NEWS FROM
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
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Published monthly on behalf of SPPS by Wiley-Blackwell.
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UV-B radiation gives organic farming an edge
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Ultraviolet-B radiation is harmful to plants and lowers the yield, but it might be even more harmful to herbivory insects. This seems to have the surprising consequence, that UV-B radiation will reduce yield in conventional farming, where herbivors are controlled by pesticides, whereas it can acutally improve yield in organic farming, where the crop is more prone to attack by insects. Carlos Mazza and colleagues from Universidad de Buenos Aires in Argentina grew soy bean under different management practices while covered with film that either let UV-B radiation through or protected the crop from it. The results showed that UV-B radiation actually improved soy bean yield under organic management practice, while the opposite - as expected - was true for the conventionally grown crop. It is unclear how future trends in UV-B radiation will be affected by climate change and changes in land use practices, but the authors suggest that their results should be considered when farmers select agronomic practices.
Read full article here: Mazza et al (March 2012) Physiologia Plantarum 147: 307
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NEWS IN BRIEF
FROM OTHER JOURNALS
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Same bells in new clockwork
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Source: Noordaly et al (15 March 2013) Science 339: 1316
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One gene makes potatoes fit the whole world
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Source: Kloosterman et al (6 March 2013) Nature 495: 246
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