FARM NEWS - AFRICA DAILY

How does inbreeding avoidance evolve in plants

Jun 11, 2013 (SPX)

Inbreeding is generally deleterious, even in flowering plants. Since inbreeding raises the risk that bad copies of a gene will be expressed, inbred progeny suff...

Biotech crops vs. pests: Successes and failures from the first billion acres

Jun 11, 2013 (SPX)

Since 1996, farmers worldwide have planted more than a billion acres (400 million hectares) of genetically modified corn and cotton that produce insecticidal pr...

China approves imports of GM soybean from Brazil

Jun 11, 2013 (AFP)

China, the main buyer of Brazilian soybeans, has approved imports of three genetically modified varieties of the crop, to be produced on a large scale in the So...

Vegetable Oil IS Good for You

Jun 11, 2013 (SPX)

A typical American consumes approximately 3 or more tablespoons of vegetable oil each day. Vegetable oils, like those from soy, corn and canola, are a significa...

China import deal boosts Argentina's genetically modified crops

Jun 11, 2013 (UPI)

Argentina is celebrating an agricultural success in China that is seen likely to blunt advocacy groups' frequent campaigns against genetically modified food cro...

Pollination merely one production factor

Jun 10, 2013 (SPX)

No food for the human race without bees? It is not quite as straightforward as that. A case study by ecologists from ETH Zurich in a coffee-growing area in Indi...

Behold the 9-day fresh strawberry

Jun 10, 2013 (SPX)

Strawberry lovers rejoice: the days of unpacking your luscious berries from the refrigerator only to find them sprouting wispy goatees of mold may be numbered. ...

Assay developed to rapidly detect disease that hurt oyster industry

Jun 10, 2013 (SPX)

Scientists in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University have developed a new, inexpensive and precise way to detect the toxin secreted by Vi...

Genetically modified cotton improves diet quality for small-scale farmers in India

Jun 10, 2013 (SPX)

Insect-resistant genetically modified (GM) cotton has significantly improved calorie consumption and dietary quality among small-scale farmers in India over a 7...

China pig farm 'pumped dissolved carcasses into river'

Jun 10, 2013 (AFP)

Authorities are reportedly probing a pig farm in central China for dissolving dead pigs in a chemical solution and pumping the resulting remains down its drains...

Czech farmers say floods will cost $100 million

Jun 10, 2013 (AFP)

Czech farmers said Monday that floods that have destroyed huge amounts of crops would cost the sector $100 million, around half the bill for the 2002 "flood of ...

China, Argentina to increase soybean, corn trade: official

Jun 09, 2013 (AFP)

Argentina and China have agreed to expand their commercial ties by increasing soybeans and corn exports to the Asian country, Buenos Aires said Saturday. "China...

Wild turkey damage to crops and wildlife mostly exaggerated

Jun 07, 2013 (SPX)

As populations of wild turkeys have increased, the number of complaints about crop damage has also increased. However, a literature review which will be publish...

World food output growth to slow: UN/OECD

Jun 06, 2013 (AFP)

Growth in global agricultural production is expected to slow in the coming decade, the UN food agency and the OECD said in a joint report Thursday, warning thre...

Stopping the worm from turning

Jun 06, 2013 (SPX)

Almost one in six people worldwide are infected by parasitic worms, while parasitic infections of livestock cause economic losses of billions of Euro per year. ...

Establishing nutritional value in copra and palm products fed to pigs

Jun 06, 2013 (SPX)

Products derived from coconuts and oil palm trees are the primary protein sources in swine diets in parts of Africa, southeast Asia, South America, and Europe. ...

China opens EU wine probe as trade dispute spreads

Jun 05, 2013 (AFP)

Beijing has begun an anti-dumping probe into European wine, the commerce ministry said Wednesday after the EU imposed tariffs on solar panel imports from China,...

Archaeological evidence points to the beginnings of viniculture in France

Jun 05, 2013 (SPX)

France is renowned the world over as a leader in the crafts of viticulture and winemaking-but the beginnings of French viniculture have been largely unknown, un...

Great Wall of trouble for Chinese farmer

Jun 05, 2013 (AFP)

At the farthest end of the Great Wall, Yang Yongfu limps along the section he arduously restored, in effect "privatising" it and putting himself on a collision ...

Investigators link poultry contamination on farm and at processing plant

Jun 05, 2013 (SPX)

Researchers at the University of Georgia, Athens, have identified a strong link between the prevalence and load of certain food-borne pathogens on poultry farms...