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 …
In wheat kernels, there are more than hundred different types of storage proteins, which are of great importance to the baking quality of the dough. There are mainly two groups of proteins in wheat, namely glutenins and gliadins. P Johannson at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden, has done an …
THANKS to French researchers, farmers can do away with nitrogenous fertilisers which contribute to pollution of rivers and other reservoirs. Molecular biologists at the National Agronomic Research Institute (INRA) in Toulose, have succeeded in growing leguminous plants in soil that is poor in nitrogen. it has long been known that …
THOSE taking a trip to space need no longer subsist on a staple diet of frozen food straight out of tins. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the us announced recently that a new strain of wheat has been developed that can be grown on international space stations and …
Land-starved Singaporeans are looking towards the sky for a solution. Local scientists have developed a new technology to grow vegetables in the air as part of a bid to produce pesticide-free, quality claps and reduce the country's food import bill. :eroponics' technology is the first to be devised for large …
Genetic engineers at Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, have developed a new variety of cotton which is capable of destroying its insect pests. A gene from a soil bacterium, Bacillus thurengensis - which is a naturally occuring insecticide -is incorporated into the cotton varieties. The gene encodes a …
A change in agronomic practices is what researchers at the Regional Research Station, Vriddhachalam and the Sugarcane Research Station, Cuddalore, both at Tamil Nadu, recommend to improve the quality of sugar-cane juice and the resultant end-product of sugar. The juice is judged by the amount of sucrose present, and should …
A new hybrid variety of seedless mango has been recently developed by scientists at the Regional Fruit Research Station of the Konkan Vidyapeeth at Sindhudurg, Maharashtra. This high-yielding dwarf variety called Sindhu, was developed by crossbreeding Neelam and Alphonso varieties and has been released for commercial cultivation. In 1981, the …
A DELICATE plant, producing yellow flowers -Calceolaria andina is proving to be the nemesis for a notoriously high-resistant variety of tobacco whitefly, Bemisia tabaci. Two chemicals from the plant, which grows high on the Andean slopes, has been found to be fatal for the B- biotype species of the pest. …
AT LONG last, seed specialists have come up with a hybrid variety of wheat, an idea that has been in the offing for several decades. What acted as a deterrent was the floral biology and genetic structure of the plant. Clearing all obstacles, however, the Lafarge-Coppe group and Hybrinova, its …
An enzyme called RuBisCo might help scientists from Japan's Research Institute for Innovative Technology for the Earth and the Shizouka Perfectural University in realising their dream of making plants grow in dry climates (New Scientist, Vo1149, No 2013). In hot climates, plants lose water molecules every time they 'fIX' carbon …
An unusual orange-coloured cucumber has been developed by scientists at the us department of agriculture. The cucumber, alongwith its inherent properties, also contains the nutritional qualities of carrot and its colour. The beta carotene pigment not only imparts the orange colour to carrots, but is also a rich source of …
Apart from its cosmetic and medicinal properties, henna (Lawsonia inermis the natural dye -is ideal as a commercial crop for drylands cultivation, say researchers at the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA) in Andhra Pradesh. Capable of growing with the minimal maintenance, the plant does not require protective irrigation …
THE bullets were not meant to kill rice cells; they were aimed to impart resistance in them to fight off a destructive menace - bacterial leaf blight, a disease that routinely destroys rice crops around the world. Researchers led by Pamela Ronald from the University of California, us, recently performed …
William Wood, a geneticist from the University of Colorado at Boulder, US, has found a method for controlling crop-decimating nematode (roundworm) populations. A gene, isolated from another small worm - Caenorhabditis elegans - can determine whether a fertilised egg will become a male worm. This gene has been named Her-I …
SCIENTISTS at the Philippines- based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are currently field testing a prototype of a new and sturdier variety of rice on the institute's experimental plots. This new and robust variety shall have thicker grain-bearing stems apart from having greener and more erect leaves. The redesigned plant …
THE propagation of bamboo is certainly beset with problems like long flowering cycles and inadequate technology for storing seeds. Not so anymore - say experts who have evolved an innovative technique for vegetative propagation of bamboo (Science for Villages, No 193/194, August 1995). A giant fast growing grass, the bamboo …
The scientists at the Nicherei and Tokita Shubyo corporations, Japan, have crossed tomatoes of two colours and have jointly developed a mini-tomato variety of yellow colour (Vatis update, Food processing, Vo13,No 13). The product, called "Cherry Gold", has a higher sugar content. Estimated to be around 8.5 to 9 per …
ONE-THIRD of all Africans are undernourished. It is shocking to learn how rapidly and dangerously food security continues to deteriorate, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Soil fertility is on the slide, yields per hectare of principal food crops are declining and population growth has exceeded growth in food production in most …
AGRICULTURAL research is going to hit rock bottom very soon and plunge the entire Third World into a state of severe food crisis - if more money to fund it does not come in immediately. The international agricultural research network is facing an acute resource crunch, according to the Genetic …
Research is not magic, solutions take a long time There is a trend towards having speciallsed animals and crops in the inclustrialised countries. The developing countries have tried to incorporate this by importing upgraded species, but the attempt has produced mixed results. Why? Imported crops and animals face the problem …
