The University of Arizona helped unravel the genetic code of the canola plant
The findings will help breeders select for desirable traits such as richer oil content and faster seed production. Other potential applications include modifying the quality of canola oil, making it more nutritious and adapting the plants to grow in more arid regions
New way to solve global ecological problems by using the technology gene drives
The idea is not new, but the Harvard-based researchers have now outlined a technically feasible way to build gene drives that potentially could spread almost any genomic change through populations of sexually reproducing species
Land grabbing could help feed at least 300 million people
According Italian-American researchers the maximum amount of food that could be produced from crops grown on acquired lands and the number of people that this could feed. They also compared the use of traditional farming techniques to industrialised agricultural methods, to come up with the yield gap
Organic agriculture boosts biodiversity on farmlands
The study shows that even organic farms have to actively support biodiversity by, for example, conserving different habitats on their holdings
Flowers' polarization patterns help bees find food
Bees use their ability to 'see' polarized light when foraging for food, researchers based at the University of Bristol have discovered. This is the first time bees have been found to use this ability for something other than navigation
New roses need less care
Raspberry Vigarosa is one of the newer varieties in the Earth-Kind dwarf rose study at the Hammond Research Station
Plant researchers sow seeds of major disease breakthrough
Breakthrough research carried out by The University of Western Australia and scientists in India and China has established that oilseed varieties resistant to the devastating fungal disease Sclerotinia can be bred readily
Rising CO2 poses significant threat to human nutrition
The results showed a significant decrease in the concentrations of zinc, iron, and protein in C3 grains
New link between neonicotinoids and collapse of honey bee colonies
Researchers demonstrated again in this study that neonicotinoids are highly likely to be responsible for triggering CCD in honey bee hives that were healthy prior to the arrival of winter
Paleontologists discover new fossil organism
Likely related to our ancestors, “Plexus ricei” was much like a tapeworm or modern flatworm, say UC Riverside researchers
Water-saving innovations in Chinese agriculture
Scientists from China, Australia and Canada have published a critical review of China's freshwater shortage and associated agricultural production and environmental issues.
Soils under Britain’s allotments are significantly healthier than intensively farmed soils
First study to show that growing at small-scale in urban areas produces food sustainably without damaging soils
How to transform bauxite residue into healthy soils
The research found that adding a combination of green waste compost and fertiliser to the bauxite residue sand improves its rehabilitation potential and its capacity to support plants
A new approach to detecting unintended changes in GM foods
Does genetic manipulation cause unintended changes in food quality and composition? Are genetically modified (GM) foods less nutritious than their non-GM counterparts, for example, or different in unknown ways?
Measures to prevent entry of citrus pests are appropriate
Existing measures are effective at protecting the EU from two serious diseases that attack citrus plants