AgrotechA University of Queensland robot with electromagnetic soil sensors, paired with drones, found that 36 wheat varieties differ in how much water they use, when, and from what depth.
CropsScientists from India, Africa and Japan screened pearl millet lines for drought and heat tolerance, disease resistance, grain quality and fodder value at ICRISAT's biennial field day.
EnvironmentResearchers at Umeå Plant Science Centre linked a MYB transcription factor to the jigsaw shape of leaf surface cells, which become simpler when trees run short of water.
CropsGrower groups, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and North Dakota State University are testing 30 edible bean lines at five sites, irrigated and dry, to find genetics that can survive waterlogging, drought and heat across very different growing regions.
VegetablesOregon State University's Dry Farming Program is testing tomatoes, cucumber melons, sorghum and cut flowers that grow on moisture stored in the soil from winter rain, without summer irrigation.
CropsAt the Global Sorghum Conference in Lubbock, growers' leaders said new funding and gene editing could speed breeding for drought, heat and water scarcity.
AgrotechUniversity of Göttingen researchers found that the endophyte Flavo98 switches on a root-hair pathway under water stress; treated plants survived drought at about 85%, and the effect held in wheat, rapeseed, camelina and tomato.
CropsThe seed business being separated from Corteva says its Xpedite hybrid system works across all wheat germplasm tested and starts with hard red winter wheat.
