Doctor X Nabat is the name of an application for the early detection of diseases and pests in horticultural crops, developed by an international team (Spain, Dubai, Egypt, Tunis, United Arab Emirates). This tool, aimed at farmers and agriculture experts, is available for devices with Android systems and computers. The tool has been tested in tomato, pepper and cucumber crops.
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.
Drugs that inhibit plant immune responses by blocking key signaling pathways could enable novel approaches to genome editing.
A new gene that controls self-fertilization has been identified in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana, in an international collaboration.
Researcher assess the development and performance of more tailored approaches to fertilizer application within sub-Saharan Africa; solutions to overcoming the stumbling blocks that are preventing more widespread adoption are discussed.
Researchers Categorized More Than 80,000 Plant Species as Winners or Losers According to Their Ability To Survive as Humans Shape the Future.
Cowpea is an important crop in many parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa. It is resilient and can grow in areas with little rainfall and low-quality soils. But as hardy as it is, cowpea yields can decrease by drought and low levels of soil phosphorus.
In a discovery important for agriculture and food safety, scientists report the genetic regulation of a model plant’s immune response.
Roots are normally associated with things that live underground, in the damp and the dark. Think of turnips, radishes and yams. However, many plants make their roots above ground. Ivy uses its roots to climb on buildings and the mighty ficus tree uses them to support their large branches. What makes plants form roots in the “wrong place,” so to speak? That would be like us humans sprouting legs from our shoulders.
Researchers have overlooked especially minuscule gene fragments that are critical to the assembly of cellular machinery and could help better trace the evolutionary history of plants, says a new study.
