Overcoming drought-induced limitation of legume yields by mediating plant hormone signalling

Delivering a reliable food supply to a growing population demands crop production systems that are robust in the face of the increasingly unpredictable climatic conditions. Drought is a major climatic factor in limiting crop yield, and new approaches to improving crop yield under drought conditions are urgently required. Plant Impact plc (Pi) is a technology.SME where the core business is to identify novel scientific insights in the field of agricultural bioscience and to further develop these insights into products which improve the yield and quality of field crops. The company has used advances in crop physiology and biochemistry to identify a patented mixture of chemicals (Alethea) that can be used to produce innovative foliar spray products to reduce the effects of drought. Although previous research, including previous BBSRC
CASE studentship (BB/G01793X/1), has provided a solid base for developing Alethea, the company recognizes that further fundamental understanding of the mechanisms of drought response in key crops is needed to deliver more robust
technologies. Delivering that fundamental understanding is the foundation of this CASE studentship. The project is a threeway collaboration between Plant Impact plc (Pi), Rothamsted Research (RRes) and The Lancaster Environment Centre(LEC) at Lancaster University. The collaboration brings genuine synergy in research capacity.