Research Results
1. Researchers uncover a novel mechanism of weak apical dominance in rice
Crops such as maize and sorghum produce only one culm to reduce competition among sinks and increase the productivity of the main culm, thus exhibiting enhanced apical dominance. Rice and wheat produce multiple tillers and exhibit weakened apical dominance. The genetic basis of weak apical dominance in rice (and other crops) remains largely unknown. A research team, led by Prof. Chen Fan from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has isolated and characterized a mutant, ‘decreased culm number 1’ (dc1), in rice, which exhibits malformed spikelet, is female sterile and extreme low-tillering.
A locus encodes the rice ortholog (OsWUS, controls tillering in rice) of Arabidopsis WUSCHEL (AtWUS), a key transcription factor, encodes a WUSCHEL-related homeobox transcription factor, and plays a crucial role in rice tiller bud development and number of tillers produced. Decapitation or disruption of the auxin-associated gene ABERRANT SPIKELET AND PANICLE 1 (ASP1) partially de-repressed the growth of tiller buds in the dc1 mutant, indicating that OsWUS positively regulates the tiller bud growth via antagonizing the auxin action. This study uncovers a novel mechanism of weak apical dominance in rice, as well as an important role of OsWUS in tiller bud growth. Collectively, the results demonstrate an important role of OsWUS in tiller bud growth by influencing apical dominance and provide the basis for an improved understanding of tiller bud development in rice.
Access the abstract at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tpj.15026
2. Research reveals infertile spikelets contribute to yield in sorghum and related grasses
Much of the food we eat comes from grasses such as rice, wheat, corn, sorghum, and sugarcane. In all grasses, the structures that contain the flowers and seeds are called spikelets and in many types of grass, for example the tribe Andropogoneae (maize, sorghum etc.) that covers 17% of the earth’s surface, the spikelets come in pairs, one of which bears seed and the other does not. This is not so in rice and wheat. Although one would be tempted to conclude that the spikelet that does not produce seeds is useless, the fact that the pairs have been maintained for around 15 million years implies that they have an important function. Now. Taylor AuBuchon-Elder and his colleagues at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, Missouri, provide evidence for it.
Their findings demonstrate that the sterile spikelets contribute to yield in sorghum and related grasses. Researchers used radioactive and stable isotopes of carbon, RNA sequencing of metabolically important enzymes, and immunolocalization of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) to show that the sterile spikelet assimilates carbon, which is translocated to the other parts. Removal of sterile spikelets in sorghum significantly decreases seed weight (yield) by ∼9%. Thus, the sterile spikelet, but not the awn, affects yield in the cultivated species and fitness in the wild species. They suggest that the next step would be to determine to what extent infertile spikelets affect yield in diverse varieties of field-grown plants. Existing sorghum diversity could indicate whether the size of the infertile spikelet affects the size of the seed.
Access the full paper at https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/32/11/3500/6099418
3. Shifts in flowering phases of plants due to reduced insect density
Fields full of flowers, but not a bee in sight? This may sound unlikely today, but declines in insect numbers could well make it a frequent occurrence in the future. A research group of the University of Jena and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig has discovered that insects have a decisive influence on the biodiversity and flowering phases of plants. Josephine Ulrich and her colleagues have found that if there was a lack of insects in areas that the plants grew in, their flowering behaviour changed. It appears that insect species are dying out and the insect biomass is decreasing. This is the first time that researchers studied in detail the extent to which decreasing insect density influences plant development.
The results of the study suggest that invertebrate decline may contribute to already observed mismatches between plants and animals, with potentially negative consequences for ecosystem services, such as food provision and pollination success. This deterioration of ecosystem functions could enhance the loss of insects and plant biodiversity. The development of the flowering period also changes as insect density declines. The authors suggest that future research should explore the underlying mechanisms, such as changes in mutualistic and antagonistic interactions between invertebrates and plants, to disentangle the specific drivers that caused the patterns in plant species abundance and phenology they observed in the experiment.
