AgriTech News Number 38, 15 April 2022

Research Results

1. Understanding rust resistance in bread wheat

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Wheat crop at KUST.jpg$ One-fifth of the global wheat crop is lost to insect pests and diseases each year—enough grain to make about 290 billion loaves of bread. Researchers at the Center for Desert Agriculture, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, led by Naveenkumar Athiyannan, have assembled the highest quality genome to date for bread wheat. The team assembled the genome of a South African wheat cultivar called Kariega, which has robust resistance to stripe rust, one of the three species of wheat rust. Using next-generation sequencing techniques, the researchers studied the exact chromosomal region that confers stripe rust resistance. Using this genome, they identified and cloned a key gene that confers stripe rust resistance. Cloned genes could be transferred to cultivars during breeding, and even altered to alter a plant’s disease recognition and resistance.

Sequencing the Kariega genome, in particular, is important for understanding stripe rust resistance. The team identified the stripe rust resistance gene as Yr27, which was cloned, and then studied the gene function and molecular mechanisms of resistance. “We were excited to discover that Yr27 is a version, or allele, of a known leaf rust resistance gene,” says Athiyannan. “The long-term goal is to clone the 400 resistance genes found in wheat, providing scientists with a real shot at eradicating major wheat diseases.” These results demonstrate that it will be possible to generate chromosome-scale wheat assemblies to clone genes, and that highly similar alleles of a single-copy gene can confer resistance to different pathogens, which might provide a basis for engineering Yr27 alleles with multiple recognition specificities in the future.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-rust-resistance-bread-wheat.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41588-022-01022-1

2. Research demonstrates that ‘injurious weeds’ can bring value to both pollinators and biodiversity

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Ivy bees (Colletes hederae) visiting creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense).jpg$
Weeds are in general injurious to crops and, in several instances, they have been shown to cause significant yield losses in many crops. The control/removal of weeds is, therefore, a common agricultural practice. In the process, the biodiversity value of weeds, especially as promoters of animal and insect pollinators, is seldom recognized. A study by Balfour and Ratnieks from the University of Sussex, Brighton, UK, shows that weeds are far more valuable in supporting biodiversity than we give them credit for (Editor’s note: In many traditional agricultural systems, the value of many weeds, especially when they are used as green leafy vegetables or in herbal medicine, is well recognized; see, for example, http://op.niscair.res.in/index.php/IJTK/article/view/27065).

In the UK, five species of native wildflowers are classified as “injurious” in the 1959 Weeds Act, and they are routinely controlled/weeded out. Three of them are frequently visited by many species of bees and other insects. A non-native species, such as Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria japonica), was found to support the most conservation-listed insect species in the study. They demonstrate the importance of ragwort and thistles (common ragwort Jacobaea vulgaris, creeping thistle Cirsium arvense, spear thistle C. vulgare) to flower-visiting insects (and thus for pollination). The results clearly show that weeds add an underappreciated value to biodiversity. The authors invite the attention of policymakers to such wildlife- and climate-friendly practices, so that they can revise policies accordingly.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-injurious-weeds-pollinators-biodiversity.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwl%E2%80%A6%201/4

Access the full paper at https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1365-2664.14132

3. Two-faced orchestrator: Tis gene regulates positive and negative immune responses in plants

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Brachypodium distachyon (L.) P.Beauv..jpg$
The mechanism of plant defence mediated by the non-expressor of pathogenesis-related (NPR) genes in monocots (plants having a single embryonic leaf) is not well-documented. Scientists from the Tokyo University of Science, led by Gen-Ichiro Arimura, have discovered how the NPR family of genes regulate immune responses in the model monocot, Brachypodium distachyon. Their findings provide a blueprint for plants’ defence systems and might stimulate more research towards resilient crop species, thus boosting pesticide-free cultivation of cereal crops.

