Researchers Start 10-year Plan for Plant Science in the U.S.

Plant scientists in the U.S. have started working on the 10-year plan to help improve global supplies through sustainable practices and achieve developments in understanding different plant mechanisms. The 10-year plan was discussed by 75 scientists from various research institutions in the U.S. in a meeting held last week in Bethesda, Maryland, organized by the American Society of Plant Biologists. Representatives from the government, industry, and other sectors also attended the meeting.

According to Gary Stacey of the University of Missouri, there is both a great need and a great potential right now. Food prices and demand for food are both escalating along with the consequences of climate change. On the contrary, many plant scientists are putting efforts to use plants for energy.

Food security and a need for a second Green Revolution were recognized as critical issues. There should be more emphasis on genetic diversity, wherein useful genes are searched in different species for possible transfer in economically important plants. Toward that end, a number of participants called for expansion of biotechnology, so that value-added genes could be incorporated to different fruits, vegetables, and legumes.

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