Global consortium announces plans to sequence banana genome
New data could benefit small-scale banana farmers worldwide and reduce reliance on chemicals in comm...se the new genetic data to enable developing-world farmers to grow bananas that are able to resist the fungus "Black Sigatoka," as well as other diseases and p...USDA awards NC State $3 million for domestication of pine
...goals is to allow Southeastern landowners tobacco farmers looking for alternative crops, for instance to know exactly what kind of loblolly to plant for specific uses, when the trees would need to be harvested and how much they would be worth. "Eventually, we're going to be able to go to a small land owner...Scientists map the complete genome of an important agricultural bacterium
...ently limits plant growth. To improve crop yields, farmers around the world use tons of nitrogen-rich fertilizer every year. But manufacturing fertilizer requires burning large amounts of coal and other fossil fuels, which contribute to the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. "Fertilizers also produ...Rat genes increase Vitamin C in plants
...dization of plants. "Nature does it by chance, and farmers have been doing cross-pollination by hand for years," he says. "But now we have the ability, through biotechnology, to be very specific in what new traits we introduce into plants." According to Nessler, the method plants use to produce vitamin C is...Genetically engineered tomato plant grows in salty water
...Crop irrigation is an age-old practice that allows farmers to be less dependent on seasonal rainfall and the uncertainties of the weather. However, irrigation also increases the salinity of soils and water by depositing in the fields soluble salts such as sodium, calcium, magnesium, potassium, sulfate and ch...Earlier weaning, high-energy diet produce higher quality beef
...professor of animal sciences. "Our approach gives farmers an alternative production system in which they can improve the quality of the meat and get a better economic return off the animals." Bergers team analyzed two groups of Angus-Simmenthal heifers from the same genetic line. One group (16 animals) was...Scientists find genetic basis of insect's resistance to engineered crops
...on agricultural pest a discovery which will allow farmers and government officials to take early steps to pr...f the recessive genes. The popular Bt crops give farmers a tool for controlling pests like the tobacco budworm moth while reducing the need for potentially d...UCSD biologists identify genetic mechanism conferring resistance to 'Bt toxins'
...pesticides, have been sprayed on crops by organic farmers for decades. They have also played an important ro...rous enough to become economically troublesome to farmers hoping to control these insects." In their study, the researchers examined mutant genes they disco...Forestalling pesticide, antibiotic resistance possible, theory predicts
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. For years, farmers and agribusinesses have talked about being on the "pesticide treadmill": A few years after a pesticide is introduced, insects develop resistance to it. So another chemical is used at least until the bugs overwhelm that one. Then another chemical i...Leading experts address safety and economics of biotech crops
...stance to scab (a disease that has cost U.S. wheat farmers billions of dollars in losses), increased dough strength and a better protein balance in wheat flour. ( AGFD 101, 9:40 a.m., Tuesday, August 28, McCormick Place South, Room S505A, Level 5.) The economics of biotechnology Nicholas Kalaitzandona...Fight between GMOS and the bugs they repel may not be over
...n State University entomology professor, says that farmers and those marketing genetically modified seeds sho...way at the crops in a minor way and they will pay farmers and society back for many, many years to come. The practice of refugia is still experimental and ca...China to declare new reserve for Siberian tigers
... WCS is working to establish a fund to compensate farmers for livestock losses due to tigers, and to implement a monitoring program to follow the recovery process of tigers and their prey. The Hunchun Reserve will protect not only Siberian tigers, but the even rarer Far Eastern or Amur leopard. While an es...Parasite offers natural way to control leaf-eating slugs
...ing safer, something useful to farmers and gardeners alike." In a gr... Grewal envisions that American farmers and homeowners will someday be able to order live worms by overnight mail from ...Purple potato boost for organic food industry
...urple patchThis is extremely promising for organic farmers and consumers, said Carlo Leifert (pictured), pro...worth millions of pounds each year and deters many farmers from growing potatoes because the risks are so high.That is why supermarkets have a very limited sup...Agricultural pests may threaten prairies
...lants that bloom in late summer. Moreover, midwest farmers often rotate corn annually with soybeans, and soybean pests might also invade prairies to feed on native legumes such as prairie clover and leadplant. To keep agricultural pests from threatening tallgrass prairie remnants, McKone and his colleagues ...Meetings launch international program to protect food security and conserve biodiversity
...l networks of researchers, development workers and farmers are joining forces in October and November 2001 to...ute (IPGRI, also headquartered in Italy) will help farmers improve and conserve local, traditional crops which are being lost as they are overlooked by major i...Efficient fertilizer use could benefit river without hurting crop yields
...ey conducted in 2000, about 30 percent of Illinois farmers indicated that they apply more nitrogen than is recommended for economically optimum crop production. Eliminating that over-application will maintain yields, reduce costs and, according to our analysis, reduce the nitrate in the Mississippi River," M...Conservation International and Starbucks announce new coffee sourcing guidelines
...ersity while providing economic benefits for local farmers in the last remaining cloud forest in Southern Mexico. More about this partnership and about CIs Conservation Coffee program can be found online at www.starbucks.com/ongoodgrounds and at www.conservation.org ....Early detection device for exposure to chemical warfare agents being developed
...it may have applications as well for crop dusters, farmers and others who work around insecticides, similar, ...zheimer's disease and in determining how soldiers, farmers and others are impacted by chronic exposure to sub-toxic doses of organophosphates that may linger i...Scientists developing strategies for upcoming phosphorus mandates
...standards on total phosphorus, Hoeft said. If so, farmers will be urged to convert more of their cropland in...ds. If the EPA instead targets soluble phosphorus, farmers would be advised to maintain soil phosphorus for optimum crop production, inject all phosphorus mate...