IRAD is a French agricultural research organization working for development in the South and the French overseas regions.
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Sugarcane was the last major cultivated plant to have its genome sequenced. This was because of its huge complexity: The genome comprises between 10 and 12 copies of each chromosome, while the human genome has just two. It ...
Biotechnology
Jul 12, 2018
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46
The desert locust is an invasive species that is both well known and feared because of the large-scale agricultural damage it can cause. It is particularly closely monitored to prevent the risks of outbreaks and invasions. ...
Ecology
Sep 11, 2017
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7
In Africa, the development of organic agriculture is facing specific challenges because of the need to achieve food security for a rapidly expanding population and the persistent low chemical input use for producing food ...
Environment
Oct 31, 2018
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12
By 2050, the world will have almost 10 billion people. It will be impossible to feed everyone without exacerbating poverty, accelerating deforestation and increasing GHG emissions unless we start making substantial changes ...
Environment
Dec 6, 2018
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10
While almost 80% of countries say they count agriculture as a possible way of mitigating climate change, the whole of sub-Saharan Africa—2 billion people to be fed by 2050—recognizes the need to adapt agriculture to climate ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 4, 2018
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3
Did you know that in addition to producing paper pulp and firewood, eucalyptus is used by scientists to study how trees function in tropical climates, just as poplar is used for temperate climates? Eucalyptus originated in ...
Environment
Sep 18, 2018
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10
Endogenous viral elements are viral sequences integrated into the nuclear genome of their host. They are veritable molecular fossils that prove infections that may have happened millions of years ago, and studying them can ...
Biotechnology
Jan 29, 2018
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11
Though often perceived as an environmentally-risky practice, biological control of invasive species can restore crop yields, ease land pressure and contribute to forest conservation. This paper illustrates the positive impacts ...
Ecology
Jan 7, 2019
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8
Basic density is widely used to compute carbon storage by trees. A formula used to calculate basic wood density has recently been corrected. Researchers estimate that the error in the initial formula resulted in an overestimation ...
Environment
Oct 17, 2018
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9
Researchers from CIRAD and INRA recently showed that inactivating a gene, RECQ4, leads to a three-fold increase in recombination in crops such as rice, pea and tomato. The gene inhibits the exchange of genetic material via ...
Plants & Animals
Dec 3, 2018
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11
