Wageningen Plant Research

🙌 We are pleased to announce a collaboration with the Korean company DDS Bio to advance agricultural practices in South Korea through innovations in digital breeding and digital farming 🚜 The FOSTER 1 project seeks to address key agricultural challenges posed by climate change, food security, and the aging farming population in South Korea 🌏 By leveraging digital technologies such as digital phenotyping, precision farming, and automated cultivation systems, the project aims to improve productivity and sustainability while adapting to changing environmental conditions. This project is the first phase of a broader, multi-phase collaboration. This initial phase will focus on planning, needs assessment, and pilot projects in digital breeding and farming. Future phases will involve establishing state-of-the-art facilities, including a digital phenotyping centre for targeted breeding, developing digital breeding methodologies, and creating a demo & R&D centre for smart food production. 🌱 WUR is developing autonomous cultivation technologies to create data-driven systems for more sustainable farming. By integrating artificial intelligence, sensors, and data analysis, WUR is working towards self-regulating greenhouses that optimise plant growth while minimising resource use. The FOSTER 1 project will build on these advancements to contribute to smart farming solutions in South Korea. Rick van de Zedde | Jouke Campen | #smartfarming #AI #climatechange #foodsecurity #agriculture

🙌 Breakthrough in the fight against devastating banana diseases: first resistant plant developed 🍌 Researchers have developed a banana plant that is resistant to both Fusarium Tropical Race 4 (TR4) and Black Sigatoka, two of the most destructive diseases for bananas. Professor of phytopathology Gert HJ Kema at Wageningen University & Research was involved as an advisor. He views the development of the new hybrid, named Yelloway One, as a major breakthrough in banana cultivation: “This is of great importance for the future of banana farming.” The development of Yelloway One comes at a critical time for global banana cultivation 🚨 TR4 and Black Sigatoka have caused significant damage in recent years, resulting in losses worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Until now, no resistant banana variety has been available, placing immense pressure on farmers and the banana sector as a whole. The breakthrough was achieved through a collaboration between Chiquita, KeyGene, MusaRadix and Wageningen University & Research 🤝 The team of experts employed a combination of traditional crossbreeding techniques and modern DNA analysis technology to accelerate the process of developing resistant banana varieties 👩🔬 This allowed them to select new varieties with desired traits, such as disease resistance, more quickly and efficiently. "The fact that banana producer Chiquita is one of the partners doesn't mean that other banana growers won't have access to these new varieties," says Kema 🍌 "We are collaborating with several organizations to ensure that this technology is available to other programs as well. Moreover, we are using the technology to develop or improve varieties for local markets," the professor added. Yelloway One is still a prototype and is currently being grown in a greenhouse in the Netherlands. The plants will soon be sent to regions in the Philippines and Indonesia, where TR4 and Black Sigatoka have caused significant damage 🌏 Field trials will determine how well Yelloway One performs in a natural environment. "This development means a great deal to millions of smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia, and Latin America," says Kema 👩🌾 "By introducing resistant and genetically diverse varieties, we can contribute to a more sustainable banana industry and reduce the impact of diseases." Kema expects that more resistant and innovative banana varieties will follow in the coming years, making the banana sector less vulnerable to disease and environmental threats. 👏 Congratulations to the Yelloway initiative on this breakthrough! How do you expect this to impact banana cultivation? Let us know! 👇 #phytopathology #fusariumwilt #blacksigatoka #climatechange #plantbreeding

🌱 Dutch Research Council funds research on interaction between microbes and seeds 👩🔬 Microbes, such as bacteria and fungi, play an important role in nature. They help plants absorb nutrients and protect against diseases, for example. Academics from Wageningen University & Research and Nederlands Instituut voor Ecologie (NIOO-KNAW) will be conducting research into the seed microbiome to discover how it helps improve seed quality and plant growth. The NWO (Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) is funding the project. 🔬 The research focuses on three key questions: 1️⃣ How do genetic properties and seed characteristics influence microbe recruitment? 2️⃣ Which microbes contribute to better seed and plant performance, especially during drought stress? 3️⃣ What are the mechanisms underlying plant-microbe interactions? The research aims to better understand the role of microorganisms in plant growth, in particular how these 'invisible helpers' enter the next generation of plants through the seed and contribute to seed and plant resilience 🌱 This knowledge can improve the sustainability of agriculture. Farmers and growers will be able to use microorganisms to grow robust and healthy plants, making them more resistant to climate change 🌦 Research leader Leónie Bentsink is pleased with the funding from the Dutch Research Council's Open Technology Programme: "This funding will allow us to build on this line of research." Congratulations to Léonie Bentsink and her colleagues! 👏 What do you think about this research? Let us know 👇 #microbiome #climatechange #climateadaptation #agriculture