Access the full paper at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.542125/full#h1
4. Hungry plants rely on their associated bacteria to mobilize unavailable iron
In nature, healthy plants are awash with bacteria and other microbes, mostly deriving from the soil they grow in. This community of microbes, termed the plant microbiota, is essential for optimal plant growth, and it protects plants from the harmful effects of pathogenic microorganisms and insects and helps in absorption of minerals. Paul Schulze-Lefert and other researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research, Cologne, Germany, have uncovered a novel strategy employed by plants to overcome the problem of iron uptake: plants release substances from their roots that direct plant-associated bacteria to mobilize soil iron so that the plants can easily take it up. To assess the contribution of the root microbiota to iron-limiting plant performance, the researchers used a controlled system that allowed them to regulate the availability of iron as well as the presence of root-associated bacteria.
Using model plant species thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), they compared plants completely lacking bacteria and ones with an added synthetic community of bacterial commensals, which reflects the root bacterial diversity observed in nature.
They found that the addition of this synthetic bacterial community strongly improved the performance of plants grown on soils with unavailable iron, but not those grown on soils with readily available iron. The researchers concluded that the iron-beneficial commensal trait is taxonomically widespread but strain-specific, and the coumarin-microbiota interaction resolves iron starvation and regulates immune response. Improving plant iron nutrition could not only improve agricultural yields, but also increase the nutrient content of staple food crops, a potential strategy for tackling iron deficiency in humans as well.
Access the full paper at https://www.cell.com/cell-host-microbe/fulltext/S1931-3128(20)30507-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS1931312820305072%3Fshowall%3Dtrue#%20
5. Biological clock and extra gene pairs control important plant functions
The plant’s biological clock in the food crop Brassica rapa regulates the presence of a pair of duplicate genes in it, to help the plant adapt to new regions and climate change. That clock controls close to three-quarters of the plant’s genes, according to research from Dartmouth College, led by Kathleen Greenham. “We were surprised to find that such a high number of genes are regulated by the biological clock. This emphasizes the importance of circadian clock control of many functions within the plant,” said Robertson McClung, who supervised the research. The researchers then explored what effect the additional gene pairs have on the plant’s biological clock or survival processes, such as resilience to drought. The research team found that the extra gene copies are often active at different times of day from their gene pairs.
The findings lead to the conclusion that the same gene duplication that is responsible for a more sensitive biological clock also creates more drought resistance. “During the evolution of land plants, the number of gene pairs expanded,” said Greenham. Genetic redundancy resulting from whole-genome duplication is thought to facilitate evolutionary change through sub- and neo-functionalization among paralogous gene pairs. Additionally, differential drought response among retained paralogous pairs suggested further functional diversification, which needs to be confirmed. The results support the rapid expansion and divergence of the transcriptional network in a polyploid crop and offer a new approach for assessing paralog activity at the transcript level.
Access the full paper at https://elifesciences.org/articles/58993
6. Trehalose 6-phosphate promotes seed filling by activating auxin biosynthesis
Plants undergo several developmental transitions during their life cycle. The differentiation of the young embryo from a meristem-like structure into a highly specialized storage organ is believed to be controlled by local connections between sugars and hormonal response systems. By controlling the trehalose 6-phosphate (T6P) content in growing embryos of pea (Pisum sativum), Tobias Meitzel and colleagues at the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Germany, and University of Tasmania, Australia, investigated the role of this signalling sugar during the seed-filling process. “Our work identified T6P as a key regulator of seed filling in the grain legume pea and highlighted a link between T6P and the major plant hormone auxin,” says Meitzel.
To better understand how T6P controls seed filling, researchers engineered transgenic pea plants aiming at the embryo-specific modulation of T6P levels. Seeds that were deficient in T6P were smaller and wrinkled, as they produced less starch. The study showed that T6P affected these changes by stimulating the biosynthesis of the pivotal plant hormone, auxin. They found that T6P promotes the expression of the auxin biosynthesis gene TRYPTOPHAN AMINOTRANSFERASE RELATED2 (TAR2), and the effect on auxin concentrations is required to mediate the T6P-induced activation of storage processes. The results suggest that auxin acts downstream of T6P to facilitate seed filling, thereby providing a salient example of how a metabolic signal governs the hormonal control of an integral phase transition in a crop plant.
