News & Events
West Lombok, Indonesia - The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in collaboration with the Assessment Institute for Agricultural Technology West Nusa Tenggara (AIAT-WNT), organized a two-day training for agricultural extension workers to deliver advisories to rice farmers through the Weather-rice-nutrient integrated decision support system (WeRise). Held 26-27 June 2019 at AIAT-WNT, Indonesia, the training built the capacity of 27 extension workers from the districts of Central, West, North, and East Lombok; and AIAT WNT on how to generate advisories from WeRise.
Fruit traits affect population genetic diversity by affecting seed protection and dispersal strategies, thereby comprising important components of phenotypic variation. Understanding of the phenotypic variation is an indispensable first step for developing breeding strategies. However, little information is known about the genetic variation in E. japonica-a monotypic species with abundant phenotypes that is mainly distributed in southern China.
In partnership with the Global Crop Diversity Trust (GCDT), IRRI hosted the Seed Quality Management (SQM) Workshop on 10-14 June, 2019, with IRRI’s Jae-Sung Lee, deputy overall management of IRRI Genebank, convening the event. The SQM led by Dr. Fiona Hay, a former IRRI scientist and now working at Aarhus University, Denmark, is one of core activities in the CGIAR Genebank Platform. It pursues to improve seed quality and longevity through better genebank practices based on scientific evidences.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), in partnership with the national research and extension systems (NARES) of Bangladesh, Nepal and Cambodia convened consultative workshops in the three countries aimed at proposing policy recommendations to promote widespread adoption of research-proven climate-smart practices and varieties for intensive and sustainable production in rice-based systems.
The Tunisian durum wheat germplasm includes modern cultivars and traditional varieties that are still cultivated in areas where elite cultivars or intensive cultivation systems are not suitable. Within the frame of a collection program of the National Gene Bank of Tunisia (NGBT), durum wheat germplasm was collected from different Tunisian agro-ecological zones. The collected samples were studied using simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers to explore the genetic diversity and evaluate the genetic structure in Tunisian germplasm
Perfect Day, a start-up company based in the US, developed a new kind of animal-free ice cream. The founders, Ryan Pandya and Perumal Gandhi, call it flora-based ice cream because it was made using genetically engineered yeast. In a matter of days, the limited-edition samples run out, as its website announces that the "perfect ice cream" was sold out.
Fulmekiola serrata (Kobus) was observed infesting sugarcane, Saccharum spp. hybrids, in the United States for the first time in January 2017 in Florida. Field studies were conducted to determine F. serrata infestation levels on popular sugarcane cultivars and to determine the efficacy of foliar insecticide treatments that could be used for management. Cultivar evaluations comparing six and five commercial cultivars representing >46% of the sugarcane production area in Florida were conducted in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
In the northern regions of Viet Nam, forestry and agriculture provide livelihoods for nearly 80 percent of the population. However, nearly half of all households own less than one hectare of land, which often prevents farmers from earning the income they need. To help smallholder farmers find ways to raise their incomes – while sustainably using forest resources – the Forest and Farm Facility (FFF) partnered with the Viet Nam National Farmers’ Union (VNFU) to support farming families in forming life-changing cooperatives.
FAO and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) have joined forces to boost food and nutrition security in their territories through strengthened sustainable family farming and agroecology development. FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva today announced a $400 000 cooperation programme which kicks-off with the creation of a new training centre headquarted in São Tomé and Príncipe to facilitate knowledge exchange and capacity building for technicians,
CCCH-type zinc-finger proteins play essential roles in regulating plant development and stress responses. However, the molecular and functional properties of non-tandem CCCH-type zinc-finger (non-TZF) proteins have been rarely characterized in plants. Here, we report the biological and molecular characterization of a sweet potato non-TZF gene, IbC3H18. We show that IbC3H18 exhibits tissue- and abiotic stress-specific expression, and could be effectively induced by abiotic stresses, including NaCl,
Large proportions of crops are discarded during or after harvest, including plant parts containing proteins, fats, and fiber. Professor Luisa Trindade, professor at the Department of Plant Sciences at Wageningen University and Research (WUR) said this has to change. "The world needs plants that can be used fully, to the last molecule," she said.