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Greenfield Robotics, a Kansas-based company, is hoping to move agriculture away from herbicides. They’ve developed robots to take on a labor-intensive process — cutting weeds down.
Three yellow, bug-like creatures crawl in perfectly straight lines across the dead grass of a flat, brown February field in Cheney, Kansas.
These are the namesake of GreenField Robotics. Two lights peer out from each side of the boxy machines, almost appearing like eyes. Blades whir at their base, about a half an inch from the ground – the perfect height to chop weeds, though there’s nothing to cut down on a frigid winter day.
They stick out in an otherwise rural landscape – and GreenField CEO Clint Brauer said he frequently hears from curious passersby.
“All the time,” Brauer said. “I’m always surprised, though, how little people notice.”
Brauer grew up on a family farm in Haven, Kansas, but moved to California after high school to work in the tech industry. In 2010, he returned home after his dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. He attributes the use of herbicides to his dad’s diagnosis.
“The more I learned about farm chemicals and stuff … the more I thought there’s a decent chance that this came from that,” Brauer said.
GreenField Robotics CEO and Founder Clint Brauer with two robots in Cheney, Kansas.
The move sucked Brauer back into the world of agriculture, where he started seeking ways to eliminate herbicides. He tried farming organically, but it was too expensive to be accessible to many buyers.
Another option was no till farming, where farmers avoid turning over the dirt to reduce erosion and improve soil health. But it’s a method that leans on herbicides.
And in 2015, Brauer was starting to notice the weeds in his fields were becoming resistant to chemicals anyway.
“There was no good way to get rid of those weeds, even though we had sprayed many times,” Brauer said.
“So, what do we do? And so that was the beginning of this idea of – what if we just cut those weeds?”
Cutting weeds by hand wasn’t exactly a 21st-century answer. So Brauer thought: What about robots? He reached out to software and machine-vision experts and started prototyping robots.
By 2021, the company had manufactured a two-and-a-half foot-tall working robot. And it pulled together different technologies, like drones, to create extremely precise maps of crop fields. The robots follow the maps, so that they’re unlikely to accidentally chop down a crop instead of a weed.
“They plant the crop, we count about 10 days, normally, the crops emerge, and we fly over it with a drone,” Brauer said. “ … That’s where AI – we have machine vision that automatically recognizes everything that’s going on in that field.”
Thirty to 40 days later, Brauer sends out the robots.
GreenFields’ robots working a field.
In 2022, the company partnered with MKC, a major agricultural cooperative, to reach farmers who might use the product. In 2023, GreenField Robotics worked with 25 to 30 Kansas farmers, Brauer said. The company currently has a fleet of 20 robots and 15 employees
This summer, Brauer said the company is planning to work the weed-cutting robots on over 20,000 acres.
John Niemann is a farmer in Reno County. He tested GreenField Robotics for the first time last spring on 80 acres of a sorghum field, leaving 10 acres untouched to compare results. He had treated the entire crop with herbicides earlier in the season.
“We saw higher yields where we used the robots, versus the 10 acres that we did not,” Niemann said.
That’s because the weeds that didn’t get chopped down in the 10 acres competed with the crop for moisture, hampering the yield.
“The robots are part of a toolbox, is how I would look at them,” Niemann said. “There is no magic bullet in farming practices. You need to have a lot of tools in your toolbox.”
Niemann says the robots are a useful tool to reduce reliance on chemicals. Plus, he said the cost was comparable to herbicides.
Brauer said the economics is always his first pitch to farmers, and the robots are compelling because they damage less of the crop than chemicals do.
The company is also adapting the robots for other uses, like planting cover crops and soil testing.
“We are on a mission,” Brauer said. “This is not about enrichment. This is – we’re building something that can’t be undone. And so we’re going to eliminate these chemicals.”
This story was first aired and produced by KMUW. It’s being distributed by Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
Note the 100 Euro discount for active IAPPS members on registration fees for the International Plant Protection Congress., 1-5 July 2024, Athens, Greece. For more information on the IPPC and to become an IAPPS member ($30 for students, $35 for developing countries and $50 for industrial countries) go to the IAPPS website http://www.plantprotection.org and click on the Join IAPPS icon. If you have a problem joining please contact me at eheinrichs2@unl.edu
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Could the controversial herbicide be prohibited across the European Union member states?
Germany wants glyphosate to be abandoned in the EU amid warnings of the risk of heterogeneous regulations.
The move comes after the European Commission’s proposal this week to renew the authorisation of the powerful herbicide for ten years.
