Tissue-culture technology facilitates to hike yeild of tasty coconut
The tasty, popular coconut species of Thailand, kati, could not be produced in large scale because it is infertile. But scientists have now found …
Polly can't get at this wheat
Some wheat hybrids developed in India's agricultural universities are exceptionally good at keeping birds away
Defeat starvation
Sub-Saharan Africa is on the brink of starvation. In spite of efforts made by the government and private organisations, the agricultural scene …
Genesis
Over thirty years of continuous research later, scientists report the outcome of a hybrid wheat, which is billed to substitute the available …
Rice bowls shall brim
A new and healthier version of rice promises to produce and provide more for Asia's teeming millions
Soiled future
At a time when agricultural topsoil continues to be eroded, researchers make efforts to put an end to the crisis
Recipe for rice
The two recently-published incomplete rice genome sequences do not in any way undermine the ten-country effort at a complete sequencing of the …
Equal rights
The largest collection of germplasm in the world will be handed over to the Food and Agriculture Organisation to ensure equal accessibility
Government attention sets pulses spinning
Pulse production in India is touching an all-time high, but the benefits are reaching only a few because most farmers are ignorant about the new, …
Biotech-engineered rice has few takers
Despite advancements, research programmes in rice biotechnology heve drawn lukewarm response because it is felt that there is little money to be …
Neem gains honour as India's wonder tree
Known in ancient India as a tree with many wondrous properties, the neem tree is slowly drawing the attention of the country's scientific and …
How green was the revolution
The Green Revolution Reconsidered: The Impact of High Yielding Rice Varieties in South India Peter B R Hazell and C Ramaswamy Oxford University …
A whiff of death
Researchers are now trying to develop natural weapons to scare off pests by studying the olfactory mechanism of plants that emit odours when …
Never say die
Farmers and agricultural scientists in Australia are having a tough time battling a weed that has suddenly developed resistance to a herbicide
Revolutionary potatoes
Recently developed hybrid true potato seeds are ideally suited to subtropical climates and are highly disease-resistant
Creating a family tree for rice
Scientists at the National Chemical Laboratory are working on rice biotechnology in order to develop more nutritious varieties of the cereal.
Gene transfer yields pest-resisting rice strain
Darshan S Brar, who has been working for years on rice hybrids at the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines, talks about gene …
A lot of gas
An Indian scientists has challenged the estimates of methane -- a greenhouse gas -- produced from paddy fields
Shoot to protect
With the creation of a new variety of rice plant which is resistant to bacterial leaf blight, genetic engineering has once again made one of …
The revival of indigo
A school principal in Bihar revives the cultivation of the crop that symbolised the independence struggle
Will an amended Seeds Act make industry accountable?
The Union ministry of agriculture has moved an amendment to the Seeds Act, 1966, and also proposes to create a National Seeds Grid. While the aim …
Rajasthan ignores seed advice
It distributed Monsanto’s hybrid maize seeds that were not recommended for the state
The world of french fries and potato salad
The potato, native to South America, invaded England in 1588, the year Elizabeth I's devil-may-care sea-dogs vanquished the Spanish Armada. It …
Bacteria that reduces fertilser use
indian scientists have discovered a novel microorganism in salty marshlands, which has the potential to absorb nitrogen -- an essential plant …