Post on 04-Oct-2020
Mike Bushell
May 2014
Integrating advances in crop breeding with other methodologies
Classification: PUBLIC
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What we’ve heard today
● New technologies for improving breeding
● Testing new varieties
● Breeding for useful traits
- Increased Yield
- Pest Resistance
- Abiotic Stress resistance; heat stress
- Improved nutrient use efficiency
Classification: PUBLIC
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Themes
● The challenges for food security are enormous
- SIA
● Clear need for investment in Ag innovation
● There has never been a better time to be a plant
scientist
● Not everything can be achieved through new crop
varieties alone
● Systems level thinking is needed
- metrics
Classification: PUBLIC
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Global Food Security Challenges and Opportunities
● The Global Challenges are enormous
- Providing sustainable Food, Energy, Water Security for
a population of 7 billion today, and 10 billion by 2080
● The Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture
- The key concept from UK Foresight report
● ....defined as producing more output from the same area
of land while reducing the negative environmental
impacts and using all inputs more efficiently – land,
water, nutrients
Classification: PUBLIC
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Environmental stresses are increasing
World stress mapThe change in climate is already reducing water and arable land
Source: UNEP, Cline, Syngenta
Climate change impact
High
Medium
Low
Agriculture
uses 70% of the
world’s fresh water
withdrawals
Classification: PUBLIC
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The challenge: sustainably feed a growing population
70%of them depend
on farming
2bnmore people
by 2050
Every day the world’s population increases by 200’000
870mpeople go to bed hungry
Classification: PUBLIC
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Modern plant breeding uses powerful technologies
From gene data across technologies and crops….
Corn
Wheat
Sorghum
Soybean
Tomato
Pepper
Cassava
Poplar
Melon
Stress Tolerance
Yield
Flowering
Fruit and petal color
Taste
Disease resistance
Nutrient efficiency
Insect Resistance
….to trait and marker knowledge within crops
Classification: PUBLIC
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Think about Agricultural Systems
Mechanisation including irrigation
Modern fertilizers
Crop protection
chemicals
Better seed varieties
Classification: PUBLIC
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Innovating across technologies to transform the way crops are grown
Breeding
Native traits
GM traits
Seed care
Crop Protection
Nutrients, water
Machinery
Grower’s needs
Technology
Weedcontrol
Insectcontrol
Diseasecontrol
Nematodecontrol
Yieldpotential
Nitrogenefficiency
Drought Qualitytraits
Laborshortage
Postharvest
Chemical solutions
Biological solutions
Services
Classification: PUBLIC
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A farm systems approach
● Setting yield potential
- Genetics and agronomic practice (soil fertility and water)
- Environmental conditions
- Crop enhancement chemistry
● Delivering yield and quality - economic return
- Protection from weed competition
- Pest and disease control in field and in storage
- Crop and harvest management
● What is a good target for Nitrogen use efficiency?
Classification: PUBLIC
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Optimizing crop technology for large-scale farms
Soybean: high yielding solutions
2012: Highest yield in Brazil
(yield contest)
6t/ha
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3
Brazil USA Argentina Others
Source: CESB, USDA
Average soybean yield 2012: t/ha
Classification: PUBLIC
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Poor soil fertility is generally obvious
Classification: PUBLIC
NUE
Modern soil science
Rhizosphere interactions
Micronutrients and NPK
Inoculants
Precision application
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Nutrient Use Efficiency
● Nitrogen
- Genetics for NUE
- Rates, timings, split applications
- Crop Rotation; green manures, compost
- Soil inoculants
- Crop enhancement chemicals – root architecture
- Deep placement in rice?
● Balanced nutrition
- pH, micronutrients and phosphorus often limiting
● Yield protection
- 12 tonnes maize/ha
- NOT 6 tonnes maize and a mass of weeds!
PUBLIC
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Yara/ Syngenta protocol
Farmers’ practice protocol
Official local
recommen.