“In the context of threats to biodiversity, the German government has called for a European exit from glyphosate and warned against heterogeneous levels of protection in the EU,” the Ministry of Agriculture said.
Fresh green soy plants on the field in spring. Rows of young soybean plants . High quality photo
CABI, together with Editors in Chief Lone Buchwaldt, David B. Collinge, and Boyd A. Mori is embarking on a new type of online publication called Plant Health Cases.
Plant Health Cases will be a curated, peer-reviewed collection of real-life examples of plant health in practice. This will be an invaluable resource for students, lecturers, researchers, and research-led practitioners. We will be developing cases in all areas relevant to plant health, including:
plant diseases
plants pests
weeds
environmental factors
agronomic practices
diagnosis, prevention, monitoring and control
international trade and travel
What is a Case Study?
A Plant Health Case is a relatively short publication with a well-defined example of research in plant health, e.g. a study which results in reduced impact from a disease or pest problem. Cases should be between 3000 and 5000 words long, and can include photos, figures and tables. They should be written in an engaging style that is both science-based and accessible using a limited number of references. Importantly, each case should suggest points for discussion to broaden the reader’s horizon, inspire critical thinking and lead to interactions in the classroom or field.
Interested in Contributing to Plant Health Cases?
We are currently looking for contributions of case studies, and we welcome your ideas! You may have existing case study material ready prepared for use in teaching, or a good example of research in plant health which could be easily adapted to our template. For further information and guidance on how to submit your idea for a case study please see here: https://www.cabi.org/products-and-services/plant-health-cases/
Your submission will be peer-reviewed, and a DOI assigned at the time of publication similar to your other scientific publications. The corresponding author will receive £100 upon acceptance of the final case study.
Publication Plan
We’re aiming to launch Plant Health Cases in mid-2023. Our case studies will offer practical, real-life examples in one easily searchable platform. All users will be able to search, browse and read summaries of case studies. Full text access will be available via individual or institutional subscription, or by purchasing a single case study.
Further Information
Please get in touch with Rebecca Stubbs, Commissioning Editor, CABI
CABI is a not-for-profit, scientific research, international development and publishing organisation. Unlike other publishers, we use our surpluses to support scientific and rural development projects that help improve the lives of the world’s poorest people, which means that by publishing with us, you are helping to improve the lives of some of the world’s poorest people. Please visit our website at www.cabi.org
UAF VC Urges Scientists To Discover New Biological Control For Parthenium
Sumaira FH Published September 09, 2022 | 07:48 PM
University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan has urged agricultural scientists to discover new biological control for Parthenium as it is spreading at an alarming rate across the country
FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 9th Sep, 2022 ) :University of AgricultureFaisalabad (UAF) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Iqrar Ahmad Khan has urged agricultural scientists to discover new biological control for Parthenium as it is spreading at an alarming rate across the country.
He was addressing an international seminar on “Biological Control of Parthenium hysterophorus in Pakistan using stem boring weevil (Listronotus setosipennis)”, organised by the university in collaboration with the CABI Regional Bioscience Centre Pakistan.
He said that Parthenium was spreading rapidly both in rural and urban landscapes in the country after crossing continents. It was highly-invasive due to its prolific seed production, flower production within four weeks of germination, tolerance to varying climatic conditions, and the production of allelochemicals that affect the growth of nearby plants.
He said that agri scientists were duty bound accelerate their efforts for control Parthenium in addition to creating awareness among the farming community about destructive effects of this weed so that it could be controlled at maximum extent.
Dr. Philip Weyl, Weed Biocontrol Specialist from CABI Switzerland during his address said that Listronotus was a natural enemy of Parthenium, from the weed’s native range of Central America. Listronotus was a nocturnal weevil that layed its eggs primarily in the flowers of Parthenium where newly hatched larvae tunnel into the stem and continue to feed, eventually exiting at the base of the stem to pupate in the soil. Several larvae feeding in the stem can kill Parthenium rosettes and mature plants.
Pro-Vice Chancellor UAF Prof Dr Anas Sarwar Qureshi also addressed the seminar and called for innovative approaches to address the issues of the agricultural sector.
He said that excessive usage of chemicals on crops was creating health and environmental hazards. He said that adoption of latest scientific trends was need of the hour to cope with agricultural challenges at national level because this sector was directly linked to poverty alleviation.
Chairman Entomology UAF Prof Dr Sohail Ahmad highlighted the importance of research needed around the biocontrol of parthenium and other invasive weeds.
