Research Results
1. Biological control agents can protect soybeans from sudden death syndrome
Soybean Sudden Death Syndrome (SDS) has become a leading yield-limiting disease in North America (and in many other soybean-growing countries), with recorded yield losses of nearly 1.7 million metric tonnes in 2014. The disease is caused by the soilborne fungus, Fusarium virguliforme, with two phases—a root rot phase and a leaf scorch phase— while F. brasiliense and F. cuneirostrum have also been found to cause this disease in Brazil and other countries. SDS is difficult to control with current management practices. Recently, Mirian Pimentel, a PhD student (picture), and a group of plant pathologists at Southern Illinois University discovered a promising new tool to fight SDS. They observed that several biological control agents (BCA), or beneficial fungi, substantially reduced the fungal growth, highlighting the potential of native Trichoderma isolates to inhibit F. virguliforme growth and reduce SDS severity. These BCA interacted with soybean plants to colonize their roots and activate plant defence-related genes, which help the soybeans fend off the fungal attacks.
“Our results highlight the potential of Trichoderma isolates native to soybean production fields in inhibiting pathogen growth and reducing SDS severity, providing additional tools for biological control in soybean production,” explained Dr Ahmad Fakhoury, a plant pathologist at Southern Illinois University. “The integrated use of biological control with other management practices can be valuable for sustainable and cost-effective protection of soybean from yield losses.” The results so far indicate the potential of BCA, and the scientists feel that should encourage agro-industry to develop applications and technologies that optimize the activities of BCA in the field.
Access the abstract at https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-08-19-1676-RE
2. How plants shut the door on infection
Plants have a unique ability to safeguard themselves against pathogens by closing their pores—but until now, no one knew quite how they did it. Scientists have known that a flood of calcium into the cells surrounding the pores triggers them to close, but how the calcium entered the cells was unclear. A new study by an international team, lead by Cyril Zipfel, professor of Molecular and Cellular Plant Physiology, the University of Zurich and Senior Group Leader at the Sainsbury Laboratory, Norwich, revealed that a protein called OSCA1.3 forms a channel that leaks calcium into the cells surrounding a plant’s pores; the study also determined that a known immune system protein triggers the process.
Finding the mechanism associated with this calcium channel allows further research into its regulation, which can improve the understanding of how the channel activity modulates and, eventually, boosts the immune reaction of plants to pathogens. Plant pores (called stomata) are encircled by two guard cells, which respond to calcium signals that tell the cells to expand or contract and trigger innate immune signals, initiating the plant’s defence response. This study thus identifies a plant Ca2+ channel and its activation mechanisms underlying stomatal closure during immune signalling and suggests specificity in Ca2+ influx mechanisms in response to different stresses.
For more, see https://phys.org/news/2020-08-door-infection.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter
Access the abstract at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2702-1
3. New advances in apomixis research at KeyGene published
Plant breeders have been attempting to breed apomixis into many crops. For over twenty years, however, progress has been very limited in understanding the molecular basis for apomixis, despite considerable research efforts in both academia and private labs. The KeyGene team had earlier cloned diplospory-encoding DIP locus, (see https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/ed/c1/7c/ac8360e7b86abc/US20180216122A1.pdf ), the only gene known to control diplospory and the critical first step in apomixis. Now plant reproductive biologists of KeyGene have identified a DNA region from dandelion that is essential for apomixis, the process that enables plants to clonally form seeds without fertilization. This paves the way to introduce apomixis into a broad range of commercial crops, and it will radically change plant breeding and seed production, as seeds from such plants will have the same genetic make-up as their mother plants.
The researchers found that dandelion plants without the crucial parthenogenesis-encoding locus (PAR) locus were still able to autonomously form endosperm, a seed tissue normally produced by fertilization. “The identification of the PAR locus is a major step towards the molecular identification of the parthenogenesis gene in dandelion. Having the ability to breed DIP and PAR into plants gets KeyGene that much closer to realizing apomixis in major crops, one of the most significant technical challenges in all of agriculture,” says Peter van Dijk, first author of the paper.
