From crops that give a gamy yield to plant that are resistant to drought , salinization , diseases , and other upshot of mood modification . Researchers from Agro Food Robotics at Wageningen University & Research are comport groundbreaking ceremony , multidisciplinary research on this , among other things , in the of late opened Netherlands Plant Eco - phenotyping Center ( NPEC ) , a mellow - tech facility for targeted breeding and rapid cover of crop .
“ In Holy Order to feed more mouths , we need to determine plants that can be grown expeditiously , leave nutritious components , and are resistant to disease , droughts , and worm pestilence , for example , ” says Rick van de Zedde , senior researcher at Agro Food Robotics and undertaking coach at NPEC . “ In add-on , we have to sic up the dispersion Sir Ernst Boris Chain in such a way that as little intellectual nourishment as possible is wasted . ”
Insight into plant propertiesA challenge that require elaborated sixth sense into the property of plants and that is exactly what NPEC - an opening of Wageningen University & Research and Utrecht University - is all about . “ We use high - tech , data - driven works phenotyping method acting to take farming crops from multiple angles , ” says Van de Zedde . NPEC also functions as a think army tank and meeting place for companies . In NPEC , large - ordered series automatonlike measurements are carried out on plants , and NPEC coordinate and stores the big amounts of data that are roll up with modern measuring equipment .
Multidisciplinary researchExperts in bioinformatics , genetics , environmental sciences , soil science , and post - harvest technology use res publica - of - the - art camera engineering to conduct multidisciplinary research . For illustration , in Ecotrons – closed organisation in which mini-(agro)ecosystems are simulated – research is carry into the interaction between the plant life , the ground spirit , and its micro - clime . Climate cells contribute themselves to search into how the works microbiome can be influenced to keep going plants to cope with salinization and drought stress . Other research is take place in a Modern , modern greenhouse – outfit with a range of advanced sensors and camera systems – and with drones and a fomite for outside measurements .
Digital twinsNPEC greenhouse has been in use since April 2021 and has completed 4 large experimentation since then , include quinoa ’s immunity to drought and how bacterium can help tomato industrial plant deal with salinization . A third experimentation is the development of a digital twin of tomato plants . In this experiment , 3 tomato varieties are arise in real life history , and a virtual nursery with virtual tomato plants is also being originate that approximate the actual cultivation as closely as possible .
The growth of tomato plant life is most mold in 3D , include clime and environs . If the virtual tomato production is identical to realism , this digital twin can be used by growers and stock breeder to predict their crop developing and to look the anticipate impingement of finish choices in feeler . “ raiser can use this information in the near future to make well - count decisions about cultivation conditions , harvest time , and sales , ” says Van de Zedde .
In addition to WUR and UU , NWO has co - fund and recognized NPEC as one of the most important facilities for big - scale scientific enquiry in the animation sciences in the Netherlands . In addition , 45 companies have expressed their support for NPEC .
Targeted breedingVan de Zedde is proud of the results that have already been achieved in such a short prison term . And there ’s a lot more in the pipeline . “ With the insights we get ahead , we can sieve more plants more quickly and engender them in a more targeted room . This think that the robust , effective food varieties of the future will be within reach in only a few year . ”
For more selective information : Wageningen University & Researchwww.wur.nl
