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Agrotech, Seeds

 RDA Gene bank in South-Korea has sent maximum seed samples

                                                                                                                                                                      

Despite the pandemic, NordGen staff still regularly go to Svalbard to deposit seeds from the world’s gene banks in order to safeguard the crop diversity crucial for our future food security. This time, it carried 45 boxes with 15 000 seed samples from eight different gene banks into the Seed Vault for long-term safekeeping.

 

Soon, Svalbard is entering what is called the dark season. For the next couple of months, the sun will stay below the horizon and the northern lights and moon will provide the only natural light in the archipelago. Fortunately, the Seed Vault offers artificial light which guides NordGen’s Seed Vault Coordinator Åsmund Asdal when putting the seed boxes in place.

 

“It is amazing to see how the gene banks continue to send seed duplicates to the Seed Vault, despite the challenges the pandemic pose. It shows the commitment they have to safeguard the crop diversity we need to adapt our agriculture to the future” he said

 

This deposit includes seeds from gene banks in South-Korea, Kenya, Zambia, Cõtes d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Poland and two in Thailand. In total, 45 boxes will be put in place on the shelves of the Seed Vault. Many of the boxes have been sent from the RDA Gene bank at the National Agrobiodiversity Centre in South-Korea. They’re making their second deposit of seeds this time, sending 10 000 seed samples (accessions) from 18 different crops. They all have Korean origin and include bean, barley, rice, adzuki bean, and kidney bean.

 

“A Korean proverb says that ‘the farmer pillows his head on the seed even when he dies’. This is an example that simply shows how important genetic resources are”, said Kyo-sun Park, Director of the National Agrobiodiversity Centre. “Our priority is to preserve the Korean indigenous accessions safely from natural disasters. Natural disasters, climate change issues, and pests are all critical risk factors. Therefore, we decided to send our seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault”

 

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault has three seed chambers carved into the solid rock of the Plateau Mountain. After the middle chamber has been filled with more than 1 million accessions, seed chamber two has now been taken in use.

Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a backup facility for the crop diversity stored in the world’s gene banks. It was established and is owned by Norway and is operated in a partnership between the Norwegian Ministry for Agriculture and Food, NordGen – the gene bank of the Nordic countries, and the international organization Crop Trust.

Source- NordGen

 RDA Gene bank in South-Korea has sent

Agrotech, Europe, North America

The regenerative agriculture movement is accelerating with recent announcements from leaders such as Walmart and General Mills

US-based, Agbotic, the leader in regenerative SmartFarm technology, has announced the establishment of Agbotic Limited in Dublin, Ireland, to conduct business across Europe.

Regenerative farming cleans the air, water, and soil and can reverse climate change by rebuilding soil organic matter and restoring degraded soil biodiversity – resulting in both carbon drawdown and improving the water cycle. It can also make better food. There are significant advantages to embedding organic, soil-based greenhouses on distributed SmartFarms for regenerative agriculture. Those benefits include food security and diversity; a cleaner environment; and a year-round supply of local, organic, fresh, and nutrient-packed food. The economics are also better than with hydroponic greenhouses.

John Gaus, co-founder and CEO of Agbotic, said, “The regenerative agriculture movement is accelerating with recent announcements from leaders such as Walmart and General Mills. Agbotic has created a winning techno-economic approach and proven its technology at scale. The movement is on the rise in Europe and North America, and we expect it will be around the world. We are very excited to launch this initiative with our highly experienced team in Ireland, especially Richard Kennedy, a proven chief executive and entrepreneur in the agri-tech sector.”

 

The regenerative agriculture movement is accelerating with

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro chems – Pesticides, Finance

Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs 589 crores in comparison to Rs 504 crores for the corresponding quarter last year 

Coromandel International Limited, India’s leading agri solutions provider in the business of Fertilisers, Crop Protection, Bio Pesticides, Specialty Nutrients etc. has released the financial results for the quarter ended September 2020.

During the quarter ended September 2020, the Company’s consolidated total income stood at Rs. 4,620 crores in comparison to the corresponding quarter last year of Rs. 4,867 crores. Profit before depreciation, interest, taxes and exceptional item (EBITDA) for the quarter ended Sep 2020 has grown by 18 per cent to Rs. 845 crores vs. Rs. 713 crores during corresponding quarter of last year. Consolidated net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs. 589 crores in comparison to Rs. 504 crores for the corresponding quarter last year registering a year on year growth of 17%.