For more, see https://seedworld.com/new-advances-in-apomixis-research-at-keygene-published/
Access the full paper at https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4425/11/9/961
4. Newly identified gene grants tomatoes resistance to bacterial speck disease
Bacterial speck disease, which reduces both fruit yield and quality, has been a growing problem in tomatoes over the last five years because the culpable bacterium, Pseudomonas syringae, prefers a cool and wet climate. A team at Boyce Thompson Institute (postgraduates Carolina Mazo-Molina and Samantha Mainiero, overseen by faculty member Greg Martin) have uncovered the first known gene to impart resistance to a particular strain, called “Race 1,” of the bacterium causing speck disease (Pseudomonas tomato race 1 – Ptr1 gene). Another resistance gene, Pto, which provides resistance to race 0 strains of Pseudomonas syringae, has been used for over 25 years.
“Researchers are working with plant breeders now to introduce the Ptr1 gene into tomato varieties that already have Pto” explains Martin, who is also a professor at Cornell University’s School of Integrative Plant Science. “A defective form of the gene is present in many tomato varieties already,” says Martin. Natural mutations have made it non-functional and Mainiero plans to use gene-editing technology (CRISPR Prime Editing) to repair this defective gene. The team will also focus on understanding the molecular mechanism of the action underlying Ptr1.
For more, see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/09/200902182419.htm
Access the abstract at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tpj.14810
5. Plant scientists study the interaction of heat stress responses in corn
Recurrent droughts, one outcome of climate change, create stresses in crops resulting in severe losses, and agricultural researchers are trying to untangle the genetic factors that endow plants with a tolerance to such stresses. A new study from Iowa State University scientists, led by Stephen Howell, Distinguished Professor of Genetics, shows how two responses in corn plants that appear to be unrelated interact to help the crop survive heat stress. The study shows how a response called the unfolded protein response helps to activate the heat shock response when corn plants are exposed to hot weather conditions. The two responses operate in different parts of plant cells, and scientists previously assumed the responses were independent.
“We’ve been able to show these systems sometimes work together to mitigate damage caused by heat and to protect the plant from stress,” says Howell. Heat stress causes proteins to denature and misfold in the endoplasmic reticulum, an organelle inside cells. It also shows that, although the two responses take place in different parts of the cell, they work in concert during heat stress: a powerful transcription factor produced in the unfolded protein response activates the expression of a key factor helping to trigger the heat shock response. The unfolded protein response (UPR), an endoplasmic-reticulum–associated response, quite unexpectedly contributes to the nuclear/cytoplasmic HSR in maize.
Access the full paper at http://www.plantcell.org/content/32/11/3559
6. Researchers help inform cassava breeding worldwide
Scientists in Cornell University’s NextGen Cassava project have uncovered new details regarding cassava’s genetic architecture that may help breeders more easily pinpoint traits for one of Africa’s most vital crops. The genome-wide association study (GWAS) explored genomic regions most responsible for desirable traits in cassava, a food crop that provides the main source of calories for 500 million people across the globe. “Our findings provide critical new entries into the catalogue of major loci available to cassava breeders,” said Ismail Rabbi, a molecular geneticist and plant breeder at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture and a member of the NextGen project.
The study has provided a catalogue of favourable alleles at the most significant single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) for each trait-locus combination and candidate genes occurring within the GWAS hits. These resources provide a foundation for the development of markers that could be used in cassava breeding programs, as well as candidate genes for functional validation. Identified markers are expected to greatly improve cassava research and provide another powerful tool for the breeders. The project works to empower smallholder cassava farmers in sub-Saharan Africa by developing, releasing, and distributing improved cassava varieties.
For more, see https://phys.org/news/2020-08-cassava-worldwide.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter
Access the full paper at https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11103-020-01038-3
7. Scientists identify modulator of plant architecture in Setaria italica
The leaf is the primary organ for light capture and organic compound synthesis in plants. For cereal crops, leaf architecture is an important agronomic trait that directly determines canopy structure, as well as grain yield. Identification of key regulators that control leaf droopiness is crucial to improve plant architecture in these crops. The erect leaf is known to contribute a higher number of grains per spike. Researchers from the Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and their collaborators, led by Meicheng Zhao, have shown that DROOPY LEAF1 (DPY1) plays a crucial role in determining leaf droopiness by controlling the brassinosteroid signalling output in Setaria, an emerging model for Panicoideae grasses. Setaria italica, foxtail millet, is a cereal plant which typically has large and long leaf blades. The researchers observed that loss-of-function mutation in DPY1 led to malformation of vascular sclerenchyma and low lignin content in leaves, and thus, an extremely droopy leaf phenotype, which is consistent with its preferential expression in leaf vascular tissues.
