Using optimized monochromatic energy dispersive X-ray fluorescence to determine the cadmium concentration in cacao and soil samples.

Following the implementation of food safety limits on cadmium (Cd) in cacao products, there has been a growing demand for monitoring Cd in cacao tissues and soils. Traditional methods like acid digestion followed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) are time-consuming and costly. X-ray Fluorescence is an alternative technique that offers advantages in terms of speed, cost, ease of use and less environmental impact.

Single torradovirus infections explain the mysterious cassava frogskin disease in the Americas.

Cassava frogskin disease (CFSD) emerged in the Americas in the 1970s, but its causal agent has to date remained a mystery. The clonal propagation of cassava, high incidence of mixed infections, unknown alternative hosts, and root symptoms taking two or more crop cycles to develop, have made it difficult to identify the causal agent. Consequently, most studies on CFSD have produced a catalogue of pathogens occurring in affected plants.

Use of CLEANED to Assess the Productive, Environmental, and Economic Impact of Dairy Farms in the Peruvian Amazon.

Dairy farms in developing countries are key to fighting hunger and poverty. However, their environmental and economic impact in the tropical region of Peru has been scarcely studied. The CLEANED tool, developed by the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, allows us to assess the productive situation and the environmental and economic impact of different dairy systems.

AI-powered detection and quantification of post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) in cassava using YOLO foundation models and K-means clustering.

Background: Post-harvest physiological deterioration (PPD) poses a significant challenge to the cassava industry, leading to substantial economic losses. This study aims to address this issue by developing a comprehensive framework in collaboration with cassava breeders.

Results: Advanced deep learning (DL) techniques such as Segment Anything Model (SAM) and YOLO foundation models (YOLOv7, YOLOv8, YOLOv9, and YOLO-NAS), were used to accurately categorize PPD severity from RGB images captured by cameras or cell phones.

Identifying rice varieties for mitigating methane and nitrous oxide emissions under intermittent irrigation.

Context Or Problem: Most of the research evaluating rice varieties, a major global staple food, for greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation has been conducted under continuous flooding. However, intermittent irrigation practices are expanding across the globe to address water shortages, which could alter emissions of methane (CH) compared to nitrous oxide (NO) for reducing overall global warming potential (GWP). To develop climate-smart rice production systems, it is critical to identify rice varieties that simultaneously reduce CH and NO emissions while maintaining crop productivity under intermittent irrigation.

Carotenoid composition and sequestration in cassava (Manihot esculentum Crantz) roots.

Cassava (Manihot esculentum Crantz) is a staple food source for many developing countries. Its edible roots are high in starch but lack micronutrients such as β-carotene. In the present study, analysis of pedigree breeding populations has led to the identification of cassava accessions with enhanced β-carotene contents up to 40 μg/g DW.

Stochastic simulation to optimize rice breeding at IRRI.

Introduction: Genetic improvement in rice increased yield potential and improved varieties for farmers over the last decades. However, the demand for rice is growing while its cultivation faces challenges posed by climate change. To address these challenges, rice breeding programs need to adopt efficient breeding strategies to provide a steady increase in the rate of genetic gain for major traits.

Expression interplay of genes coding for calcium-binding proteins and transcription factors during the osmotic phase provides insights on salt stress response mechanisms in bread wheat.

Bread wheat is an important crop for the human diet, but the increasing soil salinization is reducing the yield. The Ca signaling events at the early stages of the osmotic phase of salt stress are crucial for the acclimation response of the plants through the performance of calcium-sensing proteins, which activate or repress transcription factors (TFs) that affect the expression of downstream genes. Physiological, genetic mapping, and transcriptomics studies performed with the contrasting genotypes Syn86 (synthetic, salt-susceptible) and Zentos (elite cultivar, salt-tolerant) were integrated to gain a comprehensive understanding of the salt stress response.

A socioeconomic and cost benefit analysis of Tropical Race 4 (TR4) prevention methods among banana producers in Colombia.

The global banana industry faces a significant threat from Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense Tropical Race 4 (TR4).

Participatory AI for inclusive crop improvement.

Context: Crop breeding in the Global South faces a 'phenotyping bottleneck' due to reliance on manual visual phenotyping, which is both error-prone and challenging to scale across multiple environments, inhibiting selection of germplasm adapted to farmer production environments. This limitation impedes rapid varietal turnover, crucial for maintaining high yields and food security under climate change. Low adoption of improved varieties results from a top-down system in which farmers have been more passive recipients than active participants in varietal development.

High-resolution image dataset for the automatic classification of phenological stage and identification of racemes in spp. hybrids.

grasses are widely used forages in the Neotropics and are gaining importance in other regions due to their role in meeting the increasing global demand for sustainable agricultural practices. High-throughput phenotyping (HTP) is important for accelerating breeding programs focused on improving forage and seed yield. While RGB imaging has been used for HTP of vegetative traits, the assessment of phenological stages and seed yield using image analysis remains unexplored in this genus.

