How we love chocolate! The big downside of this love is that more chocolate consumption directly implies more cocoa plantations, which has led to significant loss of forests especially in West Africa. In the coming decades is expected both an increase in demand and a decrease of suitable areas for growing cocoa due to climate change.
In multicellular organisms, distinct cell types are produced and maintained through the coordination of several progenitor lineages. How is this information stored in the transcriptome? Do these cells’ behaviors reflect their lineage history or their current biological surroundings?
Phenotypic plasticity in plants occurs at all biological scales in every organism. Phenotypic plasticity is defined as the physical and/or metabolic responses of organisms to their environment. Some plastic responses may be strategies that enhance fitness in specific environments. In contrast, other forms of plasticity may be symptoms of stress or pathology, all of which may develop at different time scales. A recent review highlights the characterization, costs, cues, and future perspectives of phenotypic plasticity.
Pruning is the art and science of cutting parts of a plant to increase production and ease harvest and spraying activities. In cocoa cultivation, pruning is recommended to farmers, although its effect on cocoa tree growth and cocoa bean production is not well understood.
Two years ago, in 2020, the entire world was engulfed in the COVID19 pandemic, which is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus SARSCoV2. As everyone knows by now, the most common symptoms of this disease are fever, dry cough, fatigue, and headache, and can turn into a progressive and severe pneumonia. However, evidence suggests that COVID-19 patients may also develop a variety of neurological complications. Thousands of people died each day because there was no known treatment. The search for treatments and vaccines for this novel coronavirus disease was on.
Respiration in plants is a process that consumes sugars (e.g., glucose) and oxygen, produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, and releases energy to maintain the primary metabolic and physiological functions during growth. It determines the net carbon gain for plants and the carbon efflux for whole ecosystems.
Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) is a devastating insect, which is known for its polyphagous nature. That is, its ability to feed on various kinds of food sources. This insect can migrate up to 100 km in a single night and therefore, it becomes a devastating pest in many countries that demands proper management. Recent research has develped a new and innovative technique of managing the larvae on maize plants.
Recent research opens up the prospect of breeding for aphid resistance by crossing cultivated and wild potatoes.
A tremendous amount of research has been done to explore Si action in plants against drought, waterlogging, salinity, heavy metals, ultra-violet, as well as pathogenic and entomological attacks. While most studies address Si role in abiotic and biotic stress conditions, one question remains: Can Si be used to improve crop production in the absence of significant stress?
Sub-Saharan Africa’s population continues to grow, with the prediction that the population will double by 2050 and peak by 2100. This poses a challenge in meeting the demand for staple food in a region where self-reliance in cereal production, a major staple food, is the lowest globally in terms of productivity. As a result, cereal demand is projected to triple. Yet, cereal yields are very low, and the current consumption is already dependent on substantial imports, placing the continent at a great risk of food insecurity.