(only tested on university and research sites)
Classification: PUBLIC
Each of the 11 maize and rice sites selected compare Yara/Syngenta protocol with farmers’ practice
Site Set-up
Location of sites
Four farmer sites in Kilombero region,
five farmer sites in Njomberegion
Controlled maize site at Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro; rice site at Dakawa Research Institute
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Maize results have been consistent across all three seasons
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1
2
3
4
5
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2011 2012 2013
Farmers' Practice
Yara/Syngenta
National average
Classification: PUBLIC
+125%+100%
+100%
t/h
a
+60% +140%Profitability
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Breeding for plant health, stress tolerance and consumer values
Classification: PUBLIC
Volatile
metabolites
Sugar
Organic
acids
Colour/
appearance
Amino
acids
Texture“There has never been a
better time to be a plant
scientist”
Precision breeding
approaches based on
modern technologies,
genetics and genomics
Flavour is built from many components
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Seed treatment technology
● Seed enhancement
system
– Selected AI’s in
appropriate ratio
– Seed technology;
disinfection, priming,
coating, pelleting
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GM Plants with insect resistanceCorn borer resistant (Bt) maize Corn root worm resistant maize
Classification: PUBLIC
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Innovation in traits for Insect control?
● Bt proteins for control of lepidoptera/coleoptera
● VIP distinct moa
- stacked traits to complete spectrum and help manage
resistance
● Programmes with chemicals or BCA’s
● New Refugia concepts
● RNAi – a new paradigm for pest control?
Classification: PUBLIC
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Systems approaches for Integrated Pest Management
● Opportunities to combine novel
engineering and precision guidance
systems to improve delivery of BCA
● Swiss newspaper article Feb 2014 –
Kampfeinsatz fur Gemuse (Combat
Mission for Vegetables)
● Trichogramma control of European Corn
Borer
● Technology developed by Biotop (France), and also Biocare
(Germany)
● Papier mache or biodegradable plastic capsules with
Trichogramma at 2 different stages of diapause
Picture of small polycopter/drone
applying capsules of Trichogramma to
a maize field
Classification: PUBLIC
• Devices and services based on
Robotics, Sensors, Imaging systems,
Drones, Satellite monitoring
• Big Data
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Integrated Weed Management
● Reducing the Risks of Herbicide Resistance: Best Management Practices and Recommendations
● Herbicides are the foundation of weed control…
● Don’t think of a new Herbicide with a new moa as a “silver bullet”
● Programs for herbicide-resistance management must consider use of all cultural, mechanical, and herbicidal options available for effective weed control in each situation
● Think - “How can this product fit best into a system that provides sustainable control of weeds”
- Mechanisation, soil nutrients, genetics and chemicals – Agronomy; variable seeding rates, rotations,
Norsworthy et al. Weed Science 2012 Special Issue:31–62
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Farm Sprayer 2012
Automatic boom height.
GPS guidance
Auto on-off
Self steering
Variable Rate Application
Record keeping (traceability)
Classification: PUBLIC
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Complementary technologies to offer fully integrated solutions to the farmer and the value chain
Classification: PUBLIC
New planting machinery
Water irrigation solutions
Special nutrition opportunity
Developed for the PLENE® sugar
cane program to improve yields and
labor conditions
Integrated crop protection and water
management solution
Delivered increased input efficiency
via existing irrigation pivots
New foliar fertilizer offering crop
health value for soybean growers
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Rice: new solution to drive yield and simplify
Mechanized transplanting:
convenience and yield boost ~30%Manual transplanting:
labour intensive and hard work
Classification: PUBLIC
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TEGRA: transforming rice production
Securing yield and reducing labor for
smallholders: introducing a revolutionary
transplanting system
Preferred retailers place direct
Farmer orders
High quality treated seeds Integrated technology in
seedling tray
Agronomy protocol to maximize
yields
Transplant franchisees offer
seedlings-in-the-field
Nursery franchisees raise
healthy seedlings
30%yield advantage
150%return oninvestment
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Rice ICS
Classification: PUBLIC
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HYVIDOTM: hybrid barley seed technology
Unique seed technology
innovation
Delivering outstanding yield
results under all growing
conditions
Cashback yield guarantee
offered for growers following
Syngenta protocols
Classification: PUBLIC
Delivering high-performing hybrid
barley seeds to growers at scale
28 Classification: PUBLIC