 

For the half year ended Sep 2020, the Company’s consolidated total income is Rs. 7,843 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 7,008 crores), EBITDA is Rs. 1,260 crores, grown by 39% in comparison to Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 909 crores and profit after tax has grown by 48% at Rs. 840 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 566 crores).

 

During the quarter ended Sep 2020, the Company’s standalone total income stood at Rs. 4,605 crores in comparison to the corresponding quarter last year of Rs. 4,865 crores. Profit before depreciation, interest, taxes and exceptional item (EBITDA) for the quarter ended Sep 2020 has grown by 17 per cent to Rs. 837 crores vs. Rs. 713 crores during corresponding quarter of last year. Standalone net profit after tax for the quarter is Rs. 582 in comparison to Rs. 503 crores for the corresponding quarter last year registering a year on year growth of 16%.

 

For the half year ended Sep 2020, the Company’s standalone total income is Rs. 7,828 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 7,007 crores), EBITDA is Rs. 1,250 crores, grown by 38% in comparison to Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 908 crores and profit after tax has grown by 47% at Rs. 830 crores (Half year ended Sep 2019 Rs. 566 crores).

 

Consolidated net profit after tax for the

Agro Universities, R&D

MoU to benefit of cotton farmers

The ICAR-Central Institute for Research on Cotton Technology, Mumbai, Maharashtra signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), Mumbai, Maharashtra on October 29, 2020. The collaboration aims at exchanging the expertise and facilities available from both the organizations for the ultimate benefit of cotton farmers, food processing and packaging and pharmaceutical industries. Focus will be on boosting the collaborative research in quality Improvement of Cotton Cellulosic Biopolymer by Gamma Irradiation for their use in Medical and Food Industries.

Dr P G Patil, Director, ICAR-CIRCOT, Mumbai, Maharashtra & Chairman, Coordination / Progress Review Committee, said, “The MoU would be focused on the application of Gamma radiation for improving the quality of cellulose and cotton seed protein for diversified applications, development of biodegradable packaging and functional food products from Gamma irradiated biopolymer or its nanocellulosic form.” While cellulosic biopolymer from agro-biomass has wide applications in textile, medical and food industries, the Gamma irradiation is known to improve the functionality of different polymers including cellulose and its derivatives.


MoU to benefit of cotton farmers The ICAR-Central

Agro chems – Fertilizers, India

Attributed to NFL’s awareness building in farmers

As the National Fertilizers Limited (NFL) has been continuously encouraging farmers  to use non-urea fertilizers like Diammonium Phosphate (DAP), Muriate of Potash (MoP), Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium (NPK) and Sulphur Based fertilizers, the company has been able to register growth in sale of all the non-urea fertilizers during the first seven months of the current financial year.

The sale of Sulphur based fertilizers of the company, Bentonite Sulphur, has registered a growth of 237 per cent and single super phosphate (SSP) has registered growth of 133 per cent over the corresponding period Last Year (CPLY). While Bentonite Sulphur, produced in NFL Panipat Plant, logged sale of 11,730 MT during April-October 2020 against CPLY of 3,478 MT, sale of SSP reached 14,726 MT compared to 6,323 MT during the same period last year.

“It is important to encourage use of all types of fertilizers to provide balanced nutrition to soil”, said V N Datt, CMD, NFL. Sulphur is essential to maximizing plant growth and yield. As the fourth most important nutrient, Sulphur is also required for nitrogen use efficiency. NFL markets Urea, DAP, MoP, NPKs, APS, Compost, SSP and Bentonite Sulphur besides many strains of bio-fertilizers to provide all types of fertilizers to farmers under one roof.


Attributed to NFL’s awareness building in farmers

North America, R&D

The team found that the hydrogel soil was able to retain water better than sandy soils found in dry areas

In a recent study done by the University of Texas at Austin, a new type of soil can pull water from the air and distribute it to plants, potentially expanding the map of farmable land around the globe to previously inhospitable places and reducing water use in agriculture at a time of growing droughts.

As published in ACS Materials Letters, the team’s atmospheric water irrigation system uses super-moisture-absorbent gels to capture water from the air. When the soil is heated to a certain temperature, the gels release the water, making it available to plants.

