News & Events

Cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) and nucleus-controlled fertility restoration systems are essential tools for hybrid breeding to improve crop productivity. In eggplant (Solanum melongena), CMS lines have been widely developed through interspecific hybridization, but the genetics basis of fertility restoration remains poorly understood.

The Common Symbiosis Signalling Pathway (CSSP) underpins interactions between plants and microbes, yet its potential for crop improvement remains underexplored. Here, we investigated the gain-of-function mutant SPD1 (MtDMI1S760N), which constitutively activates the symbiotic signalling pathway in Medicago truncatula, by expressing it in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Micro-Tom).

With the global population projected to reach around 8.5 million by 2050, the pressure on land is intensifying. Rising demand for food, energy, and urban space, coupled with global challenges such as food security, climate change, and industrialization, is pushing today’s landscapes to their limits.

Herbicides are widely applied for weed control in mung bean cultivation, and the development of new varieties with herbicide resistance is critical for weed management. In this study, a recombinant inbred line (RIL) population, derived from a cross between the fomesafen-resistant variety LZ177 and susceptible variety LD235, was used to map the genes related to fomesafen herbicide resistance

Scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and their partners in India have discovered gene variants that can boost rice yields under drought conditions through enhanced tolerance during the reproductive stage, a critical period when water stress can lead to major yield losses.

Some 1.1 billion people, almost one in four of all adults, consider it likely they could lose the rights to some or all of their land and housing within the next five years, and this number has risen notably in the past few years, highlighted the report, produced by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Land Coalition (ILC) and the French agricultural research and cooperation organization, CIRAD.

Rice and Magnaporthe oryzae have co-evolved sophisticated molecular interaction mechanisms. While protein-coding genes (PCGs) involve in the response to M. oryzae have been intensively studied, yet the role of long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) remain poorly unclear. In this study, we performed whole transcriptome strand-specific RNA sequencing of rice seedlings from the susceptible recurrent parent cultivar LTH (compatible interaction)

This study examined the adoption of crop biotechnology among smallholder farmers in the Eastern Cape as a strategy to mitigate the impacts of climate change, focusing on the barriers, socioeconomic factors, and current adoption status. Despite the increasing relevance of biotechnology in climate resilience, there is a lack of research on the specific challenges and drivers influencing its adoption in rural South Africa

The Accelerated Crop Improvement (ACI) Program leads the development of ICRISAT’s efforts to improve dryland crop varieties for Africa, Asia, and beyond.The Program employs advanced technologies and innovative approaches to develop improved crop varieties with desirable traits such as increased yield, better nutritional quality, and enhanced resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses.

The ocean’s biological carbon pump exports atmospheric CO2 to the deep ocean, where it can remain sequestered for decades to centuries, and attempts to artificially enhance this natural carbon sink by fertilizing portions of the open ocean could help mitigate the impacts of excessive anthropogenic CO2 emissions. However, differences in the cycling rates of carbon and other nutrients may impact the long-term response to ocean fertilization.

Boosting crop photosynthesis holds promise for meeting the needs of a growing population in a warming climate. However, improving photosynthesis with crop biotechnology is a new prospect for farmers and other key agrifood stakeholders, who will determine the success of such pioneering plant breeding initiatives.

Agrifood systems are playing an increasingly central role in countries’ biodiversity strategies and actions, according to preliminary findings presented during a High-Level Roundtable hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at its headquarters in Rome.