He said that the country faced the catastrophe due to heavy floods in which we had lost vast range of agriculture. The university had also mapped out a comprehensive plan to rehabilitate this sector in flood hit areas, he added.
Abdul Rehman from CABI said that keeping in view the destructive impacts of Parthenium weed, CABI initiated a biological control programme in Pakistan in 2017. For this purpose, CABI’s established a new quarantine laboratory at its Rawalpindi centre in Pakistan to enhance its capabilities to manage Parthenium weed.
The new quarantine facility allowed scientists to investigate a range of biological control options including the stem boring weevil Listronotus setosipennis.
Dr. Ijaz Ashraf fromUAF shared updates on an awareness campaign for control of Parthenium hysterophorus in Pakistan and said that university students were on front foot to sensitize stakeholders and communities on negative impacts of Parthenium.
He vowed that such awareness-raising interventions around invasive species management and other agricultural challenges would be continued in close collaboration with CABI.
Weedy rice has become herbicide resistant through rapid evolution
Aggressive, herbicide-resistant weed is a threat in nation’s largest rice production region
Date:September 8, 2022Source: Washington University in St. Louis
Summary: Weedy rice is a closely related cousin of crop rice. It aggressively competes with cultivated rice in the field, leading to loss of yield and reductions in harvest quality that compromise market value. Biologists used whole-genome sequences of 48 contemporary weedy rice plants to show how herbicide resistance evolved by gene flow from crop rice. Almost all other cases of herbicide resistance in agricultural weeds result from selection of tolerant genotypes in the weed species.Share:
FULL STORY
In a paper published Sept. 8 in the journal Communications Biology, scientists from Washington University in St. Louis and the University of Arkansas report that a crop pest called weedy rice has become widely herbicide resistant in regions where herbicide-resistant rice is planted. The study highlights challenges facing U.S. rice farmers when they battle a weedy enemy that is closely related to a desirable crop plant.
The genetic investigation was conducted with samples gathered in rice fields in Arkansas, where almost 50% of the nation’s rice is grown.
Weedy rice is a closely related cousin of crop rice. It aggressively competes with cultivated rice in the field, leading to loss of yield and reductions in harvest quality that compromise market value. Weedy rice infestations cause an estimated $45 million in economic losses in the United States each year and hundreds of millions of dollars worldwide.
Biologists used whole-genome sequences of 48 contemporary weedy rice plants to show how herbicide resistance evolved by gene flow from crop rice. Almost all other cases of herbicide resistance in agricultural weeds result from selection of tolerant genotypes in the weed species. Just 20 years after herbicide-resistant rice was first adopted in the southern United States, the majority of fields with a history of herbicide-resistant rice cultivation have weedy rice plants that are also herbicide resistant.
“Throughout its nearly 200-year history in the United States, weedy rice had a very low rate of outcrossing with cultivated rice,” said Marshall Wedger, a postdoctoral research associate in biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University and first author of the study. “We found that U.S. weedy rice has persisted through herbicide pressure with the survival of those few plants that outcross, consequently acquiring the herbicide- resistance trait.”
“Technological changes in U.S. rice farming since the 2000s have led to a complete genetic revolution in the makeup of the weedy rice that infests U.S. fields,” said Kenneth Olsen, professor of biology at Washington University and senior author on the study.
“In the last 20 years, weedy rice has gone from being very genetically distinct from U.S. crop varieties to nowadays mostly being derived from crop-weed hybridization,” Olsen said. “The weeds are grabbing certain traits from the crop that are beneficial to them, including herbicide resistance.”
Weeds seize their moment
Weedy rice is a scourge of cultivated rice production around the world. But up until the early 2000s, weedy rice in U.S. fields rarely interbred with the kinds of rice that were commonly grown in this country.
Crop rice and weedy rice are the same species, so they are able to interbreed, or hybridize. Their rate of hybridization rate is usually low — generally less than 1% — because rice is self-pollinated.
But something happened that changed the centuries-old dynamic between these two closely related plants. Starting in the early 2000s, two new kinds of crop rice were adopted in U.S. fields. One was a new hybrid rice that offered substantially enhanced yield, compared with traditional inbred (self-pollinating) rice cultivars. The other was a new kind that had been tweaked to be tolerant to a certain kind of herbicide. These so-called Clearfield™ cultivars allowed farmers to plant rice and then apply chemicals to their fields to kill weedy rice and other agricultural weeds without harming the crop.
As early as 2004, just two years after the new rice was adopted locally, Arkansas farmers already were reporting some cases of herbicide resistance in weedy rice. Such resistant plants were likely outcrosses with herbicide-resistant rice.