Access the full paper at https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.16956
7. Germinating seedlings emit a small amount of light that can be used to predict plant health and development
Extremely faint light, ultra-weak photon emissions (UPE), which had previously been detected only from groups of several thousand seedlings, emitted by plant seedlings could be used to assess the health and growth potential of individual seeds. The idea that specific chemical reactions in germinating seedlings should emit light was first proposed in 1920, but the technology to detect the very weak signals from even a large collection of seedlings was not developed until the 1950s. Cristiano de Mello Gallepa at the University of Campinas, Brazil, in collaboration with Daniel Roberts at the University of Bristol, UK, developed the improved single-seed procedure. They could measure the UPE of single seedlings of wheat, corn, and mung bean, and repeated measurements show a direct relation between UPE and seedling growth.
To improve our understanding of the mechanisms and potential uses of the light signals, Gallepa and Roberts developed a procedure for long-term recording of emissions from seedlings of mung bean, corn, and wheat. This could feasibly be used to distinguish more healthy seedlings from less vigorous ones. In addition to identifying the most vigorous seedlings, they say it might also be used to examine the response of seedlings to different types of soil, fertilizers, and environmental stresses, including toxic compounds and attack by microbial pathogens.
Access the full paper at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666469020300014?via%3Dihub
8. New research maps potential global spread of devastating papaya mealybug pest
The papaya mealybug, Paracoccus marginatus, is a highly polyphagous invasive pest that affects more than 200 plants, many of which are of economic importance. Scientists at the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI), led by Elizabeth Finch, have mapped the potential global spread of the devastating papaya mealybug (Paracoccus marginatus), highlighting new areas in Africa, Asia, and the Americas into which this pest could potentially invade. In Asia, the areas with suitable conditions were more expansive than the areas with known populations of papaya mealybug, suggesting the potential for further expansion of papaya mealybug, specifically in India, Southeast Asia, and the southern regions of the Guangxi and Guangdong provinces of southern China. In colder parts of Europe, widespread distribution of papaya mealybug is not expected, although a very small area of land, surrounding Seville in Spain and around Sicily in Italy, has suitable conditions.
“Information about the papaya mealybug’s potential distribution is important as it can highlight key areas susceptible to invasion, giving an early warning to decision-makers, allowing them to put into place phytosanitary measures to prevent or slow the invasion of the pest into their jurisdiction,” Finch added. “In areas where the papaya mealybug has become established and reached a high enough population density, the use of parasitoids, such as Acerophagus papayae and Anagyrus loecki, remains an effective potential control method.”
Access the full paper at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ps.6151
9. Plant viruses hijack the defence system of plants, but there might be a way to strike back
Many diseases caused by common plant viruses reduce the crops of important food plants. Plants are not entirely defenceless against viruses, although there is no definite immune system like that in animals. Studies on plants that are naturally resistant to viruses have shown that their resistance is often based on mutations in the plant’s genome that block interaction between viral and plant proteins. A study authored by Maija Pollari and colleagues from the University of Helsinki, Finland, investigated the interaction between potato virus A and host plant proteins. In the course of an infection, viral proteins come regularly into contact with host factors.
Knowledge of these virus-host interactions is essential to devise ways to combat the damage by viruses. The authors report that the potyviral Helper component proteinase (HCPro) recruits host ARGONAUTE1 protein and engages it in pro-viral functions. It was found that the interaction of potato virus A HCPro with ARGONAUTE1 benefited the infection, by promoting the stability and accumulation of virus particles. When HCPro was engineered to disrupt the interaction, very few virus particles were detected and the mutated virus did not spread efficiently. In the current study, the systemic spread of two potyviruses, potato virus A (PVA) and turnip mosaic virus (TuMV), was significantly reduced when the W208A mutation was introduced to the conserved WG motif in HCPro. The interactions between plant and viral proteins discovered by Kristiina Mäkinen’s research group offer new targets for breeding resistance against the potato virus in host plants.
