Scientists at the Sainsbury Laboratory (SL)[1], Norwich, have today reported the discovery of a plant gene that is essential in controlling the interactions between plants and microorganisms that enable them to establish intimate associations, which are of benefit to both partners. Published in the international science journal Nature, the report’s findings suggest that it may be easier than previously imagined to design plants that are able to make their own nitrogen fertiliser.
The roots
Three new varieties of tangerines – the TDE2, TDE3, and TDE4 – are the University of California’s most recent citrus varieties to be released for commercial production. The tangerines, which are complex hybrids, are siblings since they share the same parents. The varieties will be patented and eventually be given trademarked names. The three tangerines are large fruited compared to other varieties, have a sweet taste, and bear fruit with a deep orange rind.
“While the new tangerines share
Farmers growing corn in the mid-Atlantic region will have a new tool to help them identify appropriate cultural practices for the types of soils in their fields, thanks to research conducted by researchers from Virginia Tech and Colorado State University.
“Soils vary in their ability to hold water,” said Mark Alley, professor of crop and soil environmental sciences at Virginia Tech. “If a farmer knows the water-use efficiency of the soils in his field, he has a very important clue on how to mana
Researchers at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (UWA) have developed a new rapid procedure which will enable food producers to detect the bacterial contamination of their meat products.
Their findings, published this week in Applied and Environmental Microbiology1 (Vol. 68, No.6 June 2002, p.2822 – 2828) demonstrate a novel analytical approach that can enhance and accelerate the detection of microbial spoilage, providing rapid, accurate and quantitative results in real time so that appr
Smithsonian scientist shows pollination by exotic honeybees increases coffee crop yields by more than 50 percent
Debunking the widely held belief that the self-pollinating shrub that produces the popular Arabica coffee bean has no use for insects, David W. Roubik of the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI) in Panama has demonstrated that pollination – particularly by naturalized, non-native African honeybees – dramatically boosts the yield from shade-grown coffee plants.
Agricultural breeders have long observed that when plants or animals from different strains are interbred, the offspring tend to be stronger, healthier or generally more fit than either of their parents, although no one knew why this occurred. Now plant geneticists investigating the maize (corn) genome at Rutgers Waksman Institute of Microbiology have discovered a possible explanation for this phenomenon, known as heterosis or hybrid vigor.
The Rutgers findings, presented by research