Oil spills garner much public attention and anguish, but "biological spills" represent a greater long-term threat and do not have the same high public profile. It was an exotic fungus that wiped out billions of American chestnut trees in the early 20^th century, dramatically altering the landscape and ecosystem, while today the emerald ash borer - another pest that hitch-hiked along global trade routes to new habitats - threatens to do the same with a valuable tree long used by humans to make tool handles, guitars and office furniture.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has announced to the public the final version of Okanagan Specialty Fruits Inc.'s (OSF) petition seeking regulatory approval for Arctic^® Fuji apples, a genetically engineered (GE) nonbrowning variety. APHIS has previously reviewed and deregulated this trait in other apples.

Researchers at the University of California Davis and Wageningen UR have unravelled the DNA of Pseudocercospora fijiensis, the fungus that causes black Sigatoka disease in bananas globally. The Sigatoka complex's three fungal diseases — yellow Sigatoka (P. musae), eumusae leaf spot (P. eumusae) and black Sigatoka (P. figiensis) — emerged as destructive pathogens in the last century

With this year's main planting season winding down in Ethiopia, there is still a small window of opportunity in September for farmers to plant the last set of crops this year and grow food for millions facing hunger, provided the necessary support arrives on time.

Researchers are constantly tinkering with plant breeding strategies to further improve the development of new high-yielding, stress-tolerant cereal varieties. Small RNAs (sRNA) are small gene-regulating molecules in plant cells involved in stress adaptation. University of Adelaide researchers, led by Haipei Liu (figure), now believe they could be exploited to breed and develop plants with favorable stress tolerant traits.

A report released by Australia's Productivity Commission, Regulation of Agriculture, urges the lifting of state bans on cultivating genetically modified crops. The Commission is calling for regulation to be better informed by evidence. "Some regulation is simply not supported by the evidence, such as bans on genetically modified crops in some states. These regulations are not in the public interest and should be unwound," said Commissioner Paul Lindwall.

Regulators from China's Ministry of Agriculture met with the members of the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) in the U.S. to discuss the need to better synchronize regulatory systems and the importance U.S. farmers place upon the availability of new technologies.

The leaders of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and UN World Food Programme (WFP) have applauded U.S. President Barack Obama for signing the Global Food Security Act (GFSA). The GFSA supports initiatives that focus on developing agriculture, assisting small-scale food producers, and improving nutrition.

The origins of over two-thirds of the grains, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and other agricultural crops countries grow and consume can be traced to ancient breadbaskets in distant parts of the world, according to an exhaustive peer-reviewed report published today.The study, covering 151 crops and 177 countries, marks the first time scientists have quantified the level of interconnectedness of national diets and agricultural economies in terms of non- native plants

Urgent action is needed to provide farming and livelihood support to 385,000 people in parts of Nigeria's northeast where food insecurity is rampant, FAO said today. The resumption of agricultural activities in these areas is of utmost priority to ensure that people can produce enough food for themselves. This includes those who have been internally displaced by the conflict as well as communities who have been hosting them.