Abiotic stresses

Team members investigate abiotic stresses in both greenhouse experiments and under field conditions in African and Asian countries. They determine adaptation strategies of genotypes (rice, wheat, vegetables) to cope with increasing future stress levels and develop adapted production strategies.
To counteract water scarcity, water-saving production strategies are assessed in semi-arid and arid zones of Burkina Faso. Research in high-altitude areas of Nepal determine genotypic difference in rice response to low temperatures and rice quality responses to high UV radiation. In the coastal delta of South East Spain, salt water intrusion into rice irrigation systems and emerging patterns of salinity in rice fields are being quantified. Effects of zinc and boron deficiency in traditional rice-wheat and the recently emerging maize-vegetable systems have been studied in the Nepal. Iron toxicity in rice, differential genotype responses and mechanisms of tolerance have been assessed in a genome-wide association panel of rice and in wild rice relatives under controlled conditions in the greenhouse.