Bumble bees prefer a low-fat diet

Bees are an important factor for our environment and our sustenance. Without insect pollination, many plant species -- including various crops -- cannot reproduce.

No clear path for golden rice to reach consumers

Heralded as a genetically modified crop with the potential to save millions of lives, Golden Rice has just been approved as safe for human and animal consumption by regulators in the Philippines. The rice is a beta carotene-enriched crop that is intended to reduce Vitamin A deficiency (VAD), a health problem in very poor areas.

Ancient Egyptians gathered birds from the wild for sacrifice and mummification

In ancient Egypt, Sacred Ibises were collected from their natural habitats to be ritually sacrificed, according to a study released November 13, 2019 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Sally Wasef of Griffith University, Australia and colleagues.

Large atmospheric waves in the jet stream present risk to global food production

In a new study published today in Nature Climate Change, scientists show how specific wave patterns in the jet stream strongly increase the chance of co-occurring heatwaves in major food producing regions of Northern America, Western Europe and Asia.

Grain traits traced to 'dark matter' of rice genome

Domesticated rice has fatter seed grains with higher starch content than its wild rice relatives -- the result of many generations of preferential seed sorting and sowing. But even though rice was the first crop to be fully sequenced, scientists have only documented a few of the genetic changes that made rice into a staple food for more than half the world's population.

Editorial- Mechanization: Integrating engineering into extension services

 Executive Director (ED) of (NCAM) Dr. (Engr) M.Y Kasali 

We wish to commend the Federal Government (FG) for the initiative to soon commence agricultural mechanization as about 140 agro processing centres across the country will be established to increase production, processing and marketing. But the question is where are these equipment's coming from, are they going to be locally made or imported?.

Insect bites and warmer climate means double-trouble for plants

Recent models are telling us that, as our climate warms up, herbivores and pests will cause increased damage to agricultural crops. One study predicted that crop yield lost to insects increases 10 to 25 percent for every 1 degree Celsius increase.

Dance of the honey bee reveals fondness for strawberries

Bees are pollinators of many wild and crop plants, but in many places their diversity and density is declining.

Solving the riddle of strigolactone biosynthesis in plants

Strigolactones (SLs) are a class of chemical compounds found in plants that have received attention due to their roles as plant hormones and rhizosphere signaling molecules. They play an importantrole in regulating plant architecture, as well as promoting germination of root parasitic weeds (*1) that have great detrimental effects on plant growth and production.

Grain traits traced to 'dark matter' of rice genome

Domesticated rice has fatter seed grains with higher starch content than its wild rice relatives -- the result of many generations of preferential seed sorting and sowing.