Synthetic chemists and plant biologists at the Institute of Transformative Bio-Molecules (ITbM) in Nagoya University used a chemical approach and developed small molecules to increase the number of stomata in plant leaves. The completed research is hoped to improve crop productivity and water-use efficiency as published in Chemical Communications.

Plant biologist William Thompson and his colleagues at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) has described the process that corn uses to unravel and replicate small segments of its chromosomes at different times in the August issue of The Plant Cell.

Thompson said that DNA replication has been well characterized in animal cells, but little is known about the replication timing programs in plant cells.

An international consortium of researchers from France, India, and China has published the genome sequence of pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), a cereal that belongs to the family of small-seeded grasses, grown in arid areas in the Sahel region in Africa and in Asia, especially in India.

Robust harvests in Latin America and rebounding agricultural conditions in Southern Africa are on course to improve the global food supply situation, but ongoing civil conflicts and climate-related shocks are affecting progress towards hunger reduction, according to the new edition of FAO's Crop Prospects and Food Situation report.

Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) have tapped genome editing to improve agricultural crops. Using tomato as an example, they used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to rapidly generate variants of the plant that display a broad continuum of three separate, agriculturally important traits: fruit size, branching architecture, and overall plant shape -- components that determine plant yield.

More than a hundred farmers and municipal agriculturists and technicians from the provinces of Pangasinan, Batangas, Quezon, and Davao in the Philippines expressed full support for the commercial planting of Bt eggplant. They hoped that the seeds be made available soon, after learning about its science, safety, and potential socioeconomic benefits during the Public Dialogue on Bt Eggplant held on September 14, 2017 at SEARCA Headquarters, College, Laguna. The activity served as a platform for farmers to clarify issues about the said technology.

The Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) has called for submissions on an application that seeks to allow food from a genetically modified (GM) canola line that produces an omega-3 fatty acid. The GM canola developed by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Nuseed Pty Ltd) was modified to produce the long chain fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in the seed.

According to the Department of Crop Production, in recent years, the maize area has reached more than 1 million ha/year, the yield is rather low - only 4.6 million tons/ha. Annually, Vietnam still has to spend a large amount of foreign currency to import corn seeds to serve the needs of animal feed processing in the country.

Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) and cassava brown streak (CBSD) are still the most challenging constraints for cassava production in the Sub-Saharan Africa. Some Ugandans describe them as HIV for cassava. Although, there are CMD resistant cassava varieties, it is still a challenge since a good number of farmers have not yet accessed them. Annual losses due to CMD and CBSD are estimated at $60 Million in Uganda alone. There is a great need for both CBSD and CMD resistant cassava.

IRRI joined the 30^th National Rice R&D Conference held at the Philippine Rice Research Center (PhilRice) Central Experiment Station in Muñoz, Nueva Ecija on 5-6 September. Deputy Director for Communication and Partnerships Bruce Tolentino headed the IRRI delegation and presented the institute’s 2017-2025 strategic plan.