Each gram of soil can extract approximately 3-4 grams of water. Depending on the crops, approximately 0.1 to 1 kilogram of the soil can provide enough water to irrigate about a square meter of farmland.

The team ran experiments on the roof of the Cockrell School’s Engineering Teaching Center building at UT Austin to test the soil. They found that the hydrogel soil was able to retain water better than sandy soils found in dry areas, and it needed far less water to grow plants.

During a four-week experiment, the team found that its soil retained approximately 40% of the water quantity it started with. In contrast, the sandy soil had only 20% of its water left after just one week.

In another experiment, the team planted radishes in both types of soil. The radishes in the hydrogel soil all survived a 14-day period without any irrigation beyond an initial round to make sure the plants took hold. Radishes in the sandy soil were irrigated several times during the first four days of the experiment. None of the radishes in the sandy soil survived more than two days after the initial irrigation period.

The researchers envision several other applications of the technology. It could potentially be used for cooling solar panels and data centers. It could expand access to drinking water, either through individual systems for households or larger systems for big groups such as workers or soldiers.

The team found that the hydrogel soil

Agrotech

The annual survey identifies companies with the best reputations as employers, based on 21 characteristics, informed by more than 7,650 completed surveys from readers 

 

 Syngenta Group has been recognized as one of the world’s top five leading biotech employers – and the top agriculture employer – in the 2020 Science Careers Top Employers Survey. The company ranked fourth on the annual ranking of top employers in biotechnology, biopharmaceutical, pharmaceutical and related industries, marking its highest ranking ever and the 11th time in 12 years of recognition by the prestigious global survey.

The annual survey identifies companies with the best reputations as employers, based on 21 characteristics, informed by more than 7,650 completed surveys from readers of Science and other survey invitees from representative industries. An independent research firm conducts the survey and uses a mathematical process to determine the driving characteristics of a top employer and to assign a unique score to rate each company’s employer reputation. Survey participants specifically cited being an innovation leader and socially responsible among Syngenta Group’s strengths.

 

The recognition by Science magazine offers yet another proof point of Syngenta Group’s commitment to be the industry leader in technology and innovation. The Group’s mission is to deploy scientific innovations, technologies, and services to help farmers sustainably provide the world with better food, feed, fiber and fuel, while conserving resources and protecting the environment. The company continues to invest in R&D to further support growers, strengthened by a recently announced R&D innovation center in Illinois, USA, and acquisitions of Sensako and a leading Biologicals company, Valagro.

 

“Our global Seeds business is focused on delivering exceptional value to growers today and the next big innovation advancements that will shape agriculture in the future. This will involve bringing together existing and new biotechnology and native traits, combined with digital and data science, enabling us to better understand genetic diversity and redesign crops to maximize yield and product utility,” said Jeff Rowe, President Syngenta Seeds. “By combining science disciplines, we’re able to bring more genetic and trait choice to growers around the world. Our great scientists are providing farmers with the best products and technology to help them thrive in challenging environments.”

 

 

The annual survey identifies companies with the

Agro chems – Pesticides, Finance, Seeds

Business was down in North America in particular, while sales increased in the Asia/Pacific region. 

 

 In the agricultural business (Crop Science), sales declined by 11.6 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) to 3.028 billion euros. Business was down in North America in particular, while sales increased in the Asia/Pacific region. Global sales at Corn Seed & Traits fell by 39.9 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), with substantial declines in North America in particular due to higher product returns and lower license revenues arising from lower than anticipated planted acreages for corn this year. At Herbicides, sales declined by 12.7 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.) against the strong prior-year quarter. Business was primarily down in the North America region, where sales in the prior year had shifted into the third quarter due to extreme weather conditions in the first half of the year.

 

Sales at Soybean Seed & Traits were level with the prior-year period (Fx & portfolio adj. plus 0.2 percent), with growth in Latin America offsetting lower volumes in North America. Sales at Fungicides advanced by 12.0 percent (Fx & portfolio adj.), with growth across all regions. In Latin America, Bayer primarily benefited from the market switching to the Fox Xpro™ product in Brazil.

 

EBITDA before special items at Crop Science decreased to minus 34 million euros (Q3 2019: plus 500 million euros). The decline was mainly due to the decrease in sales in North America, which was primarily attributable to the developments relating to product returns. There was also a negative currency effect of 123 million euros.

