Major Challenges in Crop Science/Production Agriculture
A recent article in “Crop Science” journal reported on the results of an extensive process that was organized to identify challenges for crop science in solving issues related to climate change, food security, bioenergy production, human health and nutrition, and ecosystem health. This process had the goal of providing insights that could be used to direct investments into key research areas that would be aimed at problem-solving.
From this process, the Crop Science Society of America identified 6 “Grand Challenges” that warrant funding support for increased research.
● Crop adaptation to abiotic stresses such as drought and heat that are believed to be forthcoming as a result of climate change. As climate changes, abiotic stresses will have an increasingly negative impact on yields of major crops. This can only be mitigated by increasing the durability of resistance to these yield-reducing factors.
● Increased durability of resistance to biotic stresses caused by pathogenic organisms. This can only be mitigated by identifying and enhancing defense mechanisms in plants that will prevent crop yield and quality losses to evolving pest complexes.
● Management of limited resources in farming systems. Most production agriculture occurs in environments that have some limitations; e.g., water, nutrients, and low soil pH. Development of varieties and cropping systems that are capable of producing an acceptable and economical yield with fewer inputs will be required to meet this challenge.
● Development of more efficient crop management systems. Cropping systems that simultaneously protect/conserve soil and water resources, improve input use efficiency, and increase production will be needed on an ever-increasing scale.
● Development of sustainable biofuel feedstock cropping systems. Crop plants will become increasingly important as feedstock for biofuel production in coming years. These bioenergy crops will need to be grown so as to optimize biomass yield with minimal fertilizer, water, and pesticide inputs. It is likely that these crops will be nonfood crops that are grown on land that is marginal for food crop production.
● Genotyping major-crop bioresources (crop germplasm collections) to enhance the likelihood of using genetic diversity as the foundation of all crop improvement programs. This is needed to expand the narrow genetic base present in major crops.
Multidisciplinary research teams will be needed to address the above challenges. Team research will allow the focus to be on a “system of production” rather than on only one phase of a crop’s production environment.
Through its funding of research projects, the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board (MSPB) is addressing many of the research needs for soybeans that are represented in the above general summary of challenges. The MSPB, through its support of collaborative research, supports an integrated research approach that is needed to address the production issues facing Mississippi soybean producers.
Composed by Larry G. Heatherly, June 2012, larryheatherly@bellsouth.net