Bread wheat plants carrying a newly discovered gene that is resistant to economically devastating leaf blotch can reduce the amount of grain lost to the pathogen, according to Purdue University researchers.
The scientists used bread wheat species to find the gene and the markers, or bits of DNA, that indicate presence of the naturally occurring gene. The fungus causes wheat crop damage worldwide with yield losses of 50 percent or more in some places. In the United States the disease is wide
The first attempt in the Russian Federation to utilize contemporary information technologies for efficient farm production management has been made. The decision-making support system for agricultural enterprises is being tested at a private agricultural farm in the Orenburg Province.
Information technologies, which formerly served solely space industry, can be employed to make agriculture more efficient. That has been done by the specialists of the GEOMIR Engineering Center in collaboratio
Purdue University scientists investigating osteoporosis in laying hens have shown that a noninvasive tool can monitor birds’ bone strength and aid in discovering genetic information about bone disease in chickens.
Lack of calcium in chickens’ food and lack of exercise can leave hens with brittle bones, said Patricia “Scotti” Hester, a professor in Purdue’s Department of Animal Sciences. In addition, eggshell production leaches calcium from hens’ bones. Hester and her research team found th
Despite fat in meat being frequently associated with negative connotations for the consumer, it is an indispensable component in order to obtain quality meat. To better understand the metabolism of the fat in calf meat and to enable its possible modulation in future, Martín Alzón Aldave has presented his PhD thesis on the Development and metabolism of veal fat tissue in seven Spanish autochthonous breeds of meat-yielding calves.
Seven autochthonous breeds
Martín Alzón had tw
Researchers of the Bochvara All-Russian Scientific Research Institute for Inorganic Materials, supported by the International Scientific and Technical Center have developed new tilth technology, which allows to get rid of radioactive or poisonous dust, to transform dust-forming slag-heaps into green lawn and even to grow forest in the desert.
The technology is based on the polyelectrolytes developed by chemists of the Lomonosov Moscow State University. The polyelectrolytes are polymers, the
Increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will benefit photosynthesis in U.S. corn crops in the future by relieving drought stress, say researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
According to preliminary findings of a new study — being released this week in Hawaii during Plant Biology 2003, the annual meeting of the American Society of Plant Biologists — photosynthesis of maize on average increased by 10 percent under projected carbon dioxide conditions in the
Poultry production in the Netherlands has to change for a prosperous future. This is a mutual task of poultry producers, consumers, governmental and non-governmental organisations, and knowledge institutions. The outbreak of avian influenza in the beginning of 2003 in the centre of the Netherlands made the urgency of change quite clear. This is the outcome of an investigation by researchers of Wageningen University and Research Centre. In a report (in dutch) they provide building blocks to facili
Gonzaga Santesteban, lecturer at the Public University of Navarre, concluded his thesis stating that a generalised recommendation on vine irrigation cannot be offered as the factors involved are diverse: the terrain where the vine is planted, the climate on the zone and the quantity of grape involved.
Problems with irrigation policy
Gonzaga Santesteban has investigated “The effect of irrigation on the quality of the grape and the wine in the Tempranillo variety”.
It
Scouring the genome of a wild Mexican potato, scientists have discovered a gene that protects potatoes against late blight, the devastating disease that caused the Irish potato famine.
The discovery of the gene and its cloning by scientists at the University of Wisconsin-Madison was reported today (July 14) in online editions of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The identification of the gene, found in a species of wild potato known as ´ Solanum bulboca
A group of leading U.S. public sector agricultural research institutions has agreed to allow access to each other’s current and future patented agricultural technologies and is exploring ways to ensure that new licensing agreements allow for technologies to be used to fight global hunger and to boost the domestic agricultural sector.
The agreement will accelerate research and development to improve staple crop varieties like rice, cassava, sorghum and potatoes essential to resource-poor fa
Space data are set to become an added ingredient in future European wines. ESA is contributing Earth Observation data and expertise to a European Commission-backed project called Bacchus.
The aim is to chart the continent’’s vineyards in unprecedented detail, and provide vine growers with information tools to improve production management and guarantee grape quality.
From Bordeaux to Frascati, there is good reason why wines are always known for their home region. As any connoi
Researchers are studying rice genes as a model to understand germination
Weeds flourish in agricultural, urban, and natural settings because they have certain characteristics, such as seed dormancy, that provide for their persistence. Dormant weed seeds in the soil avoid exposure to control practices that target emerging weed seedlings.
Scientists from the USDA-Agricultural Research Service and North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND, are focusing their research on underst
When ten Eastern European countries join the EU next year, internal trade will increase and the structures of the agricultural and food sectors will change in both old and new Member States. This was the message of JOHAN SWINNEN, Professor of Agricultural Policy of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium, addressing delegates at the opening of the Nordic Association of Agricultural Scientists (NJF) congress in Turku, Finland, last Tuesday. Swinnen is one of the world’s leading experts on the Ag
The flatulent side-effects of eating beans could soon be reduced by naturally fermenting the beans, according to results to be published in the July issue of the SCI’s Journal of the Science of Food & Agriculture, now available online.
Flatulence is known to be caused when bacteria in the gut break down alpha galactosides and soluble dietary fibre, producing gases as a by-product. Untreated beans contain high levels of these compounds.
Many people are put off eating beans because th
Scientists are working to understand what controls flowering time and maturity in soybean production
Scientists from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are investigating the importance of flowering and how to control it. Early flowering and maturity reduces the risk of frost damage and this is an important variety trait for soybeans grown in areas with short growing seasons.
Flowering time in soybeans is controlled by day length. Soybean plants will flower early during short days a
New findings improve the way we take and analyze field measurements
A more accurate and robust method to measure the water content in soil is now available, thanks to a study conducted by researchers from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan.
Researchers have developed a numerical model for simulating the waveform in soil by using Time Domain Reflectometry (TDR) and a new calibration equation. The results are published in the May/June issue of Soil Science Society of America
Feedback
