Why haven’t microbial products been more widely adopted by farmers?
Posted 14th October 2020 by Joshua Sewell
This is a question that drives me each day. Microbial products have been around for a long time; starting with rhizobium in legumes, dating back 125 years. Yet, in the United States, rhizobium inoculants have not been widely adopted by soybean farmers – some indicate less than 15% use overall in the United States. Why?
From Consortia to Recombinants: opportunities and challenges facing the next generation of microbials
Posted 24th August 2020 by Liv Sewell
In this blog post I will discuss two themes that I see driving the next generation of live microbe biologicals for agriculture. These are the rational design and delivery of pairs or consortia (which I will define as more than two microbes) and the commercialization of engineered strains.
What does international collaboration mean for you?
Posted 27th May 2020 by Liv Sewell
The present COVID-19 crisis has demonstrated the vital need for knowledge sharing across the global science community. We asked three of our speakers what international collaboration means for them as leaders in their fields.
New Breeding Techniques: cloning major resistance genes in cereals
Posted 13th March 2020 by Liv Sewell
Advances in breeding techniques for cereal crops will be a focus at the 8th Plant Genomics and Gene Editing Congress: USA. We asked Burleigh Dodds, an agricultural science publisher, to share an extract from one of their recent publications, ‘Advances in breeding techniques for cereal crops’.
Plant biotech in Europe: Present and future
Posted 4th March 2020 by Liv Sewell
Marcel Kuntz is a panellist for the panel discussion on the regulatory landscape for plant biotechnology at the 8th Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: Europe. Here he provides us with some background for the discussion.
A Universal Genetic Switch for Increasing Plant Yields, Stress Tolerance and Perishable Product Shelf Life
Posted 12th February 2020 by Joshua Sewell
Food waste is a significant problem globally and contributes to huge agricultural losses. Roughly one-third of all food is wasted: 1.3 billion tons per year. It is no surprise that the UN has a Sustainable Development Goal of cutting food waste in half by 2030.
The future of GMOs, gene editing and plant biotechnology in post-Brexit UK
Posted 10th January 2020 by Liv Sewell
Growing and selling genetically modified organisms (GMOs) is permitted in the UK but GMO products are subject to a lengthy and stringent EU authorization process. There are currently no GM crops grown commercially in the UK, but they are imported. So, what is the UK’s relationship with GM products, and where do we stand on gene editing? We spoke with Nigel Halford, Principal Research Scientist at Rothamsted Research, UK.
Sustainably Improving Crop Yield and Composition through Enhanced Photosynthesis
Posted 8th January 2020 by Joshua Sewell
Understandably, one of the main themes of the recent Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: USA was how research and industry can enable farmers and plant growers to meet the growing challenges of global food security. In his presentation, Greg Bryan introduced us to ZeaKal, a photosynthesis company developing solutions for farmers.