Plant immune responses have been studied extensively in dicot models, but less so in monocots. The study found that BdTGA1 and Bd NPR2 interact with each other to upregulate PR-1 expression, cementing the role of NPR2 in an immune response. When the plant is attacked by a pathogen, salicylic acid (SA) levels rise and stimulate BdNRP2 expression, suggesting its role as an immune ihibitor. Arimura’s team created a mutant NPR2 gene, which was less effective than the normal wild-type one at increasing PR-1 expression. The authors conclude that, collectively, the findings reveal that the TGA-promoted transcription of SA-inducible PR1 is orchestrated by the activator BdNPR2 and the repressor BdNPR1, which function competitively in B. distachyon. Prof Arimura sums it all up for us: “When the plant is in a healthy state, BdNPR1 may stop Bd NPR2 from activating BdTGA1, keeping the PR1 gene turned off. But when the plant is attacked by a pathogen, SA levels rise and stimulate BdNRP2 expression”.

For more, see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220303141216.htm

Access the abstract at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/tpj.15681

4. Understanding the molecular basis of lateral root development in rice

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Regulatory mechanisms for S type and L type lateral root development.jpg$
The ability of rice plants to modify their root systems to adapt to the surrounding soil water conditions is a great example of a phenomenon called phenotype plasticity. However, the exact mechanism behind this remained unknown. Rice plants typically develop two types of lateral roots, which emerge from the primary root: the short and thin S-type; or the long and thicker L-type. The type of lateral root system depends on its diameter at the root primordium stage (or the root tissue at its earliest stage of development). A team of researchers at the International Center for Research and Education in Agriculture, Nagoya University, Japan, led by Yoshiaki Inukai, have determined the role of two WUSCHEL-related homeobox (WOX) genes in controlling the root size in lateral roots.

The team conducted a series of experiments involving the seminal root, a type of embryonic root that is also called the primary root. They found that the root tip excision in a mutant plant induced more L-type roots than was observed in the wild type plants. Genetic analysis of this plant revealed that the quiescent-centre-specific-homeobox, QHB/OsWOX5 gene (WOX5 is a member of the Wuschel, WUS, family of the homeodomain transcription factors and is required for a quiescent centre, QC, function) is responsible for this phenomenon. Its expression was found to be inversely related to QHB activity, with mutations in QHB resulting in an increased L-Type LR in the WT strain. These data suggest that QHB represses LR diameter increase, repressing OsWOX10, and the findings could help improve root system plasticity under variable environments. Prof Inukai is hopeful of the potential applications of this discovery, such as the development of rice varieties with drought stress tolerance.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-02-molecular-basis-lateral-root-rice.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Access the full paper at https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2101846119

5. Compounds that suppress immune responses of plants discovered

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Arabidopsis plant was used by RIKEN to test hundreds of chemicals.jpg$

Plants maintain immune mechanisms to restrict the invasion of pathogens. Pathogens have evolved and secreted several types of effector molecules that suppress host immune responses, allowing colonization. In turn, plants have evolved similar resistance proteins to recognize the effectors, leading to a strong immune response, which is called effector-triggered immunity. This type of immunity is often associated with the hypersensitive response, a localized cell death, to restrict pathogen growth. A group of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may prove valuable for investigating the molecular mechanisms inherent in plant immunity, according to plant scientists led by Ken Shirasu, at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science, Yokohama, Japan.

They found that the oxicam-type non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)—tenoxicam (TNX), meloxicam, and piroxicam—but not other types of NSAIDs, exhibit an inhibitory effect on immunity to bacteria and salicylic acid (SA)-dependent plant immune response. Many NSAIDs, including aspirin, are derived from a plant defence signalling hormone, salicylic acid. SA levels increase in response to pathogenic attacks from viruses, fungi, and bacteria. The precise mechanisms underlying the signalling pathways are unclear, partly because the compound plays multiple roles and acts differently in different plants. The results of the present research could help improve genome-editing techniques for crops. Tenoxicam, an NSAID, upregulates oxidative stress-related genes, inducing oxidation and altering cellular redox status, so this disruption inhibits the plant’s SA pathway. A potential application of this finding could be in genome editing.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-compounds-suppress-immune-responses.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-n%E2%80%A6%201/3

Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-27489-w

6. Convergent selection of a WD40 protein that enhances grain yield in maize and rice

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Convergently selected othologus genes.jpg$
Despite the identification of a few convergently selected genes, our understanding of the extent of molecular convergence on a genome-wide scale between maize and rice is very limited. Maize and rice have been subject to human selection for thousands of years, often for similar traits, such as grain yield. Identifying genes under selection in one cereal provides useful information for crop improvement. Two of the most economically important crops, maize and rice, display some conserved phenotypic shifts even though they experienced independent selection. A team of researchers, led by Alisdair Fernie at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Plant Physiology, Potsdam-Golm, Germany, studied the convergent selection of a WD40 protein that enhances grain yield in both maize and rice. The team identified a gene, KRN2 (kernel row number2), which differs between domesticated maize and its wild ancestor, teosinte. This gene underlies a major quantitative trait locus for kernel row number in maize. It was found that the rice ortholog, OsKRN2, also underwent selection, and it negatively regulates grain number via control of secondary panicle branches.

These orthologs encode WD40 proteins and function synergistically with a gene of unknown function, DUF1644, which suggests a conserved protein interaction controls grain number in both maize and rice. Knockouts of KRN 2 in maize increased grain yield by 10% and 8%, and there was no apparent trade-off in other agronomic traits. The study shows that common phenotypic shifts during maize and rice evolution, acting on conserved genes, are driven at least in part by the convergent selection, which likely occurred both during and after domestication. Analysis of genes in the starch metabolic pathway indicates that the degree of genetic convergence is related to the conservation and complexity of the gene network for a given selection. The authors conclude that exploring the role of KRN2/OsKRN2 and other convergently selected genes across the cereals could provide new opportunities to enhance the production of other global crops.

For more, see https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abg7985

Potential Crops/Technologies/Concepts

1. Getting to the root of how to grow cowpea in difficult conditions

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\A high-resolution root hair image taken from a cowpea seedling root sample.jpg$
Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) is an important crop in many parts of the world, especially sub-Saharan Africa. It is resilient and can grow in areas with little rainfall and low-quality soils. But hardy as the crop is, cowpea yields can be decreased by drought and low levels of soil phosphorus. In a recent study, researchers from the Pennsylvania State University, USA, led by Jonathan Lynch, determined cowpea root characteristics which could help the plants grow better in drier, low-phosphorus soils. Cowpea plants with longer, denser root hairs had higher yields when grown in low-phosphorus conditions. Scientists have long known that roots are a key part of how plants adapt to difficult environmental conditions. While root architecture can provide valuable information, examining the root features of mature plants can be a time-consuming and exhausting process.

This study found significant genetic variation in seedling root system architecture (RSA) and root hair phenotypes among cowpea genotypes, which may relate to differences in the uptake of water and immobile soil resources like phosphorous. The study showed that examining the roots of cowpea seedlings could help identify root features in mature plants that are beneficial for growth in challenging environments. The results of this study also demonstrate that seedling RSA can be effectively phenotyped using cigar rolls (Editor’s Note: cigar roll is a method of seedling phenotyping), and cowpea RSA is not associated with seed size. Phenotyping cowpea for RSA at the seedling stage offers an opportunity to identify genotypes with the desired root architecture for improving water and P uptake for marginal soils. “The root system is half of the whole plant system,” says Saba Mohammed, a researcher at the Institute for Agricultural Research in Kano State, Nigeria, and the first author.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-root-cowpea-difficult-conditions.html

Access the full paper at https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/csc2.20635

2. Research shows the nutritional impact of regenerative farming

Although proponents of farming practices that rebuild soil organic matter and soil health (which we collectively term “regenerative”) contend that such practices result
$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Locations of paired farm trials.jpg$
in more nutrient-dense food, such claims remain little tested. Researchers from the University of Washington, USA, and partners, led by David Montgomery, conducted a study with farmers using regenerative farming practices to analyse their impact on the nutritional content of food. Regenerative farms combined no-till, cover crops, and diverse rotations—a system that is known as Conservation Agriculture—and produced crops with higher soil organic matter levels, soil health scores, and levels of some vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals. To document evidence of the impact of regenerative farming on food, ten farms in the USA grew one acre of a test crop for five years, which was compared with the same crop planted on a nearby farm using conventional agriculture.