Morpho-physiological and anatomical responses of two hybrids under shade: Dataset article.

Silvopastoral systems are an important strategy for sustainable livestock production. However, to expand their implementation, it is crucial to identify and develop forage materials that maintain good production and quality while being tolerant to shade conditions as well as other biotic and abiotic stresses. A field trial was conducted to evaluate the morpho-anatomical and agronomic responses of two hybrids (Camello and Talisman) under two light conditions: shade (28 % light intensity) and full exposure.

Tolerance to spittlebugs () in spp. and grasses: A dataset for plant damage phenotyping.

This dataset results from controlled experiments that assess the tolerance of spp. and grasses to nymphal and adult spittlebug damage, particularly from , which significantly impacts forage production in Neotropical regions. Data were collected under standardized conditions using high-throughput phenotyping methods, integrating image-capture techniques and analyses to ensure precise and consistent data acquisition.

Gender preferences for multiple attributes of soil and water conservation in Northern Rwanda.

Despite the dominance of female labor in agricultural production, female-controlled farm plots have lower efficiency compared to plot managed by male-headed households, which indicates a huge gender disparity in agricultural productivity. Overlooking gender preferences when designing interventions that promote the conservation of soil and water resources might face challenges in adoption and could result in ineffective policies to close the gender gap. This study seeks to analyze gender-specific preferences regarding attributes of soil and water conservation (SWC) in northern Rwanda.

Validation of SNP Markers for Diversity Analysis, Quality Control, and Trait Selection in a Biofortified Cassava Population.

A validated marker system is crucial to running an effective genomics-assisted breeding program. We used 36 Kompetitive Allele-Specific PCR (KASP) markers to genotype 376 clones from the biofortified cassava pipeline, and fingerprinted 93 of these clones with DArTseq markers to characterize breeding materials and evaluate their relationships. The discriminating ability of the 36-quality control (QC) KASP and 6602 DArTseq markers was assessed using 92 clones genotyped in both assays.

What evidence exists relating the impact of different grassland management practices to soil carbon in livestock systems? A systematic map protocol.

Background: Grasslands are essential for providing vital resources in the livestock sector and delivering invaluable ecosystem services such as biodiversity and soil carbon (C) sequestration. Despite their critical importance, these ecosystems face escalating threats from human disturbances, human degradation, and climate change, compromising their ability to effectively stock C. Restoring degraded grasslands emerges as a pragmatic and cost-effective approach to tackling climate change.

Why do rural youth migrate? Evidence from Colombia and Guatemala.

Migration, from rural to urban settings is a common phenomenon in Latin America, due to social, economic, political, and other factors. Young people in search of economic and educational opportunities, financial, and social stability, have been migrating to larger urban centers, thus crafting important shifts in rural labor, generational transfer, and domestic economies. Through a systematic literature review of scientific literature, and documents from public institutions and international organizations, published between 2012 and 2022, this article addresses rural-urban migration of youth in Colombia and Guatemala's cattle sector, particularly identifying (i) driving factors, (ii) their impacts on cattle farming, and (iii) public policies implemented to counteract prejudicial effects.

From Streets to Tables: Bottom-Up Co-creation Case Studies for Healthier Food Environments in Vietnam and Nigeria.

Current food systems fail to provide equity, sustainability, and positive health outcomes, thus underscoring the critical need for their transformation. Intervening in food environments holds substantial promise for contributing to this much-needed transformation. Despite scholars and practitioners often recognizing the necessity for bottom-up approaches, there is a dearth of empirical investigations evaluating the potential of these approaches to contribute to food system transformations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs).

Women's empowerment, household dietary diversity, and child anthropometry among vulnerable populations in Odisha, India.

Women's empowerment has been promoted by researchers and development practitioners as one of the most promising strategies to address widespread hunger and malnutrition. However, the relationship between women's empowerment and dietary diversity and child nutrition has rarely been studied among vulnerable populations or individuals at greater risk of poor physical and social health status. Moreover, the effects of different domains of women's empowerment on nutritional outcomes, including dietary diversity and child anthropometry, have rarely been examined, especially with panel data.

Seasonal Maize yield forecasting in South and East African Countries using hybrid Earth observation models.

Climate change still adversely affects agriculture in the sub-Saharan Africa. There is need to strengthen early action to bolster livelihoods and food security. Most governments use pre- and post-harvest field surveys to capture statistics for National Food Balance Sheets (NFBS) key in food policy and economic planning.

Cassava Breeding and Cultivation Challenges in Thailand: Past, Present, and Future Perspectives.

Cassava ( Crantz) was introduced to Southeast Asia in the 16th-17th centuries and has since flourished as an industrial crop. Since the 1980s, Thailand has emerged as the leading producer and exporter of cassava products. This growth coincided with the initiation of cassava breeding programs in collaboration with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), focusing on root yield and starch production.