crops | Common News Update

Jan302022 by adminNo Comments

Climate change: Key crops face major shifts as world warms

Science

Getty ImagesThe parts of the world suitable for growing coffee, cashews and avocados will change dramatically as the world heats up, according to a new study.Key coffee regions in Brazil, Indonesia, Vietnam and Colombia will all "drastically decrease" by around 50% by 2050.Suitable areas for cashews and avocados will increase but most will be far from current sites of production. The authors say that greater efforts must be made to help farmers adapt.Buried treasures threatened by climate changeCarbon offsetting 'not get-out-of-jail-free card''Fragile win' at COP26 climate summit under threatCoffee is one of the world's most important crops, not just as key beverage but as a livelihood for millions of small farmers. Getty ImagesAnd thanks to growing consumer preferences in richer countries...

Oct262020 by adminNo Comments

Different type of photosynthesis may save temperate crops from climate change

Science

Oct. 23 (UPI) -- In many places, climate change is expected to bring hotter, drier weather. In a new study, published Friday in the journal The Plant Cell, scientists considered whether an alternative mode of photosynthesis, might yield more heat-tolerant and drought-resistant plants. Most plants in arid and semi-arid environs use a photosynthesis method called Crassulacean acid metabolism, or CAM. Alternatively, plants in temperate environs, including crops, rely on a photosynthesis method called C3 carbon fixation. Advertisement Plants using C3 carbon fixation absorb CO2 through their leaves' stomatal pores. The daytime process allows C3 plants to immediately convert sunlight into food. When conditions are especially hot and dry, C3 metabolism causes plants to lose too much water. Conve...

Mar52020 by adminNo Comments

Genome editing strategy could give rice, other crops nutritional boost

Science

March 5 (UPI) -- Scientists have developed a new genome engineering strategy for boosting the levels of beta carotene, the precursor of vitamin A, in rice. The novel CRISPR technology method, described this week in the journal Nature Communications, could help plant scientists engineer healthier, more robust crops. Typically, genetic engineers use a special bacterium to transfer beta carotene-producing genes into the rice genome, but the technique is imprecise. Transgenes can end up in unwanted locations in the genome, compromising the plant's health and reducing yields. Scientists at the University of California Davis came up with a better way. "We used CRISPR to precisely target those genes onto genomic safe harbors, or chromosomal regions that we know won't cause any adverse effects ...

Jan232019 by adminNo Comments

Scientists are trying to perfect a technique for growing crops in space

Technology

This story is from Inside Science. Scientists in Norway and the Netherlands may have brought us closer to workable space farms, which experts agree are necessary if astronauts are ever going to reach the red planet. "Astronauts stay on the International Space Station for six months and they can bring everything they need in either freeze-dried or vacuum packs, but the next goal for all space agencies is to reach Mars where travel is much longer," explained Silje Wolff, a plant physiologist at the Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Space in Trondheim, Norway. In the best possible conditions, it would take a spacecraft between six and nine months to reach Mars and the same to get back -- not to mention the additional months they would likely spend there. "It's very challenging, ...

Dec62017 by adminNo Comments

IUCN Red List: Wild crops listed as threatened

Science

Wild relatives of modern crops deemed crucial for food security are being pushed to the brink of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.More than 20 rice, wheat and yam plants have been listed as threatened on the latest version of the IUCN's Red list.The wild plants are being squeezed out by intensive farming, deforestation and urban sprawl, say scientists.Modern crops can be crossbred with their wild cousins to safeguard foods.''To lose them would be a disaster,'' said Dr Nigel Maxted of the University of Birmingham, who is co-chair of the IUCN's specialist group on crop wild relatives.''It would be much more difficult to maintain food security without them.'' Insurance policyCommercial crops have lost genetic diversity. They are vulnerable to the eff...