Researchers from South Dakota State University (SDSU) hope to transfer resistance to wheat streak mosaic virus to bread wheat from a distant relative, sea wheatgrass.

Associate Professor Wanlong Li of the Department of Biology and Microbiology said, "In wheat breeding, we have a lot of very important genes transferred from relatives to wheat varieties." For instance, resistance to leaf rust, stem rust and yellow rust, as well as powdery mildew, came from rye.

COMESA member states through its specialized agency ACTESA - Alliance for Commodity Trade in Eastern and Southern Africa have acknowledged the need for rigorous reforms on policies governing adoption of GM crops in Africa. This was during a two-day regional sensitization workshop on agri-biotech and biosafety held on August 30, 2017 in Kenya. The workshop brought together representatives from six COMESA member states actively involved in biotech research, the East African Community (EAC) and key private sector players.

The rapid urbanization of major rice-growing regions is limiting farmers’ access to land, labor, and resources such as water. As a response, the traditional method of transplanting rice seedlings is being replaced by directly sowing seeds in the field. This is less labor intensive, uses less water, and leads to faster crop establishment. However, directly sowing seeds may lead to uneven germination, decreased survival, increased competition from weeds, and lower crop yields.

A study conducted at Purdue University examined American attitudes toward genetic engineering in the wake of heightened coverage of the Zika virus in 2016. The study found that more than three-quarters of Americans would support the release of genetically modified (GM) mosquitoes to decrease the risk of the virus, but less than half support the use of GM in livestock production (44%), grain production (49%), and fruit and vegetable production (48%).

An international group of researchers has found another weapon in the arsenal of defenses that plants use to fight off their herbivore attackers, in this case eavesdropping on a very specific chemical signal from an herbivore to detect its presence and prepare for future attack," said Anjel Helms, postdoctoral fellow in entomology at the The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State).

Climate changes and rising temperatures have become major limiting factors in pea cultivation. A new study conducted at the University of Saskatchewan has indicated that pea plants with longer flowering time and higher pod numbers may be more resistant to heat stress. Rosalind Bueckert, lead author of the study, said that tolerance to heat stress in peas seems to be dependent on a few traits. However, two traits are most important: higher pod numbers and longer flowering duration.

The delay in commercialization of biotech crops in Africa is costly, not only economically, but also in health and nutrition, according to a study published in Plos One. Justus Wesseler from Wageningen University and other scientists developed a real option model to illustrate the effects of delaying approval of biotech crops with important traits that address specific concerns of smallholder farmers in Africa.

An international team led by researchers from the University of California, Davis (UC Davis), and the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has mapped the transposable elements, or transposons of maize. Transposons, called jumping genes because they move locations within a genome, was discovered in maize by Nobel-winning geneticist Barbara McClintock in the 1940s.

African horse sickness (AHS) is a serious and often fatal viral disease affecting horses in Africa, caused by the dsRNA orbivirus African horse sickness virus (AHSV). Although vaccination is the most effective weapon in battling AHS, the available vaccine is a live-attenuated version of the virus (LAV). This constraint spurred attempts to develop an alternative vaccine.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) launches the Viet Nam National Action Plan for management of antibiotic use (AMU) and control of antibiotic resistance (AMR) in livestock production and aquaculture 2017 – 2020. With financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), this plan was developed in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to guide the actions of the agriculture sector