In a novel and large scale study, researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR) have put together 40 years of data to quantify the benefits of Bt corn. Previous studies have shown the benefits of Bt corn adoption on pest management for pests like corn borer for years, but this is the first study to look at the effects on other offsite crops in North America.

Kansas State University (K-State) researchers have discovered the mechanism by which weeds develop resistance to the popular herbicide glyphosate. The research team found how Palmer amaranth and common waterhemp evolved resistance to glyphosate in such a short time. Based on research, they discovered that glyphosate resistance in Palmer amaranth occurred very rapidly.

The Cornell Alliance for Science, in collaboration with Water Efficient Maize for Africa (WEMA) Project, Uganda Biosciences Information Center (UBIC), and other partners conducted a two-day training workshop on agricultural biotechnology for Ugandan journalists from March 9-10, 2018 at the National Crops Resources Research Institute (NaCRRI) in Namulonge, Wakiso district, Uganda.

A big regional effort to bolster social protection policies in Latin America and the Caribbean is essential to lower rural poverty and reverse the recent uptick in hunger, FAO Director-General Jose Graziano da Silva said today. “The region can’t remove the support given in recent years to those who are most vulnerable,” he said at an event focused on the Zero Hunger campaign during FAO’s Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean.

Because of low rainfall and lack of irrigation infrastructure, water management is often not an option for rainfed lowland rice farmers. But, thanks to the latest rice breeding research, recently developed varieties that produce higher yield under drought have their own built-in water management strategy. These plants can capture and use water more effectively when it is limited.

Researchers at the Molecular and Cellular Plant Biology Institute (IBMCP) of the Universitat Politècnica de València in Spain, along with the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), are collaborating for the NEWCOTIANA project, a research and innovation initiative, which makes use of new plant breeding technologies to produce medicine, cosmetics, and other products of added value in tobacco plants.

Argentina, the world's third largest producer of genetically modified (GM) crops, has approved two GM maize varieties developed by Syngenta and the local unit of Dow AgroSciences, as well as a GM soybean variety from Bayer SA. One GM maize has multiple genes for greater control of lepidopteran insects, as well as tolerance to glyphosate and glufosinate herbicides; the other has resistance to 2-4D herbicides and aryloxyphenoxy. The GM soybean has tolerance to the herbicides glyphosate, glufosinate, and isoxaflutole.

Around 100 sugar mills in Brazil have started planting the first commercialized variety of GM sugarcane. Developed by Centro de Tecnologia Canavieira (CTC) to be resistant from cane borer, the GM sugarcane has been initially planted on 400 hectares (988 acres) of land.  Cane borer is a common pest in Brazilian sugar mills, which costs US$1.5 billion of losses and insecticide expense annually.

Scientists, companies, and government agencies are working on ways to decrease greenhouse emissions. In recent years, biofuels from corn emerged as a fuel source to power motor vehicles, but corn is a problematic biofuel source material, and is more useful as food. A Colorado State University (CSU) study finds new promise for biofuels from switchgrass, a non-edible native grass that grows in many parts of North America.

As the world celebrates the International Women's Day (IWD) 2018, more women are speaking up for their rights, equality, and justice. With the theme "Time is Now: Rural and Urban Activists Transforming Women's Lives", the United Nations Commission puts a focus on the activism of rural women, who make up over a quarter of the world population, and being left behind in every measure of development.