Maintaining high crop quality topic of symposium

Researchers present on challenge of genetics, environment, management

Factors like how seeds are spaced when planting or soil moisture can affect the yield and nutritional value of crops.

Scientists at the American Society of Agronomy and Crop Science Society annual meeting will discuss these factors and more at the symposium, “Maintaining Seed Quality and Composition for Yield Productivity.” This year’s meeting will be held Nov. 4 to 7, in Baltimore, Maryland. The theme of the meeting is “Enhancing Productivity in a Changing Climate.” The Canadian Society of Agronomy is collaborating in the meeting.

“Maintaining high crop quality is relevant for the overall agriculture sector,” says Ignacio Ciampitti, organizer of the symposium. “For example, soybean serves as an oil seed crop, feed for animals, protein source for humans, and biofuel feedstock. Maintaining soybean economic advantage will require study of the seed quality factors and their degree of linkage with genetics, environment, and management. Low seed protein concentration precludes the production of high protein meal required for profitable marketing. Still, maintaining high yield with good quality is of interest to many producers.”

Philippe Sequin will present “Health-beneficial Compounds in Soybean: Impact of Management and Abiotic Factors.” Sequin is a researcher at McGill University. His research is specifically looking at the levels of tocopherol in soybean. Seeding date affected the tocopherol levels the most, but there are many other factors to discuss.

Soybean protein concentration is the topic of Jose Rotundo’s talk, “Environmental and Management Factors Associated with Increased Seed Protein Concentration in Soybean.” Cultivar selection, planting date and fertilization were key factors in managing protein content in their research. Rotundo works with Corteva Agriscience.

Mike Gooding, Aberystwyth University, will present “The Wheat Ideotype and Its Implications for the Management of Grain Quality in Changing Environments.” Current popular varieties of wheat are bred for larger and fewer ears, shorter growth habits, and other beneficial qualities. However, they are less competitive with weeds and require higher levels of fertilizer. He will review field and controlled experiments and discuss the interactions between the genetics and management practices, with a particular emphasis on crop quality.

Finally, Roxanna Savin, University of Llieda (Spain), will review “Abiotic Stress on Wheat Grain Quality.” Her research identifies genetic and management tools to help reduce the effect of high temperatures on yield.

For more specific information about this symposium, visit https://scisoc.confex.com/scisoc/2018am/meetingapp.cgi/Session/17964. For more information about the 2018 meeting,visit https://www.acsmeetings.org/.