CEREALPATH · Training in innovative and integrated control of cereal diseases

CEREALPATH - Training in innovative and integrated control of cereal diseases

There is a massive effort needed to ensure security of food supply for the growing world population in the fact of ever increasing constraints on resources. Cereals, including wheat, maize and rice, are the most important source of human calories. Diseases reduce both the yield and food safety of cereal grains and compromise food security. Improving plant disease resistance has to be a top priority if we are to improve food productivity in order to feed the world population in 2050. We lose billions of Euro worth of grain annually to diseases, particularly those caused by fungi. We need new weapons in the fight against cereal diseases: CerealPath brings together the people with the expertise to develop these tools. The principal objective of CerealPath is to use a multi-disciplinary, multi-sectoral team to train Early Stage Researchers (ESRs) in the broad spectrum of skills and competencies necessary to innovate in the field of sustainable cereal production. In order to achieve this, CerealPath brings together academic, industrial and regulatory expertise from eight European countries, to stimulate innovation in the field of integrated disease control and fill the gap in this field that has evolved due to the decline in national, EU and global educational resources. The research projects focused on gene discovery and breeding , biological and bioactive disease control and trade-off and pathogen evolution. All three areas underpin integrated and sustainable disease control and intensification of farming. Conclusions of the Action: The research programmes carried out by the ESRs of the CerealPath project have materially contributed to the field of integrated plant disease control, which include identification of disease resistance genes and markers, development of new biological disease control strategies and understanding cereal-pathogen interactions. The ESRs have emerged not only as experts in their own area of research but also the Action has additionally given access to the highest quality training in their respective fields, ensured a spirit of innovation at the outset of the programme, provided an appreciation and understanding of the wider field of integrated disease control, given them hands-on experience in a relevant industry setting, provided industrial awareness, and has facilitated high inter-sectoral and geographic mobility.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз