Genomic features that make plants good candidates for domestication

highly branched plants of teosinte, a wild relative of corn. Right: tiny pods on the vine of Glycine soja, wild relative of soybean. New research sheds light on how domestication affects the genomes of corn and soybeans.

New research published this week identifies the genomic features that might have made domestication possible for corn and soybeans, two of the world's most critical crop species.

Do additives help the soil?

A UBC researcher is using her latest study to question whether soil additives are worth their salt.

'Exotic' genes may improve cotton yield and quality

Cotton breeders face a "Catch-22." Yield from cotton crops is inversely related to fiber quality. In general, as yield improves, fiber quality decreases, and vice-versa. "This is one of the most significant challenges for cotton breeders," says Peng Chee, a researcher at the University of Georgia.

The hunger gaps: How flowering times affect farmland bees

For the very first time, researchers from the University of Bristol have measured farmland nectar supplies throughout the whole year and revealed hungry gaps when food supply is not meeting pollinator demand. This novel finding reveals new ways of making farmland better for pollinators, benefitting the many crop plants and wildflowers that depend on them.

Pesticide exposure causes bumblebee flight to fall short

Bees exposed to a neonicotinoid pesticide fly only a third of the distance that unexposed bees are able to achieve.

'Right' cover-crop mix good for both Chesapeake and bottom lines

'Right' cover-crop mix good for both Chesapeake and bottom lines

Planting and growing a strategic mix of cover crops not only reduces the loss of nitrogen from farm fields, protecting water quality in the Chesapeake Bay, but the practice also contributes nitrogen to subsequent cash crops, improving yields, according to researchers.

Changing climate may affect animal-to-human disease transfer

Climate change could affect occurrences of diseases like bird-flu and Ebola, with environmental factors playing a larger role than previously understood in animal-to-human disease transfer.

Gene-editing technology may produce resistant virus in cassava plant

The use of gene-editing technology to create virus-resistant cassava plants could have serious negative ramifications, according to new research by plant biologists at the University of Alberta, the University of Liege in Belgium, and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology.

Microscopic life in the saline soil of the Marismas del Odiel Natural Park

A University of Seville research group, led by the professor Antonio Ventosa, has, for the first time, studied and described the microbiome of saline soil in the Marismas del Odiel Natural Park. This research opens new perspectives in microbiome study of this type of environment, which can produce data on, among other aspects, possible climate alterations and other environmental factors in microbial populations.

What the wheat genome tells us about wars

Wheat is a globally cultivated plant. It originated about 10000 years ago in the so-called fertile crescent, today's Anatolia and north Iraq, and has since then started its successful march around the world. The illustration shows the distribution routes of wheat based on its genetic similarity patterns. Little surprising is the proximity to human migration routes during this period.

First they mapped the genome of wheat; now they have reconstructed its breeding history. Joining forces with other European researchers, scientists at the Helmholtz Zentrum München have examined the genetic diversity of wheat varieties in the WHEALBI study. By doing so, they discovered which cereals our ancestors cultivated, where today's wheat comes from, and what the Cold War has to do with it all. The results were recently published in the journal Nature Genetics.

FG appoints Balarabe as new Fadama 111 AF NPC

 The Federal Government (FG) through its ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) has appointed Mallam Abdurrahman S. Balarabe as the new National Coordinator of Fadama 111 Additional Financing (AF) programme taking immediate effect.

The winter weather window that is costing rapeseed growers millions

UK rapeseed growers are losing up to a quarter of their crop yield each year because of temperature rises during an early-winter weather window.

Editorial -Population control as a means of ensuring food security

There is a need to control the Nigerian population (which is growing in geometrical proportion) most especially for the purpose of ensuring food security now and in the future.

How absentee farmers killed Agric Bank--Findings

* FG begins recapitalization

Investigations have revealed that the government had to recapitalize the Bank of Agriculture (BOA) because non-farmers posing as farmers in connivance with the officials of the bank defrauded the organisation by presenting fake identity cards, unregistered Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards and other documents which enabled them to escape repayment of loans collected from the bank.

IAR cropping/REFIL: stakeholders want integration of research, extension into agribusiness

Stakeholders have advocated integration of research innovations, with efficient transfer of improved technologies, to farmers as a way to attaining acceptable global acceptability through best agricultural practices that would guaranty standard and markets with no rejection.

