Monheim, Germany
March 30, 2007
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Dr.
Alexander Klausener, Head of Research at
Bayer
CropScience: “Fungi are the cause of considerable
harvest losses in food and animal feedstuff production.
Combating fungal diseases is a major precondition for
safeguarding the yields and quality of agrarian
products.” |
Numerous experts from Research,
Product Development and Marketing, along with representatives of
Bayer CropScience’s
country organizations, met with high-ranking experts from
European agriculture at the Monheim Crop Protection Center in
mid-March to jointly discuss the challenges and opportunities
involved in fungicide use.
The main theme running through the experts’ presentations was
global warming and its repercussions for all areas of the
agricultural sector. Many of today’s forecasts concern the
period until 2050, describing an as yet distant future. However,
it is vital that strategies for dealing with these challenges,
in particular in regard to research, are implemented now.
Climate change is leading to changes in vegetation zones,
accompanied by changes to the disease pathogens facing modern
crop protection. “It is no longer sufficient to search for
agents to combat existing disease pathogens,” warned John Lucas
from Rothamsted Research Institute, United Kingdom. In his
presentation, Lucas talked about the “challenges presented by a
moving target”. Scientists are not the only ones who must adapt
to the spread of diseases into new regions and their much
greater potential for expansion.
Lucas sees opportunities in genetic engineering. Tomato or
potato plants, for example, could be equipped with properties to
make them resistant against fungi. It will be some time until
such products are ready to be launched on the market, however.
Dr. Klaus Stenzel, Head of Biology Fungicides Monheim at Bayer
CropScience, underlined the importance of creative research:
“Innovations in crop protection are a precondition for
sustainable agricultural production and vital if we are to meet
the future needs of society.”
Another major topic at the event – the northerly displacement of
today’s agricultural regions in Europe – was discussed by
Laurent Huber from the INRA (National Agricultural Institute in
Paris-Grignon, France). While he believes that predictions of
winegrowing in Sweden are somewhat premature, it must be assumed
that vegetation zones will indeed be displaced. Huber also
appealed for more rational discussion of the greenhouse effect.
Without this planet’s natural greenhouse effect, its surface
temperature would be about -18°C. In the same context,
Joseph-Alexander Verreet from Kiel University in Germany
discussed disease pathogens in cereals. Increasingly mild, damp
winters are leading to a higher rate of infection in these crops
at the start of the year, while the summer months tend to be
drier with correspondingly lower disease rates. Today’s products
therefore have to be adapted to suit these changing application
times.
Lars Hoelgaard from the European Commission in Brussels also
believes that the increasingly varied usage of agricultural
products will cause major changes to the agricultural economy.
Agriculture used to be dominated by two main areas: food and
animal feed production. Today, they have been joined by
bioenergy crops and sustainable raw materials. This will have an
effect not only on price structures but also on land use in
rural regions. Hoelgaard believes that there are opportunities
for greater efficacy throughout the production chain, with a
better energy balance overall.
In his presentation, Melvyn Askew from the Central Science
Laboratory in York, United Kingdom, appealed to both scientists
and agriculture to look beyond the production of biodiesel and
bioethanol in their plans for the future. “Success will be
dependent on our ability to think laterally.” There are many
alternative markets for high-quality plants, for example in the
production of clothing and fibers or as a supplier of fats for
the cosmetics industry. |
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