Tag Archives: soil

A neonic that’s bad news for birds

Posted on July 25, 2014 by argylesock

Here in Europe, three insect-killing neonicotinoids are under a temporary ban. One of the banned neonics is called imidacloprid. Six months into the neonic ban, here’s new science about imidacloprid and insect-eating birds in the Netherlands. The chemical and biotech … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged apple, arthropod, Bayer, bird, crop, DDT, ecosystem, Europe, European Food Safety Authority, history, imidacloprid, insect, insecticide, insectivore, invertebrate, knowledge, law, pest control, pesticide, plant_dicot, poison, pollution, research, seed, seedling, soil, sugar beet, tomato, vertebrate, water, wildlife | 2 Comments

Seed banks in soil

Posted on June 15, 2014 by argylesock

Chris at woodlands.co.uk tells us about ‘soil seed banks’. Growers and farmers know very well how seeds can live in soil, ready to germinate when conditions change. This can be wonderful, terrible or both. Chris’s article stirs an old seedbank … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged bog, bryophyte, conservation, ecosystem, farmer, gardener, habitat restoration, keystone species, landscape, mining, moss, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, seed, seedbank, soil, wetland | Leave a comment

What is biodiverse food?

Posted on June 13, 2014 by argylesock

Ann Tutwiler of Bioversity International tells us why in the 21st century, we need biodiverse food. And she tells us what that could mean. Ms Tutwiler doesn’t mince her words, saying that a need for dramatically increased food production is … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged amaranth, banana, barley, biodiversity, biotechnology, cacao, cassava, climate, commodity, corn, crop, development, fertiliser, food, food security, food sovereignty, fossil fuel, foxtail millet, genetic diversity, grain, grass, Green Revolution, grocery, knowledge, maize, neglected crop, oats, pearl millet, plantain, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, pollution, potato, poverty, prosperity, public_private partnership, quinoa, research, rice, rye, small millet, smallholder, soil, sorghum, staple food, supermarket, sustainable, teff, trade, water, wheat, wild rice | 3 Comments

Real impact of neonicotinoid seed dressings stays buried

Posted on May 14, 2014 by argylesock

A temporary European ban on three insect-killing chemicals called neonicotinoids has been in force since December 2013. These neonics are called clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. They’re used as seed dressings and soil treatments, among other things. Just after this ban … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology | Tagged arthropod, barley, clothianidin, crop, Europe, flower, grain, honeybee, hymenopteran, imidacloprid, insect, insecticide, law, millet, neonicotinoid, oats, plant_monocot, pollination, pollution, rice, rye, seed, seed dressing, soil, sorghum, sowing, staple food, thiamethoxam, triticale, waterway, wheat, wild bee | 8 Comments

The Value of Soil

Posted on April 23, 2014 by argylesock

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=403sT9CGRl0 A clever little film from the ELD Initiative (http://eld-initiative.org/) on the value of soil and the reasons why we should be pursuing sustainable land management systems.

Posted in agriculture, ecology, food, horticulture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged conservation, land grab, land use, soil, sustainable | Leave a comment

Fertilisers destabilise grasslands

Posted on March 21, 2014 by argylesock

Here’s new evidence that fertilising grasslands can make them less stable. Therefore, fertilised grasslands might become more vulnerable to climate change. This is a serious matter in our hungry world. Here’s the science. This research was led by Andy Hector … Continue reading →

Posted in ecology, food | Tagged academia, biodiversity, climate, ecosystem, eutrophic, fertiliser, food security, grassland, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, research, soil | Leave a comment

An organic farmer walks into Monsanto

Posted on February 1, 2014 by argylesock

The biotechnology giant Monsanto says that it’s ‘improving agriculture, improving lives.’ Do you agree? Monsanto is a chemical company. Some of its efforts to improve agriculture involve agrochemicals and genetically modified (GM, genetically engineered, GE) seeds to be planted where … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer, money and trade | Tagged arthropod, biotechnology, breeding, Bt crop, Bt toxin, climate, climate-ready crop, crop, crop variety, development, farmer, genetic modification, herbicide, insect, insecticide, Monsanto, organic, patent, pest, pesticide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, politics, Roundup, Roundup Ready crop, seed, soil, sustainable, trade, weed | 4 Comments

Making grass greener: CIAT breeds tropical pasture that suppresses greenhouse gas emissions

Posted on September 29, 2013 by argylesock

Originally posted on ILRI Clippings:
Guillermo Sotelo of CIAT’s entomology team, working with brachiaria grass in a greenhouse at the institution’s headquarters in Colombia (picture credit: CIAT/Neil Palmer). ‘. . . On 13 September, researchers announced that they have bred…

Posted in agriculture, knowledge transfer | Tagged air, biotechnology, brachialactone, breeding, crop rotation, fertiliser, genetic modification, grass, grassland, knowledge, legume, nitrogen, nitrous oxide, plant_dicot, plant_monocot, research, selective breeding, soil | Leave a comment

Bracken

Posted on September 7, 2013 by argylesock

If you’re in the British uplands, you’ll be very familiar with bracken (Pteridium aquilinum). It’s part of our landscapes here, beautiful but not always good news. Robin J Pakeman at Animal Briefs tells us about bracken. It’s a native species … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, ecology, horticulture, knowledge transfer | Tagged academia, Asulam, bracken, ecosystem, farmer, fern, gardener, glyphosate, herbicide, invasive species, landscape, law, livestock, native species, pH, poison, rhizome, Roundup, shade, soil, spore, weed | 3 Comments

Sustainable rice intensification

Posted on September 2, 2013 by argylesock

Here’s a think tank called the Institute for Food and Development Policy (Food First). Food First isn’t for profit. It’s worth watching. At Food First, Hellin Brink tells us about Sustainable Rice Intensification (SRI, also known as the System of … Continue reading →

Posted in agriculture, food, knowledge transfer | Tagged Asia, biotechnology, breeding, conservation, crop, crop diversity, development, farmer, fertiliser, finance, food, genetic modification, Golden Rice, grain, Green Revolution, history, intensive, International Rice Research Institute, knowledge, local variety, plant_monocot, politics, pollution, poverty, research, rice, selective breeding, smallholder, soil, staple food, sustainable, System of Rice Intensification | 2 Comments