“The situation is somewhat analogous to human health and the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial pathogens. Widespread use of antibiotics ends up strongly selecting for the rapid evolution of the drug-resistant strains,” Olsen said. “With weedy rice, herbicide-resistant weeds were being detected just a couple of years after herbicide-resistant rice was first commercialized.”
How did it happen? For gene flow from a crop into a weedy relative to occur, the two have to be growing in close enough physical proximity for pollen transfer.
“The herbicide-resistant weedy rice plants are the products of outcrossing with herbicide-tolerant crop,” said Nilda Roma Burgos, professor of weed physiology at University of Arkansas and a co-author of the study. “Outcrossing occurs when weedy rice is not controlled 100% by the herbicide and the remaining weedy rice plants flower at the same time as the herbicide-tolerant rice crop.”
Rice and weedy rice certainly grow in the same fields. However, it was the hybrid rice’s pesky habit of producing volunteers — that is, successfully developing and dropping seeds that overwinter and then emerge as new plants in subsequent years — that opened a door for weedy rice.
The crop volunteers grew up exhibiting variable traits, including changes to flowering timing that made it much more likely that they would swap pollen with weedy rice.
“As a de-domesticated weedy relative, weedy rice has always been able to outcross with cultivated rice. Based on our results, this ability to interbreed is what led to most of the herbicide resistance that we see today,” Wedger said.
A uniquely challenging year for growers
The findings from this new study are being reported during a uniquely challenging year for Arkansas rice farmers. Problems with the global supply chain, as well as increases in the costs of key crop inputs such as fertilizer, have made growing rice more difficult and expensive.
At the same time, global climate change is having local effects on the timing of when rice can be planted. This year, farmers had to cram in planting that usually takes place over a period of four weeks into a much-shortened window. Also this year, nighttime temperatures in northeastern Arkansas were stubbornly high during the months of July and August, with possible negative effects on rice yields. Only time will tell what the 2022 harvest, beginning this month, will bring.
One thing is certain, though: The rapid adaptation of weedy rice to herbicide application serves as yet another example of the dangers of relying on single methods of control for agricultural pests, study authors said.
“How quickly a resistant weedy rice population builds up to a point where the herbicide is no longer useful depends on how the producer manages the herbicide-tolerant rice technology,” Roma Burgos said. “There are best management practices guidelines that help growers avoid resistance evolution for a long time, if implemented.”
“Just like in the case of antibiotic resistance, the rise of resistance to this particular herbicide will be met with a new technology that relies on a new herbicide,” Wedger said. “New herbicide-resistant cultivars are already in development, so I expect this process to repeat.”
Marshall J. Wedger, Nilda Roma-Burgos, Kenneth M. Olsen. Genomic revolution of US weedy rice in response to 21st century agricultural technologies. Communications Biology, 2022; 5 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03803-0
There is a new version of the Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds out for mobile devices – phones and tablets. You can find it for free at the Glogle Play and Apple Stores. There are another 30 fact sheets and some amendments to others.
If you want to see what’s new go to the About this App on the main page and it tells you.
Researchers from the University of Missouri recently conducted two field studies to explore the effectiveness of electricity in weed control. They used a tractor attachment called The Weed Zapper to electrocute eight types of weeds common in soybean crops, including herbicide-resistant waterhemp.
The first study showed that control was more effective in the later stages of weed growth and was most closely related to plant height and the moisture in the plant at the time of electrocution. Once the weeds had set seed, the treatments reduced viability by 54 to 80 percent across the weed species evaluated. A second study showed electrocution reduced late-season, herbicide-resistant waterhemp plants by 51 to 97 percent.
At some stages of growth, the soybean crops exhibited yield losses of 11 to 26 percent following electrocution treatments—though researchers say those results likely represent a worse-case scenario. In late-season treatments, for example, the clear height differential between waterhemp and the soybean canopy means the electrocution device can treat the weed without sustained contact with the crop.
The net takeaway: When used as part of an integrated control program, electrocution can eliminate many late-season, herbicide-resistant weed escapes in soybean crops and reduce the number and viability of weed seeds that return to the soil seedbank.
More information: Haylee Schreier et al, The Impact of Electrocution Treatments on Weed Control and Weed Seed Viability in Soybean, Weed Technology (2022). DOI: 10.1017/wet.2022.56
Soil Health and Pest Management: Challenges in the European Union
CERTIS
05/07/2022
Jackie Pucci of AgriBusiness Global sat down with Dr. Arben Myrta, Corporate Development Manager with Certis Belchim B.V., based in Italy, to discuss developments in soil health and pest management solutions at the company and wider trends he is witnessing in the space.
