Monograph: Nuclear techniques applied to agriculture and livestock farming to help eradicate hunger

Fighting hunger with mutation breeding

In countries where seasonal changes cause extreme weather conditions such as drought, rising temperatures, or famine, some nuclear techniques are being implemented to improve crops and make them more resilient.Read more

Balanced use of fertiliser thanks to nuclear techniques

Balanced use of fertiliser through nuclear techniques helps to increase productivity and protect the environment.Read more

Vietnam guarantees fruit exports with the food irradiation technique

For decades, food irradiation has been used to disinfect and extend the shelf life of products such as spices, dried herbs and vegetable seasonings. Otherwise, insects could take up residence in these products and become "invaders" from other countries, causing damage not only to food production but also to the ecosystem at the destination.Read more

How a nuclear technique prevents insects from damaging coffee beans

Using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), scientists from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are seeking to reduce the damage caused by the Mediterranean fruit fly to the coffee industry.Read more

The life of a sterile Medfly, one of the world's most destructive fruit pests

Female Medflies cause damage by laying their eggs on fruits and vegetables, resulting in large economic losses and trade bans. A nuclear technology, known as the sterile insect technique, can be used in conjunction with other methods to deal with the pest.Read more

Nuclear magnetic resonance makes it possible to distinguish wines from different lands

Nuclear magnetic resonance makes it possible to distinguish wines from different landsResearchers at the University of La Rioja have developed a method, using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), to distinguish wine made in wineries in the Rioja Qualified Designation of Origin (DOCa Rioja), through two alcohols, depending on the plots in which the vines have been grown.Read more

Nuclear techniques to slow soil erosion

Soil erosion is a major contributor to land degradation, affecting 1.9 billion hectares of land worldwide, about two-thirds of the world's soil resources. It results in the loss of 75 billion hectares of fertile soil per year, at an annual economic cost of some 126 billion US dollars.Read more

Interactive Sheet: Sterile Insect Technique (SIT)

It uses irradiation to sterilize male insects from species considered plagues. The sterilized insect mates with the female without impregnating her, which prevents the growth of the colony and the use of chemical insecticides.Read more

Nuclear techniques for tsetsé eradication in Senegal

The tsetse fly is an insect that kills more than three million cattle in sub-Saharan Africa each year, costing the agricultural industry more than US$4 billion annually.Read more

Improvements in water resources management using nuclear and isotopic techniques

By studying isotopes, scientists can discover the origin, age, quality and use of water, gathering data to protect this natural resource.Read more

Application of nuclear techniques in drip irrigation to increase food crop yields

Agriculture accounts for 70% of the use of freshwater resources, so the application of isotopic and nuclear techniques makes it possible to know the state and movement of water in soils and, therefore, to develop sustainable management strategies in agriculture, using cheaper and more efficient irrigation alternatives, such as drip irrigation.Read more

Nuclear technology to improve animal breeding

Animals are very important for food security, providing us with milk, eggs and meat, but as the world's population grows faster, so does the demand for animal products, putting pressure on both farmers and the environment.Read more