💡 Smarter use of artificial light can make significant savings in vertical farming 🌱 Vertical farming makes it possible to grow vegetables close to consumers. Since the conditions in a vertical farm are fully controlled, crops can grow in extreme environments like deserts or cold, dark areas. However, creating these optimal conditions for crops requires high levels of energy consumption. Constant environmental conditions are a feature in many vertical growing systems. For instance, the lamps required for plant growth give the same amount of light every day, and the thermostat always remains at the same setting 🌡 Researchers from Wageningen University & Research have now concluded that this is often unnecessary: “Adopting a more dynamic approach can significantly reduce energy costs while plant development remains the same or even improves,” says researcher Leo Marcelis. 💻 The researchers developed a model using knowledge of plant physiology, combined with new sensors, and modelling techniques. In addition, plant species grown specifically for vertical farming were used. The computer model was designed to keep plant photosynthesis constant throughout the day while at the same time minimising electricity costs. Just by varying light intensity within a day, it is possible to reduce costs by 12%, the research shows 📉   The researchers also studied the influence of variable light intensity on the growth of leafy vegetables like spinach, which are often grown in vertical cultivation systems. They found no negative effects, even when the plants were exposed to irregularly varying light intensity instead of a fixed pattern. “Because plants do not always need the same light for optimal development, dynamic environmental control provides a better response to the specific needs of plants at different times. That results in better plant growth and quality,” says Marcelis. 💸 It also enables a smart response to fluctuations in energy prices by using more electricity when tariffs are low, thus saving costs. That way, dynamic environmental control enhances the efficiency of vertical farming, increasing the likelihood that this cultivation method will become a viable alternative to greenhouse farming in the future. #verticalfarming #photosynthesis #energytransition #greenhouse #horticulture

#climateadaptation 🌡 The quest for heat-tolerant cauliflowers through targeted breeding 🥦 Climate change forces plants and agricultural crops to cope with increasingly extreme conditions, such as heat and drought ☀ Experts from Wageningen University & Research investigate how plants arm themselves against these stressful conditions and which genes drive these defense mechanisms: "Their potential to adapt is enormous." Cauliflower grows differently and slower in heat, creating a more open crop. Can we use the variation between different varieties to develop heat-tolerant cauliflowers? That is exactly what Richard Immink is trying to figure out. Find out all about his research below! 👇 💡 Don't forget to also check out the other interviews with our experts on climate-resilient crops! Find them here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eXSERevy #climatechange #globalwarming #foodsecurity #plantbreeding

👩🔬 Come work with us! 🌱 At Wageningen University & Research, you work on improving the quality of life. That is our mission and that is what we stand for 💚 We are constantly looking for talented colleagues who want to contribute with their expertise. Currently we have the following vacancies: 🍓 Team leader facility greenhouse horticulture 👉 https://lnkd.in/erWs6M_f 🔬 Full professor and chair of Plant Breeding 👉 https://lnkd.in/eYqZyq57 💁♂️ Receptionist / administrative assistant 👉 https://lnkd.in/eK_6wG5W 🎓 Several PhD positions 👉 https://lnkd.in/ew8tEjpM Check the vacancies and apply through the website! Nothing for you? 🚨 You can always set a job alert, so you will be notified when there are relevant vacancies! 👉 https://lnkd.in/ew8tEjpM #vacancy #plantresearch #plantsciences #jobopening

#climateadaptation 🍅 Salty tomatoes, salty potatoes: creating salt-tolerant varieties that still taste delicious 🥔 Climate change forces plants and agricultural crops to cope with increasingly extreme conditions 🌦 For example: drought, rising sea levels in coastal areas and excessive use of fertilisers all lead to salty soils. This can cause major yield losses, for instance in tomato producing countries like Italy and Spain. 🌱 Karlova Rumyana investigates how plants cope with this stress, so that tomato and potato cultivation can remain viable on those soils and growers can choose which combination of characteristics is best for their situation and practice. Curious what her research looks like? Find out below! 👇 💡 Don't forget to also check out the other interviews with our experts on climate-resilient crops! Find them here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eXSERevy #climatechange #salinization #foodsecurity #plantbreeding