Dr Arben Myrta, Certis Belchim B.V.Quality produce with good soil pest managementDamage by Fusarium wilt in melonDestroyed tomato plants from the attack of Meloidogyne spp.Damaged roots of tomato by the nematode Meloidogyne spp.Nematode damage in carrots from Meloidogyne spp.
Can you talk about some of the key developments in ‘soil health management’ in agriculture and what is driving adoption in Europe?
Soil health in its broad scientific definition considers its capacity, thanks to biotic and abiotic components, to function as a vital living ecosystem to sustain plants and animals. A soil may be healthy in terms of the functioning of its eco-system but not necessarily for crop production. In agriculture, good soil pest management remains a cornerstone for the quantity and quality of production at farm level. When farmers cultivate the same plants for a long time in the same soil without crop rotations or other agronomic measures, the soil starts to evidence nutritional and phytopathological problems for the plants. This is more evident in horticulture, and particularly, in protected crops in Europe, where this problem is of major importance.
In the past, in Europe, soil pest management in horticulture was mostly covered by chemical fumigation, lead first by methyl bromide (MB). MB was later globally banned for depleting the ozone layer, while other fumigants, which were intended to replace it, were not approved during the regulatory renewal process, thus creating a gap between the farmers’ needs and the possibilities to have adequate solutions for their cropping. Meanwhile, in the last decades there has also been huge progress in research and technology, developing more effective biorational soil products (beneficial microorganisms, such as fungi, bacteria, etc.., plant extracts, etc..) and increased public awareness around human health and the environment, followed by more restrictive legislation on the use of chemicals in agriculture.
Driven by the legislation and the general attention of society on the use of plant protection products in agriculture, the industry has been proactive in looking for new solutions with safer tox and eco-tox profile, focusing on biorational products, whose number, as new plant protection products for the control of soil-borne pests and diseases, is continuously increasing in the EU.
How important do you see soil health and soil pest management in the complete picture of agricultural productivity, and how has that view changed?
Soil health and good soil pest management practices in crop production have always been considered important. In Europe, the level of attention and knowledge on this topic has been higher among professionals and farmers working in horticulture, the ornamentals industry, nurseries and particularly protected crops, basically everywhere where long crop rotations are not easily practiced, and pest-infested soils become a big problem for the farmers.
The rapid banning or limitation of several traditional synthetic products used to control soil pests raised the question for field advisors and farmers of how to deal with soil problems in the new situation. In recent years European farmers have been facing particular difficulties in controlling plant-parasitic nematodes.
Biorational products available today in EU countries represent a very good tool for the management of several soil pests in many crops and targets, but are still not sufficiently effective to guarantee full satisfaction to the growers in important crops like protected fruiting vegetables, strawberry, carrots, potato, ornamentals, etc., which explains why ‘emergency uses’ are still granted at EU country level following the request of grower associations to cover the needs of their farmers. The continuous increase in the numbers of new biorational products in the future, and particularly the innovative formulations that will follow, will be of paramount importance for their role in soil pest management.
A second, but important obstacle, is the generally limited knowledge on soil components (including its fertility and capacity to suppress pests by beneficial microorganisms) and the correct use of the biorational products, which cannot be expected to be effective quickly or be used as solo products, as the ‘old’ chemicals were. They should be seen more in programs with other soil management solutions, as recommended by the integrated production guidelines. Here, a further important obstacle is the lack of an effective public extension service to advise farmers, which is limited or totally lacking in many European Countries.
Everybody in the EU is now convinced that soil management in the future will rely on biorational and integrated solutions, but the question is how to reach this objective gradually, being pragmatic and reliable, balancing the environmental, economic and agricultural perspective. Legislation always steers the direction of progress but should be carefully considering the real product capabilities to make it happen in a short time and not focusing on ‘emergency situations’ as has now been the case for more than a decade.
What are some of the perceptions, either correct or incorrect, and other challenges you are dealing with in the region with respect to products for soil health?
