Overcoming a major technical barrier to global trade in fresh produce (horticulture) by exploiting light-induced crop resistance (SAFECROP).

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Global use of pesticides has greatly improved crop yields but mounting evidence demonstrates multifaceted problems linked with long-term exposure to these chemicals; issues spanning society, economy, environment & human health. Even under normal operating conditions, maximum residue levels (MRL's) of pesticides on fresh produce (fruit and vegetables) are a significant supply chain issue leading to large-scale scrappage of valuable produce at international borders when it fails testing. With the emergence of COVID-19, suppliers warn that fresh fruit and vegetables will become increasingly scarce in Europe as the pandemic hampers the global movement of produce, the labor needed for crop harvest and technical barriers to trade; of which meeting strict MRL testing requirements is the highest priority. Governments and the global supply chains are now urgently looking at ways to ease any shortage, including "green lanes" to allow fresh produce to move quickly across borders but MRL testing procedures cannot be relaxed without risking consumer safety. We propose a possible solution to this problem by forcing crop plants to fight off economically important insect pests and disease themselves thereby reducing / or completely negating the requirement for pesticide usage in some circumstances. Our team at Lancaster University developed (and patented) such a technology over a decade ago now and licensed it to a global crop company. That technology relies upon crop seed being treated with a chemical that plants naturally produce to mount their equivalent of an immune response; not too dissimilar the type of vaccination now being developed for COVID-19\. Once the seed are treated the chemical breaks down within a few hours but the developing crop 'remembers' how to mount a faster and more intense response to future attack by economically important pests and diseases reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Whilst the technology has proved successful in some key agri-crops, limitations include the cost/stability of the active chemical and its need to go through normal pesticide registration processes which are rightly thorough and complex but also expensive/time consuming. In this project we propose to develop a highly-novel alternative approach that would be just as effective as our current technology, but use a simple light seed-treatment to duplicate its benefits allowing growers to reduce chemical pesticide use and thereby removing a major technical barrier (MRL's) to international trade in fresh produce.