For more, see https://phys.org/news/2020-11-viruses-hijack-defence.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter
Access the full paper at https://journals.plos.org/plospathogens/article?id=10.1371/journal.ppat.1008965
Potential Crops/Technologies/Concepts
1. Researchers highlight the potential of tropical-tree‐sourced foods for sustainable food systems
Two of humanity’s biggest problems—the climate crisis and abysmal eating habits—can partly be solved by one healthy solution: Eating more food from tropical trees. While it may not be possible across the globe, it is conceivable to incentivise people to consume more products from forests. Such products can also be grown more widely in similar environments. “Planting the right type of trees in the right place can provide nutritious foods to improve diets sustainably while providing other valuable ecosystem services, such as carbon sequestration,” said Merel Jansen, the lead author from Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule) and the Center of International Forestry Research. Experts are, therefore, calling for a transformation of global food systems characterized by the cultivation and consumption of foods that simultaneously deliver nutritional, environmental, and health benefits.
Such an effort, which combines diversity and local knowledge of tree species in tropical landscapes, can offer an excellent nature-based solution. Hundreds of millions of smallholder farmers worldwide, who often have been pushed aside by the industrialization of food systems, have the potential to be key players in the food system transformation so envisaged. With the right incentives, investments, and involvement, smallholder farms could scale up agroforestry systems to produce more, healthy food, while simultaneously diversifying their income sources. Although land tenure can be a major hurdle which needs to be overcome, increased tree-sourced food production could be made into an integral part of the global food system transformation by promoting it among consumers through the provision of appropriate information.
Access the full paper at https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/pan3.10159
2. Diversified agriculture enhances ecosystem services and maintain yields
Increasing diversity in crop production systems benefits ecosystem services and biodiversity, that too without compromising crop yields. Diversification—adding more variety to cropping systems and the agricultural landscape—has been suggested as a path to make agriculture more sustainable. Diversification can occur both above and below ground in a field, and it is achieved with management practices that include growing several crops in a rotation, reducing tillage, using organic amendments, and establishing or restoring species-rich habitat in the landscape. Giovanni Tamburini from the University of Bari, Italy, working with researchers from several European countries, assessed the impact of many such practices in cropping systems on above- and below-ground biodiversity and ecosystem services, by reviewing 98 meta-analyses and performing a second-order meta-analysis, based on 5160 original studies comprising 41,946 comparisons between diversified and simplified practices.
“My colleagues and I wanted to test if diversification is beneficial for both agricultural production and ecosystem services. The current trend is that we simplify major cropping systems worldwide. We grow monocultures on enlarged fields in homogenized landscapes. The results of our study indicate that diversification can reverse the negative impacts that we observe in simplified forms of cropping on the environment and on the production itself,” says Tamburini. Diversification practices generally either maintained or increased crop yields. One can add crop species and cover crops to crop rotations, or grow crops together in the same field with intercropping. Widespread adoption of diversification practices can contribute to biodiversity conservation and food security from local to global scales.
Access the full paper at https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/45/eaba1715/tab-figures-data
3. Strain of rhizobacteria shown to naturally and sustainably promote rice growth
Large amounts of chemical fertilizers can lead to severe environmental pollution. Biofertilizers are a preferred and sustainable alternative technology that can promote plant health without damaging ecological impacts. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) can be used as biofertilizers; they reduce the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, while also ensuring sustainable and increased production. Although scientists know the benefits of PGPRs, they are still not very clear about the functioning of these bacteria. A recent study by Hong Liu and colleagues at Qiqihar University, China, studied the functioning of the Bacillus pumilus LZP02 strain. Using proteomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomics techniques, they found that the bacteria could beneficially colonize the rice root surface and promote growth.
