How do you like your rice? Sticky, fluffy, brown, or white? These qualities, in addition to grain length, width, appearance, and other traits, are hugely important predictors of rice sales and consumption worldwide. And region matters. Rice preferences in Latin America, for example, are very different from those in West Africa, Japan, India, and elsewhere.
Genetic detective work has uncovered an obscure ancestor of modern bread wheat, in a finding similar to uncovering a famous long-lost relative through DNA analysis in humans. Researchers have sequenced the DNA from 242 unique accessions of Aegilops tauschii gathered over decades from across its native range – from Turkey to Central Asia.
Pollinators – such as bees, butterflies and birds – are essential for agricultural production. However, natural pollination can also fail or be insufficient, which can lead to lower yields and poorer quality. This means alternative solutions are needed. Hand pollination, in which pollen is applied manually or mechanically to the flower, can supplement or replace pollination by animals.
6 – 9 September 2021
Pleased to announce the PR-IR meeting, organised on behalf of the ‘Induced Resistance in Plants Against Insects and Diseases’ working group of the International Organisation for Biological Control. 2020 has been declared “International Year of Plant Health” by the United Nations and this meeting celebrates this significant recognition of the importance of plant health within sustainable agriculture.
IOBC PR-IR meetings provide a specialist forum for researchers on plant responses to microbial pathogens and invertebrate herbivores to exchange information and discuss the latest ideas on induced resistance. The focus will be on fundamental science, but with a view to the potential to exploit new understanding for crop protection. The meeting will cover a broad range of topics, from the mechanisms for initial perception of pests and pathogens and signalling pathways for induced resistance, to the ways in which multitrophic interactions with microbiomes and natural enemies influence the relationships between plants and their pests and pathogens. In addition to a range of invited expert speakers there will be opportunities for delegates to present talks and posters.
Traditional fertilization practices and over simplified nutrient recommendations are directly tied to Nepal’s declining rice yields; researchers have introduced a promising new tool that is bridging the productivity gap through a more precise, farmer-participatory approach.
A balanced nutritional diet rich in minerals, antioxidants, and vitamins is of vital importance for human health. Fruits and vegetables are rich sources for most of these dietary phytochemicals and micronutrients. However, today’s most common diets consist mainly of starchy staples and less of nutrient-rich foods or fruits and vegetables, particularly in the developing world. Keeping in view that the UN General Assembly designated the year 2021 as the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.
In the strawberry nursery industry, a nursery’s reputation relies on their ability to produce disease- and insect-free plants. The best way to produce clean plants is to start with clean planting stock. Many nurseries struggle with angular leaf spot of strawberry, a serious disease that can result in severe losses either by directly damaging the plant or indirectly through a violation of quarantine standards within the industry.
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.
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.
Cocoa is in great demand on the world market, but there are many different ways to increase production. A research team has now investigated the relative importance of the use of pesticides, fertilisers and manual pollination in a well replicated field trial in Indonesian agroforestry systems. The result: an increase in both cocoa yield and farming income was achieved – not by agrochemicals, but by manual pollination.
