Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History

UMD researchers offer the possibility of whole genomic monitoring as a viable strategy to save crops and prevent economic losses

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, January 5, 2022
UMD, Pesticide, Adoption, Plant, University, Department, National, Entomology, Solution, University of Maryland, College Park, Bacteria, Gene, National academy, Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Genome, Agriculture, PNAS

In recent years, the scientific community has introduced Bt crops, which produce bacterial proteins to protect the plants from insect feeding damage.

Key Points: 
  • In recent years, the scientific community has introduced Bt crops, which produce bacterial proteins to protect the plants from insect feeding damage.
  • They are a safe and environmentally friendly way to manage insect pests, but the effectiveness of these crops has eroded as pests continue to adapt.
  • "This strengthens our case that genomic monitoring has the potential to detect resistance early, before it becomes problematic," says Taylor.
  • "Our findings suggest that genomic monitoring is a promising new approach for slowing or preventing widespread pest resistance to any management strategy, not just Bt crops," says Fritz.

Heliospectra and the LEDs Make it Resilient Research Consortium Initiates New Project with Focus on Light and Biocontrol Agents

Retrieved on: 
Thursday, November 4, 2021
Lighting, Research, Defense, Growth, LED, Behavior, Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, Wageningen, Horticulture, Wageningen University & Research, Doctor of Philosophy, Light-emitting diode, ResearchGate, Plant, Light, Temperature, Science, MITES, Department, Renewable energy, Agriculture

LEDs Make it Resilient is a 4-year Ph.D. program run by an interdisciplinary team at Wageningen University with three Ph.D. candidates.

Key Points: 
  • LEDs Make it Resilient is a 4-year Ph.D. program run by an interdisciplinary team at Wageningen University with three Ph.D. candidates.
  • The tests will be conducted in greenhouse conditions in Radix, Wageningen, and at the Greenlab of Biobest in Belgium.
  • The findings of our research will thus have implications for the wider use of LEDs for sustainable greenhouse horticulture.
  • "The focus on this research project - how to use LEDs for making the crop resilient to biotic stresses - is very important as it addresses a major problem in today's horticultural production.

BeeHero Lands $19M to Scale Data-Driven Precision Pollination and Transform the Global Food Crisis

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, October 20, 2021
Olam, Giant, IOT, Royal commission, Nematology, University of California, Davis, Technology, Rabobank, Department of Entomology, National Museum of Natural History, MD, BIRD Foundation, Asian giant hornet, Good Company, USDA, Growth, Fruit, Innovation, Farmer, Method, Department, ADM Capital Foundation, Olam International, AGH, Artificial intelligence, PALO, Bee, Entomology, Forestry, CEO, Health, European Commission, University, Industry, Database, Hope, UN, Food, Pollination, Population, Israel Innovation Authority, Mortality, Movement, Agriculture, Beekeeping

New plans include ramping up the company's end-to-end services for major food growing operations on an accelerated path to becoming the largest pollination provider in the US and helping solve the global food crisis.

Key Points: 
  • New plans include ramping up the company's end-to-end services for major food growing operations on an accelerated path to becoming the largest pollination provider in the US and helping solve the global food crisis.
  • "BeeHero continues to drive transformation in the pollination industry," said Richard O'Gorman, MD of the Rabo Food & Agri Innovation Fund.
  • "Solving the global food crisis depends on conjoining efforts of growers and beekeepers to scale their operations, incrementally innovating current and generational knowledge and processes," said Omer Davidi, CEO of BeeHero.
  • With millions of dollars in revenues since launch, BeeHero is rapidly becoming the largest pollination provider in the US by augmenting the precision agriculture movement.