These findings reveal a negative feedback mechanism that represses leaf droopiness by preventing an over-response of early brassinosteroid (BR) signalling to excess BRs, which ensures the upward leaf architecture. The maize ortholog (a gene which evolved from a common ancestral gene by speciation) of DPY1 rescues the droopy leaves in dpy1, suggesting its conserved function in Panicoideae. Together with this information, the results of the present study provide insights into how BR signalling is scrutinized by DPY1 to ensure the upward leaf architecture (and thus, ultimately, better grain yield).
Access the abstract at https://www.pnas.org/content/117/35/21766
8. Getting to the root of the problem
Roots take up water and nutrients for the plant and help keep the plant firmly in the ground. But not all roots are the same. Different plants have different kinds of roots, which help them survive in their environment. With legumes, it has been well-established that suboptimal water and phosphorous (P) availability are primary limitations to grain production. Can studying roots lead to better legume crops? It’s a question that researchers James Burridge and Harini Rangarajan set out to answer, under the leadership of Jonathan Lynch, at the Dept. of Plant Science, Pennsylvania State University, USA.
The hypothesis under test was about the link between root system architecture and life strategy to generate breeding targets. In their study, they analyzed the root systems of several kinds of beans and other legumes, like chickpeas. This allowed them to see trade-offs and to determine what kind of root characteristics would perform better in certain environments. They found that legume root architectural phenotypes can be placed on a spectrum of root system architecture (RSA), and that root phenotypes of epigeal and hypogeal taxa present distinct adaptive mechanisms. The findings propose several RSA ideotypes and highlight how dimorphic root architecture may co‐optimize resource acquisition. Based on those findings, breeding programmes could use the trait-based selection on the specific root characteristics they are interested in. They could then use relevant techniques to get well-adapted plants with stronger primary roots or longer root hairs, for example.
Access the full paper at https://acsess.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/csc2.20241
9. Plant living with only one leaf reveals fundamental genetics of plant growth
Clinging to the walls of tropical caves is a type of plant with a single leaf that continues to grow larger for as long as the plant survives. The plant’s scientific name, Monophyllaea glabra, means “Hairless species of one-leaf plant” and it is mainly found in Sarawak, Malaysia and in Thailand. It sprouts from seed with two embryonic leaves called cotyledons, but only one of the cotyledons continues to develop into a leaf. All Monophyllaea species grow one leaf that, as far as scientists have observed, can continue growing bigger as long as the plant lives. Hirokazu Tsukaya, at the University of Tokyo, Bunkyō, Japan, and his colleagues studied this plant using a technique known as whole-mount in situ hybridization that allows researchers to preserve whole chunks of an organism, not just thin slices, and lock in place all of the genetic material the cells were using at the time of their death.
In general, plants with standard anatomy have the gene SHOOT MERISTEMLESS (STM) gene that expresses in cells in the shoot meristem. Additionally, the gene ANGUSTIFOLIA3 (AN3) expresses in very young leaves to promote the multiplication of cells that form the leaf. Tsukaya and his colleagues found that, instead of separating the location and timing of STM and AN3 gene expression, young Monophyllaea showed overlapping expression of the two genes. Researchers say that what looks like a simple leaf in Monophyllaea is a combination or fusing of the shoot meristem and leaf. Researchers state that understanding how unusual species like M. glabra evolved to use common genes in uncommon ways will help agricultural scientists develop tools for controlling the size of leaves for optimal farming cultivation in the future.
Access the full paper at https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpls.2020.01160/full
10. Prior exposure to powdery mildew makes plants more vulnerable to subsequent disease
As in humans, one infection may or may not leave a plant with lasting immunity. An early infection by some pathogens might make things worse. New research from an international team led by Fletcher Halliday, Washington University, St. Louis, USA, and Rachel Penczykowski University of Zurich, Switzerland, shows that infection makes a plant more susceptible to secondary infection—both in experiments and in the wild. The study was carried out through a series of experiments that capture how pathogen strains naturally accumulate on plants over a growing season, and it revealed the importance of understanding interactions among pathogens when developing strategies for maintaining healthy crop populations. The study found that some pathogen strains are especially likely to facilitate infection by later-arriving strains.