The results showed that the crops from regenerative farms had a healthier nutritional profile than the same crop grown on the conventional farm. Healthier soils were also observed in the regenerative farms, characterized by their organic matter and higher levels of vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals which are beneficial to human health. Lower levels of toxic elements were also recorded in the regenerative farms, compared to the conventional farm. Regenerative grazing practices produced meat with a better fatty acid profile than conventional and regional health-promoting brands. Those comparisons offer preliminary support for the conclusion that regenerative soil-building farming practices can enhance the nutritional profile of conventionally grown plant and animal foods.

For more, see https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/article/default.asp?ID=19358

Access the full paper at https://peerj.com/articles/12848/

3. What makes a fruit flavourful? Artificial intelligence can help optimize cultivars to match consumer preferences

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Volatile organic compounds are a big part of what consumer panels use to rate flavor in tomatoes and blueberries.jpg$
Flavour is defined by scientists as the interaction between aroma and taste. Flavour plays an important role in which varieties of fruit people choose to eat (Editor’s note: see story 7 later about flavourful tomatoes). In the recent past, however, with the need for increased production to meet the burgeoning population, quality traits such as flavour and aroma have moved to a back seat. Now, more and more consumers are demanding flavourful fruits, a trait many miss with a reduction in the cultivation of old cultivars. Hence, restoring these chemicals to the same levels as the heirlooms and testing whether that makes these commercial varieties more flavourful is an ongoing area of study.

Which flavours and chemical compounds make a particular variety of fruit more appealing to consumers can be identified and predicted using artificial intelligence, according to a study by researchers from the University of Florida, USA. They started their work by identifying what chemicals in fruit are responsible for flavour preferences and developed some models. They believe that by increasing the throughput of flavour evaluations, the models will help plant breeders to integrate flavour earlier in the breeding process, and thus aid in the design of varieties with exceptional flavour profiles; the models help determine objectively what makes one variety taste better than another, without needing to gather large consumer panels. Breeding fruit varieties for specific markets might require additional testing of their flavour database.

For more, see https://theconversation.com/what-makes-a-fruit-flavorful-artificial-intelligence-can-help-optimize-cultivars-to-match-consumer-preferences-176491

Access the full paper at https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2115865119

4. Detecting plant leaf disease using deep learning on a mobile device

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Leaf showing disease symptoms.jpg$
Conventional plant disease detection by visual means, even by experts, is subjective and prone to errors. It may even require specialized training. Computer vision algorithms, powered by deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) models, can improve plant leaf disease detection. Correct detection of the disease could be critical to saving a crop by farmers, a majority of whom may not have expert advice to determine the disease that is infecting their crops.

Shaheera Rashwan and Marwa Elteir from Informatics Research Institute, the City of Scientific Research and Technological Applications, Alexandria, Egypt, describe a new approach to plant leaf disease detection, using deep learning on a mobile device. Tests against a standard database of diseased leaf images showed their system to be capable of up to 98% diagnostic accuracy. The researchers hope to develop a pre-processing step, which will reduce any problems and inaccuracies that might arise if the acquired leaf image is not as perfect as might be ideal. Scaling up the use of such an application can help many farmers in developing countries.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-leaf-disease-deep-mobile-device.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

5. Soil microbiota as game-changers in the restoration of degraded lands

Increased soil degradation is a global phenomenon, mainly due to human activities (agricultural, industrial, and commercial pollution; loss of arable land due to urban expansion, overgrazing, and unsustainable agricultural practices; and long-term climatic changes), especially in drylands. Soil microbes may play an important part in the restoration of degraded soils, positively influencing moisture content and other physical features of the soil. Oksana Coban at the Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, Netherlands, and colleagues reviewed recent work on soil hydraulic properties, and potential groups of microorganisms for hydrological soil restoration, based on their resilience in dry soils, and suggested future strategies for long-term restoration of degraded lands.

