W168: Seed Biology, Technology, and Ecology
Statement of Issues and Justification
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM:Seeds are fundamental to U.S. agriculture and natural ecosystems. Fundamental knowledge about mechanisms underlying seed development, germinability, dormancy, and storability is required to improve seed performance in the 21st Century. This information is needed to maintain the global competitiveness of the U.S. seed industry, increase food production, improve weed control, and take full advantage of advanced technology. In addition, a clearer understanding is needed of how environmental factors affect seed performance.
JUSTIFICATION:
Overview. Seeds are fundamental. Seeds are one of the most powerful forces in nature because they ensure the reproduction of most plant species. Seeds are the starting point for the production of annual crops. Of all the major human food sources in the world, only fish is based on a biological food chain that does not begin with seeds. The lives of 99% of the worlds population either directly or indirectly depend on seeds (Urmstrom, 1997).
Production of high quality seeds is fundamental to the success of U.S. agriculture. Crop production relies heavily on high quality planting seeds. Every farmer is sensitive to the need for rapid, uniform seedling emergence because it is the foundation on which stand establishment is based and potential yield is determined. The average American farmer spends over $2,500 on seeds for crop establishment annually. Total U.S. expenditures for seeds and transplants are over five billion dollars annually (USDA estimates).
The unique biology of seeds as life in a suspended state and the specialized nature of the seed industry have given rise to Seed Biology as a distinct scientific and technical discipline. During the last three decades, this discipline has provided the American seed industry with the biological understanding and technical expertise needed to deliver a stable supply of the finest seeds to the U.S. agricultural industry and the world market. Most of the crops contributing to the $85 billion in annual U.S. agricultural productivity are grown from seeds, and the seed industry is a significant agricultural sector in its own right, accounting for approximately $4.2 billion in U.S. market value (USDA estimates). In addition, exports of agricultural seeds were responsible for a positive trade balance of over $409 million for fiscal year 1995/96 (FATUS, 1996).
Renewed emphasis will be placed on maximizing the quality and performance of seeds in the next century to meet the demands of emerging technologies. For example, the physiological quality of seeds is of increasing importance in conservation tillage and revegetation programs, where seeds are often planted in hostile environments under adverse seedbed conditions. In these cases, establishment and survival of the seedlings is the most crucial step in the success of the entire enterprise. Rapid advances in biotechnology underscore the importance of maintaining all germplasm resources indefinitely into the future. These genetic resources, preserved in seeds, will provide the diversity upon which future advances in agricultural productivity will depend. Germplasm preservation assumes renewed importance since all genes are now potentially available for utilization in crop improvement. Seeds are also the vehicle for delivery of plant biotechnology to the field. Farmers will be required to invest greater capital in seeds derived from biotechnology or that incorporate value added treatments such as priming, coating, or optical sorting. Furthermore, the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have lead to the development of a new generation of farm equipment that allows farmers to vary seeding rates to match soil fertility. The benefits of these sophisticated technologies can best be utilized if seed performance is optimized.
Problem. During the previous five years of the W-168 project, progress was made on the two approved objectives. The objectives for the next five years have been redefined to include new problems of national concern in the next century. The new objectives are intentionally broad because a holistic approach is needed to investigate the large and diverse field of plant biology.
The new objectives address the following problems. Despite recent advances in understanding the molecular biology of seeds, we still know relatively little about how seeds germinate, why some seeds germinate better than others, what causes dormancy, and why seeds die in storage. New fundamental knowledge about mechanisms underlying seed development, germinability, and storability is required to solve the challenges of the 21st century that were described in the previous section. Seed performance must be improved: (1) For the U.S. to maintain our global competitiveness as an exporter of seeds as propagules. (2) To help increase food production in the next century. (3) To take full advantage of advanced technology. A clearer understanding of how environmental factors affect seed performance in natural as well as agricultural ecosystems is needed to ensure the continued vitality of native plant populations and the productivity of cropping systems.
The Coalition for Research on Plant Systems (CROPS) was organized to determine societal needs and to develop a comprehensive, coherent national research strategy. At the a national workshop entitled CROPS 99 held on November 9 to 11, 1997 in St. Louis, Mo., four research goals and 19 specific priorities were identified for the next century. These goals and objectives have been endorsed by more than 75 organizations, representing agricultural and commodity groups, scientific societies, industry, and government agencies. The research objectives outlined in this proposal for the next 5 year period contribute substantially to three of the four objectives and the following 9 CROPS priorities (CROPS, 1997).
