Researchers have traced the remaining last steps of the biological pathway that gives oats resistance to the deadly crop disease take-all. The discovery creates opportunities for new ways of defending wheat and other cereals against the soil-borne root disease. The research team have already taken the first step in this aim by successfully reconstituting the self-defence system in the model plant Nicotiana benthamiana. Further experiments to establish the avenacin biosynthetic pathway in wheat’s more complex genome, to test if it…
– expanding genome engineering … In a new publication in Nature Communications, associate professor of Plant Science at the University of Maryland Yiping Qi continues to innovate genome editing and engineering in plants, with the ultimate goal of improving the efficiency of food production. His recent work contributes six novel variants of CRISPR-Cas12a that have never before been proven in plants, testing them first in rice as a major global crop. In addition to allowing for a much broader scope…
Streetlights alter the number of flower visits by insects not just at night, but also during the daytime. Artificial light at night thus indirectly affects the entire plant-pollinator community, with unknown consequences for functioning of the ecosystem, as researchers from the University of Zurich and Agroscope have proven for the first time. The use of artificial light at night around the world has increased enormously in recent years, causing adverse effects on the survival and reproduction of nocturnal organisms. Artificial…
The agricultural cultivation of the staple food of rice harbours the risk of possible contamination with arsenic that can reach the grains following uptake by the roots. In their investigation of over 4,000 variants of rice, a Chinese-German research team under the direction of Prof. Dr Rüdiger Hell from the Centre for Organismal Studies (COS) of Heidelberg University and Prof. Dr Fang-Jie Zhao of Nanjing Agricultural University (China) discovered a plant variant that resists the toxin. Although the plants thrive…
In an exceptionally broad and elaborate study, biologists from the University of Würzburg investigated the biodiversity of flowering fields planted as part of agri-environmental schemes. Due to modern agriculture, biodiversity across many species groups is in decline. Over the last three decades, attempts have been made to counteract this with agri-environmental schemes at various levels – from the national federal state to EU-wide programmes. Not only out of appreciation of nature, but also because many species fulfil important functions for…
Diurnal in vivo xylem sap glucose and sucrose monitoring using implantable organic electrochemical transistor sensors. Researchers at Linköping University, Sweden, have developed biosensors that make it possible to monitor sugar levels in real time deep in the plant tissues – something that has previously been impossible. The information from the sensors may help agriculture to adapt production as the world faces climate change. The results have been published in the scientific journal iScience. The primary source of nutrition for most…
With climate change, uncertainties in food security, and pressure to preserve resources, agriculture is facing difficult tasks. To meet these challenges with cost-effective and intelligent electronic solutions, researchers at Fraunhofer IZM are working with partners to combine smart system integration with sensor technology, thus enabling the leap to Agriculture 4.0. In an earlier project they developed a laser that uses optical detection and AI evaluation to prevent infestation with harmful insects in warehouses and that is intended to replace the…
Research team led by the University of Göttingen analyses complexity of forest structure Primeval forests are of great importance for biodiversity and global carbon and water cycling. The three-dimensional structure of forests plays an important role here because it influences processes of gas and energy exchange with the atmosphere, whilst also providing habitats for numerous species. An international research team led by the University of Göttingen has investigated the variety of different complex structures that can be found in the…
The world is having to feed an increasing number of mouths. Studies indicate that global population will rise to over nine million by the year 2050. In response, Bayer AG is researching resistant cereal varieties and enhanced crop protection. A new 24-hour monitoring system from the Fraunhofer Institute for Communication, Information Processing and Ergonomics FKIE will help protect the fields where these test crops are grown and thereby safeguard this time-consuming and cost-intensive research. It is no easy task feeding…
While humanity is facing the COVID-19 pandemic, the citrus industry is trying to manage its own devastating disease, Huanglongbing (HLB), also known as citrus greening disease. HLB is the most destructive citrus disease in the world. In the past decade, the disease has annihilated the Florida citrus industry, reducing orange production for juice and other products by 72%. Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) is the microbe associated with the disease. It resides in the phloem of the tree and, like many…
Drought stress has been a major roadblock in crop success, and this obstacle will not disappear anytime soon. Luckily, a dynamic duo like Batman and Robin, certain root-associated microbes and the plants they inhabit, are here to help. Plants and animals have a close connection to the microbes like bacteria living on them. The microbes, the creatures they inhabit, and the environment they create all play a critical role for life on Earth. “We know that microbiomes, which are the…
Food engineers in Brazil and France developed gels based on modified starch for use as “ink” to make foods and novel materials by additive manufacturing. It is already possible to produce food with a 3D printer, potentially delivering products that suit consumer preferences regarding taste, texture, cost, convenience, and nutrition. In the near future, it will be possible to produce food with personalized shapes, textures, flavors, and colors considered attractive and healthy for children and the elderly, for example. A…
World Soil Day Soil is a sensitive and as a result of intensive agriculture often strained resource. Scientists at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy are therefore developing digital solutions for a resource-saving and environmentally sound soil management. With the World Soil Day on 5 December, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the United Nations (UN) are reminding us to stand up for a sustainable management of soil resources. Sometimes a glance from the edge of the…
Wheat researchers at the John Innes Centre are pioneering a new technique that promises to improve gene discovery for the globally important crop. Crop breeding involves assembling desired combinations of traits that are defined by underlying genetic variation. Part of this genetic variation often stays the same between generations, with certain genes being inherited together. These blocks of genes – very rarely broken up in genetic recombination – are called haplotype blocks. These haplotypes are the units that breeders switch…
Improvement of crops with seeds from gene banks Securing plant production is a global task. Using a combination of new molecular and statistical methods, a research team from the Technical University of Munich (TUM) was able to show that material from gene banks can be used to improve traits in the maize plant. Old varieties can thus help to breed new varieties adapted to current and future climates. The famous seed vault in Spitsbergen and national gene banks retain hundreds…
Demand for mycorrhizal fungi in gardening and landscaping tasks is steadily climbing, given its ability to boost growth and yield as a natural fertilizer. In a successful first, scientists from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry (IPB), partnered the INOQ GmbH and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK) to develop a mycorrhiza substrate for commercial tomato production. Large-scale trials revealed that the fruit crop of mycorrhizal plants outperformed non-mycorrhizal control plants in terms of quality…
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