 

In October there was some encouraging news from the United States, with the country’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcing a new five-year registration for the dicamba-based XtendiMax™ herbicide with VaporGrip™ Technology, an important weed-control tool for many U.S. growers. The news puts an end to the uncertainty following a U.S. court decision in June that prohibited the use of dicamba.

Summarizing the company’s business performance, Chief Financial Officer Wolfgang Nickl said: “We saw a challenging quarter in our agricultural business, a recovery in our pharmaceuticals business and strong growth at Consumer Health.” Employee safety during the pandemic remains a top priority for Bayer. The company has implemented a wide range of protective measures to ensure that it can continue to provide patients, farmers and consumers with a reliable supply of products, especially life-saving medicines.

Business was down in North America in

Oilseeds, R&D

Farmers to soon have access to online marketplace via app and portal

A collaboration between Pure Scan AI and ICRISAT to create a portable aflatoxin detector has won the Inspire Challenge by the CGIAR Big Data Platform at the recent Big Data Convention, earning a $100,000 grant to build and scale up the device. Utilizing the blacklight fluorescence feature of aflatoxin, this device captures the fluorescence by cameras with filters.

Images are processed and the fluorescence degree and pattern are fed into a learning model that predicts the quantity of aflatoxin present in the sample to an accuracy of 1 part per billion error margin.

Aflatoxin – a carcinogenic mycotoxin found in groundnut (and other produce e.g. maize, chillies, rice, tree nuts etc.) produced by a fungus Aspergillus flavus – can cause liver damage, malnutrition, immune suppression and cancer. Aflatoxin contamination is also responsible for millions of dollars in trade loss for farmers, processors and exporters. At present, there is a dearth of affordable and accessible tests to detect aflatoxin in agricultural produce. 

While more work needs to be done to bring this innovation to the farmer, including the creation of an android app and a web platform, the innovators are hopeful that the device will soon enable farmers to access online marketplaces for a fair price on their high-quality produce free of aflatoxin. 

 

Farmers to soon have access to online

Agro Universities, R&D, Webinar

The webinar discussed the role of tubers in mitigating climate change consequences

The ICAR-Central Tuber Crops Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, recently organized an online International Webinar on ’Harnessing the Potential of Tropical Tuber Crops under Changing Climate (HPTTC) – 2020’ on November 2020. Attended by a total of 958 participants and 300 delegates, the webinar was aimed at having an insight into the Tropical Tuber Crops’ role as food security crops under the variable climates.

Emphasizing on the Tropical Tuber Crops’ role in mitigating the climate change consequences. the Chief Guest, Dr Anand Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticultural Science), ICAR stressed on conserving the natural resources and sustainability in view of the climate change.

Dr Jan W Low, World Food Prize Laureate & Principal Scientist, International Potato Centre, CIP, Nairobi Centre, Kenya stressed on caliber of climate-resilient orange-fleshed sweet potato in combating the hidden hunger and malnutrition, thereby, uplifting the socio-economic status of the people of Sub-Saharan African regions. The special guest, Dr Vikramaditya Pandey, Assistant Director General (Horticultural Science), ICAR highlighted the Tropical Tuber Crops’ significance.

The webinar discussed the role of tubers

E-commerce, IT, Machinery - Pre-harvesting

It aims to provide technology driven services which are progressive, affordable and accessible to farmers. 

  Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.’s Farm Equipment Sector (FES) has launched six Krish-e centres in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.  These e- centres are opened in Mahbubnagar, Miryalaguda and Kamareddy towns in Telangana and Tadepalligudem, Nandyal and Tenali in Andhra Pradesh.

These centres are a part of Mahindra’s new ’farming as a service’ business. Krish-e is a business vertical that provides technology driven services which are progressive, affordable and accessible to farmers.

“We are happy that Krish-e is rolling out its centres in the 75th year of the Mahindra Group. Krish-e is an innovative new business vertical conceived with the idea of ushering in a new digital age of farming in India,” said Hemant Sikka, president, FES, Mahindra & Mahindra.

Sikka also added that  it aims to transform the lives of farmers, by helping them adopt better more effective farming techniques powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and digital solutions that are affordable and accessible paving the way for increased productivity and profitability. Through Krish-e, we at Mahindra are engaging with our farmers more deeply and creating stronger relationships.

