Sustainably Improving Crop Yield and Composition through Enhanced Photosynthesis
Posted 8th January 2020 by Joshua Sewell
Understandably, one of the main themes of the recent Plant Genomics & Gene Editing Congress: USA was how research and industry can enable farmers and plant growers to meet the growing challenges of global food security. In his presentation, Greg Bryan introduced us to ZeaKal, a photosynthesis company developing solutions for farmers.
Enhancing Photosynthesis: a Big Deal
Posted 10th July 2019 by Jane Williams
The PhotoSeed Technology
Enhancing photosynthesis is a critical step to increasing crop yields. This complex 156 step biochemical process has been the subject of many studies in multiple crops. While some step wise gains have been made, the true potential for increasing photosynthesis has not been realized potentially due to the negative feedback mechanisms that exist within plants to regulate this process.
Novel Photosynthesis Technology – the Solution to the Global Food Security Crisis?
Posted 23rd July 2018 by Jane Williams
Ensuring global food security
The human population is increasing, which means that we need to improve crop productivity to maintain food security. Over the last century, plant breeding and modern agriculture have made large gains in productivity. However, this growth is not keeping pace with demand. If plant photosynthesis could be improved, this would provide breeders with a new tool to increase crop yields. This has been a major research focus over the last 20 years and significant progress has been made in understanding this process. However, crops with improved photosynthesis have yet to be successfully commercialised.