Category: Industry News

Keywords: soybean Soybeans are the number one agricultural product in Brazil and Brazilian scientists are constantly on the lookout for new potential soybean pests. Recently, Brazilian scientists have identified for the first time the presence of the Soybean Stem Fly in the cerrado regions of central Brazil. The Soybean Stem Fly (Melanagromyza sojae) is native… Continue reading Soybean stem fly found in central Brazil for the first time

Keywords: barley Crunchy kernels of barley tumble from Joel Williamson’s hands as he scoops them up, offering a taste. “This is a first: The inaugural batch of Lyon malt,” says Williamson, head maltster at Spokane-based craft malting company LINC Malt. “This is really good,” replies customer Heath Barnes, popping a few grains into his mouth.… Continue reading Washington State University bred barleys deliver unique Northwest beer flavors

Keywords: GM potato Teagasc have concluded their field study which investigated both the environmental and agronomic impact of a GM potato variety genetically engineered to resist late blight disease, caused by Phytophthora infestans. Potato late blight can rapidly destroy potato crops with growers commonly having to resort to spraying their crops with fungicides on a… Continue reading Research shows GM potato variety combined with new management techniques can cut fungicide use by up to 90%

Inhibiting the production of the ‘happiness’ hormone – serotonin – in rice plants, increases their resistance to two of the world’s most destructive and costly insect pests, new research has shown. The study, published this week in Nature Plants, shows that by suppressing the production of serotonin, rice plants become more resistant to their two… Continue reading Breakthrough in the search for insect-resistant plants

Keywords: cotton Swaziland Environment Authority (SEA) has granted two landmark approvals for importation of Bt cotton seed and environmental release of the crop making the Kingdom of eSwatini the latest African country to adopt Bt cotton. In accordance with Biosafety Act, SEA granted approval to the Swaziland Cotton Board (SCB) to import 3,000 kilogrammes of… Continue reading Swaziland approves importation and environmental release of Bt cotton

Keywords: seed “Farmers have to produce 70 percent more food by 2050 to feed the global population,” according to the UN. To meet this startling prediction, scientific and accurate breeding programmes are being executed to create more adaptable F1 hybrid seeds. These seeds will generate productive harvests to sustain global needs. “Heat, disease, moisture and… Continue reading Adaptable seeds, an answer to food shortage

Keywords: tomato When tomatoes get partially far red interlighting instead of red/blue LED light, the production remains the same, but the taste score is higher due to the combination of a higher refraction value and increased ‘bite’. These preliminary results come from a lighting trial at Vereijken nurseries in Beek en Donk. The trial took… Continue reading Tomatoes grown under red light taste better

Keywords: cotton Cotton season in Punjab is off to a sluggish start, with seed companies reporting low demand for BT cotton seeds, the variety that accounts for most of the cotton grown in the country. Seed companies say farmers are shifting to other crops, especially paddy and maize, in which they see higher returns. Accordingly,… Continue reading India: Demand for cotton seeds in Punjab down 20-30% from year ago, say companies

Keywords: wheat Triticum urartu, the progenitor of wheat A subgenome (Image by IGDB) Bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), feeding more than 35% human population and providing about 20% of calories and proteins consumed by humans, is a globally important crop due to its enhanced adaptability to a wide range of climates and improved grain quality… Continue reading Chinese scientists generate a high-quality wheat A genome sequence

Keywords: plant Graphical illustration of above ground interactions between neighboring plants by light touch and their effect on below-ground communication. Credit: Elhakeem et al (2018)  Corn seedlings that grow close together give off underground signals that impact the growth of nearby plants, reports a study published May 2, 2018 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE… Continue reading Plants can use underground communication to find out when neighbors are stressed