News (Page 164)

by  Gardy Chacha, SDE     The last few weeks have seen health conscious online fanatics dig in on the scum that is artificially ripened bananas after it emerged that some bananas sold in Kenya are treated with calcium carbide to speed up their ripening.   Of course it is easyContinue Reading

  The U.S. East Coast is set for a supply gap in fruit imports due to port and airport closures in parts of southern Florida as the state prepares for the powerful Category 3 Hurricane Matthew.   The hurricane belted Haiti and Cuba yesterday, and today is moving through the Bahamas as itContinue Reading

by Phillip Tracy, RCR Wireless News       Agriculture is evolving Smart farming and precision agriculture have become important parts of modern agricultural practices. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), by 2050, food production may increase 70% to feed 9.6 billion people. Food andContinue Reading

by Anouk Sijmonsma, Fresh Plaza     “Guangan City in Sichuan Province is known for its pomelo production. Pomelos from here are sweet flavoured and juicy”, says Hongxing Zou, a local fruit trader. “I grew up in Guangan. Now I am trying my best to help small, local orchards sell theirContinue Reading

by  ‘Yemi Oluwadare, Today     The International Institute of Agriculture (IITA) has intensified efforts aimed at preventing the further spread of Banana Bunchy Top Disease (BBTD), that is debilitating banana production in sub-Saharan Africa.   The disease, first discovered in Nigeria, in Odologun community, in Yewa South council areaContinue Reading

by Lisa Radinovsky, Olive Oil Times     Panayotis Karantonis, an International Olive Council advisory committee member and director of the Hellenic Association of Industries & Packers of Olive Oil (ESVITE), tells Olive Oil Times that recent estimates for the upcoming olive harvest in Greece call for lower yields than lastContinue Reading

by Pam Eubanks, Your Observer   On 6 acres at Mixon Fruit Farms in Bradenton, a bulldozer clanks and clangs as it knocks over rows of citrus trees.   Three areas within the 50-acre grove, in particular, have become virtually unproductive because of a disease known as citrus greening.   GroveContinue Reading

  A new strategy for combating the vector of the bacterium that causes huanglongbing, also known as greening, considered the most destructive citrus disease in the world and present in 17% of orange trees in São Paulo State, Brazil, can be developed from the discovery that three citrus plants produceContinue Reading

by Rudolf Mulderij, Fresh Plaza     The pomegranate market seems to be in good shape. The demand for the fruit is on the rise. Israel benefited from an empty European market, Spanish growers are investing in expanding their acreage and the Italian season recorded an earlier start. The Turkish domesticContinue Reading

by Pamela Jay F. Orias, Sun Star   TOTAL production of major crops in the second quarter this year dropped by 17 percent compared to the same period last year, a report from National Economic Development Authority (Neda) Northern Mindanao noted.   Industrial crops registered the major drop which recorded anContinue Reading

  Taiwan’s agricultural sector suffered estimated losses of 1.03 billion new Taiwanese dollars (about 31.9 million U.S. dollars) following Typhoon Megi swept across the island on Tuesday and early Wednesday, the island’s agricultural department said Wednesday.   About 20 percent of the losses were in Yunlin County in the centralContinue Reading