Unique Knowledge

  Agriculture and food supply are two of the most essential components of life, and climate change is having a profound impact on both. The changing climate is causing extreme weather events, rising temperatures, and shifts in precipitation patterns, all of which can bring about serious changes to the way we grow and process our food. From droughts to floods, crop yields can be affected, and the availability and quality of the food we eat is being altered. Climate change is causing shifts in the growing season. With warmer temperatures, plants can bloom and mature earlier, leading to an accelerated growing season. This can be beneficial in some cases, such as when certain crops are able to grow more than one crop per year. However, it can also lead to an increased risk of crop failure due to extreme weather events or an increased chance of pests and disease. In addition to changes in the growing season, climate change is also impacting the availability of water. With droughts becom...

Horticultural technology provider WayBeyond has introduced a new solution to provide growers with an advantage for maintaining optimal plant growth without any guesswork – moving from a subjective to objective approach to optimize their production. The Plant Balance Indicator is the latest FarmRoad Agronomy Insights feature – a smart digital tool that displays the state of the plant – starting with tomato crops. With this information growers can influence plant growth depending on how they wish to progress. “Plants can be in a state of vegetative to generative based on their interaction with the environment. Vegetative – when more energy is used to produce the structural parts of the plant like leaves, stems and root systems – or generative – when more energy is utilized for creating more fruits and flowers,” explains Dr Tharindu Weeraratne, WayBeyond Director of Crop Science & Agronomy. “When growers are able to understand the current state of their plants, they are empowered to m...