“Because crop plants may be exposed to a diversity of pathogen strains during a given growing season, understanding how different pathogen strains impact each other is important for developing sustainable disease control strategies in agricultural systems,” Penczykowski said. Powdery mildew infection is a big problem for crops and other plants worldwide. To test how prior inoculation affected the probability of plants becoming infected during an epidemic in the wild, the authors inoculated plants the same way as they would in a common garden experiment. The researchers found that previously infected sentinel plants acquired secondary mildew infections more often than control plants that had never been infected.
Access the abstract at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01289-9
Potential Crops/Technologies/Concepts
1. Diversifying crop rotations improves environmental outcomes while keeping farms profitable
A new study by Natalie Hunt and her colleagues at the Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering, University of Minnesota, USA, finds that diversifying crop rotations can greatly reduce negative environmental and health impacts, while also maintaining profitability for farmers. It was found that adding small grains and forages (such as alfalfa) to the conventional corn-soybean rotation can greatly reduce negative environmental impacts while supporting farm economies. The major driver of environmental damage is synthetic fertilizer, which requires a lot of fossil fuel to produce and releases greenhouse gasses and pollutants (mainly ammonia) that harm air, soil, and water quality. Researchers found that addition of a single, small-grain crop to the rotation can reduce fossil fuel use, pollution, and damage by about one-half; in more diverse rotation systems, 56% less fossil fuels were used, generating 54% fewer greenhouse gas emissions and 42% lower air pollutants than the conventional corn-soybean system.
“Farmers have long practiced crop rotation to maintain the productivity of their land,” said Natalie Hunt. “The Midwest agricultural landscape became much less diverse after World War II, as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides became more widely used, and as livestock production was largely decoupled from crop production,” said Matt Liebman, Department of Agronomy, Iowa State University, USA, the second author. Multilocation trials with different combinations of crops will help to develop location/region-specific recommendations. “Our work shows that returning to more diverse crop rotations can be a win-win-win for farmers, the public, and the environment.”
Access the full paper at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.9b06929
2. Bioengineered soil microbes may help prevent desertification
Is it possible to make arid ecosystems more resilient to climate change and overgrazing by tweaking the genes of microbes in the soil? This question is being explored because continued climate change and overgrazing can lead to an early ‘tripping point,’ after which such areas can become even less hospitable. Water-scarce “drylands” cover about 40% of the Earth’s land area, and about 40% of the human population lives in such regions. Research in its early stages and modelling work so far indicate, according to Ricard Solé, a biophysicist at Pompeu Fabra University in Spain, that even relatively small changes to key organisms could have profound effects. Solé and his colleagues aim to see if genetic changes to microorganisms could shift those tipping points.
Soil bacteria that are engineered to store more water could then enrich the soil, allowing plants to grow and create shade, which would then support the growth of more bacteria. Solé describes the mutually beneficial relationships between species as “cooperative loops.” In one set of models, he and his colleagues simulated the creation of new cooperative loops and observed how they affected the rest of the virtual ecosystem. In theory, engineered microbes might allow dryland ecosystems to survive for several more decades, giving humanity more time to address the underlying problems of climate change, said Solé, but this still needs to be checked at the field level.
Access the full paper at https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.200161
3. Researchers studying ‘the sound of plants dancing’ to improve agriculture
What do dancing plants sound like? It seems like the start of a philosophical essay question. However, the scientists at Virginia Tech, led by Bingyu Zhao, Associate Professor, School of Plant and Environmental Sciences, Blacksburg, USA, are trying to figure out how the sonification of plant movements could be used to assess plant health and aid farmers who need to monitor plants on a large scale, as for example, a grower using an indoor facility with dozens of rows of plants. The researchers take the data they’ve collected on plant movements using high-resolution cameras (see https://giphy.com/gifs/dancing-plants-sound-of-movement-jQEbfi4Ojfi6VKNnuB?utm_source=iframe&utm_medium=embed&utm_campaign=Embeds&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fvtnews.vt.edu%2F) and over time, patterns develop. These are converted into sound in a process called sonification.
