Genetically modified (GM) crops have increased global food, feed and fibre production by nearly 1 billion tonnes (1996-2020), whilst helping farmers who grow these crops to reduce the environmental footprint associated with their crop protection practices by over 17 percent. It has also reduced carbon emissions, by 39.1 billion kilograms, …
New research suggests the chemicals are playing a significant and previously unknown role in the global decline of amphibians Widely used pesticides can kill frogs within an hour, new research has revealed, suggesting the chemicals are playing a significant and previously unknown role in the catastrophic global decline of amphibians. …
The Indian Society for Cotton Improvement (ISCI) has recently released a comprehensive book on "Bt Cotton Questions & Answers" authored by Dr. K R Kranthi, Director of the ICAR's Central Institute of Cotton Research (CICR), Nagpur, India. The book has hundred questions on Bt cotton, time and again raised by …
Balancing productivity, profitability, and environmental health is a key challenge for agricultural sustainability. Most crop production systems in the United States are characterized by low species and management diversity, high use of fossil energy and agrichemicals, and large negative impacts on the environment. We hypothesized that cropping system diversification would …
This report examines what governments and international donor organizations mean when they refer to the so-called sustainable intensification of agriculture, and whether it represents a change in direction for agriculture. There is growing evidence of the global harm being caused by intensive, high input agricultural production, globalised trade in industrial …
Europe has never been particularly fond of genetically modified (GM) foods, but a startling research paper looks set to harden public and political opposition even further, despite a torrent of scepticism from scientists about the work. The study, published in the peer-reviewed journal Food and Chemical Toxicology, looked for adverse …
The health effects of a Roundup-tolerant genetically modified maize (from 11% in the diet), cultivated with or without Roundup, and Roundup alone (from 0.1 ppb in water), were studied 2 years in rats. In females, all treated groups died 2–3 times more than controls, and more rapidly. This difference was …
Conservation agriculture (CA) is an agricultural management practice in which there is minimum soil disturbance, retention of residue for soil cover and rotation of major crops. In contrast, soil in traditional agriculture is intensively tilled to prepare a fine and well-pulverized seedbed. Soil tillage or land preparation is the most …
Monsanto will roll out the third generation biotechnology product in cotton next year. Ten years after it introduced the second generation Bollgard-II technology that provided twin protection to the cotton plants, the St Louis, US-based seed technology company is in the final stages of the regulatory process ahead of the …
A fast-spreading plague of "super weeds" taking over U.S. farmland will not be stopped easily, and farmers and government officials need to change existing practices if food production is to be protected, industry experts said on Thursday. "This is a complex problem," said weed scientist David Shaw in remarks to …
This new study by UK-based PG Economics presents the findings of research on global socio-economic and environmental impact of biotech crops from 1996-2010, since they were first commercially planted on a significant area. This study presents the findings of research into the global socio-economic and environmental impact of biotech crops …
A new biotech corn developed by Dow AgroSciences could answer the prayers of U.S. farmers plagued by a fierce epidemic of super-weeds. Or it could trigger a flood of dangerous chemicals that may make weeds even more resistant and damage other important U.S. crops. Or, it could do both. "Enlist," …
A coalition of more than 2,000 U.S. farmers and food companies said Wednesday it is taking legal action to force government regulators to analyze potential problems with proposed biotech crops and the weed-killing chemicals to be sprayed over them. Dow AgroSciences, a unit of Dow Chemical, and Monsanto Co. are …
The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said that the widely used herbicide 2,4-D would remain on the market, denying a petition from an environmental group that sought to revoke the chemical’s approval. The E.P.A. said that the environmental group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, had not adequately shown that 2,4-D …
Scientists, environmentalists and farm advocates are pressing the question about whether rewards of the trend toward using more and more crop chemicals are worth the risks, as the agricultural industry strives to ramp up production to feed the world's growing population. The debate has heated up in the last several …
Monsanto Co said on Friday that it had settled a long-running legal battle with residents of West Virginia who claimed they suffered environmental and health problems tied to pollution from a former Monsanto chemical plant. St. Louis-based Monsanto, which has shifted from a concentration in the chemical business to agricultural …
The United States remained the primary backer of biotech crop technology in 2011, but adoption spread internationally as the total global planted area of genetically modified seeds grew 8 percent from a year ago, according to a report issued Tuesday. Roughly 160 million hectares, or 395.2 million acres, were planted …
Male mating signals, including ornaments and courtship displays, and other sexually selected traits, like male-male aggression, are largely controlled by sex hormones. Environmental pollutants, notably endocrine disrupting compounds, can interfere with the proper functioning of hormones, thereby impacting the expression of hormonally regulated traits. Atrazine, one of the most widely …
Glyphosate is a herbicide that is liable to be used in the extensive cultivation of glyphosate-tolerant cultivars. The potential accumulation of the relative effect of glyphosate on the rhizobacterial communities of glyphosate-tolerant maize has been monitored over a period of three years. Original Source
As part of popularising Conservation Agriculture (CA) technologies, Soil and Water Management Research Institute (SWMRI) of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture University here organised Direct Seeded Harvest day at Kuruvadipatti village recently. Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) harvester machine was used at the field of Mr.Asaithambi. DSR is the best mechanical practice …
