AGRI NEWS NET

Pears are woody trees and shrubs in the genus Pyrus. No one is sure how many Pyrus species there are — it could be anything between 20 and 80. Part of the confusion stems from the natural tendency of pear species to hybridise.Genetic studies show that pears fall into two major geographically separated groups: Asian and Occidental.

The Nationals say joining the global push to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas by 30% would ‘take away the backyard barbecue’. We look at the facts

Headlines of the week

Various industries are searching for emission reduction tactics as eco-consumer rates in the United States rise. The agricultural sector is a significant polluter, requiring technological advancement to enhance sustainability. Environmentalists are exploring the cross benefits of using solar power to support farming.

Researchers at McMaster University have created a powerful new weapon against bacterial contamination and infection. They have developed a way to coax bacteriophages—harmless viruses that eat bacteria—into linking together and forming microscopic beads. Those beads can safely be applied to food and other materials to rid them of harmful pathogens such as E. coli 0157. Each bead is about 20 microns, (one 50th of a millimeter) in diameter and is loaded with millions of phages.

A new campaign is calling for livestock farming to be replaced by a technology that creates protein in micro-organism tanks.  Precision fermentation (PF) is a form of brewing, which sees microflora like yeast or bacteria be genetically engineered to make proteins or fats (rather than beer or bread). This, campaigners say, means that we can create the same ingredients found in animal meat, without the animals. 

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The Horn of Africa experiences two rainy seasons per year. The timing varies across the region, but rains broadly fall from March to May (the “long rains”) and from September to December