News & Events
IRRI and the Bureau of Agricultural and Fisheries Engineering of the Philippine Department of Agriculture (DA BAFE) concluded the project “Laser Land Leveling for Land Use Efficiency in the Philippines” during a presentation of the project’s terminal report in a virtual meeting. In 1997, IRRI in collaboration with Trimble (then Spectra Precision) introduced Laser Land Leveling (LLL) technology to stabilize rice production and improve efficiency in field operations. Today, LLL is used by thousands of farmers in rice-growing economies to reduce farm inputs and water usage, while improving their yields.
The Executive Director of the South Centre briefed the Director-General on the Center's current activities in support of developing countries. He noted that the Centre focuses on three main pillars: policy oriented-research, supporting developing countries in multilateral negotiations and providing training and capacity building in a wide range of areas. These include climate change, agriculture and sustainable natural resources management, social development, as well as biodiversity and genetic resources benefit-sharing.
MYB transcription factors (TFs) have been reported to regulate the biosynthesis of secondary metabolites, as well as to mediate plant adaption to abiotic stresses, including drought. However, the roles of MYB TFs in regulating plant architecture and yield potential remain poorly understood. Here, we studied the roles of the dehydration-inducible GmMYB14 gene in regulating plant architecture, high-density yield and drought tolerance through the brassinosteroid (BR) pathway in soybean.
Peter Rabbit has joined forces with the United Nations (UN), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the UN Foundation to enlist more food heroes, like Peter, who see the value in fruits and vegetables for a balanced diet and a healthier planet. Peter and his friends from Sony Pictures' PETER RABBIT 2: THE RUNAWAY are joining the awareness-raising campaign that asks us all to be food heroes. That means each of us being mindful to eat plenty of fiber-rich fruits and vegetables, locally sourced and in season where possible, reducing food waste, and planting our own gardens, however small.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and UNICEF call for urgent action to address the dramatic acute food insecurity in northern Ethiopia. The three agencies are particularly concerned about the situation in Tigray region where the risk of famine is imminent, unless food, livelihood assistance and other life-saving interventions continue to be scaled-up, unimpeded access is guaranteed, and hostilities cease.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused a surge in research exploring all aspects of the virus and its effects on human health. The overwhelming publication rate means that researchers are unable to keep abreast of the literature. To ameliorate this, we present the CoronaCentral resource that uses machine learning to process the research literature on SARS-CoV-2 together with SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV. We categorize the literature into useful topics and article types and enable analysis of the contents,
The Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) expressed its support for the advancement of plant breeding, particularly in gene-edited crops. Their latest statement highlighted the role of modern plant technology in driving the safe and sustainable growth of Canada's agriculture sector. Their statement came after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency announced the 120-day public consultation on May 2021 regarding the guidance to determine whether a plant is subject to the Seeds Regulation part V, which sets out the regulatory requirements for both the confined and unconfined environmental release of seed.
The National Pig Association (NPA) of the United Kingdom, European Forum of Farm Animal Breeders (EFFAB) and the Farm Animal Breeding and Reproduction Technology Platform (FABRE TP) regard the latest European Commission' New Genomic Techniques (NGT) Report as a positive step, stating that it could pave the way for commercial use of genome editing in the European Union (EU).
Plant pathogens exploit the extracellular matrix (ECM) to inhibit host immunity during their interactions with the host. The formation of ECM involves a series of continuous steps of vesicular transport events. To understand how such vesicle trafficking impacts ECM and virulence in the rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae, we characterised MoSwa2, a previously identified actin-regulating kinase MoArk1 interacting protein, as an orthologue of the auxilin-like clathrin uncoating factor Swa2 of the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Researchers have discovered a variety of natural proteins called anti-CRISPRs, which can be used to control gene editing. Anti-CRISPRs can be used in gene therapy and gene drive systems. CRISPR-Cas9 is one of the gene-editing tools commonly used by researchers to cut DNA in a cell's genome at a highly targeted location. The longer the CRISPR system stays active in cells, there is higher the chance for unintended editing and other side effects. In an article published by the American Chemical Society, the emerging applications of anti-CRISPRs were discussed in detail.
A new field trial of genetically modified (GM) poplars with modified wood composition will be conducted by VIB after it received permission from the Federal Government. The field trial will be done in collaboration with Flanders Research Institute for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (ILVO). This will be the third field trial that VIB is carrying out with GM poplars with a modified wood composition.
Plant disease outbreaks are increasing and threaten food security for the vulnerable in many areas of the world. Now a global human pandemic is threatening the health of millions on our planet. A stable, nutritious food supply will be needed to lift people out of poverty and improve health outcomes. Plant diseases, both endemic and recently emerging, are spreading and exacerbated by climate change, transmission with global food trade networks, pathogen spillover, and evolution of new pathogen lineages. In order to tackle these grand challenges, a new set of tools that include disease surveillance and improved detection technologies including pathogen sensors and predictive modeling and data analytics are needed to prevent future outbreaks.