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  • Sustainability in focus 2011-NST-029

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Sustainability in focus

Leading scientists discuss methods for assessing the environmental impact and resource efficiency of new crop plants

Research for greater sustainability: Wheat leaf scanning at the CSIRO Institute in Canberra, Australia.

Monheim - Scientists from prestigious research institutes met last week with representatives from Bayer CropScience at an experience-sharing event held at the German Climate-KIC Center in Berlin. Scientists from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's national research body, attended the event alongside representatives from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ).

The aim was to present the first results of research partnerships between CSIRO and Bayer CropScience that have been set up to identify the sustainability of new plant technologies and cultivation systems. Initially intended to run for two years, the project focuses on the development and application of methods for assessing the environmental impact of new cereal varieties and how they might make a positive contribution to safeguarding food supplies. The preliminary phase centers on the assessment of phosphorous efficiency in new cereal varieties.

Martin Maerkl (left), who is responsible for sustainable development at Bayer CropScience, presents the company's activities and partnerships.
Quantifying relevance for the use of resources

The joint project is based on the APSIM (agricultural production system simulator) model developed by CSIRO. This model helps researchers to simulate a whole range of factors, such as interactions between plants and the soil. This means that scientists can, for example, quantify the productivity of new genetically modified varieties and their relevance to resource consumption. Designed as a modular platform and publicly accessible, the simulation model aims to enable maximum transparency and create objective criteria to be used as the basis for evaluations.



Bronwyn Harch, CSIRO (mid): “Within the CSIRO Sustainability Agriculture Flagship we see agricultural productivity and sustainability, greenhouse gas abatement and climate change mitigation as the big drivers.”

Improving productivity in wheat cultivation


The sustainability project discussed in Berlin is part of a far-reaching research and development program between CSIRO and Bayer CropScience. It aims to deploy cutting-edge methods to improve productivity in wheat cultivation while also boosting sustainable agriculture.
“Within the CSIRO Sustainability Agriculture Flagship we see agricultural productivity and sustainability, greenhouse gas abatement and climate change mitigation as the big drivers. Partnerships amongst research and educational institutions with industry, community and government are critical and a key part of our strategy,” said Dr. Bronwyn Harch, Deputy Director of CSIRO's Sustainable Agriculture Flagship.

Representatives from the German Climate-KIC Center in Berlin, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), the German Research Center for Geosciences (GFZ) and Bayer CropScience met in Berlin to share scientific know-how.

The collaboration between Bayer CropScience and CSIRO has already produced a number of results, such as improvements in the fiber quality of cotton and advances in the gene silencing technology developed by the CSIRO, which “switches off” specific genes.

Approaches for maximum yields

After the event in Berlin, the delegation from CSIRO visited the Bayer CropScience research sites in Ghent and Monheim. The visit to Ghent looked primarily at current BioScience research projects.

In Monheim, meanwhile, the focus shifted to the research activities carried out by CSIRO as part of the “Sustainable Agriculture Flagship”. Discussions are being held to

Dr. Richard James, CSIRO (left) and Richard Dickmann, Bayer CropScience, survey fresh harvested wheat.
identify potential synergies with ongoing research activities and sustainability projects conducted by Bayer CropScience. In his speech, Alexander Klausener, Head of Research at Bayer CropScience, emphasized the importance of promoting collaboration between all parties: “We need chemical crop protection agents, seeds and traits and new technologies to achieve the best possible yield and create added value for our customers.”

Climate-KIC:

Climate-KIC is a new European initiative designed to bring together the top minds from industry, the public sector and research institutes in creative partnerships as part of a single network. The aim is to develop ideas and drive forward innovations that will enable the global economy and society to make the shift towards more environmentally friendly solutions. Bayer CropScience is a partner in this network.

http://www.climate-kic.de
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