32 new grants made for innovative technology R&D
...to CropsDevelop technologies to stabilize superior crop hybrids by asexual seed production ("self-cloning") thereby improving yields of major food, feed, fiber and biomass crops and reducing hybrid seed production costs. Glennan Microsystems, Inc. (Cleveland, Ohio) Advanced Fuel and Emission Contro...National Science Foundation awards $2 million grant to UC Riverside
...o help monitor the unintended spread of engineered crop genes....UCR researchers identify key plant enzyme that defends against multiple infections
...tions. The development holds out hope of improving crop yields, which are dependent on plants being able to fend off multiple types of pathogens. The findings, outlined in a paper titled "VPEg Exhibits a Caspase-like Activity that Contributes to Defense Against Pathogens" were reported in the Sept. 23, o...US Agency for International Development awards $34 million to Virginia Tech
...search and assistance programs designed to improve crop yields through ecologically sound practices for pe...sion that threatened the $100-million-a-year olive crop in California. IPM identifies and targets crop pests such as invasive pests, insect-transmitt...Rutgers-led research offers new clues in the genetic mysteries of maize
...ne of the world's most important crops corn. This crop dominates agriculture in the United States, where approximately 9 billion bushels are produced annually at a value of $30 billion. Maize (or corn) is also an important dietary staple in much of the third world. Rutgers' Joachim Messing and his collea...Multi-species herbivore outbreak follows El Nio drought in Panama
...systems may help us to predict outbreaks involving crop pests or human disease vectors."...ASPB opposes proposed ban of GMOs in Humboldt county ballot measure M
...effectively resist pests have also led to improved crop yields. Furthermore, there are instances in which genetic engineering can produce healthier and safer foods than can be accomplished using traditional plant breeding technologies. Researchers based in California (University of Californi...Passage of GMO ban in San Luis Obispo would encourage use of harsh pesticides
...effectively resist pests have also led to improved crop yields. Measure Q encourages the current widespread use of toxic chemical pesticides in farming. Furthermore, there are instances in which genetic engineering can produce healthier and safer foods than can be accomplished using traditio...Incentives for US farmers reduce water waste
...ch year; and 60 percent of U.S. water intended for crop irrigation never reaches the crops. Their report i... soil-conservation practices, like cover crops and crop rotations, should be implemented to minimize rapid water runoff related to soil erosion. Water subs...Three years of Proba, the 'smart' satellite that runs itself
...earch in Germany, studying spectral reflectance of crop residues and soils in France, biodiversity monitoring in Africa, coastal area mapping in the south of Chile and archaeological projects in Spain. Proba's additional payload The other imager on board Proba is the compact HRC, which has an even hi...Cars, not crops, should be chief targets in reducing greenhouse gases
...eps include adopting no-till agriculture to retain crop wastes in the soil rather than letting them decay ...ce the mileage. "Taking a third of our crop land out of production and using it to sequester carbon would mean very high prices for food in this...Farmers don't need a new superstar toxin to fight bugs
...ichael Jordan of toxins isn't required to increase crop protection against bugs as long as the right genes...-control agents." Farmers who use bioengineered crop protectants also use a buffer, or refuge, around the outside of fields that contains plants lacking ...Passage of Marin County GMO ban would encourage widespread use of harsh pesticides
...effectively resist pests have also led to improved crop yields. Measure B encourages the current widespread use of toxic chemical pesticides in farming. Furthermore, there are instances in which genetic engineering can produce healthier and safer foods than can be accomplished using traditional plant bree...Hurricane damage creates pecan shortage
...t pecan production for years to come. "Next year's crop is dependent on the health of the trees when they go into winter," said Brenneman. Another problem brought on by the hurricanes is increased pecan disease. One disease that normally doesn't appear, Phytophthora shuck and kernel rot, has appeared in ...Hurricane Ivan helps student study sinkholes
...e, drainage area, and land use such as wood land, crop land, or pasture ("Cattle love to stand in sinkholes.") to determine if such sinkhole characteristics indicate what is happening underground. He is using a geophysical technique called electrical resistivity. Current is passed through the soil using ...International Rice Functional Genomics meeting in Tucson Nov. 15-17
...research on rice. Rice is the most important food crop in the world and an important experimental system for genomics research. The completion of the genome sequence of rice, scheduled for December 2004, will open a new and exciting chapter in research on the rice genome: the quest to determine the funct...Researchers discover transport molecule that allows boron into cells
...es, is essential for plant growth, pollination and crop size but until recently, no one knew how it entered plant cells. A borate transporter discovered in the plant Arabidopsis by another research group was shown to be very similar to human NaBC1. Dr. Muallem, who had been studying NaBC1 in another cont...Scientists pioneer biotech techniques to halt infestation of history, art treasures in tropics
...e of biotechnologies originally intended to remedy crop infestations and other problems is being pioneered in the protection of priceless art and historical archives in tropical countries from decay caused by insects, heat, humidity and other natural causes. A specialized UN University program in Venezuel...Genetically engineered corn poses no immediate threat to Mexican crops
...dentity revolve heavily around corn, or maize the crop was first developed here thousands of years ago the thought of imported GM varieties contaminating indigenous plants frightens many citizens, said Allison Snow, a co-author of the report and a professor of evolution, ecology and organismal biology a...Researchers discover new way to boost grain crops' drought tolerance
...ial, and are responsible for substantial losses in crop yield when they do occur." For several years, Gallie said, a number of studies on global climate have predicted an increase in global temperature, and regional conditions of drought, which may have already begun. "Increasing drought tolerance in cr...