The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Programme (WFP) have launched their first-ever Joint Anticipatory Action Appeal, seeking $202 million to protect nearly nine million people from the potential impact of a strong El Niño weather pattern across 22 high-risk priority countries.

Grain length-to-width ratio (GLWR) is a crucial trait influencing sorghum grain quality, particularly in brewing applications such as Baijiu production. However, the genetic basis of GLWR remains poorly understood. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) on 255 Chinese sorghum accessions and identified a gene, encoding trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase, named SbTPP1, as a principal modulator of GLWR.

In a significant breakthrough for global food security, scientists from Japan's National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), other Japanese research institutions, and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have discovered a gene that enables rice to avoid heat stress. The gene, known as EMF3 (Early Morning Flowering 3), prompts rice plants to flower earlier in the day when temperatures are cooler.