The secrets of secretion: Isolating eucalyptus genes for oils, biofuel

What is the genetic basis for eucalyptus trees to produce that fragrant oil many of us associate with trips to the spa? Carsten Külheim, associate professor in Michigan Technological University's School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, has spent the past 10 years of his career studying eucalyptus. They are diverse, fast-growing species that includes scrubby bushes and 300-foot-tall flowering trees -- mostly indigenous to Australia, but also New Guinea and Indonesia.

Agric policy: Farmers/ herdsmen clashes, cassava, extension top priority

*Technical department memo step down

·        *AFAN vows to monitor implementation

·        *Stakeholders demand Fadama AF, IFAD continuity

The National Council on Agriculture and Rural Development (NCARD), the apex policy maker in the sector has approved a proposal seeking implementation and provision of facilities for herdsmen towards encouraging ranching to forestall incessant clashes occasioned by cattle being moved about in the country, even as national productivity of cassava was also approved along with a memo on national policy on extension for its strategic role in technologies transfer to farmers nationwide.

Field experiment finds a simple change that could boost agricultural productivity by 60 percent

Raising tenants' share in crop-sharing contracts between landlords and tenants in developing countries can boost agricultural output, by providing tenants with the right incentive to raise agriculture productivity. Bocconi University's Selim Gulesci and colleagues came to this conclusion making use of a field experiment in Uganda.

New strain of canine distemper in wild animals in NH, VT (Virus highly contagious to domesticated dogs)

The new strain of canine distemper virus was found in two gray foxes similar to these foxes.

A distinct strain of canine distemper virus, which is a widespread virus of importance to wildlife and domesticated dogs, has been identified in wild animals in New Hampshire and Vermont, according to pathologists with the New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Lab at the University of New Hampshire. No virus in this distinct subgroup of canine distemper virus has yet been reported in a domesticated dog.

Discovery of RNA transfer through royal jelly could aid development of honey bee vaccines

Researchers have discovered that honey bees are able to share immunity with other bees and to their offspring in a hive by transmitting RNA 'vaccines' through royal jelly and worker jelly. The jelly is the bee equivalent of mother's milk: a secretion used to provide nutrition to worker and queen bee larvae.

Close relatives can coexist: two flower species show us how

Scientists have discovered how two closely-related species of Asiatic dayflower can coexist in the wild despite their competitive relationship.

Cryptic mutation is cautionary tale for crop gene editing

Without the nubby joints that are normally present on the stems of tomato plants, the fruit is much easier to harvest. However, researchers have discovered how a cryptic mutation can get in the way of this otherwise desirable trait.

Even in this "age of the genome," much about genes remains shrouded in mystery. This is especially true for "cryptic mutations" -- mutated genes that are hidden, and have unexpected effects on traits that are only revealed when combined with other mutations. Learning from one infamous cryptic mutation in particular, researchers from CSHL share important lessons for breeding or gene editing in crops.

600 households rescued from poverty, says project coordinator

Over 600 households negatively affected by the Boko haram have been uplifted from poverty, after rehabilitations, through the 50-million dollar   Federal Government (FG)-World Bank intervention Fadama 111 Additional Financing (AF) project.

New avenues for improving modern wheat

Since the Agricultural Revolution about 12,000 years ago, humans have been selectively breeding plants with desirable traits such as high grain yield and disease resistance.

Opening remarks at Dissemination workshop on Impact of Fadama III–AF II on Food Security and Livelihood Restoration in Northeastern Nigeria. Presented by Kwaw Andam on behalf of IFPRI Nigeria office

Kwaw Andam

     Good morning, distinguished ladies and gentlemen. I am delighted to offer a few welcome remarks on behalf of the Nigeria office of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Detection of unusual hybrid schistosomes in Malawi

LSTM's Professor Russell Stothard is senior author on a new paper in which researchers from the UK and Malawi have described the unusual occurrence of novel schistosome hybrids infecting children along the Shire River Valley.

Images speak @ the Dissemination Workshop for Fadama III Additional Financing II Impact Assessment Report , held in Abuja.

Images speak @ the Dissemination Workshop for Fadama III Additional Financing II Impact Assessment Report , held in Abuja. See more images below...

Wild red deer contribute to the preservation of open landscapes

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) mother and calf.

Similar to farm animals such as cattle or sheep, wild red deer grazing in open landscapes can also contribute to the conservation of protected habitats.

FG concessions 19 silos, to earn N6b annually from deal

There Federal Government (FG) has handed over 19 silos located in 18 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to six concessionaires for storage of food at a sum of six billion naira annually. The handover of the silos was done by the former Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, in Abuja, recently.

