Agriculture

Monarch Tractor showcases ‘world’s first fully electric, driver-optional tractor’

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Monarch Tractor has been showcasing what it says is “the world’s first fully electric, driver-optional tractor” and has been selected for 2022 CES Innovation Award in the process.

The annual CES competition honors outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products.

Monarch says it has been named a CES 2022 Innovation Awards Honoree and was honored in the Robotics category for its flagship MK-V tractor, which it says is “the first to deliver a convergence of electrification, automation and data analysis that empowers sustainable farming, increases efficiency and safety, and maximizes profitability for farmers”. [Read more…] about Monarch Tractor showcases ‘world’s first fully electric, driver-optional tractor’

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USC study shows dire impacts downstream of Nile River dam

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Rapid filling of a giant dam at the headwaters of the Nile River – the world’s biggest waterway that supports millions of people – could reduce water supplies to downstream Egypt by more than one-third, new USC research shows.

A water deficit of that magnitude, if unmitigated, could potentially destabilize a politically volatile part of the world by reducing arable land in Egypt by up to 72%. The study projects that economic losses to agriculture would reach $51 billion. The gross domestic product loss would push unemployment to 24%, displacing lots of people and disrupting economies.

“Our study forecasts dire water supply impacts downstream, causing what would be the largest water stress dispute in modern human history,” said Essam Heggy, a research scientist at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering and lead author of the study. [Read more…] about USC study shows dire impacts downstream of Nile River dam

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Compost improves apple orchard sustainability

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As the saying goes, an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But what’s the key to growing a quality apple?

Apple trees need access to important nutrients, which come from the soil. However, soil is quite different from orchard to orchard.

Gregory Peck studies how sustainable orchard practices can improve the availability of nutrients. The research was recently shared in Soil Science Society of America Journal, a publication of the Soil Science Society of America. [Read more…] about Compost improves apple orchard sustainability

Untapped rice varieties could sustain crop supplies in face of climate change

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Local rice varieties in Vietnam could be used to help breed improved crops with higher resilience to climate change, according to a new study published in Rice.

Earlham Institute researchers are part of an international collaboration with genebanks and rice breeders in Vietnam – championed by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to help abolish world poverty and hunger – are aiming to identify varieties that can survive an increasingly unpredictable climate.

The new genomic data they have generated will significantly support efforts to breed resilient rice crops for optimum global production. [Read more…] about Untapped rice varieties could sustain crop supplies in face of climate change

Aquaponics treatment system inspired by sewage plants grows tastier crops and keeps fish healthy

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A current challenge for sustainable aquaculture is how to increase the quantities of farmed fish while also reducing waste products that can lead to the accumulation of harmful fish sludge.

New research aims to understand how this fish waste can be treated for use in aquaponics systems, by removing excessive carbon, yet preserving the mineral nutrients required by plants to grow.

In this study in Frontiers in Plant Science, researchers from the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, demonstrate a novel and effective way to convert this fish sludge into plant fertilizer and therefore improving the nutrients available for plants in hydroponic plant cultivation. [Read more…] about Aquaponics treatment system inspired by sewage plants grows tastier crops and keeps fish healthy

UMass Amherst food scientists aim to make plant-based protein tastier and healthier

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As meat-eating continues to increase around the world, food scientists are focusing on ways to create healthier, better-tasting and more sustainable plant-based protein products that mimic meat, fish, milk, cheese and eggs.

It’s no simple task, says renowned food scientist David Julian McClements, University of Massachusetts Amherst Distinguished Professor and lead author of a paper in the new Nature journal, Science of Food, that explores the topic.

“With Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods and other products coming on the market, there’s a huge interest in plant-based foods for improved sustainability, health and ethical reasons,” says McClements, a leading expert in food design and nanotechnology, and author of Future Foods: How Modern Science Is Transforming the Way We Eat. [Read more…] about UMass Amherst food scientists aim to make plant-based protein tastier and healthier

Role of women highlighted in study focused on the benefits of good farmer seed production

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A new study looking at the benefits of good farmer seed production suggests women need more support to participate in contract farming – to the same extent as their male counterparts – and have more equality along the whole food value chain. 

The CABI-led research – which sought to assess the benefits of good farmer seed production through a case study of the Good Seed Initiative in Tanzania – reveals that while around 70% of the labour to grow African Indigenous Vegetables (AIVs) is provided by women only 10 to 30% are contract farmers who own the fields, make decisions on sales and control revenues.

The paper, led by Dr Monica Kansiime and published in the journal Agriculture and Food Security, argues that the adoption of gender-inclusive approaches in contract farming arrangements is “paramount” and can have multiple benefits including shared decision-making amongst men and women. [Read more…] about Role of women highlighted in study focused on the benefits of good farmer seed production

Researchers develop prototype of robotic device to pick, trim button mushrooms

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Researchers in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences have developed a robotic mechanism for mushroom picking and trimming and demonstrated its effectiveness for the automated harvesting of button mushrooms.

In a new study, the prototype, which is designed to be integrated with a machine vision system, showed that it is capable of both picking and trimming mushrooms growing in a shelf system.

The research is consequential, according to lead author Long He, assistant professor of agricultural and biological engineering, because the mushroom industry has been facing labor shortages and rising labor costs. Mechanical or robotic picking can help alleviate those problems. [Read more…] about Researchers develop prototype of robotic device to pick, trim button mushrooms

New mechanism to control tomato ripening discovered

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An international research group involving the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology of Plants (IBMCP), a joint centre of the Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), has discovered that a genetic mechanism, called CHLORAD, which is involved in the ageing of plant leaves, also plays a decisive role in the tomato ripening process.

Thus, tomatoes with an activated CHLORAD system turn red more quickly, and accumulate more lycopene, a compound beneficial to health. The results, which have been published in the latest issue of the journal Nature Plants, will lead to better quality tomatoes.

The ripening of most fleshy fruits gives them attractive colours and smells, which is a trick of the plant to spread its seeds more widely and colonise new territories. In tomatoes, ripening changes their colour from green to orange and red. [Read more…] about New mechanism to control tomato ripening discovered

New smartphone app predicts vineyard yields earlier, more accurately

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Cornell University engineers and plant scientists have teamed up to develop a low-cost system that allows grape growers to predict their yields much earlier in the season and more accurately than costly traditional methods.

The new method allows a grower to use a smartphone to record video of grape vines while driving a tractor or walking through the vineyard at night. Growers may then upload their video to a server to process the data. The system relies on computer-vision to improve the reliability of yield estimates.

Traditional methods for estimating grape cluster numbers are often done manually by workers, who count a subset of clusters on vines and then scale their numbers up to account for the entire vineyard. This strategy is laborious, costly and inaccurate, with average cluster count error rates of up to 24% of actual yields. The new method cuts those maximum average error rates by almost half. [Read more…] about New smartphone app predicts vineyard yields earlier, more accurately