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Journal of Plant Physiology Feb 2021Climate change during the last 40 years has had a serious impact on agriculture and threatens global food and nutritional security. From over half a million plant... (Review)
Review
Climate change during the last 40 years has had a serious impact on agriculture and threatens global food and nutritional security. From over half a million plant species, cereals and legumes are the most important for food and nutritional security. Although systematic plant breeding has a relatively short history, conventional breeding coupled with advances in technology and crop management strategies has increased crop yields by 56 % globally between 1965-85, referred to as the Green Revolution. Nevertheless, increased demand for food, feed, fiber, and fuel necessitates the need to break existing yield barriers in many crop plants. In the first decade of the 21st century we witnessed rapid discovery, transformative technological development and declining costs of genomics technologies. In the second decade, the field turned towards making sense of the vast amount of genomic information and subsequently moved towards accurately predicting gene-to-phenotype associations and tailoring plants for climate resilience and global food security. In this review we focus on genomic resources, genome and germplasm sequencing, sequencing-based trait mapping, and genomics-assisted breeding approaches aimed at developing biotic stress resistant, abiotic stress tolerant and high nutrition varieties in six major cereals (rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum and pearl millet), and six major legumes (soybean, groundnut, cowpea, common bean, chickpea and pigeonpea). We further provide a perspective and way forward to use genomic breeding approaches including marker-assisted selection, marker-assisted backcrossing, haplotype based breeding and genomic prediction approaches coupled with machine learning and artificial intelligence, to speed breeding approaches. The overall goal is to accelerate genetic gains and deliver climate resilient and high nutrition crop varieties for sustainable agriculture.
Topics: Agriculture; Crops, Agricultural; Genome, Plant; Genomics; Plant Breeding
PubMed: 33412425
DOI: 10.1016/j.jplph.2020.153351 -
Planta Aug 2021H gas, usually in the form of H-saturated water, could play a useful role in improving many aspects of plant growth and productivity, including resistance to stress... (Review)
Review
H gas, usually in the form of H-saturated water, could play a useful role in improving many aspects of plant growth and productivity, including resistance to stress tolerance and improved post-harvest durability. Therefore, molecular hydrogen delivery systems should be considered as a valuable addition within agricultural practice. Agriculture and food security are both impacted by plant stresses, whether that is directly from human impact or through climate change. A continuously increasing human population and rising food consumption means that there is need to search for agriculturally useful and environment friendly strategies to ensure future food security. Molecular hydrogen (H) research has gained momentum in plant and agricultural science owing to its multifaceted and diverse roles in plants. H application can mitigate against a range of stresses, including salinity, heavy metals and drought. Therefore, knowing how endogenous, or exogenously applied, H enhances the growth and tolerance against numerous plant stresses will enhance our understanding of how H may be useful for future to agriculture and horticulture. In this review, recent progress and future implication of H in agriculture is highlighted, focusing on how H impacts on plant cell function and how it can be applied for better plant performance. Although the exact molecular action of H in plants remains elusive, this safe and easy to apply treatment should have a future in agricultural practice.
Topics: Agriculture; Droughts; Hydrogen; Plant Development; Plant Physiological Phenomena
PubMed: 34420086
DOI: 10.1007/s00425-021-03706-0 -
Nature Plants Dec 2020Innovative approaches are urgently required to alleviate the growing pressure on agriculture to meet the rising demand for food. A key challenge for plant biology is to... (Review)
Review
Innovative approaches are urgently required to alleviate the growing pressure on agriculture to meet the rising demand for food. A key challenge for plant biology is to bridge the notable knowledge gap between our detailed understanding of model plants grown under laboratory conditions and the agriculturally important crops cultivated in fields or production facilities. This Perspective highlights the recent development of new analytical tools that are rapid and non-destructive and provide tissue-, cell- or organelle-specific information on living plants in real time, with the potential to extend across multiple species in field applications. We evaluate the utility of engineered plant nanosensors and portable Raman spectroscopy to detect biotic and abiotic stresses, monitor plant hormonal signalling as well as characterize the soil, phytobiome and crop health in a non- or minimally invasive manner. We propose leveraging these tools to bridge the aforementioned fundamental gap with new synthesis and integration of expertise from plant biology, engineering and data science. Lastly, we assess the economic potential and discuss implementation strategies that will ensure the acceptance and successful integration of these modern tools in future farming practices in traditional as well as urban agriculture.
