For the enhancement of cultural control, the agricultural practices such as intercropping can profoundly affect the insect pest populations. Studies were undertaken to examine the effects of intercropping wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) with canola (Brassica napus L.) on the incidence of aphid (Hemiptera: Aphididae) population and related crop yield. Study observed ...

Winter wheat is a suitable crop to be ensiled for animal feed and China has the largest planting area of this crop in the world. During the ensiling process, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) play the most important role in the fermentation. We investigated the natural population of LAB in whole-crop wheat (WCW) and examined the quality of whole-crop wheat silage (WCWS) with and without LAB inoculants...

Emmer wheat, Triticum dicoccon schrank (syn. T. dicoccum (schrank) schÜbl.), is one of the earliest domesticated crops, harboring a wide range of genetic diversity and agronomically valuable traits. The crop, however, is currently largely neglected. We provide a wealth of karyotypic information from a comprehensive collection of emmer wheat and related taxa. In addition to C-banding polymorphis...

Nitrogen is one of the most important agricultural inputs affecting crop growth, yield and quality in rain-fed cereal production. In this study an image processing based approach was used for detection of nitrogen status in winter wheat. Four N fertilization rates (0, 60, 120 and 240 kg N ha, in total) and two water regimes (irrigated and non-irrigated) were applied to winter wheat. Digital ima...

Elevated arsenic content in food crops pose a serious human health risk. Apart from rice wheat being another main food crop is possibly cultivated on contaminated sites. But for wheat uptake mechanisms are not entirely understood especially with regard to nutrient fertilization and different moisture regimes taking into account heavy rainfall events due to climate change. Here we show that espe...

Abiotic stresses such as, drought, heat, salinity, and flooding threaten global food security. Crop genetic improvement with increased resilience to abiotic stresses is a critical component of crop breeding strategies. Wheat is an important cereal crop and a staple food source globally. Enhanced drought tolerance in wheat is critical for sustainable food production and global food security. Rec...

To meet the growing demand for food, substantial improvements in yields are needed. This is particularly the case for wheat, where global yield has stagnated in recent years. Increasing photosynthesis has been identified as a primary target to achieve yield improvements. To increase leaf photosynthesis in wheat, the level of the Calvin-Benson cycle enzyme sedoheptulose-1,7-biphosphatase (SBPase...

We hypothesize that institutions such as agricultural cooperatives influence regional levels of variety diversity through input supply, processing or marketing functions. This diversity can also affect yield, a partial measure of crop productivity. We test these hypotheses with data from southern Italy, a mega-diversity spot and centre of diversity for durum wheat. Cooperatives in the southern ...