The idea is to eventually be able to link certain sounds to indicators that a plant needs better light or lower temperature, for example. This work is being done under the state-wide SmartFarm Innovation Network, said Susan Duncan, associate director of the Virginia Agricultural Experiment Station. With growing plants indoors, for example, “You can’t just say, ‘I’m going to put this LED light over my plant and see how it goes,'” Duncan said.
For more, see https://phys.org/news/2020-09-virginia-agriculture.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter
4. Intelligent software tackles plant cell jigsaw puzzle
Imagine working on a jigsaw puzzle with so many pieces that even the edges seem indistinguishable from others at the puzzle’s centre. The solution seems nearly impossible. A European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) research group, led by Anna Kreshuk, a computer scientist and expert in machine learning, is trying to develop a tool that could solve this cellular jigsaw puzzle.
“We have giant puzzle boards with thousands of cells and then we’re essentially colouring each one of these puzzle pieces with a different colour,” Kreshuk says. Examples include characterising developmental changes in ovules, studying the first asymmetric cell division which initiates the formation of the lateral root, and comparing and contrasting the shape of leaf cells between two different plant species. Plant biologists have long needed this kind of tool, as morphogenesis is at the crux of many developmental biology questions.
For more, see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200831090127.htm
Access the full paper at https://elifesciences.org/articles/57613
News:
1. A case for botanical gardens to lead in global plant crisis
Many researchers agree that the world is experiencing a sixth global mass extinction event of biodiversity, and conservation efforts are imperative to halt the process. Among other measures needed, botanical gardens (BGs) are uniquely positioned to preserve the world’s plant diversity, argue the authors of a new study. The Morton Arboretum scientists, Murphy Westwood and Nicole Cavender, in collaboration with Abby Meyer and Paul Smith from Botanic Gardens Conservation International, detail how BGs have the skills and knowledge, facilities, plant collections, and access to the public required to advance plant conservation, but lack the funding and public recognition necessary to achieve a significant impact on global conservation.
Although BGs are the ideal organizations to take on the significant efforts on plant diversity conservation, they need increased funding, say the authors. They indicate that botanical gardens are increasingly placing the conservation of plant diversity at the centre of their missions, programming, and collections. They highlight the need for BGs to be stronger advocates for themselves in local politics, so as to secure a seat at the environmental decision-making table, as well as the need for much greater support from the public, funders, and corporations to put BGs in the center of global plant conservation efforts.
Access the full paper at https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/ppp3.10134
2. Pesticide-free crop protection yields up to US$ 20 billion/year benefits in Asia-Pacific
Scientists have estimated that nature-based solutions for agricultural pest control deliver US$14.6 to US$19.5 billion annually across 23 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Their research suggests that non-chemical crop protection (or biological control) delivers economic dividends that far surpass those attained through improved “Green Revolution” rice germplasm (estimated at US$ 4.3 billion a year). These results constitute an empirical demonstration of how insect biological control can help solidify the agrarian foundation of several Asia-Pacific economies and—in doing so—places biological control on an equal footing with other biological innovations, such as Green Revolution germplasm.
Access the abstract at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-020-01294-y
3. Investor action on biodiversity: discussion paper
Biodiversity loss is a systemic risk and more people need to be concerned in reversing this trend. For example, investors can seek to drive positive biodiversity outcomes and reduce negative outcomes by encouraging their investees to implement the Mitigation Hierarchy (Avoid, Minimize, Restore), which guides users towards limiting the negative impacts on biodiversity from their activities. Some investors are trying to better understand how they can include biodiversity in their investment strategies and collaborate with others to tackle biodiversity loss. There are a small number of investor engagements with a specific focus on avoiding and minimising biodiversity impacts, and several investor engagements that focus on companies whose activities are known to impact biodiversity.
For more, see https://www.unpri.org/sustainability-issues/environmental-social-and-governance-issues/environmental-issues/biodiversity
Access the full paper at https://www.unpri.org/download?ac=11357
4. Nitrogen fertilizers are not effective in reducing nitrous oxide emissions from drip-irrigated cotton fields
Agriculture is the major source of greenhouse gas nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions. Application of polymer-coated urea and urease and/or nitrification inhibitor has the potential to reduce soil N2O emissions. However, only limited information is available on how nitrogenous fertilizer management affects soil N₂O emission under drip irrigation. Researchers from the Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found that enhanced-efficiency nitrogen fertilizers were not effective in reducing N₂O emissions from drip-irrigated cotton fields in arid northwest China. Reducing the N rate by half significantly reduced both the N₂O emissions and cotton yield.