The interplay between soil biota and soil hydrological functioning plays an essential role in many biogeochemical cycles, including the water and carbon cycles. Microorganisms can play a leading role in restoring degraded lands, improving soil hydraulic properties, such as infiltration and water retention, and reducing soil hydrophobicity, which together can facilitate ecosystem restoration. The researchers discuss potentially the most valuable groups of microorganisms for soil restoration (namely, plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and mycorrhizal fungi) and discuss future strategies for the long-term restoration of degraded lands. Highlighting the potential microorganisms in improving degraded soils, they also emphasize the need to advance emerging research on biophysical landscape interactions to support soil-plant ecosystem restoration practices.

For more, see https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abe0725?af=R&utm_source=sfmc&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=SCIeToc&utm_content=alert&et_rid=411559884&et_cid=4135967

6. An aromatic tomato could be looming—a la heirloom varieties, say scientists

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\UF_IFAS researchers find a route to important tomato flavor compounds.jpg$
Genetic modification has made modern tomatoes more disease resistant and prolonged their shelf life. While those traits are important, modern commercial varieties tend to fall short of the flavour potential shown in older varieties. But consumers want tomatoes that taste and smell good. In a study published in 2012, consumers who taste-tested several tomato varieties preferred tomatoes with high levels of nitrogenous volatiles. Using a closely related species, Solanum pennellii, scientists at the Université Laval, Quebec City, Canada, led by Charles Goulet, found a site on a chromosome essential to producing detectable nitrogenous volatiles in tomatoes.

Another study by Denise Tieman and colleagues at the University of Florida, Gainesville, USA, exploited the natural chemical variation within tomatoes to determine the chemical interactions that drive consumer liking. They demonstrate that it should be possible with molecular-assisted breeding techniques to exploit the natural variation present within the heirloom population, combining desirable alleles of multiple genes to significantly improve flavour quality. It must be noted that not everyone will agree on the “best”-tasting tomato. Tomatoes produce many aroma volatiles, including nitrogen-containing volatiles, which is relatively rare in other fruits. Tomatoes are the most valuable fruit produced worldwide. Within this market, flavourful tomatoes have the potential to be profitable for farmers.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-aromatic-tomato-looming-la-heirloom.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Access the full paper at

(1) https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2118676119

(2) https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(12)00408-3?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS0960982212004083%3Fshowall%3Dtrue

7. Could wax-coated sand replace plastic mulch in farmers’ fields?

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Waxcoated sand_Edited.jpg$
In arid and semi-arid regions, excessive evaporative loss of water from the topsoil is compensated via irrigation, which exploits massive freshwater resources. The combined effects of decades of unsustainable freshwater withdrawals in many arid regions are threatening food and water security. Although organic mulching materials have their advantages, in most arid regions farmers use plastic mulches to reduce evaporation from the topsoil; however, their cost and non-biodegradability limit their utility. A team of researchers led by Himanshu Mishra, of Water Desalination and Reuse Center (WDRC), King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Saudi Arabia, report that sand coated with paraffin wax may be a greener alternative to plastic mulch for crops.

The material developed by the team involves coating silica sand with hydrophobic (water-repelling) wax, and no solvents are required. The team found that the sand coated with paraffin wax can reduce soil moisture loss by up to 78%. The process of coating the sand with wax is easy to scale up for wide use. Earlier, researchers from the University of Nevada, USA, had used soybean oil for coating the sand (Editor’s note: see https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/vzj2.20047); the new findings provide another option for mulching to prevent water loss from topsoil.

