and technology Increasing investment in science and technology could help Namibia reduce poverty, hunger, disease and unemployment, said former president Sam Nujoma last week. Launching the country"s National Science, Engineering and Technology Week, Nujoma said: "If Namibia has to turn around the slow rate of economic development, which is currently ...
By SciDev.Net
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Ag scientists and community members speak out in support of science research
More than 1350 scientists and members of the agricultural community signed a petition asking lawmakers to avoid sequestration Late yesterday (Nov. 14), the American Society of Agronomy (ASA), Crop Science Society of America (CSSA), Soil Science Society of America (SSSA), the American Society of Plant Biologists, and the National Association of Plant Breeders urged lawmakers to act to avoid the ...
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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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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 ...
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Statistical analysis can estimate crop performance
Scientists at Rothamsted Research, United Kingdom, in collaboration with the International Center for Agriculture Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), Syria have developed a method of accounting for spatial trend in single crop field trials. Spatial trend refers to the variations in crop yield and other characteristics observed when repeating this single crop field trial. Usually plant breeders ...
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Getting to the root of plants
A diverse team of researchers from Europe, Asia and the USA have unearthed new information on how roots grow and develop. Specifically, how roots are able to move out sideways out of the central root and into the soil. Their discovery has opened the way to further research that may eventually lead to the creation of new crops with improved root structure, improving their chances of survival in ...
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North Florida farmers are using sesame as a rotation crop
In between seasons of corn, peanut, and cotton, North Florida farmers were interested in growing a rotation crop that could withstand the wilting heat of summer and be harvested by machine. So, since 2011, University of Florida researchers have been experimenting with growing the tiny seeds you find on top of hamburger buns or garnishing salads – sesame – as a viable, money-making ...
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Helping quinoa brave the heat
Quinoa is a healthy food many know and love. As its popularity grows, more farmers are interested in planting it. However, the plant doesn’t do well in high temperatures, so plant breeders are trying to help. Many of the current methods for seeing if a quinoa plant is heat tolerant are time-consuming and expensive. Researchers, led by professor Kevin Murphy at Washington State University, ...
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