In cereal cropping systems of the Pacific Northwestern United States (PNW), climate change is projected to increase the frequency of drought during summer months, which could increase water stress for crop plants. Yet, it remains uncertain how interactions between herbivore species are affected by drought stress. Here, interactions between two cereal aphids present in PNW cereal systems, Metopo...

Human individuals require at least 20 inorganic elements ('minerals') for normal functioning. However, much of the world's population is probably deficient in one or more essential minerals and at increased risk of physiological disorders. Addressing these 'hidden hungers' is a challenge for the nutrition and agriculture sectors. Mineral deficiencies among populations are typically identified f...

Maize (corn) is one of the most widely grown cereal crops globally. Fungal diseases of maize cause significant economic damage by reducing maize yields and by increasing input costs for disease management. The most sustainable control of maize diseases is through the release and planting of maize cultivars with durable disease resistance. The wheat gene Lr34 provides durable and partial field r...

A total of 602 samples of organically and conventionally grown barley, oats and wheat was collected at grain harvest during 2002-2004 in Norway. Organic and conventional samples were comparable pairs regarding cereal species, growing site and harvest time, and were analysed for Fusarium mould and mycotoxins. Agronomic and climatic factors explained 10-30% of the variation in Fusarium species an...

Nearly all of Ethiopia’s agriculture is dependent on rainfall, particularly the amount and seasonal occurrence. Future climate change predictions agree that changes in rainfall, temperature, and seasonality will impact Ethiopia with dramatic consequences. When, where, and how these changes will transpire has not been adequately addressed. The objective of our study was to model how projected cl...

C rop domestication has long been studied both as a model for understanding the process of evolution (1) and for gaining insights into the history of human civilization (2). In recent decades, a wealth of neutral molecular markers (e.g., SNPs, microsatellites, amplified fragment length polymorphisms) has become available for many crop species, permitting genomewide examinations of genetic diver...

For at least 5000 years cereals have predominated as the arable crop grown to provide food for man and animals in the temperate climatic zones. They have been regarded as sources of energy and foods such as breads, spaghetti, chapattis, etc., require the addition of other protein sources to provide a satisfactory balanced diet. But cereals do contain significant amounts of protein, especially i...

Plant parasitic nematodes remain a major challenge to crop production that has hitherto received minmum research attention in sub-Saharan Africa. This paper gives the diversity of nematode genera and species associated with cereal crops and indicates the possibility of nemadode population build up due to production intensification especially in soils with high sand content. Twenty-two nematode ...

Biogeosciences Discussions This discussion paper is/has been under review for the journal Biogeosciences (BG). Please refer to the corresponding final paper in BG if available. Abstract Legumes are an important source of nitrogen in stockless organic cereal production. However, substantial amounts of N can be lost from legume-grass leys prior to or after incorporation as green manure (GM). Here...