Topics: Agriculture; Crops, Agricultural; Food Supply; Forecasting; Inventions
PubMed: 33257857
DOI: 10.1038/s41477-020-00808-7 -
International Journal of Environmental... Mar 2022Agriculture is a multifarious interface between plants and associated microorganisms. In contemporary agriculture, emphasis is being given to environmentally friendly... (Review)
Review
Agriculture is a multifarious interface between plants and associated microorganisms. In contemporary agriculture, emphasis is being given to environmentally friendly approaches, particularly in developing countries, to enhance sustainability of the system with the least negative effects on produce quality and quantity. Modern agricultural practices such as extensive tillage, the use of harmful agrochemicals, mono-cropping, etc. have been found to influence soil microbial community structure and soil sustainability. On the other hand, the question of feeding the ever-growing global population while ensuring system sustainability largely remains unanswered. Agriculturally important microorganisms are envisaged to play important roles in various measures to raise a healthy and remunerative crop, including integrated nutrient management, as well as disease and pest management to cut down agrochemicals without compromising the agricultural production. These beneficial microorganisms seem to have every potential to provide an alternative opportunity to overcome the ill effects of various components of traditional agriculture being practiced by and large. Despite an increased awareness of the importance of organically produced food, farmers in developing countries still tend to apply inorganic chemical fertilizers and toxic chemical pesticides beyond the recommended doses. Nutrient uptake enhancement, biocontrol of pests and diseases using microbial inoculants may replace/reduce agrochemicals in agricultural production system. The present review aims to examine and discuss the shift in microbial population structure due to current agricultural practices and focuses on the development of a sustainable agricultural system employing the tremendous untapped potential of the microbial world.
Topics: Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Fertilizers; Soil; Soil Microbiology
PubMed: 35270832
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19053141 -
Plant Science : An International... Dec 2019Nutrient fertilization plays a critical role in maintaining soil fertility and improving crop productivity and quality. Precise nutrient management of horticultural... (Review)
Review
Nutrient fertilization plays a critical role in maintaining soil fertility and improving crop productivity and quality. Precise nutrient management of horticultural crops is a major challenge worldwide as it relies predominantly on chemical fertilizers. Traditional fertilizers are not only costly for the producer, but may be harmful to humans and the environment. This has led to the search for environmentally friendly fertilizers, particularly those with high nutrient-use efficiency, and nanotechnology is emerging as a promising alternative. Nanofertilizers offer benefits in nutrition management through their strong potential to increase nutrient use efficiency. Nutrients, either applied alone or in combination, are bound to nano-dimensional adsorbents, which release nutrients very slowly as compared to conventional fertilizers. This approach not only increases nutrient-use efficiency, but also minimizes nutrient leaching into ground water. Furthermore, nanofertilizers may also be used for enhancing abiotic stress tolerance and used in combination with microorganisms (the so-called nanobiofertilizers) provide great additional benefits. However, although the benefits of nanofertilizers are undoubtedly opening new approaches towards sustainable agriculture, their limitations should also be carefully considered before market implementation. In particular, the extensive release of nanomaterials into the environment and the food chain may pose a risk to human health. In conclusion, although nanofertilizers use in agriculture is offering great opportunities to improve plant nutrition and stress tolerance to achieve higher yields in a frame of climate change, not all nanomaterials will be equally safe for all applications. The risks of nanofertilizers should be carefully examined before use, and further biotechnological advances are required for a correct and safe application of nanomaterials in agriculture.
Topics: Agriculture; Crop Production; Crops, Agricultural; Fertilizers; Nanotechnology
PubMed: 31623775
DOI: 10.1016/j.plantsci.2019.110270 -
Critical Reviews in Biotechnology Sep 2014Biological control of phytopathogenic fungi and insects continues to inspire the research and development of environmentally friendly bioactive alternatives. Potentially... (Review)
Review
Biological control of phytopathogenic fungi and insects continues to inspire the research and development of environmentally friendly bioactive alternatives. Potentially lytic enzymes, chitinases can act as a biocontrol agent against agriculturally important fungi and insects. The cell wall in fungi and protective covers, i.e. cuticle in insects shares a key structural polymer, chitin, a β-1,4-linked N-acetylglucosamine polymer. Therefore, it is advantageous to develop a common biocontrol agent against both of these groups. As chitin is absent in plants and mammals, targeting its metabolism will signify an eco-friendly strategy for the control of agriculturally important fungi and insects but is innocuous to mammals, plants, beneficial insects and other organisms. In addition, development of chitinase transgenic plant varieties probably holds the most promising method for augmenting agricultural crop protection and productivity, when properly integrated into traditional systems. Recently, human proteins with chitinase activity and chitinase-like proteins were identified and established as biomarkers for human diseases. This review covers the recent advances of chitinases as a biocontrol agent and its various applications including preparation of medically important chitooligosaccharides, bioconversion of chitin as well as in implementing chitinases as diagnostic and prognostic markers for numerous diseases and the prospect of their future utilization.
