Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of In Re: News Item titled "Nayar river is vanishing - a yatra reveals conservation goes beyond science and policy" appearing in ‘The Down To Earth’ dated 03.06.2025. The original application was registered suo-motu based on the news item titled "Nayar …
Building greater climate resilience into the agriculture sector in Asia and the Pacific must begin with an understanding of the likely added risks and vulnerabilities the sector will face from climate change. The Asian Development Bank
leguminous plants enrich the soil because their roots produce nitrogen-fixing nodules in the presence of rhizobium bacteria. But recently, a team of scientists managed to trigger nodule formation in legumes without the bacteria. The discovery opens up the possibility of inducing nodule formation even in non-leguminous crops (such as wheat …
a new open source software to identify and manage the major weed species of rice-wheat cropping systems of the Indo-Gangetic plains was launched recently. It targets farmers, extension workers, students, researchers and grass roots organisations. The project is called the Open source Simple Computer for Agriculture in Rural areas software …
the genetic make-up of banana and plantain varieties grown in India indicates they can yield good quality fibre in abundance, according to scientists from the National Research Centre for Banana in Trichy, Tamil Nadu. "India has an enormous potential to develop an industry based on banana fibre. The raw material …
australian scientists have discovered a gene that could prevent frost damage to crops, thus saving billions of dollars a year worldwide. The anti-freeze' gene has been identified in the Antarctic hair grass (Deschampsia antarctica) by a team headed by German Spangenberg of La Trobe University in Victoria. It allows the …
an indian study has taken the global search for an alternative to the rubber tree a step closer to reality. A team of researchers from the Pondicherry University claims to have identified a set of key proteins that help guayule
continuous submerged paddy cultivation doesn't harm soil as believed. Rather, it improves fertility as compared to other agricultural systems, claims a study by researchers from Hyderabad-based International Crop Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics (icrisat) and the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Pattern, Nagpur. The study found …
chinese scientists have come out with an improved live vaccine to protect poultry and other birds from avian flu. Developed at the country's Harbin Veterinary Research Institute, the vaccine also protects birds from the Newcastle Disease. According to the Chinese agriculture ministry, this is the first vaccine that offers protection …
with an increasing thrust on the bamboo sector on which the livelihood of millions depends, there has been amplified interest in evolving better techniques for bamboo propagation and cheaper alternatives to expensive planting material. Recently, K C Koshy and B Gopakumar of the Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (tbgri), …
a team of scientists in the uk has found how crop plants use the length of day as a parameter to ensure they flower at the right time of the year. Led by David Laurie, the researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich describe a gene (called Ppd-h1) that …
gibberellins are no gibberish for plants. In fact, they are plant growth regulators that influence a range of developmental processes including germination, stem elongation, flowering, leaf ageing and fruit formation. Numbering 126, gibberellins have been known for several decades, but scientists were clueless about how they work. No more. Makoto …
a team of Dutch and Israeli scientists has genetically engineered a plant to produce a scent that attracts protective insects. The idea could help plant breeders select crops producing high amounts of such smells, thereby reducing the need for pesticides. Many plants emit scents as an sos signal to attract …
a team of biotechnologists in Canada has chanced upon a new use for the skin secretions of a rainforest frog: protecting potatoes against pathogens. Endemic to Brazilian and Peruvian forests, the Giant Waxy Monkey Tree Frog (Phyllomedusa bicolour) secretes chemicals called dermaseptins (most potent being the one called b1) from …
bt cotton varieties grown in India are the least effective against bollworm, the most widespread cotton pest, as compared to those used elsewhere in the world, claims a study by the Central Institute for Cotton Research (cicr) in Nagpur. The finding appears to vindicate the stand of farmers, particularly from …
checking in with the longest-running us experiment in organic-versus-conventional farming techniques, a recent study has concluded that organic approaches may be preferable for crops such as corn, soybeans, and many grains. While the review of the 22-year Rodale Institute Farming Systems Trial has found these crops offer more stable long-term …
japanese scientists have developed a high-yielding rice plant that's also less prone to toppling over in bad weather. What is unique about the new cultivar is that it uses information from the rice genome published earlier this year. The team of researchers at the Nagoya University initially took two varieties
scientists at the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (ivri) in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, have developed the country's first vaccine against the notorious peste des petits ruminants (ppr) disease that afflicts sheep and goats. Also known as sheep and goat plague, ppr epidemics occur every year in India, causing an annual loss …
transgenic crops may be more vulnerable to pests than believed. If plants carrying one foreign insecticidal gene are grown next to those with two such genes, insects can rapidly develop resistance to both, according to a study by scientists at Cornell University in the us. The scientists studied plants containing …
a team of scientists from Nagpur-based Central Institute for Cotton Research (cicr) has developed a kit to help choose the right insecticide to control the American bollworm (Helicovarpa armigera). Resistant to most pesticides, the bug poses a big challenge to cotton cultivators not only in India but worldwide. The pest's …