This market has seen a rapid change from chemistry to biorational solutions, but in the meantime is facing a lot of challenges in order to meet the expectations of the farmers for quantity and quality of produce. This topic is widely discussed in dedicated scientific forums like that of the International Society of Horticultural Sciences, of which the last International Symposium on Soil and Substrate Disinfestation was held in 2018 in Crete, Greece. A dedicated round table was organized with soil experts to discuss the important challenges faced by the European growers due to the lack of plant protection solutions for an effective control of several soil pests, most of all nematodes. I participated in that round table discussion, whose main conclusions were the following concerns, considered as target actions for the scientific community:
the farmer needs various tools for soil disinfestation (SD) in the light of the limited current arsenal of SD tools;
the lengthy and unpredictable European registration process (sometimes more than 10 years from dossier submission to the first national approval) of new plant protection products (including biorational) and the cautious approach of EU regulation, as well as restrictions imposed, has led to a reduction of active ingredients available in the past years;
a more effective and faster evaluation system is needed, especially for naturally occurring and low risk products (biological, plant extracts, etc.). That is, all products which are essential for Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs;
following the implementation of Regulation EC 1107/2009, the only tool available to fill the gaps in local production systems is Art. 53 of the above-mentioned Regulation, which provides “derogations” for exceptional authorizations of plant protection products. Such authorizations increased exponentially in the last years, indicating that existing solutions in the European market are not considered sufficient;
the above-mentioned EU Regulation has a high socio-economic impact on various production systems in Europe and a Spanish case shows clearly the importance of maintaining a sustainable agricultural activity in local communities that, in the case of protected crops area, includes 13% of the active population employed in agriculture;
several European agricultural sectors are affected as the EU authority is allowing increased importation from extra-EU countries, considered unfair competition due to their more flexible registration system for plant protection products than that of the EU;
reduced capacity of soil pest research, where experts are retired and not being replaced, alongside weak, or in many areas non-existent, extension services together are causing the loss of soil knowledge and good advice for our farmers. Today, soil diagnosis is frequently completely lacking or insufficient before any soil pest and crop management decisions are taken.
The clear message from the scientific experts at that meeting was that these issues must be correctly addressed at all levels of stakeholders, in such a way that all available tools, including sustainable use of soil disinfestation, may be used in a combined IPM system to allow sustainable production in Europe.
What are some of the most exciting developments at Certis Belchim in soil health and pest management?
Since the establishment of Certis Europe in 2001, we have focused on soil pest and disease management. In 2003, Certis built the first CleanStart program providing integrated solutions for sustainable soil management, combining cultural, biological and chemical approaches. After more than a decade, in the mid-2010s, the CleanStart integrated approach started combining biological and chemical inputs with agronomic services (training to farmers and field advisors, soil pest diagnosis support for partner farms and stewardship product advice for applicators and/or farmers) to provide sustainable soil management for the future, aligned with the principles of the Sustainable Use of pesticides as per the EU Directive. All these activities were carried out successfully thanks to a wide international network created with many research institutes across Europe on soil pest management topics. This approach facilitated our participation in soil research projects funded also by the EU. Thanks to this experience we have been able to prepare and share many publications and communications, in particular the coordination for several years of an International Newsletter on Soil Pest Management (CleanStart).
Last year we were also granted a SMART Expertise funding from the Welsh Government, which is co-founded by Certis, in a research project lead by Swansea University, with Certis Belchim B.V. the industry partner, alongside major Welsh growers, Maelor Forest Nurseries Ltd and Puffin Produce Ltd. This project, now ongoing, looks to develop new and innovative products to control soil pests, primarily nematodes.
Thanks to this team involvement on soil topics, our present soil portfolio includes several biorational solutions such as Trichoderma spp. (TriSoil), Bacillus spp. (Valcure), garlic extract (NemGuard), etc. and this is continuously increasing through our research and development pipeline. With the soil biorational products we have developed a good knowledge not only on the products, but also in their interaction with biotic and abiotic soil components and with other similar products.
Our new company, Certis Belchim, in the future will continue to be particularly interested in this market segment and will be focusing mostly on biorational products. Our plans mainly encompass: (i) label extension to more crops and targets for the existing products; (ii) development and registration of new active ingredients for the control of soil borne pathogens, insects and nematodes; (iii) development of innovative formulations for soil use with focus on slow-release; (iv) field validation of effective programs with bio-solutions and other control methods.
In all these research and development activities, supported by the long experience we have in such topics, we are looking to generate our own IP solutions for soil pest management.
How have you seen this space evolve over the past of years, and what are you expecting the next years will bring?
From a technical perspective, we expect the nematode problems to increase globally in the future. This is due in part to the gradual global increase in average temperature, now recorded over recent decades, which will allow the most damaging nematodes, Meloidogyne spp., to establish at higher elevation and higher latitudes while in areas already infested, they will develop for a longer damaging period of time, thus leading to larger nematode soil population densities by the end of the crop cycle and, in turn, to greater damage to the succeeding crops.
