potato – B4FA http://theb4fa.org Biosciences For Farming in Africa Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:22:18 +0000 en-GB hourly 1 A breeding revolution could unleash the potential of potato http://theb4fa.org/a-breeding-revolution-could-unleash-the-potential-of-potato/ http://theb4fa.org/a-breeding-revolution-could-unleash-the-potential-of-potato/#respond Wed, 04 Sep 2019 10:22:14 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=17809 Unlike other major crops, however, the potato has not had a breeding breakthrough of the kind that helped dramatically boost yields during the Green Revolution of the 1950s and 1960s. The reason is that creating a new potato variety is slow and difficult, even by the patient standards of plant ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/a-breeding-revolution-could-unleash-the-potential-of-potato/feed/ 0 Kenya farmers lose over Sh150 billion in post-harvest losses http://theb4fa.org/kenya-farmers-lose-over-sh150-billion-in-post-harvest-losses/ http://theb4fa.org/kenya-farmers-lose-over-sh150-billion-in-post-harvest-losses/#respond Wed, 27 Feb 2019 11:52:44 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=17346 Post harvest losses in Kenya are startling as revealed by recent stats from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS)

In 2017, Sh150 billion worth of food went to waste, tossed out or left to rot, a report that tries to track food waste has said. According to the National Bureau ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/kenya-farmers-lose-over-sh150-billion-in-post-harvest-losses/feed/ 0 Seeking the new potato http://theb4fa.org/seeking-the-new-potato/ http://theb4fa.org/seeking-the-new-potato/#respond Thu, 14 Feb 2019 15:23:04 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=17224 On a bleak, brown hill here, David Ellis examines a test plot of potato plants and shakes his head. “They’re dead, dead, dead,” he says. Pests and lack of rain have laid waste to all 17 varieties that researchers had planted.

It is a worrying sign for Ellis, the now-retired director ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/seeking-the-new-potato/feed/ 0 Scientists use potato wild relatives to produce climate-resilient varieties http://theb4fa.org/16596-2/ http://theb4fa.org/16596-2/#respond Mon, 12 Nov 2018 09:59:28 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=16596 As millions of small-scale farmers struggle with the effects of climate change, scientists at the International Potato Center (CIP) are using wild potatoes to develop climate-resilient varieties. The resulting potatoes combine heat and drought tolerance with resistance to the most important diseases affecting potato crops, late blight and bacterial wilt, ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/16596-2/feed/ 0 Safeguarding food security with plant health http://theb4fa.org/safeguarding-food-security-with-plant-health/ http://theb4fa.org/safeguarding-food-security-with-plant-health/#respond Fri, 09 Nov 2018 07:57:38 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=16593 By the year 2050, the global population is estimated to exceed 9 billion. We will need to feed more people with fewer resources while addressing the challenges posed by climate change. An expected side-effect of rising temperatures is a population boom of the insects and diseases that threaten agricultural productivity. ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/safeguarding-food-security-with-plant-health/feed/ 0 Researchers shine a light into the mechanisms of potato late blight infection http://theb4fa.org/researchers-shine-a-light-into-the-mechanisms-of-potato-late-blight-infection/ http://theb4fa.org/researchers-shine-a-light-into-the-mechanisms-of-potato-late-blight-infection/#respond Thu, 08 Nov 2018 12:57:23 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=16585 Scientists at the James Hutton Institute, in collaboration with colleagues of the University of Dundee, Huazhong Agricultural University, Heilongjiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (both China) and Wageningen University (Netherlands), have shed further light into the mechanisms through which the potato blight pathogen interacts with plant cells to promote disease.
Late blight ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/researchers-shine-a-light-into-the-mechanisms-of-potato-late-blight-infection/feed/ 0 Ministry of Agriculture developing new technology to offer quality potato seeds http://theb4fa.org/ministry-of-agriculture-developing-new-technology-to-offer-quality-potato-seeds/ http://theb4fa.org/ministry-of-agriculture-developing-new-technology-to-offer-quality-potato-seeds/#respond Thu, 27 Sep 2018 16:24:07 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=16256 The (Kenyan) Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with Hygrotech, a private company is developing a new technology which will enable farmers get high quality potato seeds, doing away with reliance on tubers seeds.
According to the ministry’s press release on the current national food security situation October last year, production of ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/ministry-of-agriculture-developing-new-technology-to-offer-quality-potato-seeds/feed/ 0 Towards a late-blight resistant potato for Africa http://theb4fa.org/towards-a-late-blight-resistant-potato-for-africa/ http://theb4fa.org/towards-a-late-blight-resistant-potato-for-africa/#respond Tue, 12 Jun 2018 14:25:08 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=15500 This video describes advances by the International Potato Center and the National Agricultural Research Organisation (NARO) of Uganda to develop a potato variety resistant to late blight. Watch ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/towards-a-late-blight-resistant-potato-for-africa/feed/ 0 Pink pineapples and healthy fries: The new GM foods made for you http://theb4fa.org/pink-pineapples-and-healthy-fries-the-new-gm-foods-made-for-you/ http://theb4fa.org/pink-pineapples-and-healthy-fries-the-new-gm-foods-made-for-you/#respond Mon, 28 May 2018 17:13:22 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=15408 From health benefits to increased flavour and longer shelf-life, discover the new generation of GM foods designed with the consumer in mind. Read ...

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]]> http://theb4fa.org/pink-pineapples-and-healthy-fries-the-new-gm-foods-made-for-you/feed/ 0 GM potato can help cut pesticide use by up to 90% http://theb4fa.org/gm-potato-can-help-cut-pesticide-use-by-up-to-90/ http://theb4fa.org/gm-potato-can-help-cut-pesticide-use-by-up-to-90/#respond Wed, 23 May 2018 11:23:15 +0000 http://theb4fa.org/?p=15377 A new study conducted by a team of scientists from Wageningen University & Research and Teagasc, the Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority reveals that a potato variety genetically engineered to resist potato blight can help reduce the use of chemical fungicides by up to 90 percent. The approach uses ...

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