Scientific World

Plant breeding

The first pearl millet hybrid – called Nafagnon - was released in Burkina Faso, West Africa. It was developed by ICRISAT-Africa and the Institut de l’Environnement et de Recherches Agricoles (INERA) in Burkina Faso. The…

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Environment

Excess of a single nutrient, such as nitrogen, may boost plant productivity, but the imbalance leads to less efficient water use as plants scramble for the nutrients they lack, a new study revealed.

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Plant protection

The African agricultural sector has to bear with dramatic costs due to Invasive Alien Species, scientists of the UK research institution CABI revealed in a recent study.

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Biodiversity

Climate change might lead to changes in plant diversity, especially in the world’s drylands researchers have found. They warn that this could also have consequences for the people living in the affected regions.

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Livestock

The farming of livestock to feed the global appetite for animal products greatly contributes to global warming. However, a new study shows that thanks to greater production efficiency, emission intensity per unit of…

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Cocoa production

Cocoa, a major commodity globally, depends on insects for pollination. However, the cocoa pollinator’s identity is largely unknown and there are important knowledge gaps regarding landscape and farm-level management…

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Health

Scientists at the University Hospital of Tübingen/Germany have been able to demonstrate broad protection against malaria using a whole parasite PfSPZ vaccine.

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Biodiversity

Tree plantations are supposed to help compensate the loss of pristine forest habitats. However, their contribution to biodiversity conservation is limited. For example, plantations host a significantly lower number of…

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Agriculture

A new meta-study confirms that nitrous oxide emissions can be reduced by boosting nitrogen productivity, crop yield and use of “4Rs” - right source, right timing, right placement and right application.

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Plant breeding

German and Chinese researchers have found out that maize can attract soil bacteria which help the plants to grow better. Their findings could enable plants to be bred which require less fertiliser and are therefore less…

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