From a regulatory perspective in Europe, if the approval process for new effective nematicides is not shortened and remains as restrictive as today, less effective solutions will be available, and there will be more reductions in rates and crops on which their use is permitted (e.g. not every year). This again will certainly lead to an increase in the severity of the nematodes that in many areas could be overlooked.
From a quarantine perspective, the globalization of trade has facilitated the introduction into Europe of new damaging nematodes and diseases and pests in general, events which are expected to increase in the future. The most critical situation can occur in protected and nursery crops, and for the production of healthy propagating material of annual crops, such as potato seed, bulbs and seeds of bulbous plant crops, including flowers, strawberry runners, woody nursery plants, of both crop and ornamental plants, and in all crops for which quarantine issues must be considered, especially when seeds, bulbs and any kind of plant propagating material are to be exported out of the EU.
The expectation is also that positive results will come from public research (more focus on resources is needed) and private industry where work is ongoing to bring to the market new biorational solutions and innovative methods with higher efficacy in controlling soil pests and to fulfill the increasing needs of this market. However, this will only be realized if regulatory hurdles are reduced in the EU, for example for low risk biorational solutions.
How are external factors (e.g., soaring input costs) impacting the adoption of these products?
Today agriculture and plant protection products, like the whole economy, are affected by higher prices due to the increased cost of energy and raw materials globally. Considering that the costs in agricultural production are already high and sometimes, those of soil pest control are not applicable for several crops, any further increase in production costs may lead to the abandonment of effective solutions, resulting in additional increase in the complexities of soil problems on our farms. This trend, if allowed to persist, will severely affect our agricultural sector.
This said, there will also be a potential increase in the new solutions entering the market in the coming years, which will face higher costs during development and the registration process as well.
From a technical perspective, the only way to reduce such risks is to support farmers with the right knowledge on how to use new soil products correctly (dose rate, timing and method of application, etc..) and increase cost effectiveness.
Can you share highlights of research and case studies that your company has conducted with respect to soil health?
Our company has been involved in many research and market studies dedicated to the soil pest management sector. The last important one was ‘Sustainability of European vegetable and strawberry production in relation to fumigation practices,’ prepared by a European team of independent soil experts. The aim of the study was to understand technically the role and economic impact of chemical soil fumigation in key European areas of vegetable and strawberry production. Three cases of representative crops were investigated: strawberries, solanaceous/cucurbitaceous crops cultivated under protected conditions and carrots as a relevant open field crop.
The study concluded that vegetable production is a key agricultural sector in Europe: including high-value crops like solanaceous and cucurbitaceous crops produced under protected conditions (tomatoes, peppers, aubergines, courgettes, cucumbers and melons), carrots and strawberries, the production value at farmer level is €12.5 billion; the cultivated area involved is roughly 330,000 ha. The importance of these crops is even greater when the entire food value chain, in economic and social terms, is also considered.
High standards in terms of food quality/safety and certificated production, along with affordable consumer prices and consistent availability across the seasons are demanded of European vegetable production and, as a consequence, are the drivers for the growers who have to protect such crops effectively and economically. The growers face very significant issues deriving from soil-borne pests, which are the key limiting factor to achieving quality and economically sustainable yields. As strongly indicated by farmers and crop experts, among the soil-borne pests, nematodes present the most impactful and frequent challenges.
According to the survey carried out in key EU countries (Spain, Italy, France, Belgium,…), the most common soil management practices for vegetable crops and strawberries are: chemical fumigation, crop rotation, resistant cultivars and rootstocks, followed by soil-less systems, non-fumigant treatments, soil solarization, biological products, organic soil amendments, catch and cover crops.
This shows clearly that soil pest management today and in the near future will rely on IPM systems combining and rotating different management practices, with a different degree of implementation depending on the cropping system.
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Astronauts that spend a long time in space can suffer from a loss of bone density due to the reduced gravity but now a team at the University of California have developed a genetically-modified lettuce that produces a drug that can offset this loss and that can be grown in space to provide the astronauts with fresh green leaves to eat. Pic: Mel Edwards. Full Story.
Antibiotics on crops
While Europe bans neonicotinoids to ensure no harmful effects to bees, America is spraying apple and pear orchards with streptomycin to control the bacterial disease fire blight. A study has shown that bees exposed to the streptomycin are less active and collect less pollen than those that are not exposed to the antibiotic. Full Story.
