Aussie farmer grows first-ever seedless lychees
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBy MEI REI QUA LYCHEE is a fruit that many Malaysians seem to enjoy! Something about slowly peeling off the skin to get the perfectly shaped fruit is very satisfying. Sinking our teeth in the juicy and sweet flesh is a dream! With Chinese New Year coming up, it wouldn’t be long until lychees start […]
South Australia lifts ban on GM crops
Reading Time: 2 minutesMINISTER for Prime Industries and Regional Development Tim Whetstone released his statement at the start of 2020, saying that farmers in South Australia (SA) can now opt to grow genetically modified (GM) crops, following the State Parliament’s move to lift SA’s moratorium that banned GM crops in the region since 2004. Talks of lifting the […]
Nod for digital council for food, agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutesBERLIN: The Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) drew to a close today with the agriculture ministers of 71 nations, thanking FAO and the other International Organisations for developing a concept for the establishment of an International Digital Council for Food and Agriculture, as requested in the 2019 GFFA Final Communiqué. They welcomed FAO’s […]
Genes controlling mycorrhizal colonisation discovered in soybean
Reading Time: 2 minutesLIKE most plants, soybeans pair up with soil fungi in a symbiotic mycorrhizal relationship. In exchange for a bit of sugar, the fungus acts as an extension of the root system to pull in more phosphorus, nitrogen, micronutrients, and water than the plant could on its own. Mycorrhizal fungi occur naturally in soil and are […]
New tomato variety could change urban farming and cultivation
Reading Time: 2 minutesGENE-EDITED tomato plants that can be grown in small areas and potentially even in outer space have been developed by scientists at the New York-based Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, according to a release. These new “urban agriculture tomatoes” grow in compact bunches instead of on long vines and can be harvested in a shorter period […]
Drought-tolerant, disease-resistant chickpea from India
Reading Time: < 1 minuteINDIAN farmers may soon take hold of two new chickpea varieties with improved drought tolerance and disease resistance traits. The varieties were developed by the Agricultural Research Institute of India and Raichur (Kartanaka) University of Agricultural Sciences using molecular methods and genomic innovations, which enabled a short time of research and development. The researchers searched […]
Kenya gives nod for Bt cotton
Reading Time: < 1 minuteTHE Kenyan Cabinet, chaired by President Uhuru Kenyatta, has approved the commercial planting of Bt cotton after the 5-year field trials showed positive results. The biotech crop is expected to increase the cotton production of Kenyan farmers and thus boost the manufacturing pillar of the Big 4 Agenda where it is stated that Kenya aims […]
ISAAA: Biotech crops fastest adopted crop technology
Reading Time: < 1 minuteBIOTECH CROPS are considered as the fastest adopted crop technology in the history of modern agriculture, according to ISAAA Pocket K 16: Biotech Crop Highlights in 2018. From the initial planting of 1.7 million hectares in 1996 when the first biotech crop was commercialized, the 191.7 million hectares planted in 2018 indicates a ~113-fold increase. […]
Growing popularity of agribiotechnology in Vietnam
Reading Time: < 1 minuteDESPITE being a progressive scientific achievement of the world during the past decades and accepted by many countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, and many other developed countries, but biotechnology and genetically modified crops and their applications are still not well known in Vietnam. It is undeniable that biotechnology and GM foods have […]
Developing market oriented rice hybrids
Reading Time: 2 minutesRECENT research and technological advancements have significantly improved the quality and viability of hybrid rice. Still, the lack of awareness among value chain actors on these improvements threatens to impede its full potential as a climate resilient alternative to traditional varieties. Characteristics like poor grain quality, lower head rice recovery percentage, chalkiness, high insect, pest, […]