How can biodiversity be preserved whilst securing the economic livelihood of smallholder farmers growing vanilla in Madagascar? There is a way, according to a study that shows that vanilla plantations established on fallow land do not differ in terms of yield from those established in the forest. Cultivation on fallow land also increases biodiversity there.
At the rise of the fourth agricultural revolution, the modern farmer seeks to become “smarter,” benefit from new technologies and produce crops sustainably. The conventional knowledge around climate, agroecosystems, new technologies and sustainable farming of all crops is constantly enriched by practical experience, examples, and scientific data.
The fungus Ustilago maydis attacks corn and can cause significant damage to its host. To do this, it first ensures that the plant offers little resistance to the infection. The surgical precision it applies is shown by a new study.
Although some researchers have identified peptides through multiple methods, as in Arabidopsis and maize, the biological functions of most NCPs remain to be demonstrated. NCPs function by modulating larger regulatory proteins, and their functions can therefore be predicted from the proteins on which they act.
A multi-channel approach to extension reaps greater benefits for smallholder farmers fighting the fall armyworm pest in Eastern Rwanda according to new research published. The team found that exposure to a combined mass extension campaign consisting of plant health rallies, radio dramas and SMS all contributed to better identification of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) as well as more environmentally-friendly ways of managing the pest.
Plants face constant attack by diseases, insect swarms, and fungi, resulting in crop losses that threaten global food security. Discovering new ways to help the plant defend itself against attack is an enormous challenge for scientists.
Strawberry losses from Fusarium wilt could become less of a threat after researchers discovered genes that are resistant to the deadly soil-borne disease.
Increased demand for water will be the No. 1 threat to food security in the next 20 years, followed closely by heat waves, droughts, income inequality and political instability, according to a new study which calls for increased collaboration to build a more resilient global food supply.
The effects of drought on major crops that are crucial to achieve both food and energy security. A global, more robust vision of this complex issue to advance the existing knowledge and support better informed, science-based decisions in the future, like fine-tuning crop calendars or implementing other measures as alternative cultivars, additional irrigation, and crop migration.
International research team aims to significantly reduce the threat of cassava mosaic disease and improve cassava yields, an important crop in the tropics.
