Researchers from ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research, Karnal, and ICAR-Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute, New Delhi, have proposed a faster and reliable approach to identify different varieties of wheat. Using a mix of software engineering, mobile application development and genetic analysis, they have developed a new web-based server called VISTa—the first-ever plant variety identification system in the world—to identify wheat varieties.

Among all the calamities caused by climate change, an increase in the salinity of the soil is one. It is projected that, by 2050, about half of today’s arable land across the world will be affected by salinity. This increase would also hit India’s rice bowl, the Indo-Gangetic plains, which is projected to lose about 45% of the crop yield. When salinity increases, plants respond by absorbing less water, which affects their growth. How then do we help agriculturally vital crops cope with high salinity?

Researchers from the University of Madras and ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey & Land Use Planning, have estimated the urban sprawl of Nagpur, a city in central India. The findings of this study play a pivotal role in careful urban planning for sustainable development.

Researchers from the International Food Policy Research Institute, University of Washington, USA, and Oklahoma State University, USA, have reported the economic losses and associated health risk caused by stubble burning in some parts of north India. 

In a recent study published in the journal PLOS One, a team of researchers has identified six lentil species that are tolerant of alkaline and saline soil. The group consisted of researchers from various institutes of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology, Kanpur.