gm crops – B4FA http://theb4fa.org Biosciences For Farming in Africa Wed, 04 Dec 2019 12:08:10 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 GMOs have a place in African agriculture http://theb4fa.org/gmos-have-a-place-in-african-agriculture/ http://theb4fa.org/gmos-have-a-place-in-african-agriculture/#respond Wed, 04 Dec 2019 12:07:44 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18300 The founding director of West Africa Centre for Crop Improvement (WACCI) at the University of Ghana, has called on African governments to open the doors for the cultivation and use of genetically modified crops to address the food and nutrition insecurity challenges on the continent.

Professor Eric Danquah said the challenges ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/gmos-have-a-place-in-african-agriculture/feed/ 0 GM potato trials point to blight resistant crops of the future http://theb4fa.org/gm-potato-trials-point-to-blight-resistant-crops-of-the-future/ http://theb4fa.org/gm-potato-trials-point-to-blight-resistant-crops-of-the-future/#respond Wed, 04 Dec 2019 12:01:20 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18297 A genetically modified potato with improved tuber quality and resistance to the devastating disease late blight has progressed successfully through the latest stage of trials.

The field trials follow successful lab experiments to modify Maris Piper potatoes with late blight resistance genes from wild relatives of potato called Solanum americanum and Solanum venturii.

To improve ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/gm-potato-trials-point-to-blight-resistant-crops-of-the-future/feed/ 0 Bangladesh could be the first to cultivate golden rice, genetically altered to fight blindness http://theb4fa.org/bangladesh-could-be-the-first-to-cultivate-golden-rice-genetically-altered-to-fight-blindness/ http://theb4fa.org/bangladesh-could-be-the-first-to-cultivate-golden-rice-genetically-altered-to-fight-blindness/#respond Fri, 22 Nov 2019 17:42:40 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18213 Soon. That has long been scientists’ answer when asked about the approval of golden rice, a genetically modified (GM) crop that could help prevent childhood blindness and deaths in the developing world. Ever since golden rice first made headlines nearly 20 years ago, it has been a flashpoint in debates ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/bangladesh-could-be-the-first-to-cultivate-golden-rice-genetically-altered-to-fight-blindness/feed/ 0 GM foods: the battle for Africa http://theb4fa.org/gm-foods-the-battle-for-africa/ http://theb4fa.org/gm-foods-the-battle-for-africa/#respond Thu, 21 Nov 2019 16:01:00 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18199 A combination of climate change, population growth and regional conflict has created the worst food crisis across Africa since 1945, according to aid agency World Relief.

In 2018, the African countries suffering the worst food shortages due to declining harvests driven by drought were, in order of severity, Democratic Republic of Congo, ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/gm-foods-the-battle-for-africa/feed/ 0 A crop that feeds billions freed from blight by CRISPR http://theb4fa.org/a-crop-that-feeds-billions-freed-from-blight-by-crispr/ http://theb4fa.org/a-crop-that-feeds-billions-freed-from-blight-by-crispr/#respond Wed, 06 Nov 2019 09:31:32 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18128 Bacteria that infect rice are thwarted by changes to rice genes involved in sugar transport.

Genome editing has made one of the world’s most important crops resistant to a devastating bacterial infection.

Bacterial blight, which is caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pathovar oryzae (Xoo), can slash farmers’ yields of rice, which is a staple food for billions ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/a-crop-that-feeds-billions-freed-from-blight-by-crispr/feed/ 0 Biotech soybeans now cover 50% of the world’s biotech crop area http://theb4fa.org/biotech-soybeans-now-cover-50-of-the-worlds-biotech-crop-area/ http://theb4fa.org/biotech-soybeans-now-cover-50-of-the-worlds-biotech-crop-area/#respond Thu, 31 Oct 2019 17:13:06 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18084 The four major biotech crops — soybeans, maize, cotton, and canola — were the most adopted biotech crops by 26 countries in 2018, according to the ISAAA report, Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops in 2018. Soybeans lead at 95.9 million hectares, followed by maize (58.9 million hectares), cotton (24.9 million), and canola (10.1 million hectares). Based on ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/biotech-soybeans-now-cover-50-of-the-worlds-biotech-crop-area/feed/ 0 Engineered molecule could protect key food crops from intensifying droughts as climate changes http://theb4fa.org/engineered-molecule-could-protect-key-food-crops-from-intensifying-droughts-as-climate-changes/ http://theb4fa.org/engineered-molecule-could-protect-key-food-crops-from-intensifying-droughts-as-climate-changes/#respond Tue, 29 Oct 2019 12:21:46 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18075 An engineered small molecule called opabactin that targets the receptor for the hormone abscisic acid (ABA), which plants release in stressful conditions, limited water loss in Arabidopsis, tomato, and wheat, and improved wheat’s tolerance of drought-like conditions in the lab, according to a study published today (October 24) in Science. It ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/engineered-molecule-could-protect-key-food-crops-from-intensifying-droughts-as-climate-changes/feed/ 0 The complicated history of a crop created to help millions http://theb4fa.org/the-complicated-history-of-a-crop-created-to-help-millions/ http://theb4fa.org/the-complicated-history-of-a-crop-created-to-help-millions/#respond Mon, 14 Oct 2019 08:35:32 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18037 The term genetically modified organisms (GMOs) inspires images of crazy crops: a single plant that bears tomatoes above ground and potatoes beneath, or a tree that bears a fruit with stripes of yellow sour orange and green stripes from citron. Unlikely as they may sound, the two plants described above ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/the-complicated-history-of-a-crop-created-to-help-millions/feed/ 0 GMO wheat varieties boost crop yields 20-30% in field trial http://theb4fa.org/gmo-wheat-varieties-boost-crop-yields-20-30-in-field-trial/ http://theb4fa.org/gmo-wheat-varieties-boost-crop-yields-20-30-in-field-trial/#respond Wed, 09 Oct 2019 11:26:47 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18014 Studies conducted at the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility (APPF) showed experimental genetically modified (GM) wheat lines [have] the potential to significantly increase yields. These lines ‘overexpress’ three wild-type plant genes, either individually or in combination, and were developed to test whether targeting individual wheat genes could lead to improvements in yield.

In greenhouse studies conducted at ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/gmo-wheat-varieties-boost-crop-yields-20-30-in-field-trial/feed/ 0 No ‘magical’ alternative to glyphosate in the next 5 years http://theb4fa.org/no-magical-alternative-to-glyphosate-in-the-next-5-years/ http://theb4fa.org/no-magical-alternative-to-glyphosate-in-the-next-5-years/#respond Mon, 07 Oct 2019 09:44:53 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=18009 In the next five years, no alternative to glyphosate is going to “magically” appear in the market,  Dr Bob Reiter, a high-ranking official from Bayer, told EURACTIV.com, referring to the controversial herbicide that has been the subject of heated debates across Europe.

Speaking to EURACTIV on the sidelines of the Future of ...

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