by Experimental biology and agricultural science are concerned with the study of new and distinct species of plants and crops that are less known and typically known to yield less. Over the years, such species of plants and crops have been neglected to a large extent owing to factors such as –
- low yield, and
- Shorter shelf-life.
However, with modern transport of goods being faster than ever, and numerous other factors (listed above) causing the excessive damage of crops, biologists and agriculture scientists are beginning to look to novel plant species in the hopes of solving these problems. If you are a professional or student engaged in these disciplines, then you might want to register for the next Agriculture conference with publication 2024 that is scheduled to take place near you, to learn more and advance your career.
If there’s one thing that has changed the state of modern-day agriculture, it is that more scientists and researchers involved in carrying out experimental research activities testing out new species of plants and crops are able to do so at a faster and much more rapid pace than earlier before. This in turn has led to a tremendous level of progress being made in terms of the discovery of novel plant species with higher yields that are also more disease resistant.
As far as novel plant discovery and innovation are concerned, finding plant species that more disease resistant as well as resistant to erratic weather patterns (brought on by the detrimental effects of global warming and climate change), is perhaps more important than discovering plant species and crops that are high yielding. This is owing to the fact that farmers these days are more worried if their crops will last through to the harvest season and not be destroyed by –
- drought,
- pestilence,
- disease, and
- Flooding.
Any present-day farmer will attest to the fact that for them to be able to make a decent living, the seasonal plants and crops that they have planted must last until the harvest season. At this point, they are less worried about the crop not surviving until the time to harvest is neigh than worrying about the yield of the harvest itself.
Applying Veterinary Microbiology and Veterinary Parasitology to Discver Disease-Resistant Crop Varieties
As mentioned earlier, the concern over –
- diminished crop yields,
- crop damage, and
- decreased food production levels,
is growing all over the world. While many are aware of the factors causing this extensive decrease in food production levels all across the planet, most people are unaware of what is actually going on. The fact of the matter is that crop diseases are expanding from their regions of origin across the planet with the –
- export of produce,
- the migration of several species of birds and insects from one continent to another (all carrying the disease with them),
- The change in weather patterns, etc.
Every one of these factors is causing crops that would normally not face any sort of disease and have been known to be quite “disease-resistant” all of a sudden start getting affected by diseases traveling from other parts of the globe. When it comes to finding solutions to these problems the only people who can do something to alleviate this situation are microbiologists and parasitologists, who study living microbes within the soil, plant structures, etc, and parasites living under similar circumstances and habitats, respectively. These professionals find ways of manipulating these microbes and parasites commonly found accompanying certain crop and plant species, to come to the aid of these crops and plants in a time of crisis.
