Month: February 2019

During their annual Outlook Meeting last week in Washington, the USDA estimated that the 2019 U.S. corn acreage would increase 2.9 million acres from 89.1 million in 2018 to 92.0 million in 2019. They also forecasted a nationwide corn yield of 176.0 bushels per acre. For soybeans, they estimated that the 2019 U.S. soybean acreage… Continue reading Spring weather could impact 2019 corn and soy acreage in US

This article presents a speech from Huang Weidong, President of the Greater China Region, Bayer CropScience, during an interview with a Chinese media in the beginning of 2019. In the interview, Huang summarized the changes that have taken place in Chinese agriculture over the last five years, while forecasting the future trends for the next… Continue reading China’s agricultural keywords in next 5 years: centralization, integration, service

MIT engineers have developed a way to deliver genes to the chloroplasts of plant cells. In these images, mesophyll cells (right) and epidermal cells (left) in an arugula leaf have been engineered to express a yellow fluorescent protein in their chloroplasts. Cell walls are stained red and chloroplasts are stained blue. – Credit: Tedrick Thomas… Continue reading With nanotubes, genetic engineering in plants is easy-peasy

A high grain yield is undoubtedly a desirable trait in cereal crops. Floret fertility is a key factor which determines the number of grains per inflorescence of cereals such as bread wheat or barley. Nonetheless, until recently little was known about its genetic basis. Whilst investigating floret fertility, a group of researchers from Japan, Germany… Continue reading The evolution of grain yield – Decoding the genetic basis of floret fertility in wheat

Researchers from the Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, have discovered a new biochemical pathway in plants which they have named CHLORAD. By manipulating the CHLORAD pathway, scientists can modify how plants respond to their environment. For example, the plant’s ability to tolerate stresses such as high salinity can be improved. The researchers hope… Continue reading Scientists discover a new biochemical pathway that may aid development of more resilient crop varieties

In the past decade, Dümmen Orange, backed by private equity firm BC Partners (and predecessor investor H2 Equity Partners), has shaken up the floriculture breeding segment with 24 acquisitions. Other private equity firms have followed suit, including Foreman Capital’s investment in Van den Bos in 2016 and Nimbus’s investment in Royal van Zanten in 2018.… Continue reading Consolidation in Floriculture Breeding

Below-normal monsoon rains and an infestation of the fall armyworm, which devastated African crops in 2017, have slashed India’s corn output and boosted prices, increasing the chances the government will grant duty-free corn imports for the first time since 2016. A farmer shows a corn shoot infested with fall armyworm at his farm in Narayangaon… Continue reading Drought, pests could force India to grant duty-free corn imports

On a bleak, brown hill here, David Ellis examines a test plot of potato plants and shakes his head. “They’re dead, dead, dead,” he says. Pests and lack of rain have laid waste to all 17 varieties that researchers had planted. It is a worrying sign for Ellis, the now-retired director of the gene bank… Continue reading A breeding revolution could unleash the potential of potato

An affordable source of protein and minerals and livelihood to millions of people, cowpea is one of the most economically important crops in sub-Saharan Africa. Mostly grown in the dry savannah areas, it has a high tolerance to drought and the ability to improve soil fertility; plus the ability to easily adapt to changing environments.… Continue reading The genetic improvement of cowpea: Develop high-yielding varieties

For nearly 20 years, Kenya has attempted to adopt the better-yielding and disease- and drought-tolerant crop varieties bred through genetic engineering. But like the rest of the continent — aside from South Africa and Sudan, which are already growing insect-resistant Bt maize and cotton — it made little tangible headway in getting these improved crops… Continue reading Kenya’s support for GMO crops likely to influence East Africa