Lecture ‘Change, adapt and innovate: Mitigation of Abiotic Stress in young plants’
By Incotec
Tuesday, September 26, 11:00-11:45
Speaker: Dr Rob Pronk Incotec (Marketing Manager) and Barry Hoff (Research Scientist)
How to mitigate the effect of climate change on plants? In this lecture Incotec’s Barry Hoff and Rob Pronk will tell you more about the possibilities and difficulties of mitigating drought, salinity and heat stress.
Humanity is “at a crossroads” when it comes to managing drought and accelerating mitigation must be done “urgently, using every tool we can,” says the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Since 2000, the number and duration of droughts has risen 29%. The world is changing quickly. We are already seeing that the climate is changing, and that drought, for example, is becoming more and more common. Climate change not only affects the amount of agricultural land, but it also reduces crop yield in places where agriculture is still possible. The UNCCD’s calls for making a full global commitment to drought preparedness and resilience in all global regions a top priority.
From a seed enhancement point of view, we see opportunities to help young plants better withstand climate stress (such as drought, salinity, extreme temperatures etc.) for example through the development of a reactive seed coating which mitigates extreme osmotic stress, so by developing tailor made seed treatments with exactly that in mind. This may be just one small step in dealing with this problem, but as said: it is important to use every tool we can. The development of a seed-applied technology that relieves abiotic stress caused by high temperature, drought and salinity however, is a challenge and requires both knowledge and years of testing and trialing. At Seed meets Technology we want to share our insights in why Incotec is committed to this development and what we have learned so far.
Dr Rob Pronk Incotec (Marketing Manager) Barry Hof (Research Scientist)