- Conduct structural and functional genomics, initially focused on economically significant plant species.
- Explore plant diversity and genetics to identify unique traits with potential to produce new and improved products.
- Conduct structural and functional genomics on microbial, insect, nematode, weed, and other pest species.
- Preserve, analyze, and utilize genetic resources and diversity of germplasm of plants and associated organisms.
- Develop handling, post-harvest storage and processing systems to assure safety and quality while minimizing product loss.
- Strengthen the understanding of the interaction and compatibility among natural, urban, and agricultural ecosystems.
- Expand the understanding and use of plants and microorganisms to remediate environmental problems economically and effectively.
- Develop methods to detect and quantify value-added traits in plants and their products to enhance the profit share of the grower producer.
- Develop the science applied to site-specific agriculture, including precision agriculture, for profitable production and minimal adverse environmental impact.
This Regional Research Project was originally initiated in the Western Region because of the concentration in this area of seed production of many horticultural, forage, and native species. Yet, the importance of seed production extends beyond this geographical area, as the U.S. is a major world producer of cereal and oil seeds as well as forage, vegetable, and flower seeds. Seeds of native plants for revegetation and forestry use are increasing in importance as well. Seeds are produced throughout the U.S. and are utilized throughout the world. For example, seeds of cool-season grasses, carrots, beans, alfalfa, sweet corn, and cole crops are produced in the Pacific Northwest. Diverse vegetable and flower seeds as well as rice, wheat, hybrid sunflower, cotton, and clover seeds are grown in California and the Southwest. Soybeans, corn, and sunflower seeds are grown in the Midwest. Revegetation shrub and chaffy grass seeds are produced in the Great Plains states. Peanut, cotton, and fir tree seeds are produced in the Southeastern states. These examples of the diversity of seed production throughout the U.S., and the lack of any other regional projects devoted to seed biology or technology, emphasize the role this project has played in expanding beyond a Western Regional effort to become a truly national research mission.
Despite the diversity of species and locations involved in this project, fundamental aspects of seed biology are common to all. For example, certain patterns of gene expression and the accumulation of storage products are shared across many species. Understanding dormancy, one of the primary objectives for the project, actually requires an array of examples due to the diversity of mechanisms and adaptations possible. Measurement and enhancement of seed quality presents similar challenges and opportunities regardless of the species or location. It is precisely by examining seed biology from diverse perspectives, from the ecological to the molecular, that the entire biological picture becomes clearer and specific applications can be devised.
The breadth of W-168 research is one of its strengths because seed biologists with diverse interests ranging from molecular biology to ecology can share their expertise. Regional Research Project W-168 provides an interdependent structure within which seed scientists across the U.S. can establish critical research objectives, focus and combine their efforts on projects of mutual interest to solve problems, discuss and critique results and hypotheses, and contribute to expanding scientific knowledge.
The W-168 project has a history of productive collaborative research. During the past 5 years, two W-168 project collaborations have obtained a BARD grant with scientists in Israel, and 29 collaborative publications have resulted from the W-168 project. Collaborations between W-168 members have resulted in undergraduate, graduate, and post-doctoral training opportunities. With recent declines in the number of both graduate and undergraduate seed training programs at land grant universities in the U.S., W-168 members will increasingly be looked upon to train the next generation of scientists and technicians for the seed industry. Student training and experience received from W-168 collaborative research, annual meetings, and symposia will continue to be an important aspect of the W-168 project in the future.
Seed quality is important to virtually all sectors in U.S. agriculture and in all regions of the country. Both foreign and domestic seed companies maintain production and research facilities at various locations throughout the U.S. due to the climatic diversity, the ability to produce high quality seed, skilled farmers who specialize in seed production, and the size of our domestic markets. Seeds are increasingly produced in one location and marketed in another. This interstate and global commerce requires a high quality product capable of withstanding the rigors of shipment and storage and performing reliably under a diverse range of field conditions. Meeting these demands requires cooperative research efforts in both production and utilization locations."
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