A crop-killing fungus is spreading out of Africa towards the world’s great wheat-growing areas IT IS sometimes called the “polio of agriculture”: a terrifying but almost forgotten disease. Wheat rust is not just back after a 50-year absence, but spreading in new and scary forms. In some ways it is worse than child-crippling polio, still lingering in parts of Nigeria. Wheat rust has spread silently and speedily by 5,000 miles in...
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Monsoon takes a pause
A combination of unfavourable atmospheric patterns have delayed the revival and further advance of the monsoon which has not moved to cover more of the subcontinent for over 12 days. While the monsoon had covered half the country by mid-June, its northern limit has not shifted since June 18. It is currently passing through Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Indore, Pendra, Daltonganj, Gaya and Muzaffarpur. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted last Friday that...
More »Energy drinks could be harmful by Jayashree Nandi
Tired, bored? Next time you reach for that can of energy drink, pause. For, the food safety authority cautions against excessive use. Energy drinks of various brands that have flooded the market and are available over the counter — in cigarette shops, pubs and even departmental stores — are the new manna for the youth. Precisely why the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now proposed a...
More »Hot nights to bite Basmati by GS Mudur
Warmer nights may spoil the aroma of basmati and cause the rice to become sticky when cooked, Scientists have warned after a study of how climate change may affect the quality of rice. Field experiments by Scientists at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, suggest that high temperatures could hurt the quality of rice through loss of aroma and changes in starch leading to higher stickiness. Several previous studies have...
More »Govt lets 30 lakh tonnes of paddy rot by Manish Tiwari
Even as the Centre is redrafting the Food Security Bill to ensure availability of food for all, nearly 30 lakh tonnes of paddy — the rice from which could feed around 4 lakh people for a month — have been left to rot in Punjab, with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) refusing to lift the stock. This particular variety of paddy, PAU 201, was developed by Punjab Agricultural University, and...
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