“Our study has demonstrated that B. pumilus LZP02 colonizes rice roots and promotes growth by improving carbohydrate metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis,” explained Zhigang Wang, one of the scientists involved in the research. The results indicated that B. pumilus LZP02 promoted the growth of rice roots by enhancing carbohydrate metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis.
Access the full paper at https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/MPMI-04-20-0106-R
4. Self-watering soil could transform farming
A new type of soil, created by engineers led by Xingyi Zhou at the University of Texas at Austin, United States, can pull water from the air and distribute it to plants, potentially expanding the map of arable land around the globe. An atmospheric water irrigation system, based on super moisture absorbent gels (SMAG), has been developed as a sustainable technology for agriculture. Using this technology, it may be possible to extend agriculture to previously inhospitable places and to reduce water use in agriculture at a time of growing droughts. The study showed that each gram of soil can extract approximately 3-4 grams of water. Depending on the crops, approximately 0.1 to 1 kilogram of the soil can provide enough water to irrigate about a square meter of farmland. The gels in the soil pull water out of the air during cooler, more humid periods at night.
During a four-week experiment, the team found that its soil retained approximately 40% of the water quantity it started with. In contrast, the sandy soil had only 20% of its water left after just one week. In another experiment, the team planted radishes in both types of soil. The radishes in the hydrogel soil all survived a 14-day period without any irrigation beyond an initial round to make sure the plants took hold. Radishes in the sandy soil were irrigated several times during the first four days of the experiment. When water is the main limitation, then hydrogel soil can help in growing various types of crops. Thus, crop planting in underdeveloped and drought areas can be liberated from the need to bring power or water from long distances.
For more, see https://phys.org/news/2020-11-self-watering-soil-farming.html
Access the abstract at http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acsmaterialslett.0c00439
5. DNA provides farmers with a faster way to improve tea cultivation
Tea plants are mainly cultivated in Asia to produce green, oolong, and black tea, which are popular beverages throughout the world. Approximately two billion cups of tea are consumed daily worldwide, and tea-drinking reportedly has numerous health benefits. In general, tea quality is defined by the balance of various functional components, such as theanine, catechins, and caffeine, which are unique to tea. The most important agronomic traits targeted by modern and future tea breeding relate to these unique metabolites. Researchers from Shizuoka University, led by Hiroto Yamashita, were able to predict the component levels in mature tea trees for the first time by analysing young leaves of newly germinated tea plants.
Effectively using genomic information greatly accelerates conventional breeding, and applying it to long-lived crops promotes the conversion to genomic breeding. Since tea breeding is still mostly through conventional methods, researchers evaluated the potential of genomic predictions and genome-wide association studies for the genetic breeding of tea quality-related metabolites, using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms detected from restriction site-associated DNA sequencing of 150 tea accessions. Integrated analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and genomic predictions (GP) detected potential candidate genes for each metabolite using 80-160 top-ranked single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which resulted in the maximum cumulative prediction value. Applying GPs and GWASs to tea accession traits will contribute to genomics-assisted tea breeding. The technology will make it possible to drastically reduce the time needed to develop new tea strains, according to the team.
Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-74623-7
News:
1. Climate-adapted plant breeding: Improvement of crops with seeds from genebanks
Securing plant production is a global task. Using a combination of new molecular and statistical methods, a research team was able to show that material from genebanks can be used to improve traits in the maize plant. Old varieties can thus help to breed new varieties adapted to current and future climates. Researchers around the globe are investigating whether retained samples contain genes that have been lost through breeding, but which could be beneficial in counteracting climate change. A research team, led by Prof Chris-Carolin Schön at the Technical University of Munich, Germany, describes a method to harness the genetic potential of old varieties, so-called landraces. The research team focused on traits related to early plant development and also took into account the stability of the plant and the growth form.