For more, see https://newatlas.com/science/paraffin-wax-coated-sand-plastic-mulch/?utm_source=New+Atlas+Subscribers&utm_campaign=b54232c986-EMAI%E2%80%A6%201/9

Access the full paper at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/acsagscitech.1c00148

8. Paper made from banana plants stymies potato pest

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Potato seed wrapped in banana paper.jpg$
Wrapping potato seeds in biodegradable paper made from unusable parts of banana plants reduces the infestation and harmful effects of a nasty plant pathogen—a worm called the potato cyst nematode—and sharply increases potato size and yields. Potato yields were up to five times larger than controls when the banana paper was dosed with 100 nanograms of abamectin—a tiny fraction of the amount normally sprayed on fields by farmers to protect potatoes. In field tests designed to test the banana paper’s efficacy against the potato cyst nematode, Juliet Ochola at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya, and colleagues grew potatoes in four different ways: (1) wrapped in banana paper dosed with low doses of abamectin; (2) wrapped in banana paper without abamectin; (3) without any banana paper but in fields sprayed with abamectin; and (4) in control fields without banana paper wraps or chemical treatment.

The results showed that the banana paper—with or without the worm-killing chemical—effectively prevented potato infestation in the field and increased potato yields and size. This study demonstrates the use of waste organic material to sustainably manage potato cyst nematode, and potentially other crop root pests, while increasing potato yields.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-paper-banana-stymies-potato-pest.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-022-00852-5

News:

1. Latest IPCC report says impacts of climate change are irreversible and widespread; it urges efforts to cut emissions and adapt

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\20211103_Academic_studies_of_scientific_consensus_-_global_warming,_climate_change_-_vertical_bar_chart_-_en.jpg$
A new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report released recently warns that the increasingly numerous and widespread impacts of climate change—including events such as heatwaves, extremes of weather, and mass species extinction already occurring across the globe—may soon overcome the ability of humans and nature to adapt, unless immediate action is taken to greatly reduce fossil fuel emissions.

The report also finds that nations are not doing enough to reduce emissions and protect themselves from climate hazards. The risks are especially high for developing nations, the report says. In a statement released on 28 Feb 2022, IPCC chair Hoesung Lee said, “This report is a dire warning about the consequences of inaction. It shows that climate change is a grave and mounting threat to our well-being and a healthy planet. Our actions today will shape how people adapt and nature responds to increasing climate risks.”

For more, see https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2022/02/latest-ipcc-report-says-impacts-of-climate-change-are-irreversible-and-widespread-urges-efforts-to-cut-emissions-and-adapt AND https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/ AND https://phys.org/news/2022-02-harrowing-scale-climate-impacts.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter AND https://phys.org/news/2022-02-ipcc-australia-real-climate-impacts.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter AND https://phys.org/news/2022-02-impacts-vulnerability-latest-ipcc.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

And https://phys.org/news/2022-02-impacts-vulnerability-latest-ipcc.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter And https://phys.org/news/2022-02-ipcc-australia-real-climate-impacts.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Access the full report (3675 pages) at https://report.ipcc.ch/ar6wg2/pdf/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FinalDraft_FullReport.pdf

2. What the New IPCC Climate Report Portends for India and South Asia

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Indian monsoon_Kerala,jpg.jpg$

When the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a UN body, published the second instalment of its highly anticipated Sixth Assessment Report on 28 February 2022 (see the previous story), it had clear takeaways for India and South Asia. The report is the IPCC Working Group’s synthesis of research on climate impact and vulnerability, as well as adaptation measures.

Yiming Wang at Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, Jena, Germany, and colleagues studied the South Asian monsoon rainfall record spanning the last ∼130 kyr in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna river catchment, as understanding the drivers of South Asian monsoon intensity is pivotal for improving climate forecasting under global warming scenarios.

Researchers say that addressing and anticipating future South Asian monsoon changes under continuing global warming is of critical importance for the food security and socioeconomic well-being of one-quarter of the world’s population. Climate models are largely based on the assumption that higher solar insolation causes higher rainfall during similar warm climatic regimes, but this has not been verified by proxy data for different interglacial periods. The researchers argue that sustained warmer sea surface temperature in the equatorial and tropical Indian Ocean during the last interglacial increased convective rainfall above the ocean, but it dampened Indian summer monsoon intensity on land. The study demonstrates that besides solar insolation, internal climatic feedbacks also play an important role in South Asian monsoon variability during warm climate states, which highlights the importance of understanding controls of monsoonal rainfall under interglacial boundary conditions.

