Improving root system architecture for enhanced drought tolerance and nutrient use efficiency in semi-arid agriculture of chickpea

该项目将重点放在埃塞俄比亚的鹰嘴豆上。埃塞俄比亚和非洲31个“最不发达”国家中的另外19个国家的农业受到干旱、贫瘠和边际土壤条件的制约。气候变化、降水模式改变、长期干旱和随之而来的土壤流失增加了挑战。在过去的50年里，埃塞俄比亚的人口每年增长2.6%，但农作物产量每年仅增长2%。为了粮食安全和气候适应能力，需要解决办法来提高作物产量、数量和质量。鹰嘴豆等豆类和高粱、小米、玉米等谷物是这里的主要农作物。我们将重点关注鹰嘴豆，这是发展中国家的一种关键作物。鹰嘴豆等豆类对于蛋白质营养在最不发达国家农村地区提供收入和支持生计至关重要。半干旱农业系统中的大多数鹰嘴豆种植者都是自给自足的农民，他们缺乏作物改良的资源和知识，因此，从长远来看，我们致力于的改良将使他们受益最大。以前在育种中没有提到根系在限制作物生产力方面的关键作用。根系的大小和分布决定了水分和养分的获取能力，因此是气候逆境恢复的关键，有助于提高抗旱性、水分和养分的利用效率。我们将专注于开发先进但廉价和成本效益高的根部生长表征工具。这将使埃塞俄比亚的研究人员和育种者能够确定适合鹰嘴豆育种的种质。植物的韧性取决于适应当地土壤的适当的根系结构；我们的低成本但强大的工具将首次在埃塞俄比亚实现适应地点的育种计划。这将是农民提高和可持续生产鹰嘴豆的最直接途径。我们正与来自埃塞俄比亚和美国的国际科学家密切合作，开展他们的项目：“耐气候鹰嘴豆”(CRC)。这一倡议得到了多个国际项目的支持，如美国国际开发署的“喂养未来”、CGIAR的“谷物豆类联合研究计划”，这是我们项目成功的关键。CRC为作物改良产生了大量的信息和资源。这些包括：由7000个独特品系组成的预育种群和埃塞俄比亚的600个地方品种种质的集合。埃塞俄比亚在全国各地建立了农业咨询服务网络，这对采用新技术和种质至关重要。我们将通过我们的埃塞俄比亚和国际合作伙伴与这些网络密切合作，为创新提供途径。我们在基金会项目阶段有三个主要目标：第一，发展、补充和加强埃塞俄比亚和国际努力的现有网络，利用我们的多学科专业知识开发工具，即使在干旱条件下也能加强高产育种。为了在长期内取得成功，我们将在埃塞俄比亚开展协作、讲习班和实地访问，并通过定期沟通；第二，我们将在爱丁堡和埃塞俄比亚开发强大、低成本的技术和设备，用于根型鉴定；并与埃塞俄比亚同事密切协调。该项目的基础阶段将结合埃塞俄比亚的评估推进技术开发，使设备适合当地条件下的用途，并掌握在当地育种者手中。第三，确定我们在创新融资和土壤质量改善方面的专业知识如何有助于加快我们将开发的技术创新的吸收，以及如何通过可能通过生物炭改良剂来提高土壤肥力和土壤养分循环。我们将与埃塞俄比亚同事合作，为埃塞俄比亚和其他干旱气候国家可持续加强粮食安全的长期规划作出贡献。

This project will focus on chickpea in Ethiopia. Agriculture in Ethiopia and a further 19 of 31 "least developed" countries in Africa is constrained by arid, infertile and marginal soil conditions. Climate change, altered precipitation patterns, prolonged droughts and the soil loss that ensues, adds to the challenges. Ethiopia's population has risen 2.6% annually over the last 50 years, but crop production grew by only 2% annually. Solutions are required to increase crop productivity, quantity and quality, for food security and climate resilience. Legumes such as chickpea and grains such as sorghum, millet and maize are the major crops here. We will focus on chickpea, a key crop in developing nations. Pulses such as chickpea are crucial for protein nutrition to provide income and support livelihoods in rural areas of the least developed countries. Most chickpea growers in semi-arid agrosystems are subsistence farmers who lack resources and knowledge for crop improvement, thus, in the long-term, will benefit most from the improvements we aim for. The crucial role of root systems in limiting crop productivity was not previously addressed in breeding. Root system size and distribution sets the capacity for water and nutrient acquisition and therefore is key for climate stress resilience, contributing to drought tolerance, water and nutrient use efficiency. We will focus on developing advanced but cheap and cost-effective tools for root growth characterisation. This will subsequently allow researchers and breeders in Ethiopia to identify suitable germplasm for chickpea breeding. Plant resilience depends on appropriate root system architecture adapted to local soils; our low-cost but powerful tools will enable location-adapted breeding programs in Ethiopia for the first time. This will be the most direct path to innovation for increased and sustainable chickpea production by subsistence farmers.We are working closely with international scientists from Ethiopia and USA, with their project: "Climate resistant chickpea" (CRC). This initiative has support by several international programs, e.g. the USAID "Feed the Future", CGIAR "Consortium Research Program on Grain Legumes", and is key for success in our project. CRC generates a huge amount of information and resources for crop improvement. These include: a pre-breeding population consisting of >7000 unique lines and a collection of >600 landrace accessions in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has developed networks of agricultural advice services throughout the country that are critical for uptake of novel technologies and germplasm. We will work closely with these networks through our Ethiopian and international partners to provide pathways for innovation.We have three main aims at the Foundation Project stage:First, to develop, complement and enhance the existing network of Ethiopian and international efforts by using our multidisciplinary expertise to develop tools to enhance breeding for good yields even in drought conditions. For this to succeed in the longer term, we will develop collaborations, workshops and site visits to Ethiopia and through regular communication; Second, we will develop powerful, low-cost technologies and equipment for root phenotyping in Edinburgh and Ethiopia; and in close coordination with Ethiopian colleagues. The project's Foundation phase will advance technology development in concert with evaluation in Ethiopia, to make the equipment fit for purpose under local conditions and in the hands of local breeders. Third, to identify how our expertise in innovation financing and soil quality enhancement can serve to accelerate uptake of the technological innovations we will develop and how to increase soil fertility and soil nutrient recycling, potentially by biochar amendment. We will, in collaboration with Ethiopian colleagues, contribute to long-term planning for sustainable enhancement of food security in Ethiopia and other countries with an arid climate.