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A field of culture
Dr. Antony Dodd
Plants may indicate the time, which affects their reactions to certain herbicides used in agriculture, according to a new study conducted by the University of Bristol. The study, in collaboration with Syngenta, revealed that the circadian rhythms of plants regulate the sensitivity of plants to a widely used herbicide depending on the time of day. The results could benefit agriculture by reducing crop losses and improving harvests.
Just like human jet lag, plants have a vital body clock for their lives in a day and night world. Plant biological clocks make a crucial contribution to their growth and to the responses of crops to their changing environments.
Antony Dodd, Lecturer at the Faculty of Biological Sciences and lead author of the article, said, "This concept validation study suggests that in the future we may be able to refine the use of certain chemicals used in agriculture to take advantage of the biological clock in plants. Approaches of this type, combining biotechnology and precision farming, can generate economic and environmental benefits. "
In a new article, published today [Friday 16 August] In the journal Nature Communications, researchers found that plant tissue death and growth retardation resulting from glyphosate herbicide depended on when the herbicide was applied and the biological clock.
Crucially, the biological clock also resulted in a daily change in the minimum amount of herbicide needed to affect the plant, so that less herbicide was needed at certain times of the day. This provides an opportunity to reduce the amount of herbicides used, saving time and money for farmers and reducing the environmental impact.
In medicine, "chronotherapy" takes into account the biological clock to determine the best time to administer a drug or treatment. This new research suggests that a similar approach could be adopted for future agricultural practices, with crop treatments being applied at the most appropriate times for certain species of weeds or crops. By using a form of agricultural chronotherapy, it could play a role in the sustainable intensification of agriculture needed to feed the growing population.
Paper
"Circadian plant rhythms regulate the effectiveness of a glyphosate herbicide" by Belbin FE, Hall GJ, Jackson AB, Schanschieff FE. Archibald G, Formstone C, Dodd AN in Nature Communications
/ Public publication. See full here.
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