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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1

2

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

6

7

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