🥒🍅 Become a professional greenhouse grower with Kassim the Game! For a limited period of four weeks, this game is available to a wider audience. How do you grow tomatoes or cucumbers in a greenhouse as efficiently as possible, while saving energy? That’s the key question in Kassim the Game. Play the game 👉 https://lnkd.in/e5ee-dT9 “If you want to score a lot of points, you do need to have some idea of what you’re doing," says Gert-Jan Swinkels, research associate in Greenhouse Climate and Energy at WUR. How many energy screens do you place in the greenhouse? Will you be using lighting, and if so, what kind of lamp and at what intensity? 💡 And what is the optimal temperature and humidity, given the costs of natural gas and electricity? To help players, each box to be filled in has an accompanying text with some notes.” "As part of the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge, we are making the game available to the public so that everyone can start testing their growing skills 🌱 Each participant works under the same conditions, such as the outdoor climate. You make the difference by choosing, for example, the temperature setting, humidity and crop management, such as the number of stems per plant and fruits per cluster. Eventually, this produces a total score, an average of the yield and costs you incur.” Kassim the Game runs on Kaspro, a simulation model developed at WUR. Swinkels: “Kaspro simulates the climate in a high-end horticultural greenhouse and the associated energy consumption 💡 New scientific insights, technological developments and knowledge from practice enable us to continuously update and improve Kaspro. The model is also used in our research projects and by companies in greenhouse horticulture. In addition, the Autonomous Greenhouse Challenge teams used Kaspro to develop their algorithm.” Kassim the Game will be available to players for four weeks from 10 September. At the end of that period, the person with the highest score in the ranking wins the game 🥇 Swinkels: “Besides eternal glory, the winner will receive a small token. But it’s mainly for fun and to learn from it. The nice thing is that you get a very detailed overview showing the effects of your choices and the costs. You can then compare them to the winner, unless that’s you, of course. And if you are a grower, you can then apply the lessons learned in practice.” 🗨 Are you going to play the game? Or have you started already? Let us know how you're doing and whether you're enjoying it! 👇 Greenhouse Horticulture - Wageningen University & Research | #greenhouse #horticulture #autonomousgreenhousechallenge #energytransition

🕵♀️ Old DNA, new plants 🌱 Scientists are looking for useful genes in genetic material that is thousands of years old 🔍 Layers of ancient soil may harbour a wealth of genes that could make crops more resilient to climate change and disease. The trick is to extract that information. A European consortium that includes Wageningen has 78 million euros in funding for a serious attempt. A crucial bit of figuring out will be done in Wageningen, in the Bio-informatics chair group led by Professor Marnix Medema. What this project (Aegis: Ancient Environmental Genomics Initiative for Sustainability) is doing could be described as a kind of archaeology 🔍 ‘That’s what makes it exciting,’ says Medema. ‘The idea is that we shall search ancient soils for DNA from thousands and even tens of thousands of years ago. How did plants and micro-organisms co-exist back then? How did they evolve together? Can we find genes that protected those plants against pathogens then?’ 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 🥕 Currently, crop breeders often look for useful genes in wild relatives of their plants. Modern techniques make it possible to reconstruct genes from old DNA and clarify their function. ‘These are the same kinds of techniques that were used to reconstruct the DNA of the Neanderthals,’ explains Medema. ‘You can do the same with agricultural crops and micro-organisms.’ The comparison with archaeology is not far off the mark. Medema: ‘We are working with archaeologists who know where agriculture first developed and therefore where you can find plant remains. We will deduce from the DNA what the plant looked like then, and which microbes it lived alongside. Plants are engaged in a constant arms race with pathogens. Which genes played a role in that?’ Within Aegis, Medema’s group is doing most of the ‘computational analysis’ – in other words, the sums. ‘We will predict the likely function of the genes that are found. Which proteins they coded for, and what role they played in the arms race between plants and pathogens. Other members of the consortium are studying how climate change caused genes to change.’ ☀ 💻 Databases play a dominant role in that identification. Medema: ‘The first step is to see whether the DNA resembles anything already in the database. Which family of proteins does the product of a gene belong to? Which function in the cell is it involved in? Then you can use machine-learning models to estimate exactly what the protein does. In theory you should be able to introduce those genes into plants of today.’ 🗨 What do you think about this approach? Let us know 👇 Interview by Roelof Kleis for Resource - WUR university magazine 🙏 #climateadaptation #climatechange #AI #plantgenetics #bioinformatics

#climateadaptation 💧 Wet feet for soy: developing soybean varieties that are suitable for wet soils Climate change forces plants and agricultural crops to cope with increasingly extreme conditions, such as heat, drought, salinization, and waterlogged soils 🌦 Experts from Wageningen University & Research investigate how plants arm themselves against these stressful conditions and which genes drive these defense mechanisms: "Their potential to adapt is enormous." 🌱 Most soybean plants grow poorly in excessively wet soils. Sometimes there are varieties among them that cope better. How do they do it? Lucy Perez studies the development of soybean varieties that are suitable for wet soils. Read all about it below! 👇 💡 Don't forget to also check out the other interviews with our experts on climate-resilient crops! Find them here 👉 https://lnkd.in/eXSERevy #climatechange #flooding #foodsecurity #plantbreeding