Event Title
Location
Cherry Auditorium, Kirk Hall
Start Date
2-10-2022 12:45 PM
Description
Low use and delivery efficiency of conventional agrichemicals is a significant impediment to maintaining global food security, particularly given that a 60-70% increase in food production is needed by 2050 to support the projected population. Further confounding these efforts is a changing climate, which may force increased growth of crops under more marginal and stress-inducing conditions. Novel and sustainable strategies for enhancing food production are needed all along the “farm-to-fork” continuum. We have focused on using nanotechnology to increase the delivery efficiency and efficacy of nutrients; e.g., given the known role of micronutrients in plant growth and defense against both abiotic and biotic stresses, we began mechanistic investigations into the potential of nanoscale micronutrient platforms for enhancing nutritional status and disease resistance. In several studies, foliar amendment of nanoscale materials such as CuO, CuS, S and SiO2 have been shown to significantly alleviate damage caused by the fungal and viral pathogens, resulting in enhanced growth and yield. Disease suppression is largely a function of modulated plant nutrition and disease resistance and not direct toxicity against the pathogen. We are also looking at novel biopolymer-based nanocomposited as a means to enhance the precision of phosphorus delivery while minimizing run-off and damage to the ecosystem. Other studies are focused on the use of nanoscale metal oxides to enhance photosynthetic efficiency under stressed and non-stressed conditions. Across these projects, the ability to effectively tune nanoscale material structure and composition will be critical to maximizing positive impacts, including significantly reduced amounts of agrichemical use. Results will be presented from several studies where manipulation of nanoparticle synthesis resulted in tunable and sustainable materials that yielded greater plant health and crop yield by a range of agronomic endpoints.
Speaker Bio
Dr. Jason C. White is the Director of the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station. Dr. White manages the annual agency $13m budget, about 105 scientific staff and a research program of $5.1 million in competitive funding/research. His primary research program focuses on food safety and security, with specific interests on the impact of nanomaterials on agricultural plants and on the use of nanoscale materials to increase food production through sustainable nano-enabled agriculture. Dr. White was elected to the Connecticut Academy of Science and Engineering in 2021 and is a member of the European Science Foundation (ESF) College of Experts. He received his Ph.D. in Environmental Toxicology from Cornell University in 1997 and has secondary appointments as a Clinical Professor of Epidemiology Yale School of Public Health and as an Adjunct Faculty Member of the University of Massachusetts Stockbridge School of Agriculture.
Tuning Agrochemical Chemistry at the Nanoscale to Enhance Stress Tolerance, Crop Nutrition, and Yield
Cherry Auditorium, Kirk Hall
Low use and delivery efficiency of conventional agrichemicals is a significant impediment to maintaining global food security, particularly given that a 60-70% increase in food production is needed by 2050 to support the projected population. Further confounding these efforts is a changing climate, which may force increased growth of crops under more marginal and stress-inducing conditions. Novel and sustainable strategies for enhancing food production are needed all along the “farm-to-fork” continuum. We have focused on using nanotechnology to increase the delivery efficiency and efficacy of nutrients; e.g., given the known role of micronutrients in plant growth and defense against both abiotic and biotic stresses, we began mechanistic investigations into the potential of nanoscale micronutrient platforms for enhancing nutritional status and disease resistance. In several studies, foliar amendment of nanoscale materials such as CuO, CuS, S and SiO2 have been shown to significantly alleviate damage caused by the fungal and viral pathogens, resulting in enhanced growth and yield. Disease suppression is largely a function of modulated plant nutrition and disease resistance and not direct toxicity against the pathogen. We are also looking at novel biopolymer-based nanocomposited as a means to enhance the precision of phosphorus delivery while minimizing run-off and damage to the ecosystem. Other studies are focused on the use of nanoscale metal oxides to enhance photosynthetic efficiency under stressed and non-stressed conditions. Across these projects, the ability to effectively tune nanoscale material structure and composition will be critical to maximizing positive impacts, including significantly reduced amounts of agrichemical use. Results will be presented from several studies where manipulation of nanoparticle synthesis resulted in tunable and sustainable materials that yielded greater plant health and crop yield by a range of agronomic endpoints.
Comments
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