Australia's Office of the Gene Technology Regulator (OGTR) has issued a license in response to application DIR 138 from Bayer CropScience, authorizing the commercial release of canola genetically modified (GM) for dual herbicide tolerance and to facilitate production of the GMOs. The release is authorized to take place throughout Australia. The GM canola and products derived from the GM canola may enter general commerce

"Life was very difficult. I was not happy at all with the situation," recalls William. It was access to water – through an irrigation system installed by the Tanzanian government and supported by IFAD – that finally changed her life. With regular access to water, William became not only a successful farmer but also an innovative entrepreneur, starting her own construction business with the additional income.

Cassava, the third largest source of calories after rice and maize in the region, supports an estimated 40 million people. The crop underpins a US$5 billion market in starch, chips and other cassava products including biofuel. Southeast Asia is currently the world’s largest trader of cassava starch.

The rice fields of Vietnamese farmers in the Mekong River Delta (MRD) and other coastal areas have recently been undergoing acute drought and salt water intrusion. However, according to scientists at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), these problems can be foreseen and viable options are being made available to help farmers cope and lessen, if not totally avoid, production and income losses.

The maize kn1 gene encodes a transcription factor protein involved in the establishment and maintenance of plant meristems. The gene has also been used to improve shoot regeneration and transformation in tobacco and other crops. A team from the University of Connecticut, led by Wei Hu, studied the effects of kn1 gene on the genetic transformation efficiencies of six citrus genotypes.

In 2009, Professor Tetsuya Higashiyama of Nagoya University and his colleagues discovered that a synergid cell located next to the egg cell, produces molecules called LUREs that attract pollen tubes in Torenia plants. They also discovered similar LURE peptides in Arabidopsis thaliana in 2012.

FAO 10 March 2016, Putrajaya, Malaysia - While the Asia-Pacific region has shown remarkable progress in reducing poverty and hunger during the last 25 years, it can lead the world in the complete eradication of these scourges within the next 15 years, FAO's Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific heard today.  

A new study published by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) and authored by Val Giddings, Robert D. Atkinson, and John Wu reveals how opposition to genetically modified organisms (GMOs) hurts developing nations. According to the report, campaigns against GMOs, originating primarily in Europe, have created significant obstacles to the development and adoption of genetically modified crops. The authors emphasized that the restrictive climate for agricultural biotech innovations could cost low- and lower-middle-income nations up to US$1.5 trillion in foregone economic benefits through 2050.

Plants grown in high-density or crowded populations often put more energy into growth and maintenance than reproduction. For example, flowering may be delayed as plants allocate resources to growing taller and escape competition for light. This sensitivity to crowding stress has been observed in some varieties of sweet corn, but other varieties show higher tolerance, producing high yields even in crowded conditions. A recent University of Illinois and USDA Agricultural Research Service study attempted to uncover the genetic mechanisms of crowding tolerance in sweet corn.

The mechanisms of stress tolerance have been studied extensively in model plants. Caragana (Caragana korshinskii), with its unique patterns of gene expression, is characterized by high drought and salt tolerance in northwestern China. However, there have been no reports on the differences between caragana's and model plants' mechanisms underlying their drought and salt tolerance, as well as regulation of gene expression.