USU Research to Supply Crops With Resources to Withstand Climate Change, Drought
By Sydney Dahle |
Biological Engineering Professor David Britt was awarded $300,000 by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture for research to supply crops with resources to better withstand climate change and drought.
New research from Utah State University engineers aims to improve crop health by curbing two major factors: climate change and drought.
David Britt, a professor in the biological engineering department, will work with Joe Robins in the Agricultural Research Service, a subsidiary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The grant, roughly $300,000, was awarded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
The plan is to fill tiny, porous silica particles with glycine betaine, a compound that assists plant species in response to environmental stresses such as drought, and cover them with a special polymer called Pluronic F68 to assist with growth in plant cultures. Wheat and perennial ryegrass will act as test subjects to develop and improve participles to deliver glycine betaine and observe if the particles help grasses better survive drought. The ARS will develop and test drought-tolerant grasses.
“Glycine betaine helps plants under stress, but it often gets lost in the soil or broken down by microbes, making it less effective in the field,” Britt said. “We are testing that this combination of silica particles coated with Pluronic F68 will deliver glycine betaine more effectively to the plants, improving their health and overall drought resistance.”
Britt’s research addresses key agricultural priorities by exploring nanoscale solutions to improve plant health and production. He hopes that successful results will support larger field studies and applications for additional funding.
“A new aspect of this work is that it takes lessons from drug delivery in medicine to apply for more efficient delivery of agrochemicals,” he said. “We are proposing to apply nano-delivery technology to turf grass and wheat to prime these plants to withstand drought stress periods.”
Previous work showed that silica particles with Pluronic F68 can move from roots to shoots in plants and increase wheat growth by improving nutrient uptake. This supports Britt’s idea of using F68-coated particles for delivering plant treatments.
Preliminary data for this project was supported by internal funding through the USU Agriculture Experiment Station.
WRITER
Sydney Dahle
Public Relations Specialist
College of Engineering
435-797-7512
sydney.dahle@usu.edu
CONTACT
David Britt
Professor
Department of Biological Engineering
435-797-2158
david.britt@usu.edu
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