For more, see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/11/201111123945.htm
Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18683-3
2. Biodiversity conservation during a global crisis: consequences and the way forward
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is the latest episode in a string of environment-borne human tragedies, catastrophic in its magnitude, reach, and repercussions. Understandably, the scientific literature has focused on the causes and consequences of the pandemic from an anthropocentric viewpoint. Our failure to arrive at standard, agreeable solutions in the face of impending disasters is less a reflection of our abilities to devise and implement stringent solutions and more a reflection of our priorities. The pandemic has shown us that seemingly extreme solutions and their implementation, such as a mandatory lockdown of human activities for a specific duration every year, may restore the planetary environment, even if temporarily. If nothing else, such temporary solutions will delay the tipping points of future environmental crises. The scientific community will need to lead from the front, in creating solutions and in steering the socio-political will required to implement these solutions for a more long-lasting process of environmental conservation.
Access the full paper at https://www.pnas.org/content/117/48/29995
3. What digital revolution? Hundreds of millions of farmers still cannot get online!
The digital age holds promise for the world’s half-billion smallholder farmers. The access of small-scale farmers to digital technology is poorly understood (Note: For example, the required broadband is estimated to reach only about 27% of the population in rural India, and still fewer smallholders may have this facility, which will slow down any digital revolution). Analysis of the available data on mobile phone and internet access among non-farming and framing populations indicated that, across many countries in Africa, less than ~40% of farming households have Internet access, the cost of data remains prohibitive, and broadband access is unknown. The authors recommend a digital inclusion agenda whereby governments, the development community, and the private sector focus their efforts to improve access so that data-driven agriculture is available to all farmers globally. They also suggest interim solutions: SMS advisories and voice message services on existing 2G networks offer significant opportunities for productivity, market connectivity, money transfers, credit and other services—as long as they have sophisticated back-end support.
Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00631-0
4. Palm oil certification brings mixed outcomes to neighbouring
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RISPO) (see https://rspo.org/about), a nongovernmental organization has emerged as the leading sustainability certification system to tackle socio-environmental issues associated with the oil palm industry. The effectiveness of certification by RISPO in achieving its socioeconomic objectives remains uncertain. A study led by Matthew Struebig of the University of Kent, UK, highlights the importance of baseline village livelihood systems in shaping local impacts of agricultural certification and assert that oil palm certification in certain village contexts may require additional resources to ensure that socioeconomic objectives are realized.
Access the abstract at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00630-1
5. Tackling the biodiversity crisis: climate change data highlight priorities
It is estimated that about 18% of the world’s plant species and another 22% of mammals will be lost if the global average temperature increases by 2°C by 2100. With climate change emerging as one of the biggest drivers of biodiversity 
loss, policymakers looking for conservation solutions need to know how different future climates will affect species. The report of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is hopeful: “Now that we understand better climate change, we need to understand what those impacts on biodiversity are and find ways to mitigate them,” it says. IPBES thinks that the availability of resources would determine what can be done about mitigating the effects of climate change. . Hence it is trying to focus the world’s attention on the impending loss of several species owing to a 2 degree raise in temperature by 2021. To limit such a loss is very important for sustaining global economy, human health, and culture, the report warns.
For more, see https://www.euronews.com/2020/11/02/tackling-the-biodiversity-crisis-climate-change-data-highlight-priorities
6. ‘Mind-boggling variety’: the food crusaders preserving India’s heritage
A rich range of native crops and seeds is being nurtured to halt India’s rapidly vanishing food diversity. A small army of botanical heritage enthusiasts is spearheading a movement in India for the revival and preservation of the country’s rapidly vanishing food biodiversity, by bringing back the rich crop varieties that thrived in the past but are now on the verge of extinction. Many varieties of cabbage exist in India, including Pride of India and Golden Acre. Dr Prabhakar Rao, an advocate of natural or Vedic farming—rather than organic farming—and founder of Hariyalee Seeds, warns that, in addition to the irreversible loss of biodiversity, the loss of vegetable varieties also poses a serious threat to India’s 5,000 years of cultural heritage.
