Crop pests and diseases pose significant challenges to cotton productivity and fiber quality. A study published in New Phytologist explores the role of Gossypium Pigment Gland Size (GoPGS) as a novel regulator of pigment gland development of cotton. Their findings contribute to the development of gene-edited cotton with enhanced tolerance to the major biotic stressors. Pigment glands synthesize and store various terpenoids that naturally resist insects and pathogens, such as cotton bollworm and fungal plant pathogen Verticillium dahliae.

Researchers from China Agricultural University and Origin Agritech optimized maize's leaf angles at different canopy layers to boost yield through gene editing. Their findings, published in Nature, provide insight into improving maize yield and revolutionizing maize cultivation. According to Origin Agritech, the method is the world's first efficient genetic transformation system for maize induction line Hi3. The system is designed for rapid editing of maize lines. This method also enables accurate modifications in maize lines within one year, saving 3 to 4 years in maize breeding.

Researchers from the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard and partners developed a system that can insert or substitute genes in human cells. Their study demonstrates great potential for therapeutic applications of human diseases. Current methods of inserting genes in mammalian genomes have low programmability, efficiencies, or specificities. Due to this, it is difficult to treat genetic diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and phenylketonuria.

A team of multinational researchers led by National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and the Environment of France has identified a plant gene that provides resistance to blast disease. Their findings will help protect rice and wheat crops that may be affected by this disease. Blast disease is a destructive agricultural disease caused by the fungus Magnaporthe oryzae. Originally, it only affected rice crops, but since the 1980s, it has also affected wheat.

ISAAA Inc., in partnership with the Philippine Biotechnology for Agriculture and Fisheries of the Department of Agriculture (DA Biotech Program Office) and Asian Farmer's Network (ASFARNET), holds a public briefing titled Biotech for Filipino Farmers: A Public Briefing on the Philippine Biotechnology and Biosafety Regulations on June 6, 2024, at Iloilo City, Iloilo. As part of the Know the Science project, this public briefing aimed to provide recent developments and information on the status of biotechnology and biosafety systems in the Philippines.

A research team in the University of Nebraska–Lincoln's (UNL) Department of Agronomy and Horticulture led by Vladimir Torres-Rodriguez, a postdoctoral associate working with professor and corn genetics specialist James Schnable has taken a major step forward in identifying the function of corn genes. Torres-Reodriguez developed and tested a technique that uses RNA rather than DNA, an innovative approach that identified about 10 times as many corn genes affecting flowering time than widely used DNA-based methods for identifying genes.

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna became a hub of digital agricultural innovation as it hosted the Philippine leg of the highly anticipated ICTforAg 2024. This year’s theme, “Localizing Impact through Inclusion, Inspiration, and Innovation,” underscored the need to tailor digital solutions to local agricultural landscapes' unique challenges and opportunities.

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu, today presented President Michael D. Higgins of Ireland with the prestigious FAO Agricola Medal, the Organization’s highest award, in a ceremony held at Áras an Uachtaráin, the official presidential residence in Dublin. "President Higgins continues to draw the world’s attention to the links between hunger and the global crises of poverty, migration, economic downturns and finance deficits,, and the impacts of the climate crisis

This World Food Safety Day, 7 June 2024, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) sheds light on the health risks of aflatoxin contamination. In line with this year's theme, "Prepare for the Unexpected," the organization underscores successful farm-level interventions to tackle this issue. Groundnut kernels, prized for their oil content, are a nutritional powerhouse, rich in protein, antioxidants, essential minerals, and vitamins, and a staple in diets worldwide.

From June 3-13, delegates from 198 nations will convene in Bonn, Germany, to prepare for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), more commonly known as COP29. Serving as the midpoint to the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, this November, the Bonn Climate Change Conference aims to lay the groundwork for significant decisions to be made.