Scientists are experimenting with fighting Fusarium head blight, a fungal disease affecting small cereal grains, with an RNA-containing spray that could turn off specific crop genes that the pathogen targets.
However, its spray application method does not discriminate between target crops and the surrounding microbial environment. Scientists questioned whether this pathogen-fighting spray could do more harm than good.
Until recently, scientists did not have the knowledge or insight to definitively approve this spray technique.
However, a recently published study by scientists at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the James Hutton Institute revealed that spray-induced gene silencing effectively targets FHB but does not negatively alter the surrounding microbial environment, Phys.org reported.
This finding is groundbreaking for protecting global food supplies and advancing the sustainable agricultural industry.
FHB infects crops and yields lower-quality grains that may not meet industry standards. As a result, the disease can yield up to 80% crop yield losses, research confirmed. The fungal disease also produces mycotoxins, or harmful chemicals, that can cause adverse physical effects in humans and animals if consumed.
Before this research, farmers protected their crops with conventional chemical solutions. However, spraying pesticides could contaminate the food supply and make it unsafe to eat.
Pesticide use in agricultural activities also increases pollution of harmful, heat-trapping gases, leading to more climate-induced weather events.
This RNA gene-silencing spray offers a minimally invasive method to protect essential crops without harming the environment or threatening humans or wildlife.
"This study … demonstrates … potential to revolutionize crop protection with minimal ecological impact. I think this is the future of sustainable agriculture," said Ramesh Vetukuri, one of the study's key researchers, per Phys.org.
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The next step is to apply the RNA spray in field trials to observe its effect on a larger scale.
Other organizations are also finding innovative solutions to help protect food crops.
The Gates Foundation established the Wheat Disease Early Warning Advisory System and is investing in crop pathogen surveillance systems to protect wheat crops from carnage by plant pathogens.Â
Scientists from the Natural History Museum and the Earlham Institute developed Airseq, a technology that analyzes air particles surrounding crops for early signs of disease.
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