For more, see https://science.thewire.in/environment/what-the-new-ipcc-climate-report-portends-for-india-and-south-asia/

Access the full paper at https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2107720119

3. N use highly limiting in SSA, despite the 2006 Abuja declaration, study finds

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Application of fertilizers to maize crop in Kenya.jpg$
In 2006, the Abuja declaration brought together states of the African Union to collectively recommend an increase in fertilizer nitrogen (N) use from 8 kg ha-¹ to 50 kg ha-¹ by 2015 to help enable sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) to achieve food sufficiency and eradicate poverty, while improving the soil fertility. However, Winnie Ntinyari at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) Nairobi, Kenya, and colleagues found that the majority of smallholder farmers in the Lake Victoria basin apply less than 8 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ due to limited purchasing power, inadequate extension services, and poor infrastructure. A lack of resources causes most of N from the limited amounts of fertilizer that is applied to be lost to the environment, rather than its being taken up by the crop. Partial N balances exceeded the optimal range across all scenarios, which highlights chronically insufficient N input and elevated risk of soil N depletion. A key outcome of the study is the authors’ contribution to the definition of critical N boundaries for food production systems in the Sahel region through their definition of three distinct zones for safe (soil sustaining) operation, inefficient use of available N, and soil mining.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-02-critical-abuja-declaration-nitrogen-sub-saharan.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=d%E2%80%A6%201/3

Access the full paper at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2021.758724/full

4. Scientists discover genetic markers for predicting seed oil quality

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Tocopherol in sunflower oil.jpeg$
Researchers, led by Rim Gubaev at the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology, Moscow, have identified genetic markers that can help predict the composition of tocopherols, one of the key attributes of oil quality. Tocopherols are a class of chemical compounds, many of which have Vitamin E activity. Dressing oils are produced using sunflower varieties with a high content of alpha- and beta-tocopherol; they increase Vitamin E intake. Skoltech researchers have identified four genetic markers that allow for predicting the composition of tocopherols in sunflower oil. The OilGene start-up founded by Skoltech will use the markers to develop new testing tools. This will enable faster breeding of new varieties suitable for the production of dressing and cooking oils.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-scientists-genetic-markers-seed-oil.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter

Access the full paper at https://academic.oup.com/g3journal/advance-article/doi/10.1093/g3journal/jkac036/6527637#

5. Scientists map where crops grow with maximum yield and minimum environmental damage

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Redistribution of crop land.jpg$
Across the world, once-thick forest areas and other natural habitats have made way for huge crop fields, where we grow food for ourselves and our livestock. The damage to the ecosystems and wildlife has been immense, leading to the collapse of entire ecosystems and the extinction of species, in some instances. Yet, at the same time, the world desperately needs high-yield, intensive agriculture to feed the many billions of people.

Robert Beyer at the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK, led an international team of scientists, who have plotted a map showing where the world’s most important food crops should be grown to maximize yield while, at the same time, minimizing the environmental impact of agriculture. Such a redesigning, say the researchers, would allow large empty fields to revert to their natural, forested state, leading to substantial carbon capture. According to an earlier study (see https://www.nature.com/articles/536143a), agriculture and the overexploitation of plants and animal species are significantly greater threats to biodiversity than climate change. A redesign of the global croplands would virtually eliminate irrigation, since they are located in regions where rainfall provides enough water for optimal plant growth, they claim. “It’s currently not realistic to implement this whole redesign. But even if we only relocated a fraction of the world’s cropland, focusing on the places that are least efficient for growing crops, the environmental benefits would be tremendous,” Beyer said in a press release.