For more, see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/03/mind-boggling-variety-the-food-crusaders-preserving-indias-heritage-aoe
7. Food and farming could stymie climate efforts, researchers say
Wind power and geothermal heat aren’t enough to keep the world cool, according to a new study. To have any hope of meeting the central goal of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming to 2°C or less, our carbon emissions must be reduced considerably, including those coming from agriculture. The Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting the increase in global temperature to 1.5° or 2°C above preindustrial levels requires rapid reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Although reducing emissions from fossil fuels is essential for meeting this goal, other sources of emissions may also preclude its attainment. The 2°C targets could be achieved with less-ambitious changes to food systems, but only if fossil fuel and other non-food emissions are eliminated soon, say Michael Clark at the University of Oxford, UK, and his colleagues at Oxford, Minnesota, California, and Stanford.
Access the abstract at https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/705
8. Researchers evaluate improvements in cotton cultivar nutrition uptake and partition
The last 30 years have seen tremendous technological and biological advancements in the cotton industry, resulting in growing yields each year, depending on the weather, which has helped boost the industry worldwide. Cotton lint yield has improved greatly over the last 30 years, leading to the need to better understand how cotton absorbs and distributes nutrients to help growth. Modern cotton cultivars can partition greater percentages of dry matter and other nutrients than ever. Knowing how cotton cultivars uptake and distribute nutrients could help farmers better target treatments such as fertilizers.
Events
1. ICAIC: International Conference on Agricultural Intensification and Conservation, 01-02 Nov 2021, San Francisco, United States.
For more, see https://waset.org/agricultural-intensification-and-conservation-conference-in-november-2021-in-san-francisco
2. ICCSAST: International Conference on Climate-Smart Agricultural Systems and Technologies, 04-05 Nov 2021, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
For more, see https://waset.org/climate-smart-agricultural-systems-and-technologies-conference-in-november-2021-in-amsterdam
3. ICPAFC: International Conference on Organic Agriculture and Field Crops, 18-19 Nov 2021, London, United Kingdom.
For more, see https://waset.org/organic-agriculture-and-field-crops-conference-in-november-2021-in-london
4. ICAVCSA: International Conference on Agricultural Value Chains and Sustainable Agriculture, 29-30 Nov 2021. Bangkok, Thailand.
5. ICASP: International Conference on Agriculture and Soil Protection 29-30 Nov 2021, Bangkok, Thailand.
For more, see https://waset.org/agriculture-and-soil-protection-conference-in-november-2021-in-bangkok
Other Topics of Interest
1. MAS Seeds and Nature Source Improved Plants join forces in a long-term agreement to accelerate and streamline maize breeding
2. Corporations morally obliged to protect biodiversity
For more, see https://www.indepthnews.net/index.php/global-governance/un-insider/3982-corporations-morally-obliged-to-protect-biodiversity
3. We still don’t know all the consequences of gene manipulation
4. Water-efficient rice research
For more, see https://www.foodprocessing.com.au/content/food-design-research/news/water-efficient-rice-research-573413784
5. Reducing global food system emissions key to meeting climate goals
Access the abstract at https://science.sciencemag.org/content/370/6517/705
6. Corn and other crops are not adapted to benefit from elevated carbon dioxide levels
Access free to read the full article at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/pce.13863 (not downloadable)
7. Investing in biodiversity is investing in human welfare
For more and the full paper, see https://ceoworld.biz/2020/11/05/investing-in-biodiversity-is-investing-in-human-welfare/
8. Farming faces ‘historic’ shift to cut greenhouse gas emissions
For more, see https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-54844546
9. New research reveals major benefits of integrated approaches to climate and nature
For more, see https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/new-research-reveals-major-benefits-integrated-approaches-climate
10. Research helps improve a key ingredient in vegetable oil
For more, see https://www.newswise.com/articles/research-helps-improve-a-key-ingredient-in-vegetable-oil
Access the full paper at https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/csc2.20276
11. Silk Road contains genomic resources for improving apples
Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-020-00723-9
12. Becoming drought-resilient…Why African farmers must consider drought-tolerant crops
For more, see https://neweralive.na/posts/becoming-drought-resilientwhy-african-farmers-must-consider-drought-tolerant-crops