New research shows that since modern crop varieties were introduced in the developing world starting in 1961, they have substantially reduced infant mortality, especially for male babies and among poor households.
Scientists are getting closer to finding the genes for maleness in waterhemp and Palmer amaranth, two of the most troublesome agricultural weeds in the U.S. Finding the genes could enable new “genetic control” methods for the weeds, which, in many places, no longer respond to herbicides.
Researchers found wild relatives of sorghum in higher concentrations in Australia than anywhere else; the plants have potential to combat drought and extreme heat, but they need urgent safeguarding.
Securing food supplies around the globe is a major challenge facing humanity, especially in light of the predicted increase in the world’s population to almost ten billion people by 2050 and the effects of climate change. Greater crop diversity in agriculture is seen as a stabilising factor for food security. Yet crop diversity alone is not sufficient.
Sudden death syndrome (SDS) is a devastating disease that afflicts soybean crops, causing annual losses in U.S. soybean yields in excess of $274 million dollars. New research shows that the trick to surviving the disease might be a matter of timing when to mount a defense response.
Wheat is one of the most important food crops in the world, providing 20 per cent of human calories; with ever increasing global food demand, increasing crop yield is critically important. Researchers have now created a new modified wheat variety that increases grain production by up to 12%.
A new study shows diversifying agricultural systems beyond a narrow selection of crops leads to a range of ecosystem improvements while also maintaining or improving yields. Accordint to one of the authors, some marketing and agricultural policy considerations will have to change for farmers to adopt diversification practices more widely.
Researchers found wild relatives of sorghum in higher concentrations in Australia than anywhere else; the plants have potential to combat drought and extreme heat, but they need urgent safeguarding
The cultivation of vanilla in Madagascar provides a good income for small-holder farmers, but without trees and bushes the plantations can lack biodiversity. Agricultural ecologists have investigated the interaction between prey and their predators in these cultivated areas.
For vegetable growers, weeds can mean lost income from reduced yield and foreign plant matter contaminating the harvest. But for many crops, particularly vegetable legumes, weed management options are very limited. A new study shows early-terminated rye could be a promising part of an integrated weed management program for some vegetable legumes, including edamame.
