News & Events

Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) has recently emerged as a major threat to lettuce production in the Salinas Valley of California, the region which contributes over 60% of the US national supply. This thrips-transmitted virus can infect lettuce plants at any growth stage, causing premature death or a total loss of marketability. Both INSV and its thrips vector have broad host ranges, which complicate disease management. Utilizing genetic resistance is the most sustainable approach; however, complete immunity has not been identified and the genetic basis of resistance to INSV in lettuce remains poorly understood.

Research teams at the University of Waterloo collaborate to tackle the growing plastic pollution crisis using synthetic biology, microbial engineering, and engineering. The researchers aim to identify and develop new strategies to break down and upcycle plastic waste and promote a more sustainable and circular plastics economy.

The United Kingdom has officially launched a new era for crop science as the Genetic Technology (Precision Breeding) Act 2023 took effect on November 13, 2025. This landmark legislation introduces a new regulatory framework for precision-bred plants in England, distinguishing them from traditional genetically modified (GM) crops. These regulations concern plants developed using techniques such as CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing to make small genetic changes that could have occurred naturally or through conventional breeding, but which can now be achieved faster and with greater accuracy.

Deep-sowing is an effective strategy to ensure uniform seedling emergence and yield under drought stress condition for plants, which mainly depends on the mesocotyl or hypocotyl elongation in the monocots or dicots plants. In view of this, the hypocotyl lengths of 500 soybean accessions were evaluated under the deep-sowing conditions in nine environments, and the genetic loci and functional genes were discovered by combining with the deep re-sequencing genotypes (20 ×). The results showed that a total of 2,007 SNPs/SVs on 19 chromosomes were identified to associate with the hypocotyl length,

Researchers have successfully used CRISPR gene editing technology to create a fungi strain that is highly efficient, more nutritious, and significantly more sustainable than its natural counterpart. The fungus Fusarium venenatum already stands out for its meat-like flavor and texture, leading to its approval for food use in several countries. This breakthrough, published in the journal Trends in Biotechnology, addresses the need for better, more environmentally friendly alternatives to conventional animal agriculture, which accounts for about 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

One hundred years ago, the Indochina Institute of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences was founded in Saigon. The Institute started and has been constantly developing, closely linked to the agricultural history of the country for a century. The first director of the Institute was soil scientist Yves Henry (1875-1966). The first name was “L’Institut des Recherches Agricoles et Forestières d’Indochine”. We are proud to work at an Institute of Agricultural Sciences for Southern Vietnam, because this is the brain of precision agriculture in Vietnam's Growing Era.

Saline-alkali stress inhibited the normal growth and development of plants, which seriously restricted the yield of crops. Maize is one of the most important crops in the world. However, the mechanism of maize in response to saline-alkali stress is still largely unknown. Through the observation of growth parameters and the detection of physiological and biochemical indicators in saline-alkali tolerant (22KN3894) and saline-alkali sensitive (H23146) maize inbred lines, this study found that compared with H23146,

Physcomitrella patens: delta-6 elongase: catalyzes the decarboxylation Claisen-like condensation of two carbons from malonyl-CoA to C18:3n-6-CoA generating C20:3n-6-ß-keto-CoA, which is then converted to C20:3n-6-CoA by endogenous enzymes

ICRISAT’s short-duration sorghum variety, SAMSORG 52, is transforming farming in northern Nigeria by addressing insecurity, strengthening productivity, and improving nutrition. Sorghum is more than a crop in northern Nigeria – it is a lifeline. Millions of households depend on it daily for food, livestock feed, income, and cultural practices. But in recent years, farmers have faced unprecedented challenges. Insecurity from banditry and insurgency has made cultivating tall sorghum risky, while drought and erratic rainfall continue to reduce yields.

No-till (NT), a key component of conservation agriculture, is presently practiced over 15% of global arable land. NT offers economic and ecological advantages over conventional tillage; however, it may result in persistent yield losses for certain crops. Here, we highlight an invisible threat to sustainable soil management under NT due to subsoil compaction. We describe a subsoil compaction risk driven by compaction events due to heavy farm vehicles occurring at intervals shorter than soil structure recovery times.

Scientists at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign developed a strategy to convert food waste into sustainable aviation fuel that can be used for commercial aircraft. Their findings are published in Nature Communications. Reducing carbon emissions in the aviation industry is a challenge compared to efforts for the automotive sector. To address this concern, the researchers used hydrothermal liquefaction, which transforms wet food waste into biocrude oil, simulating nature's oil production but in a rapid manner

On a quiet backstreet in Mihango, Kenya, the gentle hum of machinery signals a small revolution underway. Inside a compact workshop stacked with sacks of sorghum, millet, and brown rice, Ms Dora Mummani is quietly rewriting Kenya’s snacking story. Her enterprise, IPOP Africa, stands as a living example of ICRISAT’s mission across the continent, transforming climate-resilient dryland crops into modern, high-value foods that generate youth employment, uplift local economies, and strengthen Africa’s capacity to feed itself in a warming world.