disease has emerged, threatening tomato production worldwide. This is caused by the Tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), a member of a devastating group of plant viruses called tobamoviruses. ToBRFV overcomes all known tobamovirus resistance in tomato, including the one conferred by Tm-22, a resistance gene responsible for the stable resistance to these viruses for more than 60 years.
Genetic detective work has uncovered an obscure ancestor of modern bread wheat, in a finding similar to uncovering a famous long-lost relative through DNA analysis in humans. Researchers have sequenced the DNA from 242 unique accessions of Aegilops tauschii gathered over decades from across its native range – from Turkey to Central Asia.
The potential of intercropping with perennial plants in woody systems to mitigate climate change through soil carbon sequestration could increase in the long term, once the new crops are fully developed and stabilised. The ongoing nature of the research would enable to confirm if this type of diversification would be a long-term solution to convert these systems into carbon sinks, thereby contributing to mitigating climate change.
Fruits can be dichotomously classified as fleshy or dry. Although many factors have been proposed to explain the pattern that the fleshy-fruited species occur with deceasing latitude and altitude, the relative importance of these factors has not yet been resolved. Researchers have investigated in a recent study factors affecting fruit type (fleshy vs. dry): plant growth form, environmental constraints (summarized by climate region), and phylogenetic conservatism.
Sometimes the pathogens that infect plants also affect people—through our pocketbooks. Which is why plant pathologist spend a lot of time studying microbes that infect tomatoes, peppers and strawberries.
The genus Allium contains about 1,100 species worldwide, including many staple foods like onion, garlic, scallion, shallot and chives. Even though this group of vegetables has been making appearances at family dinners for centuries, it turns out that it is a long way from running out of surprises, as a group of researchers from India recently found out.
Researchers have been studying seed dispersal to understand how chemicals impact interactions between fruit and the animals that eat them.
Researchers are optimistic the value and versatility of one of the world’s top crops will be improved following the discovery of genes which could increase the grain size of sorghum.
The global decline of pollinators threatens the reproductive success of 90 per cent of all wild plants globally and the yield of 85 per cent of the world’s most important crops. Pollinators – mainly bees and other insects – contribute to 35 per cent of the world’s food production. The service provided by pollinators is particularly important for securing food produced by the more than two billion small farmers worldwide.
Chicory is a beautiful plant with blue flowers, but the interesting part is in the ground: the chicory taproots are a source of inulin, a natural sweetener that is used in bread and dairy products and as dietary fibre for healthy intestinal function. Researchers have now used a new breeding techniques to develop a chicory variety that no longer contains bitter compounds.