Coconut trees grow slowly and are difficult to clone. Scientists have developed a method to multiply seedlings faster and conserve coconut genetic resources for the long term. This will help to preserve coconut tree biodiversity and meet the increasing demand for coconuts and derived products.
The current world population of 7.8 billion is predicted to reach 10 billion by 2057. Future access to affordable and healthy food will be challenging, with malnutrition already affecting one in three people worldwide. Two new papers recognized that global crop production systems need to expand their outputs sustainably to feed this rapidly growing human population.
Scientists discover endophytic bacteria that can survive the unfavorable interior of passion fruit seeds and get transmitted to the seedlings on germination
Two new publications examining cassava flowering reveal insights into the genetic and environmental factors underpinning one of the world’s most critical food security crops.
Supercomputer-powered 3D imaging of root systems to help breeders develop climate-change adapted plants for farmers.
Manipulating RNA can allow plants to yield dramatically more crops, as well as increasing drought tolerance, announced a group of scientists recently.
A research team has investigated how people in five different countries react to various usages of genome editing in agriculture. The researchers looked at which uses are accepted and how the risks and benefits of the new breeding technologies are rated by people.
Despite being relatively new in China, community-led seedbanks are a valuable resource in conserving agricultural biodiversity. For the first time, researchers have provided a comprehensive summary of the services performed by 27 seedbanks across the country.
The Musa genus, which includes over 70 species and around 1,000 cultivars of bananas, represents a globally important source of food and livelihoods. MusaNet collects and shares global resources on banana (Musa) across the whole value chain – from collecting germplasm to post-harvest qualities.
Researchers continue to track the evolution of different strains of the plant pathogen that caused the Irish potato famine in the 1840s, which set down roots in the United States before attacking Europe