Access the abstract at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720350725?via%3Dihub
5. Urban farming: four reasons it should flourish post-pandemic
Since the lockdown, public interest in growing fruit and vegetables at home has soared. Taking advantage of the situation, making food growing a part of urban life could bring greenery and wildlife closer to home. Diversifying where and how we grow our food helps spread the risk of disruption to food supplies. Labour shortages seen during the pandemic might not have been felt as keenly if urban farms were growing food right where people live. A study by Charlotte Hardman and Bethan Mead, Lancaster University, Liverpool, UK, suggests that urban food growing can also help change attitudes towards food, so that people place more value in produce that’s sustainable, healthy, and ethically sourced. The opportunity is there for urban planners and developers to consider what bringing farming to urban landscapes could offer.
Also, see https://phys.org/news/2020-03-urban-fruit-veg-cent-population.html
6. Plants take in less carbon in a warming world
As world temperatures rise, the rate at which plants in certain regions can absorb carbon dioxide is declining, according to University of Queensland research. Over a three year period, researchers took direct measurements of plant absorption of CO2 in subtropical coastal ecosystems in eastern Australia. One of the major factor that was to found affect photosynthetic rate which is erlated to CO2 utilization by plants. “Plants’ optimum temperature range for photosynthesis in our study area is between 24.1o and 27.4oC,” Professor McGowan said.
For more, see https://phys.org/news/2020-08-carbon-world.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter
Access the abstract at https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2020JG005678
7. Changing what we eat could offset years of climate-warming emissions
Plant protein foods, like pulses, beans, and nuts, can provide vital nutrients using a small fraction of the land required to produce meat and dairy. If humans could shift to these foods, much of the remaining land could support ecosystems that absorb CO2. In a new study, the researchers analysed and mapped areas having extensive production of animal-sourced food, which require 83% of Earth’s arable land. Researchers point out that they only mapped areas where seeds could disperse naturally, growing and multiplying into dense, biodiverse forests and other ecosystems that work to remove CO2.
Access the full paper at https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-020-00603-4
Events
1. ICAHEE 2021: International Conference on Agriculture, Horticulture, and Environment Engineering
08-09 Apr 2021, Rome, Italy.
For more, see https://waset.org/agriculture-horticulture-and-environment-engineering-conference-in-october-2021-in-lisbon
2. ICSAPF 2021: International Conference on Sustainable Agriculture Practices and Farming
15-16 Apr 2021, Cape Town, South Africa.
For more, see https://waset.org/sustainable-agriculture-practices-and-farming-conference-in-april-2021-in-cape-town
3. ICASE 2021: 15th International Conference on Agriculture and Sustainable Environment
26-27 Apr 2021, Istanbul, Turkey.
For more, see https://waset.org/agriculture-and-sustainable-environment-conference-in-april-2021-in-istanbul
4. ICSIG 2021: 15th International Conference on Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture
03-04 May 2021, Rome, Italy.
For more, see https://waset.org/sustainable-intensification-of-agriculture-conference-in-may-2021-in-rome
5. 3rd International Conference on Biodiversity and Ecology
21-22 Jun 2021, Singapore City.
Other Topics of Interest
1. Insect wings inspire new ways to fight superbugs
2. When plants and their microbes are not in sync, the results can be disastrous
3. Intelligent software tackles plant cell jigsaw puzzle
For more, see https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200831090127.htm
Access the full paper at https://elifesciences.org/articles/57613
4. The State of the World’s Forests 2020: Forests, biodiversity and people
For more, see https://reliefweb.int/report/world/state-world-s-forests-2020-forests-biodiversity-and-people-enarru
Access the full paper at https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/CA8642EN.pdf
5. Researchers develop new chip design for analysing plant-microbe interactions
6. Major European project to develop heat- and drought-stress tolerant potatoes
For more, see https://www.potatopro.com/news/2020/major-european-project-develop-heat-and-drought-stress-tolerant-potatoes?amp
7. Researchers warn of food-web threats from common insecticides
8. Researchers discover how messenger RNAs transport information to where photosynthesis takes place