- Author: Pamela Kan-Rice
Agricultural advances draw opposition that blunts innovation
(Science) Anne Q. Hoy, June 29
Scientists are using technology to expand global food production and ease its environmental impact, but advances are being challenged by claims that lack scientific evidence and raise public distrust and concern, a leading agricultural scientist told an American Association for the Advancement of Science audience.
Alison Van Eenennaam traced the advent of campaigns against agricultural innovations related to areas from cattle and chicken production systems to plant biotechnology. The impact such efforts are having on agricultural advances was the focus of the ninth annual AAAS Charles Valentine Riley...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Southern blight, a plant disease that commonly shows up in warm-weather locales, has long been a problem in Kern County potatoes, but in recent years the disease has been a more frequent complication for farmers, reported David Eddy in Growing Produce. UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Joe Nunez told the reporter that the seeming increase in Southern blight severity may stem from the conversion of cotton acreage to vegetables, such as tomatoes.
“Cotton is such a woody, hardy plant it doesn’t get injured,” says Nunez. “Tomatoes get it bad.”
