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All Articles Tagged As: drought
 | When a plant encounters drought, it does its best to cope with this stress by activating a set of protein molecules called receptors. Plant cell biologists at the University of California, Riverside have discovered how to rewire this cellular machinery to heighten the plants' stress response -- a finding that can be used to engineer crops to give them a better shot at surviving and displaying increased yield under drought conditions. ...> Full Article |
Increases in air pollution and other particulate matter in the atmosphere can strongly affect cloud development in ways that reduce precipitation in dry regions or seasons. This while increasing rain, snowfall and the intensity of severe storms in wet regions or seasons, according to results of a new study.
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In the midst of a drought-induced food crisis affecting millions in the Horn of Africa, an innovative insurance program for poor livestock keepers is making its first payouts today, providing compensation for some 650 insured herders in northern Kenya's vast Marsabit District who have lost up to a third of their animals.
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A new, comprehensive study by an international team of scientists, including scientists at Boston University in the US and the Universities of Viçosa and Campinas in Brazil, has been published in the current issue of Science (August 26, 2011) refuting earlier alarmist claims that drought has induced a decline in global plant productivity during the past decade and posed a threat to global food security.
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VIB/UGent researchers have unveiled a mechanism that can be used to develop crop varieties resistant to mild droughts. It turns out that under non-lethal stress conditions, plants inhibit growth more than necessary. Shutting down this response opens new opportunities for yield improvement.
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 | Chemical changes in tree leaves subjected to warmer, drier conditions that could result from climate change may reduce the availability of soil nutrients, according to a Purdue University study. ...> Full Article |
 | Sensitive to drought due to its high water requirement, rice is particularly vulnerable to how global climate change is altering the frequency and magnitude of floods and droughts. Now plant scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have made a discovery that can greatly benefit rice growers and consumers everywhere. The researchers have demonstrated in the lab and greenhouse that rice that is flood tolerant is also better able to recover from a drought. ...> Full Article |
Purdue University researchers have found a genetic mutation that allows a plant to better endure drought without losing biomass, a discovery that could reduce the amount of water required for growing plants and help plants survive and thrive in adverse conditions.
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A collaborative team of scientists led by researchers at The Medical College of Wisconsin, in Milwaukee, has used the tools of structural biology to understand how a synthetic chemical mimics abscisic acid (ABA), a key stress hormone that helps plants cope with adverse environmental conditions such as drought. The results are published online in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology in advance of print publication later.
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 | As the fate of Europe's largest collection of fruit and berries hangs in the balance of a Russian court decision, the Global Crop Diversity Trust issued an urgent appeal for the Russian government to embrace its heroic tradition as protector of the world's crop diversity and halt the planned destruction of an incredibly valuable crop collection near St. Petersburg. ...> Full Article |
 | Water supplies throughout the country are increasingly contested, but in spite of the pressure on water systems, not many farmers will make the move to implement more water-efficient systems. ...> Full Article |
Drought can take a toll on plants and animals alike. When cells are deprived of water, they shrink, collapsing in upon themselves and, without water as a medium, chemicals and enzymes inside the cells may malfunction. However, some plants, like the aptly named "resurrection fern," can survive extreme measures of water loss, even as much as 95 percent of their water content. How do the cells in these desiccation-tolerant plants remain viable?
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To compare drought impact and mitigation at the international level, UC Riverside has organized a meeting that will bring together senior drought experts and policy makers from five drought-plagued regions: Spain, Australia, South Africa, Mexico and California. The "International Drought Symposium: Integrating Science and Policy" will take place March 24-26, 2010, at the Riverside Marriott Hotel, 3400 Market St., Riverside, Calif. Topics to be covered include economics, agronomy, hydrology, ecology, technology, policy and water management.
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 | Van Andel Research Institute researchers have determined precisely how the plant hormone abscisic acid works at the molecular level to help plants respond to environmental stresses such as drought and cold. Their findings, published in the journal Nature, could help engineer crops that thrive in harsh environments around the world and combat global food shortages. The findings could also have implications for stress disorders in humans. ...> Full Article |
Continued improvement of climate forecasts is resulting in better information about what rainfall may look like months in advance. A researcher from North Carolina State University has developed an innovative water management framework that would take advantage of these forecasts to plan for droughts or excess rain in order to make the most efficient use of an area's water resources.
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 | A team of biologists in California led by researchers at The Scripps Research Institute and the University of California, San Diego, has solved the structure of a critical molecule that helps plants survive during droughts. Understanding the inner workings of this molecule may help scientists design new ways to protect crops against prolonged dry periods, potentially improving crop yields worldwide, aiding biofuels production on marginal lands and mitigating drought's human and economic costs.
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 | A 2005-2007 dry spell in the southeastern United States destroyed billions of dollars of crops, drained municipal reservoirs and sparked legal wars among a half-dozen states -- but the havoc came not from exceptional dryness but booming population and bad planning, says a new study. ...> Full Article |
 | Abscisic acid, produced naturally by plants, is a key hormone that helps plants cope with drought conditions. New research led by UC Riverside's Sean Cutler suggests the possibility of spraying stable synthetic chemicals on plants to enhance stress tolerance during drought and improve yield. Cutler identified pyrabactin, a synthetic chemical that turns on the ABA signaling pathway, and used it to fish out a receptor for ABA -- a highly controversial topic in plant biology. ...> Full Article |
A team of scientists from Canada, Spain and the United States has identified a key gene that allows plants to defend themselves against environmental stresses like drought, freezing and heat.
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 | Winemakers may see benefits using foliar particle film ...> Full Article |
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