9 research outputs found
Preparing Grasslands Scientists for Careers in International Agriculture
Livelihoods of a billion poor people depend on grasslands. Dedicated and trained experts are needed to support grasslandsâ sustainable development under increasing pressures in the future. For some grasslands scientists, a career in international agriculture is the principal focus from the start of their education. For others, interest in international agriculture emerges during their careers. All require international opportunities to ensure that their efforts are focused on important priorities, that they understand the environment they work in, and that their professional networks are up to date. This paper reflects on ways for grassland scientists to be engaged in international agriculture based on the authorâs 30 years of experience in international agriculture, mostly in agricultural development, but also in research. Approximately two thirds of the career has been spent working from a base in developing countries, mostly in Africa (12 years in West Africa, four in Southern Africa)
ON-FARM EXPERIMENTS WITH MAIZE-MUCUNA SYSTEMS IN THE LOS TUXTLAS REGION OF VERACRUZ, MEXICO. I. MUCUNA BIOMASS AND MAIZE GRAIN YIELD
ON-FARM EXPERIMENTS WITH MAIZE-MUCUNA SYSTEMS IN THE LOS TUXTLAS REGION OF VERACRUZ, SOUTHERN MEXICO. II. MUCUNA VARIETY EVALUATION AND SUBSEQUENT MAIZE GRAIN YIELD
Mucuna Species: recent advances in application of biotechnology
Biotechnology techniques have been widely used for legumes - important crops with excellent nutritional characteristics and soil improvement qualities. Limited work has been carried out with underutilized legume crops such as velvet bean (Mucuna spp.), which have great potential for multiple uses. In recent decades, there has been increased interest in the potential of Mucuna spp. as a cover crop and green manure for tropical and subtropical regions. Mucuna is also used as a minor food crop in many countries and interest in it as livestock feed - a common use for it in the early 1900s in the USA and elsewhere - is growing. Other minor uses exist, such as roasting the seeds as a coffee substitute. More importantly, L-dopa, extracted from Mucuna bean seeds and plants, is used for symptomatic relief of Parkinson';s disease. Despite these numerous qualities, some constraints have limited its adoption. Biotechnology techniques can provide a window of opportunity for new or expanding products of Mucuna. Earlier biotechnology work with Mucuna was mostly related to its medicinal uses and focused on the mechanism of L-dopa production. More recently, biotechnology has also been applied to identify the major virus diseases affecting Mucuna, to develop new diagnostic methods for early virus indexing of in vitro plants and to clean virus diseases using meristem and thermotherapy techniques, as well as to study genetic diversity through the use of molecular tools. There are still niches to be explored such as the numerous phytochemical qualities of Mucuna that can be used to benefit human and animal nutrition and health as well as the environment through use of these compounds in natural weed and pest control management