 

It aims to provide technology driven services

Agro chems – Chemicals, Agro chems – Pesticides, IT, R&D, World

App seamlessly works in offline and online mode

Developing late-blight resistant potatoes has long been a priority for breeders, and hundreds of resistant varieties have been released in the past century. However, because of the pathogen’s ability to evolve ways to overcome the resistance of widely cultivated varieties, farmers still need to apply fungicides, and it is hard for them to know when and how much to apply. Willmer Perez, plant pathologist at International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru, and his team have developed an easy-to-use decision support tool to help farmers optimize their fungicide use, in order to ensure good harvests while reducing production costs and health and environmental risks.

Perez and colleagues have designed a decision support tool that consists of sets of cardboard discs in concentric circles, which farmers align based on the variety they are growing, recent weather conditions and the last time they applied fungicides to determine when they should apply that agrochemical again. After testing this low-tech tool with farmers in Ecuador and Peru, to validate its effectiveness, the team designed a mobile phone app based on it. The original phone app can be used in areas without cellphone coverage, but a new version accesses weather forecast data on the internet to inform its recommendations. Nevetheless, both versions can work offline, so farmers can use them regardless of whether they have cellphone access.

App seamlessly works in offline and online

Agro chems – Pesticides, Agro Universities, R&D

Partnership aims to trigger the indigenous formulation technologies

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Directorate of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research (ICAR-DMAPR), Anand, Gujarat, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Institute of Pesticide Formulation Technology (IPFT), Gurugram, Haryana on October 28, 2020. The MoU aims at facilitating the field the testing of new formulation of insecticides / adjuvant / synergist / botanicals / entomopathogens by the ICAR-DMAPR and formulation technology of formulation by the IPFT and subsequently, product development and its commercialization for farmers and stakeholders.


Dr Satyajit Roy, Director, ICAR-DMAPR, Anand, Gujarat emphasized that the partnership program would trigger the indigenous formulation technologies based on medicinal and aromatic plants. Dr Jitendra Kumar, Director, IPFT, Gurugram, Haryana said that the association will go a long way in the area of research and development and other outreach programmes.

Partnership aims to trigger the indigenous

Agrotech, E-commerce, Water

The piping solution for above and below-ground drip irrigation systems makes farming simplified. 

 

 Netafim India, a leading smart irrigation solution provider, has launched FlexNet™ – a revolutionary mainline and sub-mainline piping for above and below-ground drip irrigation systems for Indian farmers to make farming simplified. This multifaceted piping solution could be adapted for any type of rabi, Kharif, vegetables, cucurbits, or other crops verities that uses drip irrigation in the row beds. The product has been unveiled by Randhir Chauhan Managing Director – Netafim India on the social media platforms and witnessed by 25 lac farmers across the country.

 

Netafim’s FlexNet™ differs from the traditional PVC as well as lay flat tubing systems majorly in terms of portability and convenience. One of the most salient aspects of the product is that due to its lightweight and sturdiness, installation and usability becomes much expedient for farmers. Due to low product weight, customized outlets spacing, and specially designed dripline connectors, farmers could easily layout and retrieve these portable pipes. These features reduce the installation time and manpower-cost up to 30% for farmers when compared to a typical PVC and layflat installation. Product longevity is achieved through patented material and weaving technology that provides both strength and flexibility of folding for easy transportation. The integral welded connectors ensure a secure, leak-proof connection between distribution pipes and laterals to increase the irrigation efficiency, thereby permitting uniform water distribution for better crop yield.

Expressing his thoughts on the launch, Randhir Chauhan, Managing Director – Netafim India, commented, “Netafim India is committed to offer unmatched modern farming solution to the Indian farmers. Even with India’s agricultural sector being predominated by small landholdings, we cannot let the opportunity to assimilate latest technological innovations escape any Indian farmer. The introduction of FlexNet™ is centred on this very objective to make #FarmingSimplified. Rooted in technological excellence, the piping solution aims to lend farmers greater support and autonomy over their fields.”

Netafim India, through the launch of FlexNet™ aims to cover 1 lac hectare of land under irrigation and reach 50,000 farmers across India in the upcoming year.

The piping solution for above and below-ground