An elixir of youth
Some people try blood transfusions from young people to recapture that youthful zest for life and now a study has produced some evidence supporting that hope. Young mice blood contains packets of chemicals (extracellular vesicles) budded off from dividing cells that, when injected in to old mice, restores grip strength, stamina and motor coordination. Sadly the effect wears off after a couple of months but another injection can restore it. Full story
BT maize resistant to stem borer attack
An evaluation of BT maize in Uganda has confirmed a reduction of leaf damage and stem attack that has led to yield increases of 30 – 80%. Full Story.
Salt-tolerant cotton
A relative of Arabidopsis has yielded a trait that can be used to confer salt tolerance to cotton which could allow the crop to be grown on more land but could also boost yields in areas where it is already grown. Full Story
Herbicide-tolerant tomatoes
Scientists in Korea have used gene editing to alter three enzymes in tomatoes. The benefits of changes to PDS and EPSPS enzymes are unclear but the changes to the ALS enzyme can confer tolerance of ALS herbicides similar to the naturally-occurring tolerance recently introduced in sugar beet. Full Story
Potato genome decoded
Scientists at the Max Planck Institute and the Ludwig Maximillian University have decoded the entire genome of potatoes and this knowledge is to be used to develop improved varieties for future cropping. The following link takes you to the German text which can be translated by computer. Full Story
Gene expression imbalance boosts wheat yields
Researchers at Kansas University have found that varying the expression of various genes in wheat can affect the grain size and final yields. This knowledge can possibly be used to optimise yields of new varieties. Full Story
Control of Fall Army Worm
Pilot studies in Brazil have shown that release of Oxitec’s ‘Friendly’ male army worms can reduce the populations of army worms due to the males carrying a male only trait and that this reduction will help to protect the Bt maize that is grown there from resistance developing in the wild population. It is very target specific and has no effect on other species such as bees. Full Story
USDA approved gene-edited cattle
The USDA has decided that gene-edited beef cattle that have shorter hair than unedited cattle pose no safety concerns and can be marketed without waiting for a specific approval: Full Story
Europe approves transgenic maize with stacked traits
The EFSA finds no safety concerns in GM maize with stacked traits for insect resistance and tolerance of glyphosate and glufosinate. This permits the import of these crops but it still does not allow them to be grown in Europe. Full Story
Stripe rust resistance in wheat
An international team has identified the specific gene that confers resistance to stripe rust in the African bread wheat variety ‘Kariega’ and now this trait can be transferred to other varieties. Full Story
Gene-silencing for weed control
Colorado University has developed a spray that contains antisense oligonucleotides that penetrate the leaves of the weed Palmer amaranth and silence essential genes in the weed. Palmer amaranth has developed resistance to a number of herbicides but this spray is specific to this weed and has no effect on the crop or non-target organisms. Full Story
Nutritional Impact of regenerative farming
The University of Washington has compared crops grown on land under regenerative farming management with crops grown on adjacent conventionally farmed land and has shown that the regenerative farming crops have higher levels of vitamins, minerals and other phytochemicals. They don’t give any comparison of the yields achieved though and perhaps the higher levels of vitamins etc are simply due to them being distributed through lower yielding crops. Full Story
Transgenic sugarcane
Sugarcane with overexpressed sucrose-phosphate synthase has been trialled in Indonesia has shown increased tiller number, height and yield than conventional varieties without affecting bacterial diversity or gene horizontal flow in the soil. Full Story
Potato virus Y resistance
Researchers in Iran have used gene-silencing techniques to develop potatoes that exhibit resistance to potato Y virus. Full Story
GM barley trials in the UK
Fertiliser prices have gone through the roof and NIAB in conjunction with Cambridge University at the Crop Science Centre are to trial gene modified and gene edited lines of barley to see if they can improve the nitrogen and phosphorus uptake of the plants and make them less reliant on applied fertilisers. If successful on barley, it could be rolled out to other crops. Full Story
Palm oil replacement
Palm oil is widely used in many products but the proliferation of palm plantations is responsible for a lot of habitat loss throughout the world. Now a team at Nanyang technological University in Singapore have developed a technique for producing the oil from common microalgae. Full Story
Corn borer resistant maize
Zhejiang University in China has developed a genetically modified maize that has insect resistant traits and a 5 year study has shown it can give up to 96% reduction in corn borer damage and a 6 – 10% yield increase over conventional varieties. Full Story
THE LATEST ADDITIONS TO THE GM/BIOTECH DATABASE ARE:
The latest approvals of biotech crops to report this month:
• GMB151 – soybean tolerant of isoxaflutole herbicide approved for food use in Canada and for environmental use in America
Global Plant Protection News 