#espm1011

[espmstudent]

Hacking photosynthesis to increase crop yield.

Researchers from Boyce Thompson Institute and Cornell University have been doing trials on corn and tobacco crops to try to increase the efficiency of photosynthesis. They have found that increasing the amount of an enzyme called RuBisCO can help make photosynthesis run faster, with fewer bumps in the road. According to plant biologist David Stern, “Every metabolic process- like photosynthesis- has the equivalent of traffic lights or speed bumps. RuBisCO is often the limiting factor in photosynthesis. With increased RuBisCO though, this well-known speed bump is lowered, leading to improved photosynthetic efficiency.” RuBisCO’s scientific name is Ribulose-1,5-biphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase but that is quite a mouthful so I will use RuBisCO. It is widely accepted that photosynthesis is inefficient. During photosynthesis, plant will create unnecessary glycolic acid and will use energy to try to get rid of it. This defect is called light breathing. Increasing the amount of RuBisCO will help convert energy to sugar, so it will help plants during energy conversion to not create as much glycolic acid. During their first trials, the plants just created more glycolic acid, as they were transferring more energy. One way to fix this would be to make the plants more selective in the source of carbon that they will use during photosynthesis, but that would slow down its growth rate. Another way would be to boost the plant’s own immune response so that it would block the creation of glycolic acid, which is a big speed bumps in photosynthesis.

This technique is still in the testing phase, but it could be a great way to increase crop yield. Hopefully, it will become more mainstream, once the troubleshooting phase is finished and will be affordable for small-family farmers and available for farmers in countries all over the world.

Sources:

Friedlander, B. Improving Crop Yield by Turbocharging Photosynthesis https://www.technologynetworks.com/applied-sciences/news/improving-crop-yield-by-turbocharging-photosynthesis-310219 (accessed March 12, 2019)

Bourzac, K. Realizing Increased Photosynthetic Efficiency for sustainable increases in crop yield. Improve photosynthesis and increase crop yield https://ripe.illinois.edu/news/improve-photosynthesis-and-increase-crop-yield (accessed March 12, 2019)

[espmstudent]

Precision Farming

Another farming strategy to help combat overpopulation is precision farming. Precision farming is another technological farming strategy that uses sensors, GPS, and drones with cameras to be able to monitor crops. Using precision farming will help you be able to monitor stem size, leaf shape and size, and overall plant health. You will be able to get real-time updates so you don't have to fertilize or water plots of land that don't need it. This will help conserve water and cut down on nutrient runoff from over fertilization that could lead to eutrophication in nearby water sources.

This farming strategy has so many pros to it, but there are also cons. Not all famers have to money to purchase and maintain the gadget needed to use precision farming. This way of farming is quite exclusive, as smaller family farms and farms in poorer parts of the world would not be able to use this strategy.  Some farmers don’t have cellphones to monitor their crops or even reliable wifi and electricity.

This farming strategy is a great way to increase crop yield without hurting nearby ecosystems and would help cut down on water use, but it is not available to everyone.

Sources:

Ling, Geoffrey; Bextine, Blake. Precision Farming Increases Crop Yields.

[espmstudent]

Will AI be the new farmers?

Microsoft AI has created a program that helps farmers plant crops to get the highest yield and troubleshoot potential problems. This program allows famers to figure out the optimum sowing date, predict pest attacks, and even create price models. The best part about this is that it can be controlled by a cellphone! 

This program has helped farmers in India increase crop yield by 30% without any evident environmental impacts. I’m sure we’ve all seen that Microsoft commercial with the dramatic music and that one rapper trying to tell us that we should start using AI. I’m also sure that you didn't take it very seriously, at least I didn't at first. Microsoft partnered up with a company called The Yield, which hopes to increase crop yield. They are an award-winning ag-tech company that hopes to improve decision-making on farms.

Two big companies like these teaming up to fight overpopulation and world hunger could be a big deal for ag-tech, AI, and the world. We’ll just have to wait and see if they live up to the hype.

Sources:

The Yield. https://www.theyield.com (accessed February 18, 2019)

Nagpal, J. Digital Agriculture: Farmers in India are using AI to increase crop yields. https://news.microsoft.com/en-in/features/ai-agriculture-icrisat-upl-india/ (accessed February 18, 2019)

Pretty, J. Could we feed the world without causing further environmental damage?https://www.theguardian.com/society/2001/jan/17/guardiansocietysupplement1(accessed February 18, 2019)

Sustainability For All, Causes and Consequences of Overpopulation. https://www.activesustainability.com/sustainable-development/causes-consequences-overpopulation/ (accessed February 18, 2019)

[espmstudent]

Was overpopulation inevitable?

Overpopulation is often spoken about like something that will happen in the far-away future but the world is already showing signs of overpopulation. There are food shortages happening worldwide. In fact, 1 in 3 people are suffering from hunger or undernourishment. Overpopulation also makes way for easily spread diseases, as airborne illnesses have an easier time spreading when people are in close contact. In just the year 2012, there were 8.6 million reported cases of tuberculosis. There are also geopolitical tensions over land and resources. This problem has been a long time coming, as the 18th century scholar, Thomas Malthus, even predicted it. You may have heard of things being referred to as Malthusian, meaning that things seem bleak and gray, but Malthus had a very important point. He hypothesized that since population growth happens exponentially and food production growth happens arithmetically, that there would come a time when people would be at risk of starvation. This idea was right, but he pictured things in black and white, not factoring in the fact that we would have more advanced farming strategies and technologies. There are hundreds of new techniques that could help curb the effects of overpopulation to avoid a worldwide hunger crisis.

Sources:

MPH Online, The Effect of Overpopulation on Public Health. https://www.mphonline.org/overpopulation-public-health/ (accessed February 6, 2019)

Environmental Literacy Council,Conflict & Natural Resources. https://enviroliteracy.org/land-use/conflict-natural-resources/ (accessed February 6, 2019)

Sustainability For All. Malthus, Food Production, and Population Growth. https://www.activesustainability.com/sustainable-development/malthus-food-production-population-growth/ (accessed February 6, 2019)

[letssavenature-blog]

The purpose of saving nature

Hello! This is my first post for ESPM 1011! This page will be focused on the topic of endangered species and habitat loss. I will be discussing specific species that are at risk, and the causes surrounding the suffering that these brilliant creatures experience. I hope to learn more about what these animals experience and what we can do to help them and the earth become a better place.