crop loss News
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Bhutan faces crop losses from erratic climate
Agricultural experts in the Himalayan country of Bhutan — a least developed country — are concerned at increasing crop losses in recent years, attributable to global warming. The losses, which began around 2004, are the direct result of increasing pest attacks and disease, erratic rainfall, windstorms, droughts, flash floods and landslides, officials said. The country’s latest ...
By SciDev.Net
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ASA Writes Farm Bill Conferees on Research, Crop Insurance
ASA joined farm bill stakeholders in two letters to conferees this week. An unusual group of 42 stakeholders wrote in support of the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research (FFAR), which is included in the Senate-passed bill. “The Foundation would complement USDA’s portfolio of intramural and extramural research programs,” the letter says. “Establishing a FFAR will ...
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Major crop losses in Central America due to El Niño
Prolonged dry weather associated with the El Niño phenomenon has severely reduced this year’s cereal outputs in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, putting a large numbers of farmers in need of agricultural assistance as the subregion tries to recover amidst ongoing dryness, FAO said today. This is the second consecutive year that the region's main season cereal harvest ...
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Record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year; significant portion potentially avoidable
Report shows county-by-county analysis of impacts in the ten states with highest crop insurance losses due to extreme weather: Extreme weather forced the Federal Crop Insurance Program (FCIP) to pay out a record-breaking $17.3 billion in crop losses last year, much of which could have been prevented using water-smart strategies, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council. Payments made ...
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Tiger growl recordings deter crop-raiding elephants
Lives could be saved and crops protected by playing sounds of growling tigers to wild elephants on their way to raid fields in India, a study reports. There have been hundreds of deaths and much crop loss in the last decade in areas where elephants come into contact with people. The study, published in the current edition of Biology Letters, looked at the night time behaviour of elephants, and ...
By SciDev.Net
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Fruit fly outbreak cost growers $4.1 million; could have been much worse
University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences economists estimate the Oriental fruit fly outbreak last year caused at least $4.1 million in direct crop damages in Miami-Dade County, but the damage could have been far worse, UF/IFAS researchers say. In the new report, UF/IFAS researchers and the chief economist for the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, ...
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PRISM holds review training on on-site crop health assessment and information gathering
The Philippine Rice Information System (PRISM) project conducted a review training on crop health issues for 31 participants from eight Philippine Department of Agriculture Regional Field Offices on September 16-19 at IRRI Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna. The review training provided the participants with the knowledge and skills for conducting effective assessments of crop health ...
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Sterile pest could do away with Bt cotton in Arizona
Farmers in Arizona, United States, have all but eradicated a major pest from their land using a combination of genetically modified cotton and billions of sterilised versions of the pest's parent moth. The farmers had been growing Btcotton for several years. The cotton is genetically engineered to produce Bt toxin, which kills pink bollworm, a serious cotton pest. Bt cotton had reduced the pest ...
By SciDev.Net
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Financial services for rural poor vital, say Queen Máxima and top UN officials
Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands finished a three-day visit to Tanzania along with top officials of the three United Nations Rome-based food agencies to support accelerating the access of farmers to financial services. Queen Máxima, in her capacity as the UN Secretary General's Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development (UNSGSA), led the delegation in ...
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Some Midwest farmers` crops falter in record rains
Weeks of record rainfalls drenched Don Lamb's cornfields this summer, drowning some plants and leaving others yellowed, 2 feet tall and capable of producing little, if any, grain. The 48-year-old central Indiana farmer can't recall anything like the deluges he's seen from late May on this summer; the latest was a 4-inch downpour a week ago. Neither can his father, who's been farming for 50 ...
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Sensor-based Irrigation Systems Show Potential to Increase Greenhouse Profitability
Wireless sensor-based irrigation systems can offer significant benefits to greenhouse operators. Advances in sensor technology and increased understanding of plant physiology have made it possible for greenhouse growers to use water content sensors to accurately determine irrigation timing and application rates in soilless substrates. The wireless sensor systems provide more accurate measurements ...
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Early protection, fungicide effectively reduce downy mildew in basil
Sweet basil, a consumer favorite culinary herb, has a tough adversary. Downy mildew caused by the fungus Peronospora belbahrii has become the most devastating disease of basil plants grown in the United States. Discovered in Uganda in 1933, the first outbreak of downy mildew in the U.S. occurred in Florida in 2007. The disease has since spread to more than 30 states in the U.S., making many ...
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Herbicide reduction can preserve crop yields as well as biodiversity benefits of weeds
Pesticide-sparing approaches to farming do not have to compromise on crop yields, new research suggests. A study that explored the impact of reduced herbicide use across a variety of different farming contexts found that herbicideefficient systems could be just as productive as conventional systems — and more so than organic systems — whilst having other important environmental ...
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Earthworms decompose GM maize
Pest-resistant genetically modified (GM) maize makes up an increasing proportion of maize grown commercially in the EU. A new study shows that earthworms may help break down the toxins produced by GM maize. GM maize (Bt-maize) plants are engineered to produce 'cry' proteins that are toxic to the European corn borer, a major insect pest responsible for corn crop losses. Recent studies have shown ...
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Resistance genes from wild relatives of crops offer opportunities for more sustainable agriculture worldwidew
Growing crops with stacks of two or more resistance genes from closely related species, introduced into the crop via for instance genetic engineering, combined with the simultaneous introduction of resistance management, can ensure the long-term resistance of these plants to economically significant and aggressive diseases. The combination offers opportunities to make agriculture more sustainable ...
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Ranking Member Stabenow Opening Statement at Hearing on Agriculture Research
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow, Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, & Forestry, today released the following opening statement at the hearing titled “Agricultural Research and Securing the United States Food Supply.” Stabenow’s statement, as prepared for delivery, follows: Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this important hearing. And ...
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Remain vigilant for rising aphid numbers
According to the most recent AHDB aphid alert summary, although a marginal increase in activity has been recorded in recent weeks, total aphid numbers still remain relatively low for the time of year. However, it’s possible that aphids may still be present in potato crops as they head towards maturity, and with the hot weather seen recently, aphids could become an increasing threat for ...
By Certis UK
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Get paid to prove the benefits of propane with M-C’s next generation legacy series grain dryer
Mathews Company (M-C), a global manufacturer of grain dryers, announces that buyers who purchase its newest grain dryer, the Next Generation Legacy Series, can qualify for a $3,000 incentive. The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) started the Propane Farm Incentive Program (PFIP) as a way to repay producers for helping the organization document the performance of propane technologies ...
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Roberts, Klobuchar Lead Request for Wheat Grower Assistance
U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Chairman Pat Roberts, R-Kan., Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and other Senate colleagues today sent a bipartisan letter to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue requesting funds in the CARES Act be provided to wheat growers of all wheat varieties to address price impacts from COVID-19. “As Members of Congress representing ...
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Four in one – new discovery on pest fruit flies
Four of the world's most destructive agricultural pests are actually one and the same fruit fly, according to the results of a global research effort released today. The discovery should lead to the easing of certain international trade restrictions and also aid efforts to combat the ability of these harmful insects to reproduce, experts said. The so-called Oriental, Philippine, Invasive and ...
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