Challenges facing European agriculture and possible biotechnological solutions

Agriculture faces many challenges to maximize yields while it is required to operate in an environmentally sustainable manner. In the present study, we analyze the major agricultural challenges identified by European farmers (primarily related to biotic stresses) in 13 countries, namely Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, UK and Turkey, for nine major crops (barley, beet, grapevine, maize, oilseed rape, olive, potato, sunflower and wheat). Most biotic stresses (BSs) are related to fungi or insects, but viral diseases, bacterial diseases and even parasitic plants have an important impact on yield and harvest quality. We examine how these challenges have been addressed by public and private research sectors, using either conventional breeding, marker-assisted selection, transgenesis, cisgenesis, RNAi technology or mutagenesis. Both national surveys and scientific literature analysis followed by text mining were employed to evaluate genetic engineering (GE) and non-GE approaches. This is the first report of text mining of the scientific literature on plant breeding and agricultural biotechnology research. For the nine major crops in Europe, 128 BS challenges were identified with 40% of these addressed neither in the scientific literature nor in recent European public research programs. We found evidence that the private sector was addressing only a few of these "neglected" challenges. Consequently, there are considerable gaps between farmer's needs and current breeding and biotechnology research. We also provide evidence that the current political situation in certain European countries is an impediment to GE research in order to address these agricultural challenges in the future. This study should also contribute to the decision-making process on future pertinent international consortia to fill the identified research gaps

Compatibilidade entre tratamento de sementes de amendoim com fungicidas, sobrevivência de Rhizobium e nodulação Compatibility between peanut seed preservation with fungicides, survival of rhizobia and nodulation

Conduziu-se um experimento para testar a compatibilidade dos fungicidas captã, PCNB e tirã com a inoculação de sementes de amendoim, cujo tratamento se efetuou simultaneamente com a inoculação ou dez dias antes desta. No momento da inoculação e quatro horas após, fez-se uma contagem de Rhizobium nas sementes, pelo método da diluição e inoculação de gotas em placas, mantendo-se um controle sem aplicação de fungicida. Para se estudar o efeito dos tratamentos na nodulação e fixação, plantaram-se as sementes em solo esterilizado, avaliando-se a nodulação e o teor de ureídeos nas folhas. Somente o captã aplicado simultaneamente à inoculação foi prejudicial à sobrevivência bacteriana nas sementes. De maneira geral, a aplicação dos fungicidas simultaneamente à inoculação mostrou-se prejudicial em relação à antecipada.<br>An experiment was carried out to test the compatibility between peanut seed treated with the fungicides captan, PCNB and thiram with rhizobia inoculation. The application of the fungicides was done either simultaneously or ten days before the inoculation of the seeds. A control, without inoculation, was included. Countings of rhizobia on the seed were made immediately after inoculation and four hours after, by dilution and drop plating technique. In order to study the effect of treatments on nodulation and nitrogen fixation, treated and untreated seeds were planted in gamma irradiated soil and nodulation and leaf ureid content were later evaluated. It was observed that only captan applied to the seed simultaneously with inoculation was significantly deleterious to survival of the rhizobia. In general the application of the fungicide ten days before inoculation caused no significant harmfull effect to survival of rhizobia on the seed