Topics: Agriculture; Animals; Antifungal Agents; Antiprotozoal Agents; Chitinases; Delivery of Health Care; Humans; Pest Control, Biological
PubMed: 23859124
DOI: 10.3109/07388551.2013.790874 -
World Journal of Microbiology &... Feb 2013Myconanotechnology is an emerging field, where fungi can be harnessed for the synthesis of nanomaterials or nanostructures with desirable shape and size. Though... (Review)
Review
Myconanotechnology is an emerging field, where fungi can be harnessed for the synthesis of nanomaterials or nanostructures with desirable shape and size. Though myconanotechnology is in its infancy, potential applications provide exciting waves of transformation in agriculture and fascinate microbiologists and other researchers to contribute in providing incremental solutions through green chemistry approaches for advancing food security. In this article, we provide a brief overview of the research efforts on the mycogenic synthesis of nanoparticles with particular emphasis on mechanisms and potential applications in agriculture and allied sectors.
Topics: Agriculture; Fungi; Nanostructures; Nanotechnology
PubMed: 23001741
DOI: 10.1007/s11274-012-1171-6 -
Science (New York, N.Y.) Jan 2023
Topics: Animals; Agriculture; Livestock; Risk
PubMed: 36701448
DOI: 10.1126/science.abe2211 -
Proceedings of the National Academy of... Jul 2021Plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Because agriculture's productivity is based on this process, a combination of technologies to... (Review)
Review
Plants remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Because agriculture's productivity is based on this process, a combination of technologies to reduce emissions and enhance soil carbon storage can allow this sector to achieve net negative emissions while maintaining high productivity. Unfortunately, current row-crop agricultural practice generates about 5% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States and European Union. To reduce these emissions, significant effort has been focused on changing farm management practices to maximize soil carbon. In contrast, the potential to reduce emissions has largely been neglected. Through a combination of innovations in digital agriculture, crop and microbial genetics, and electrification, we estimate that a 71% (1,744 kg COe/ha) reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from row crop agriculture is possible within the next 15 y. Importantly, emission reduction can lower the barrier to broad adoption by proceeding through multiple stages with meaningful improvements that gradually facilitate the transition to net negative practices. Emerging voluntary and regulatory ecosystems services markets will incentivize progress along this transition pathway and guide public and private investments toward technology development. In the difficult quest for net negative emissions, all tools, including emission reduction and soil carbon storage, must be developed to allow agriculture to maintain its critical societal function of provisioning society while, at the same time, generating environmental benefits.
Topics: Agriculture; Ammonia; Carbon Dioxide; Conservation of Natural Resources; Crop Production; Crops, Agricultural; Technology
PubMed: 34155124
DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022666118 -
The Science of the Total Environment Sep 2022European agricultural development in the 21st century will be affected by a host of global changes, including climate change, changes in agricultural technologies and... (Review)
Review
European agricultural development in the 21st century will be affected by a host of global changes, including climate change, changes in agricultural technologies and practices, and a shift towards a circular economy. The type and quantity of chemicals used, emitted, and cycled through agricultural systems in Europe will change, driven by shifts in the use patterns of pesticides, veterinary pharmaceuticals, reclaimed wastewater used for irrigation, and biosolids. Climate change will also impact the chemical persistence, fate, and transport processes that dictate environmental exposure. Here, we review the literature to identify research that will enable scenario-based forecasting of environmental exposures to organic chemicals in European agriculture under global change. Enabling exposure forecasts requires understanding current and possible future 1.) emissions, 2.) persistence and transformation, and 3.) fate and transport of agricultural chemicals. We discuss current knowledge in these three areas, the impact global change drivers may have on them, and we identify knowledge and data gaps that must be overcome to enable predictive scenario-based forecasts of environmental exposure under global change. Key research gaps identified are: improved understanding of relationships between global change and chemical emissions in agricultural settings; better understanding of environment-microbe interactions in the context of chemical degradation under future conditions; and better methods for downscaling climate change-driven intense precipitation events for chemical fate and transport modelling. We introduce a set of narrative Agricultural Chemical Exposure (ACE) scenarios - augmenting the IPCC's Shared Socio-economic Pathways (SSPs) - as a framework for forecasting chemical exposure in European agriculture. The proposed ACE scenarios cover a plausible range of optimistic to pessimistic 21st century development pathways. Filling the knowledge and data gaps identified within this study and using the ACE scenario approach for chemical exposure forecasting will support stakeholder planning and regulatory intervention strategies to ensure European agricultural practices develop in a sustainable manner.
Topics: Agriculture; Agrochemicals; Climate Change; Environmental Exposure; Forecasting; Models, Theoretical; Veterinary Drugs
PubMed: 35667426
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.156478