Ministry sets up committee to review project performance

* Director commends Fadama programme

The Director, Project Coordinating Unit (PCU), Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) Dr. Maimuna Habib 

·    A 40-man committee has been set up by the government to review the Climate Change Adaptation and Agric Business Support Project (CASP).

Scientists determine four personality types based on new data

Northwestern University researchers have sifted through data from more than 1.5 million questionnaire respondents and found at least four distinct clusters of personality types exist: average, reserved, self-centered and role model. The findings challenge existing paradigms in psychology.

Great chocolate is a complex mix of science, physicists reveal

Mixing chocolate.

The science of what makes good chocolate has been revealed by researchers studying a 140-year-old mixing technique.

Researchers crack the peanut genome

Soroya Bertioli inspects peanut plants at the UGA Institute for Plant Breeding, Genetics and Genomics greenhouse.

Working to understand the genetics of peanut disease resistance and yield, researchers led by scientists at the University of Georgia have uncovered the peanut's unlikely and complicated evolution.

Broccoli sprout compound may restore brain chemistry imbalance linked to schizophrenia

Broccoli sprouts.

In a series of recently published studies using animals and people, Johns Hopkins Medicine researchers say they have further characterized a set of chemical imbalances in the brains of people with schizophrenia related to the chemical glutamate. And they figured out how to tweak the level using a compound derived from broccoli sprouts.

Mathematician's breakthrough on non-toxic pest control

A University of Sussex mathematician, Dr Konstantin Blyuss, working with biologists at the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, has developed a chemical-free way to precisely target a parasitic worm that destroys wheat crops.

Running may have made dinosaurs' wings flap before they evolved to fly

Caudipteryx robot for testing passive flapping flight.

Before they evolved the ability to fly, two-legged dinosaurs may have begun to flap their wings as a passive effect of running along the ground, according to new research by Jing-Shan Zhao of Tsinghua University, Beijing, and his colleagues.

Ayahuasca fixings found in 1,000-year-old bundle in the Andes

Today's hipster creatives and entrepreneurs are hardly the first generation to partake of ayahuasca, according to archaeologists who have discovered traces of the powerfully hallucinogenic potion in a 1,000-year-old leather bundle buried in a cave in the Bolivian Andes.

President Buhari reappoints Ojo as Dg NASC.

President Muhammadu Buhari 

President Muhammadu Buhari has renewed the appointment of Dr. Olusegun Philip Ojo for the second time as the director general, National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC).

Produce export: Farmers lack information says Agric Minister

Farmers in Nigeria have been described as not having enough information about the standard requirement of agricultural produce to the point of giving maximum premium price both locally and international.

New three-foot-tall relative of Tyrannosaurus rex

A new relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex -- much smaller than the huge, ferocious dinosaur made famous in countless books and films, including, yes, "Jurassic Park" -- has been discovered and named by a Virginia Tech paleontologist and an international team of scientists.

IAR Releases 17 Climate Resilient and High Yielding Crops Varieties II

Prof Ibrahim Garba, VC ABU Zaria

Food security situation analysis presented in the first part of this article indicates the most worrisome scenario in the nation effort to achieve sustainable production of sufficient food to all. Sufficing that all hands must be on deck for Nigeria to produce adequate food to feed its citizenry and achieve food security.

Arsenic-breathing life discovered in the tropical Pacific Ocean

Arsenic is a deadly poison for most living things, but new research shows that microorganisms are breathing arsenic in a large area of the Pacific Ocean. A University of Washington team has discovered that an ancient survival strategy is still being used in low-oxygen parts of the marine environment.

Tomato, tomat-oh! -- understanding evolution to reduce pesticide use

Dan Lybrand and Bryan Leong, MSU graduate students and study co-authors, examine glandular trichomes on the Solanaceae plant's leaf surface.

Although pesticides are a standard part of crop production, Michigan State University researchers believe pesticide use could be reduced by taking cues from wild plants.

New brain tumor imaging technique uses protein found in scorpion venom

Scorpion.

A novel imaging technique that uses a synthesized form of scorpion venom to light up brain tumors has shown promise in a clinical trial. The imaging system enables neurosurgeons to better see malignant growths that often are difficult to fully eliminate.

Oldest known trees in eastern North America documented

A recently documented stand of bald cypress trees in North Carolina, including one tree at least 2,624 years old, are the oldest known living trees in eastern North America and the oldest known wetland tree species in the world.