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New analytical methods to improve plant breeding

The German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is providing up to 40 million euros to fund four Networks of Competence in the field of agricultural research over five years.

Headed by Bonn University and the Forschungszentrum Jülich, the "CROPSENSe" Network of Competence is one of four projects to have emerged as a winner in the "Networks of Competence in Agricultural and Food Research" competition run by the BMBF.

Working together with many partners from universities and the private sector, new analytical methods are being developed to improve plant breeding and research in the agricultural sciences. CROPSENSe will use innovative sensor systems to make the invisible visible for agricultural research. The key crop processes and structures will be analysed by contact-free, high-speed methods in the future.

New technologies will contribute significantly to raising yields, while simultaneously conserving resources. This is why new sensor systems are being developed to catalogue, adapt and combine properties of plants and stands. It will then be possible to recognise plant and soil conditions quickly, precisely and non-destructively, for example, to develop better plant varieties.

The funding amounts to 9.7 million euros over the next five years. North Rhine-Westphalia will add 4.7 million euros. The Network of Competence brings together a total of 41partners from universities throughout Germany, plus non-university research and industrial partners.

Further information: http://www.cropsense.uni-bonn.de