Inside every seed is the embryo of a plant, and in most cases also a storage of food needed to power initial growth of the young seedling. New work identifies biochemical pathways necessary for stocking the seed's food supplies. These findings could be targeted when engineering crops for higher yields.

The biotechnology seed market is the fastest-growing area in the commercial seed sector, according to the Global Seeds Market Report: 2015 Edition released by Market Reports. The growing population and reduction in arable land is expected to raise the demand for GM seeds which have improved traits than conventional seeds.

Researchers from RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource developed a new database for sorghum. The database, called MOROKOSHI, provides information on the genes observed in sorghum at different growth stages. This was done by closely examining the transcriptome of Sorghum bicolor which led to the identification of 20,000 genes.

"Golden Rice is the hope of the children; allowing Golden rice to be available in the market will give children a better future," said Dr. Patrick Moore, co-founder and former member of the group Greenpeace and now chairman and spokesperson of the Allow Golden Rice Campaign. He stressed this during his seminar for the Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS) of the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines on March 9, 2015.

Denmark ratified the Nagoya–Kuala Lumpur Supplementary Protocol on Liability and Redress to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on February 25, 2015, with only 11 more ratifications required for its implementation. The Supplementary Protocol has received a total of 30 ratifications, including the approval by the European Union.

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) scientist, Prof. Rogen Hellens, revealed how plants control cellular levels of vitamin C, which is vital in human nutrition. According to Prof. Hellens, the results of his study may help in plant breeding programs to develop hardier crops and improve human health, especially in preventing vitamin C deficiency that may lead to iron deficiency anemia, the most common effect of malnutrition globally.

16 March 2015, Rome - How to prevent insects, bacteria, viruses and weeds from infesting fruit, vegetable and other plant and food consignments and then spreading across the world is the focus of a four-day gathering of international experts which began at FAO today.

If you had to choose just one word that captures the essence of bean research in Sub-Saharan Africa it is ‘partnership’ – between researchers, farmers, policymakers, nutritionists, private sector service providers  and every other actor along the bean value chain.

The 3rd Global Science Conference on Climate-Smart Agriculture is to be held in Montpellier, France, from 16 to 18 March 2015. This major event is intended to supplement and update the existing scientific knowledge of the range of issues surrounding climate-smart agriculture. It will serve to establish a future research agenda, support decision-making and propose action.

Lilium is one of the major bulb crops in the world and is a major part of the ornamentals industry. The fungus Botrytis causes extreme economic losses to a wide range of crops, including Lilium. The success of the ornamentals industry depends on the introduction of new individuals with key characteristics, such as disease resistance.