Category: Industry News

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

Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzak  has said a new variety of rice “Golden Rice” helpful to fight the vitamin A deficiency, will be released soon. He came up with the information after a meeting with members of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) at the secretariat on Thursday, reports UNB. Dr Razzak said: “Golden rice… Continue reading Bangladesh Minister: Golden Rice to be released soon

In April 2018, the US government released a list of Chinese goods that may be subjected to new tariffs, and the Chinese government quickly counterattacked and decided to impose tariffs on the US-origin soybeans, automobiles, chemicals and other goods, which initiated the US-China trade war. Soybeans, as a very important bulk agricultural product in the… Continue reading Uncertainties in US-China Trade War Cause Anxiety among Global Soybean Industry

Both farmers and the Ghanaian scientists now conducting field trials of genetically modified (GM) rice believe the improved variety will better the lives of smallholder rice farmers once it’s released onto the market. The nitrogen- and water-use efficient and salt tolerant (NEWEST) rice has been engineered to require less nitrogen fertilizer, tolerate drought conditions and… Continue reading High expectations for GMO rice research in Ghana

A team of scientists from the University of Sydney, Macquarie University and the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) have identified a novel source of salt tolerance in an endemic Australian wild rice species. Recently published in ‘Rice’, the results represent a major step forward in the quest for enhanced salt tolerance in commercial rice cultivars… Continue reading A salt-tough Australian rice shares some of its secrets

The weather over the weekend in central Brazil was finally the type of weather you generally expect for this time of the year. In Mato Grosso for example, there was heavy overcast and it rained most of the day on Sunday for a total of 2-4 inches. The weather was similar in Goias, northern Mato… Continue reading Every state in Brazil expecting lower soybean yields

Farmers will soon get drought- and disease-resistant finger millet varieties, experts have said. Henry Ojulong, a cereals breeder at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), said finger millet is highly valued for its nutritional qualities but production is still low. “The high levels of calcium, iron and amino acids in finger… Continue reading Researchers develop better millet varieties

One to two per cent of the population has Coeliac Disease (CD), an immune reaction to gluten. grains contain gluten, a mixture of glutenin and gliadin proteins, which build a network that gives wheat bread its unique properties and quality. Most gliadins and part of the glutenins contain immunogenic epitopes, which are the actual trigger of… Continue reading Wheat can be made safe for people with coeliac disease by using gene editing

Results of a new rice imagery study show successful prediction of rice nitrogen uptake at panicle initiation (2018 Rice R&D Update from AgriFutures). The study validates the possibility of generating nitrogen topdressing recommendations directly from remotely-sensed data with reduced or no physical sampling. For this study, Ceres Imaging provided aerial imaging technology in cooperation with… Continue reading Study finds remote sensing successful for predicting nitrogen requirements in rice

In anticipation of the coming dry season, farmers with insufficient water supply are advised to adopt early-maturing rice varieties or with maturity days less than 110. The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) says early-maturing varieties require lesser water, as they can mature faster than other inbred varieties. PhilRice says a rice crop that matures in… Continue reading PhilRice: Advantage of early-maturing varieties