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 …
MYCORRHIZAL fungi or 'fungus root' are crucial for plant growth as they help in better root performance and provide natural defence against root diseases and pests. The fungi work as an extension of the plant's roots to help take up soil nutrients and water in exchange for steady source of …
WINNOWING, the process of separating quality grains from chaff, is a crucial process in the cultivation of paddy. The traditional way of winnowing is making the dried grains fall from a height using shovels and a sieve. The quality grains which are heavy fall vertically while the weightless chaff and …
ALAN GRAY, director of the Institute of Terrestrial Ecology's Furzebrook Research Station, and a member of Advisory Committee on Releases to the Environment (ACRE), warns that it is impossible to predict how the genetically-engineered crops to resist plant viruses will behave. "Viruses are, in ecological terms, something of a black …
Farmers in Haryana have found a novel way to prevent rapid decline of natural forests in India. This method would also help support nearly 500 wood-based industries. They have demonstrated commercial viability of the poplar tree (Poplus). This tree can reduce pressure on natural forests that are declining annually at …
THE spread of a weed called Ipomoea carnea in the Cauvery basin is obstructing water flow and posing a threat to agricultural production. The weed has covered the entire stretch of Cauvery - from Coorg district, the birth place of Cauvery in Karnataka, to Nagapattinam district, where it enters the …
THE use of heavy tractors can damage the soil and thereby reduce crop yield by 80 per cent, say German scientists. The findings show that ploughing can also damage the soil. Rainer Horn and his colleagues of Kiel University, Germany, have calculated that the average weight of tractors and other …
Genetically engineered potatoes and tobacco plants would now save themselves from four major fungal diseases. Matteo Lorito of the Federico II University of Naples and his colleagues have equipped these plants with a gene which helps make a powerful anti-fungal endochiti-nase. This enzyme digests fungal cell walls and other structures …
A new genetic technology patented in the US that prevents germination of seeds saved from harvest, may pose serious problems for farmers. The new "Terminator' technology is potentially "lethal' and a global threat to farmers, biodiversity and food security. If commercially viable, the technology developed by the US Department of …
increasing levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere could result in some fundamental changes in the growth pattern of plants, say scientists at the University of Michigan Biological Station, usa. While studying the impact of atmospheric conditions in near future, these scientists have discovered that trembling aspen trees grow …
farmers can now grow tobacco plants on demand or crops that produce pesticides only when under attack. Scientists have found a gene that can be switched on in tobacco plants or other crops in the presence of ethanol to get the desired result. When foreign genes are inserted into a …
A mechanical harvester with nylon arms is being tested by the US-based orange growers. The machine gently shakes ripe fruit off the tree. The growers are using the technique originally developed for picking blackberries. If the machine is found successful, it would help orange growers in the US to compete …
whenever the season's crop is harvested, a part of the surface soil is swept away by the wind. In this process, the world is gradually losing fertile soil. Every year, farmers harvest their crops, they leave their lands exposed to rain and storm. Due to this, agricultural soil is being …
A self-propelled paddy transplanter has been developed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi. The machine uses mat-type seedlings for transplanting eight rows at a time. Gyanendra Singh, director of ICAR's Central Institute of Agricultural Engineering, Bhopal, claims the transplanter can work equivalent to 40 workers. Manual …
Scientists at Oxford University, UK, have found a way to increase the starch content of potato, maize and rice. Starch is the single largest energy source in human diet. The researchers have discovered that suppressing the activity of an enzyme called nad-malic, starch production can be increased sharply. The new …
breeding pipless apples had been a challenge for researchers so far. But not any more. Ken Tobutt and his team at the Horticulture Research International in East Malling, usa , hope to harvest the first pipless apple by the year-end. The team has produced coreless hybrids by crossing old favourites …
researchers in the us have identified several seed varieties that are resistant to ozone damage. The findings would help farmers to select crop seeds that are less susceptible to damage from ground-level ozone. Scientists at the us Department of Agriculture's ( usda ) research center, Beltsville, Maryland, have found that …
a plant has been developed using grafting techniques that produces different kinds of brinjal, tomato and capsicum. Abdul Masfoor, an assistant horticulture officer in Hunsur taluk, Mysore, had been examining several pest-resistant plants. While studying various species of Solanaceae such as Solanum Torvum, Solanum Ferox, Solanum anguivi and Solanum viarum …
A genetically engineered strain of cereal has been developed that is resistant to rice tungro disease. If this viral infection breaks out, it can destroy nearly 90 per cent of a crop. A team of researchers led by Roger Beachy of the International Laboratory for Tropical Agricultural Biotechnology at the …
A tiny "hazardous' insect, weevil, considered a major threat to horticulture and floriculture sectors, is being successfully used to clear the weeds from Harke reserve lake in Amritsar. Ram Kishan, director of the Irrigation and Power Research Institute (IPRI), Amritsar, says that the insects do no allow the water hyacinth …
