A major challenge in the twenty-first century is to increase global food production to feed the continuously growing population while the quality and quantity of arable land are quickly diminishing. Fundamental to this problem is the necessity to increase the yield of numerous important crop species and to find ways to extend geographical locations suitable for agriculture.

Plant-own molecules

Against this background, it is important to focus on cold-stress, an environmental extreme that hampers crop yield. Low temperatures restrict plant growth and development, while frost causes tissue damage. An important step towards robust, cold-resistant plants has now been made by Dr Teun Munnik, associate professor of plant cell biology at Swammerdam Institute for Life Sciences (SILS), and Prof. Wybren Jan Buma of molecular photonics at Van 't Hoff Institute for Molecular Sciences (HIMS).

They can't reveal too much detail yet due to an ongoing patent application, but in principle, they have shown that the use of plant-own molecules can greatly improve the cold resistance of plants. The proposed method, which has already been studied in a European collaborative project with scientists from the universities of Bristol and Warwick, poses no threat to the environment or health. 

Heat camera 

The researchers have already been in touch with interested companies, but for further commercial development, more research is required. For example, it needs to be established how the method influences the fitness of plants and how growth and development proceed at normal and lower temperatures. To address this, highly accurate measurements of the temperature profile of plants is required. To carry out such measurements, a state-of-the-art infrared camera will be acquired with IXA's Physics2Market funding programme. The grant will also allow studying the improvement in cold tolerance and growth of multiple plant species over a longer period of time. In the long term, the insight obtained should lead to economically sound ways of achieving a more sustainable agri- and horticulture.

About IXA and the Physics2Market Grant ​

IXA is the expertise centre for knowledge valorisation of the UvA, HvA, VU and Amsterdam UMC. In 2016, IXA received funding from the municipality of Amsterdam to develop five-year programs that stimulate economic activity and entrepreneurship in research and education. With the Physics2Market Grant, IXA encourages researchers to validate physics-related research to enable collaboration with industrial partners. 

More information on the Phycics2Market Grant
Research page Wybren Jan Buma @ HIMS
Research page Teun Munnik @ SILS