This advance would provide a fundamental tool for managing irrigation water, maintaining productivity even in conditions of low water availability and protecting soils.
In a context where the rational use of water It is a priority, the term “smart crops” takes on special relevance. For this reason, at INTA Balcarce -Buenos Aires- they use the gene editing to ‘turn off’ genetic sensors allowing the plant to continue growing despite detecting less water in the soil. This advance would provide a fundamental tool for managing irrigation water, maintaining productivity even in conditions of low water availability and protecting soils.
Sergio Feingold, coordinator of the INTA Biotechnology program and specialist in gene editing, said that “although potatoes are traditionally irrigated, the development of cultivars that tolerate conditions of low water availability is vital to ensure agricultural sustainability in the future.” This approach could not only increase productivity but also reduce pressure on water resources.
The research seeks to develop plants that continue to grow despite a reduction in water availability“This is especially crucial in areas where irrigation is costly and complicated, both economically and environmentally,” Feingold said.
Traditionally, it was believed that plants stopped growing due to lack of water. However, physiological and molecular studies indicate that what plants do is anticipate a possible shortage of this resource. “When the plant detects that the amount of water in the soil profile is decreasing below a certain threshold, it closes the stomata, which are small valves in the leaves that prevent water loss, although this mechanism also limits the entry of carbon dioxide, essential for photosynthesis, and therefore stops growth,” Feingold described.
The research was carried out with the Spunta variety, which is the most widely produced variety for fresh consumption in the country and has been cultivated since the 1970s. After inactivating a gene involved in the water sensing mechanism, plants were selected that can continue growing when water availability in the soil falls below the 50% threshold.
Feingold, along with Cecilia Oneto, Gabriela Massa and Florencia Rey Burusco -members of the INTA Balcarce Agrobiotechnology Laboratory- consider that this characteristic will be a tool that contributes to a rational management of water, minimizing negative impacts such as salinization and soil erosion and allowing the use of occasional rains during the crop cycle. These hypotheses will be tested in field trials in the next campaign, which can be carried out because (according to national regulations) this development is considered equivalent to any variety generated by conventional breeding.
“We have high expectations and hope that the results will show in the field what has already been demonstrated in controlled trials: that plants improved by editing maintain equal or higher production levels under conditions of good water availability and outperform the conventional variety under water-limiting conditions,” said the INTA specialist.
Smarter farming
In the age of artificial intelligence, Feingold and his research team They rely on the “natural intelligence” of plants to make them better for production and the environmentFor this reason, they are organizing the 3rd Potato Biotechnology Update Conference, which will take place on August 1 in the Agronomy auditorium of the INTA Balcarce Experimental Station, Route 226, km 73.5.
The event aims to bring together producers, seed producers, industry representatives and other relevant actors in the potato chain to discuss advances in new biotechnologies for the development and improvement of the crop. In addition, comments and opinions are expected to be collected to direct institutional efforts in research and development towards specific demands and challenges of the sector.
Source: Ambito
