Category

Agriculture

Jun 13
0

A guide through the genome of crops

By | Agriculture, CEPLAS, News

Plants show enormous variety in traits relevant to breeding, such as plant height, yield and resistance to pests. One of the greatest challenges in modern plant research is to identify the differences in genetic information that are responsible for this variation. A research team has now developed a method to identify precisely these special differences in genetic information. Using the example of maize, they demonstrate the great potential of their method and present regions in the maize genome that may help to increase yields and resistance to pests during breeding.

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Jun 09
1

New strategy identified to curb a fungal infection affecting more than 150 crops

By | Agriculture, Fruits and Vegetables, News, Plant Health

Tomatoes, bananas, cabbages, melons, pumpkins and cucumbers… are just some of the 150 crops of commercial interest that are victims of Fusarium oxysporum, one of the most important pathogens in the world due to the millions of dollars in losses it is responsible for and its ability to attack different types of plants. Although it can go unnoticed in the soil for more than 30 years, when it detects the roots of a host plant, it grows towards them, colonizing its vascular system and causing crops to wilt.

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Jun 07
0

Recount of Farmers-Scientists panel on Gene-Edited crops

By | Agriculture, Blog, Research

Wikifarmer and the Global Plant Council organized a joint webinar that brought together leading speakers in the field of new breeding technologies and gene-edited crops. With a focus on geographical specificities, each expert shared their unique perspectives and expertise, aiming to inspire advancements in the agricultural industry and pave the way for sustainable and productive crops in the future.

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Jun 05
0
alfalfa

Uncovering the Mysteries of Alfalfa Seed Dormancy Through Multispectral Imaging Analysis

By | Agriculture, News

Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) is a legume grown in many parts of the world as a source of animal fodder. It is prized in the forage industry for its high protein content and biomass yield. Recently, alfalfa protein has found applications in aquaculture, pet food industry and human diet. Furthermore, it is seen as an environmentally beneficial crop, with positive impacts on biodiversity and soil nitrogen conservation.

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Jun 02
1

‘Devastating’ fungal infections wiping out crops and threatening global food security, experts warn

By | Agriculture, News, Plant Health

Scientists have warned of the ‘devastating’ impact that fungal disease in crops will have on global food supply unless agencies across the world come together to find new ways to combat infection. Worldwide, growers lose between 10 and 23 per cent of their crops to fungal infection each year, despite widespread use of antifungals. An additional 10-20 per cent is lost post harvest. Academics predict those figures will worsen as global warming means fungal infections are steadily moving polewards, meaning more countries are likely to see a higher prevalence of fungal infections damaging harvests.

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May 26
2

Automated counting and measuring method for efficient maize trichome identification

By | Agriculture, News, Plant Science

Plant trichomes are highly specialized structures that develop from the epidermal pavement cells of different plant tissues. They are known to defend plants from biotic and abiotic stresses such as water loss, insect-inflicted damage, pathogen attacks, deadly ultraviolet radiation, and leaf temperature reduction. A research team from China recently utilized computer vision, artificial intelligence, and deep learning techniques to develop an automatic algorithm to count and measure maize trichomes.

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May 25
0

Understanding the long-term impact of climate change on Indian crops

By | Agriculture, Climate change, News

Over the past few decades, it has become obvious that climate change, and consequent extreme weather events, can wreak havoc on crop yields. Concerningly, there is a large disparity in agricultural vulnerability between developed and developing countries. In a new study, researchers have looked at major food grains in India to understand the long- and short-term effects of climate change on crop yields.

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