encroaching plant life plague are imperil safe and sustainable food for thought production . Many plant pests are channel across international border on plants , where they can hide as stowaway . Researchers from all over Europe have bring together forces to make electronic nose that can sniff out plant life infected with certain pests , to forbid the pest from spreading .
dependable and sustainable food production is threaten by a variety of plant pests , many of them invasive . With a worldly concern universe that is expected to attain 9.7 billion in 2050 , allot to the United Nations , we must prevent the release of intellectual nourishment and provender to pests and diseases .
Plant pests can be spread all over the earthly concern when plant material is swop . With climate change , pestilence can establish in newfangled areas and induce expectant economic personnel casualty . International Plant Protection Convention ( IPPC ) and the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization ( EPPO ) are both dedicated to protect industrial plant from pests and working towards a good plant trade wind to forbid the counterpane of invading pests . However , this is challenging , as industrial plant pests can be unmanageable to detect . When trade , plant life are evaluate , and apparently healthy plants get a plant health certificate . regrettably , many of these plant host shroud plant pest , which are then transported across border as stowaway passengers . When they reach Modern destinations , they can spread rapidly and cause not bad damage .
This challenge has inspire researchers from all over Europe to cooperate in PurPest , an EU project coordinated by NIBIO . The goal is to develop electronic noses that can sniffle out stowaway pests in plants and thus limit their distribution .
A nose for sick plantsAndrea Ficke , NIBIO researcher , and project coordinator explains the conception of the project :
“ All plants secrete fickle organic compound ( VOCs ) , like smells . The collection of VOCs that a industrial plant secretes is altered as the plant is subject to accent , such as when under attack from a flora pest . approach from dissimilar pests should leave in unlike VOC profiles . ”
This rule will be used to make electronic noses that can identify specific VOC profiles and connect them to certain plant pests . The electronic nose must be easy to use and give rapid and dependable results if it detect a pest .
This could prove to be a valuable tool for works importers that must manage heavy quantities of plants from all over the world , with presently few ways of detecting stowaway pests . grant to Ficke , only 3 % of the gadfly that are imported with plant material are detected .
“ By using electronic nose , it would be possible to detecting pace to 80 % . ”
The electronic noses will be project for in - field use as well . rich electronic noses could be bond to tractors and used to detect pests that are already established in the fields . This would take into account for more site - specific treatment , which could lower the need for pesticides by as much as 50 % , Ficke arrogate .
The select fewTo start with , the task purport to develop electronic noses that can detect five pest , represent oomycetes , insects , and nematodes . Most of the pestis have a broad range of host plants and threaten both agriculture and forestry throughout Europe .
To be able-bodied to develop electronic nose , the explosive organic compound secreted from flora attack by different pests must be known . This will be achieved through controlled experimentation deal by NIBIO and other collaborating research institutes , where plants will be exposed to different pests under controlled term . analysis will be performed to set the release VOCs , which will be gathered in a database . The database will be open to other researchers and developers so that it can be amplify to be valid for other pestilence as well .
“ This ensures that the technology and its role can be develop , even after the project is concluded , ” Ficke explain .
Interdisciplinary collaborationElectronic noses alone will not solve the yield of invasive plant pests being imported with plants .
“ To solve such a complex problem , we ask change in policies related to plant swop , ” Ficke excuse .
One of the projects ’ working groups will work out exclusively on this .
“ They will work closely together with end users , such as Fannie Farmer and people regard in plant trade , and stakeholder , to create insurance and road map that are reasonable and implementable . ”
This is an crucial part of the project , which has rig a goal to meliorate EU policies regarding plant deal . The cooperation between technology , biology , and social science is all important for reducing the scourge posed by invasive plant blighter . By pull together expertness in these fields of inquiry , the PurPest project can help secure sustainable solid food production and forestry .
Source : nibio.no
