Luckily for us, the economically devastating Karnal bunt fungus needs personal ads and singles bars more than we do.
Airborne spores from the fungus, which damages wheat crops, are limited in how well they can start new infections over long distances, according to the findings from a Kansas State University project.
A phenomenon known as the Allee effect occurs when a small population of a species spread over a large area has little success in reproduction. The reason is that when
New farm practices and new breeds of crops might someday add to mankind’s toolbox for controlling greenhouse gases that contribute to global climate change.
Research under way at Purdue University seeks to control the most prominent of these greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, by corralling carbon on the farm in a process known as carbon sequestration.
The research is being supported with a grant of nearly $1 million to Purdue from the Consortium for Agricultural Soil Mitigation
Technique could dramatically diminish hunger in Africa
Corn harvests on experimental plots and in farmers’ fields in four East and Southern African countries have yielded striking results in long-term trials of an innovative witchweed-fighting technology developed by a Weizmann Institute scientist in collaboration with researchers at CIMMYT (the Spanish acronym for the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center). The new technology will be presented to seed producers, governmen
A process that would be a plastics recycler’s nightmare may help farmers deal with the disposal of agricultural and domestic plastics by creating burnable, energy-efficient plastic nuggets, according to a Penn State agricultural engineer.
“In plastics recycling there are two unbreakable rules,” says James W. Garthe, instructor in agricultural engineering and cooperative extension specialist. “You cannot mix types of plastic, and the plastics must be clean. This process does both since
Sugar refineries and distilleries produce effluent which is harmful for the environment. The sugar industry produces two tonnes of sugar cane bagasse (a straw-like material) for every tonne of refined sugar. For Cuba this translates into 10 to 20 million tonnes of bagasse per year.
Distilleries, often associated with sugar cane production, emit copious amounts of polluting volatile components (especially volatile organic compounds, VOCs). In Cuba, an estimated annual 1 600 tonnes of ethanol
Using camera surveillance and radio tracking equipment, scientists have provided potential evidence showing how badgers could pass on bovine tuberculosis to cattle in UK farms.
In a paper published in a forthcoming Proceedings B, a Royal Society journal, researchers from the University of Sussex and the Central Science Laboratory have discovered that badgers regularly forage in farm premises such as cowsheds, feed sheds and cattle troughs, thereby making frequent contact with cattle, both di
Scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory (SL)[1], Norwich, have today reported the discovery of a plant gene that is essential in controlling the interactions between plants and microorganisms that enable them to establish intimate associations, which are of benefit to both partners. Published in the international science journal Nature, the report’s findings suggest that it may be easier than previously imagined to design plants that are able to make their own nitrogen fertiliser.
The roots
Three new varieties of tangerines – the TDE2, TDE3, and TDE4 – are the University of California’s most recent citrus varieties to be released for commercial production. The tangerines, which are complex hybrids, are siblings since they share the same parents. The varieties will be patented and eventually be given trademarked names. The three tangerines are large fruited compared to other varieties, have a sweet taste, and bear fruit with a deep orange rind.
“While the new tangerines share
Farmers growing corn in the mid-Atlantic region will have a new tool to help them identify appropriate cultural practices for the types of soils in their fields, thanks to research conducted by researchers from Virginia Tech and Colorado State University.
“Soils vary in their ability to hold water,” said Mark Alley, professor of crop and soil environmental sciences at Virginia Tech. “If a farmer knows the water-use efficiency of the soils in his field, he has a very important clue on how to mana
Researchers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) have developed a new rapid procedure which will enable food producers to detect the bacterial contamination of their meat products.
Their findings, published this week in Applied and Environmental Microbiology1 (Vol. 68, No.6 June 2002, p.2822 – 2828) demonstrate a novel analytical approach that can enhance and accelerate the detection of microbial spoilage, providing rapid, accurate and quantitative results in real time so that appr
Smithsonian scientist shows pollination by exotic honeybees increases coffee crop yields by more than 50 percent
Debunking the widely held belief that the self-pollinating shrub that produces the popular Arabica coffee bean has no use for insects, David W. Roubik of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama has demonstrated that pollination – particularly by naturalized, non-native African honeybees – dramatically boosts the yield from shade-grown coffee plants.
Agricultural breeders have long observed that when plants or animals from different strains are interbred, the offspring tend to be stronger, healthier or generally more fit than either of their parents, although no one knew why this occurred. Now plant geneticists investigating the maize (corn) genome at Rutgers’ Waksman Institute of Microbiology have discovered a possible explanation for this phenomenon, known as heterosis or hybrid vigor.
The Rutgers findings, presented by research
A new approach without the controversial biotechnology used in GMOs
Rutgers geneticists have devised a new approach to create a more nutritious corn without employing the controversial biotechnology used in genetically modified foods. Instead of adding foreign DNA to the corn, the researchers increased the plant’s ability to produce more of its own naturally occurring protein by adjusting the genetic signals that control the process. The result is a more nutritious and natural fo
Pellets of rotting moths could keep weevils off oranges.
Mummified rotting cadavers could be a cost-effective way to combat soil pests, suggest scientists at the US Department of Agriculture. Citrus crops, cranberries and ornamental shrubs all stand to benefit.
Bacteria in the guts of roundworms grown inside dead wax moths can emerge to kill other soil insects, including the black vine weevil ( Otiorhynchus sulcatus ), a serious pest of plants in nurseries.
Th
Lepidopteran Tecia solanivora, an insect pest, is currently devastating potato crops in Latin and Central America. Equador is particularly badly hit. Known as the “Guatemala moth”, it spreads quickly. Indeed in 2000 the moth was found to have reached the Canary Islands. Since then it has been on the red list of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO). The pest, if uncontrolled, is considered to be a major threat to potato crops throughout southern Europe. A research team f
Research, published in the online journal, BMC Biotechnology shows how researchers in Italy have used genetically modified eggplants made by the introduction of a gene that increases the level of the plant hormone indole acetic acid (IAA) to produce seedless fruits. Furthermore, these genetically modified eggplants are 30-35% more productive than conventional varieties in both greenhouse and field trials.
The public have a special liking for seedless fruits for two reasons, firstly seeds a
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