Imagine if plants had a 'secret handshake' with the tiny bugs in the soil to get extra water during a drought. Instead of adding artificial fertilizers or lab-grown bacteria, this work finds the specific plant genes that naturally attract the right soil helpers. It's like breeding a plant that knows exactly how to recruit a local support team to survive dry weather.
Traditional microbial seed coatings often fail in real field conditions. Farmers need crops that are genetically predisposed to work with the natural bacteria already present in their specific soil to survive drought.
A database of 600 barley varieties' drought traits, automated root imaging software, and new breeding lines backcrossed into elite European varieties.
If you are a seed breeder dealing with crop failure during droughts — this project developed breeding strategies based on 600 barley varieties that improve root-microbiome interactions. This allows for the creation of elite European lines that are naturally more resilient to water stress.
If you are a software developer dealing with poor root visibility in soil — this project developed automated core break imaging and gap-filling software for rhizoboxes. This provides a way to accurately model root architecture from seedling to maturity.
If you are a consultant dealing with the failure of microbial inoculants in the field — this project developed a method to harness indigenous soil biodiversity. This reduces the need for external inputs by breeding plants that work with existing soil life.
Based on available project data, specific pricing or implementation costs are not provided.
The project tests 600 barley varieties in field trials across Austria, Lebanon, and Morocco to ensure the strategies work in real-world agricultural settings.
Based on available project data, specific licensing terms are not mentioned, though the project aims to create a publicly available database of drought tolerance and root traits.
The project runs from 2022-11-01 to 2028-10-31, indicating a long-term breeding and validation cycle.
The project intends to backcross selected resilient lines into existing elite European barley lines.
The consortium is highly industry-weighted with a 50% industry ratio, comprising 4 industrial partners (including 3 SMEs) and 4 academic/research entities. This balance suggests a strong focus on commercial viability and the practical application of the root-phenotyping tools and breeding strategies developed.
Contact Aarhus Universitet (DK) regarding the root-microbiome database and breeding lines.
Contact us to explore licensing opportunities for the automated root phenotyping software.