For more, see https://www.zmescience.com/ecology/climate/map-growth-plats-crops/

Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-022-00360-6

6. World’s biggest tropical crop bank opens in Colombia, taking food research high tech

$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\bean-The-Alliance-of-Bioversity-International-and-CIAT-Juan-Pablo-Marin.jpeg$ As more people are born on this great green planet, the demand for food grows. Feeding the nearly 8 billion of us here today is a challenge, not only because of the amount of food required but because the climate crisis is making growing conditions more difficult and unpredictable. To withstand droughts, heat, floods, and disease, crops need to be resilient, and that resiliency comes from genetic diversity.

Scientists are working to store global crop diversity in gene banks. The world’s largest repository for beans, cassava, and tropical forages opened near Cali, Colombia. Colombian President Iván Duque Márquez inaugurated the Future Seeds gene bank on March 15. The facility is expected to serve as a living laboratory for some of the most advanced technologies in agricultural research. Scientists at the UK’s Future Seeds project are digitizing and applying artificial intelligence (AI) to help predict where important crop biodiversity is yet to be found. The team is using a massive digital gene bank to identify regions of the plants’ genome that may be linked to desirable traits, such as drought tolerance or pest resistance.

For more, see https://news.mongabay.com/2022/03/worlds-biggest-tropical-crop-bank-opens-in-colombia-taking-food-research-high-tech/

7. Simulations in Australia show increased yields, using novel wheat genotypes coupled with deep sowing

Most large-scale wheat farming operations, including those in Australia, are based on semi-dwarf varietals that were developed decades ago to increase yields. At the same time, wheat yields are threatened by global warming and unreliable rainfall, which increase heat and drought stress. A potential adaptation strategy is to plant earlier and deeper, taking advantage of stored soil water. However, the short coleoptiles of modern semi-dwarf wheat varieties reduce emergence when sown
$D:\GRSV Consultancy Service\AgriTech news\38_ATN\Wheat crop.jpg$
deep. Novel genotypes with alternative dwarfing genes have longer coleoptiles to facilitate deep sowing, but the yield benefit has been uncertain.

Zhigan Zhao and colleagues at the CSIRO Agriculture & Food, Canberra, Australia, describe how they used data from a variety of sources to create a simulation to show how wheat yields in Australia might be increased as conditions grow warmer and drier. The researchers with this new effort suggest the solution is clear: Australian wheat farmers need to switch to newer varieties of wheat that have longer coleoptiles, allowing them to reach down deeper into the soil, where it is wetter. The simulations showed that switching to such novel wheat genotypes and also using deeper and earlier sowing could increase yields by 18 to 20%, under current conditions. They further suggest that the same approach could also be used to prevent wheat yield decreases in other parts of the world in the coming years.

For more, see https://phys.org/news/2022-03-simulations-wheat-genotypes-coupled-deep.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily%E2%80%A6%201/2

Access the abstract at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01305-9

9. Improved Genomics-assisted breeding tools gain uses and users

$C:\Users\Admin\OneDrive\Pictures\For GRSV NL etc\Sweet-potatoes-DMNT-Sporamin.jpg$
Thanks to the development and adoption of specialized computational tools, the past several years have witnessed major advancements in the breeding of “polyploid plants”—plants with more than two sets of chromosomes in their cells. Polyploid speciality crops, which include roses, many turfgrasses, and food crops such as blackberries, potatoes, and sweet potatoes, have an annual value of more than $9 billion in the U.S., and many times that value globally.

David Byrne, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research rose breeder and geneticist, heads a project to develop tools for genomics-assisted breeding in polyploids. The team has held conferences designed to introduce tools to new users, gauge their usefulness, and guide their evolution. Polyploid genetic advancement will affect a wide range of plants, including fruits and ornamentals, as well as root and tuber crops, like potatoes and sweet potatoes. Most trainees were also in public plant breeding programs or were students, with nearly equal numbers of men and women. The project is truly an international endeavor, with about half of the participants attending from organizations outside the USA.

For more, see https://today.tamu.edu/2022/03/23/genomics-assisted-breeding-tools-improving-gaining-users-and-uses/