According to the Agriculture Directorate of the European Commission, sunflower production in Bulgaria is expected to reach a 24-year peak of 2.08 million tons in 2017. The forecast sunflower seed output in Bulgaria in 2017 is 15.7% higher year-on-year, which is the highest growth rate among EU Member States, the …
Researchers in China have developed a genetic engineering approach capable of delivering many genes at once and used it to make rice endosperm (seed tissue that provides nutrients to the developing plant embryo) produce high levels of antioxidant-boosting pigments called anthocyanins. The resulting purple endosperm rice holds potential for decreasing …
Researchers from Japan have discovered a new, yet simple, way to increase drought tolerance in a wide range of plants. Published in Nature Plants, the study reports a newly discovered biological pathway that is activated in times of drought. By working out the details of this pathway, scientists were able …
A high quality genome sequence of apple is published in Nature Genetics by an international team of scientists from France, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and South Africa. The publication of the sequence facilitates faster and more targeted breeding of new apple varieties with increased disease resistance and better fruit quality. …
Imaginature Ltd is a company specialized in cut-flower development. Recently, the company has applied for approval from the National Biosafety Authority (NBA) in Kenya for open field trials related to growing GM Gypsophila in the country. Usually the flowers of Gypsophila or also known as “Baby’s Breath” are white in …
In a recent study published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, a team of Chinese researchers with Pengcheng Wang as a leading author from the Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, Hubei, China, presented a successful attempt to simultaneously edit several loci in the genome of cotton. For this purpose, the scientists have …
The completion of the chickpea genome sequencing a few years ago opened new horizons for the scientists to both further study the function of the identified genes and for respective crop improvement based on the obtained knowledge. According to Bunyamin Tar’an, associate professor and chickpea breeder at the University of …
The international scientist team has published the first sunflower genome sequence in June in the journal Nature. This new resource will assist future research programs using genetic tools to improve crop resilience and oil production. Known for its beauty and also as an important source of food, the sunflower is …
Pectate lyase genes are known to be potential candidates for enhancing the firmness of fruits. However, the potential of these genes to increase the shelf life of fruits after harvesting has not been fully investigated. In a recently published article in the Plant Biotechnology Journal, a team of scientists with …
Double-cropped soybean (Glycine max) is often associated with restricted vegetative growth before flowering. This problem could be overcome by delaying the flowering of the plants. Recently a team of Chinese scientists from the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences with Yupeng Cai as a leading researcher published a paper in Plant …
