Disease-resistant cauliflower created through nuclear science

October 9, 2025, 9:30AMNuclear News
Arvin Boolell (facing), Mauritius’s minister of agro-industry, food security, blue economy, and fisheries, is nearly obscured by the Local Cream cauliflower he is inspecting with scientists.

International Atomic Energy Agency researchers have helped scientists on the Indian Ocean island nation of Mauritius to develop a variety of cauliflower that is resistant to black rot disease. The cauliflower was developed through innovative radiation-induced plant-breeding techniques employed by the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.