Plant Protein Discoveries Ease Global Food, Fuel Demands New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global […]
Determining How Much Nitrogen Is Present With a still fresh memory of the drought conditions during last year, recent rains have reduced concerns over water availability for the start of the 2013 growing season, but at the same time, concerns over nitrogen (N) loss have increased. Fall Nitrogen Nitrogen loss is difficult to predict because […]
Plants Use Underground Networks to Warn of Enemy Attack Scientists from Rothamsted Research in collaboration with other UK scientists have discovered that plants use underground fungal networks to warn their neighbours of aphid attack. It is the first study to reveal plants’ ability to communicate underground in this way. The study appears at Ecology Letters […]
Equitable, Efficient Use of Water is Key to Sustainable Population Growth he world’s population is growing rapidly and is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. Global fresh water supplies are coming under increasing pressure, and more frequent extreme weather events, including droughts and floods, make it increasingly difficult for water-stressed nations to manage water […]
US a Surprisingly Large Reservoir of Crop Plant Diversity North America isn’t known as a hot spot for crop plant diversity, yet a new inventory has uncovered nearly 4,600 wild relatives of crop plants in the United States, including close relatives of globally important food crops such as sunflower, bean, sweet potato, and strawberry. Known […]
Unkempt Land Could Benefit Farmers Parts of the farm landscape that are overgrown are more important in supporting wildlife than they first appear, according to new research published today in Ecology Letters. The findings stem from an intensive study of an organic farm in Somerset by a team of scientists focussing on the complex ways […]
Historical Water Use Reflects Changes in Global Socio-Economic Development Understanding how socio-economic forces have shaped water use in the past can help inform sustainable water management in the future. In this study, the researchers used a high-resolution water-use model to assess the effects of global change on how freshwater has been used in the domestic, […]
Encouraging Signs for Bee Biodiversity Declines in the biodiversity of pollinating insects and wild plants have slowed in recent years, according to a new study. Researchers led by the University of Leeds and the Naturalis Biodiversity Centre in the Netherlands found evidence of dramatic reductions in the diversity of species in Britain, Belgium and the […]
Pioneer: Evaluate Early Season Corn Stands Corn can face many different stresses capable of reducing stands, such as cold or wet soils, insect feeding and unfavorable weather conditions. In severe cases of stand reduction, growers will need to determine if replanting will be more profitable than keeping the current crop. Growers should conduct a stand […]
Assessing Risk Level of Leaf Spot Diseases in Wheat Leaf spot diseases can decrease wheat yield by up to 20 per cent or more, as well as diminish kernel weight, and in some cases reduce grade. When disease risk levels are moderate to high, protection of the upper two leaves of a developing wheat plant […]
Improving ‘Crop Per Drop’ Could Boost Global Food Security, Water Sustainability Improvements in crop water productivity — the amount of food produced per unit of water consumed — have the potential to improve both food security and water sustainability in many parts of the world, according to a study published online in Environmental Research Letters […]
New Method for Evaluating Threats to Soil Biodiversity There is a lack of baseline data regarding soil biodiversity, which means that it is almost impossible to determine what impact pressures such as climate change, agricultural intensification or soil erosion are having on soil species. However, the little evidence that does exist, for example from studies […]
No-Win Situation for Agricultural Expansion in the Amazon The large-scale expansion of agriculture in the Amazon through deforestation will be a no-win scenario, according to a new study. This is a cattle pasture on former rainforest Published 10 May, in IOP Publishing’s journal Environmental Research Letters, it shows that deforestation will not only reduce the capacity […]
Living’ Biofilters Could Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissios Biofilters containing naturally occurring microscopic organisms that live on methane gas could help reduce hard-to-manage greenhouse gas emissions in the petroleum, forest and agriculture industries. University of Calgary researchers plan to deploy and test inexpensive “methane biofilters” to reduce low-volume methane emissions at oil and gas field sites, […]
Nematodes Encapsulated to Better Battle Corn Pests Each spring, the western corn rootworm (Diabrotica virgifera) awakens from its winter slumber to wreak havoc on corn crops across the United States. The pest emerges in larval form, hatching from small white eggs deposited beneath the soil and causing significant feeding damage to the grain crop’s roots. […]
Pioneer Crop Insights Successful weed resistance management requires a corn producer to thoughtfully choose the proper tools for weed management consistent with his farm operation. Uncontrolled grass weeds such as the foxtails, different species of Panicum, and various species of crabgrass are particularly powerful in preventing corn from attaining its maximum yield. Primary Herbicides Families […]
Agriculture in KPK KPK is sheltering a population of more than 20 million people. The major portion of this population i.e. about 83% is dwelling in rural areas putting a tremendous pressure on land resources. To cater for the livelihood needs of this mammoth population, the province possesses 10.17 million hectares of land. However, the […]
Agriculture Research Introduction Mandate/Objectives Functions Organizational Chart Achievements Research Institutes/Stations/Sub stations Developmental Projects Introduction In NWFP, systematic agricultural research was started in 1908 at Tarnab, Peshawar by the then Govt. which was further strengthened and expanded to the entire Province over the years by formation and establishment of new research stations and institutes. Now a […]
Sindh Food Department procures 300,000 tonnes less wheat By Tanveer Sher KARACHI: Sindh Food Department after hectic efforts managed to procure around a million tonne wheat out of a total target of 1.3 million tonne set for the current year. Previous year the target of 1.3 million tonne was achieved with relative ease but this […]
WHAT IS INGA ALLEY CROPPING? Alley cropping is the growing of crops between rows of trees. Inga alley cropping consists of growing crops between rows of Inga trees. This has been found to increase yields. It is sustainable as it enables the same plot to be cultivated over and over, thus eliminating the need for […]