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Title : AI-Powered Phenomics: Transforming Crop Science for a Climate-Resilient Future
Name : Michael Gomez Selvaraj
University : International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), Cali
Country : Colombia
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In the face of climate change and food security challenges, harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) in plant phenomics is revolutionizing how we breed, manage, and improve crops. This keynote will showcase the pioneering work of the Phenomics Platform at the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, CGIAR, demonstrating how AI-driven phenotyping, advanced imaging, and remote sensing are unlocking new frontiers in crop improvement and climate adaptation.
By leveraging high-throughput phenotyping tools, we capture vast datasets across multiple growth stages and stress scenarios. AI-powered analytics uncover predictive traits, genotype-environment interactions, and stress resilience mechanisms, accelerating data-driven breeding strategies for climate-smart agriculture. Cutting-edge advancements now allow scalable phenotyping, bridging the gap between genomics and real-world crop performance to develop high-yielding, resilient, and nutrient-rich crops.
This keynote will also highlight real-world field-testing methodologies, designed to simulate diverse environmental conditions, ensuring scalability and applicability in breeding programs. Our research provides breeders with precise insights into stress responses, drought tolerance, and crop adaptation, empowering them to make informed, impact-driven decisions.
Collaboration is central to our vision. By fostering open data initiatives, interdisciplinary partnerships, and technology transfer, we aim to democratize AI-driven phenomics, making cutting-edge solutions accessible to researchers, breeders, and farmers worldwide. This session will illustrate how AI-enhanced phenomics is reshaping the future of crop science, complementing genomics and accelerating sustainable agricultural innovation.
Biography
I am Michael Gomez Selvaraj, a visionary leader in agricultural research, with a specific focus on harnessing the power of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to revolutionize cropping system agronomy. As the Leader of the Phenomics platform at the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT within CGIAR, my goal is to envision a world where regenerative agriculture and data-driven innovation converge to create sustainable solutions.
Passionate about addressing the most pressing challenges in agriculture, I envision a future where the information revolution brought about by A.I. transforms the agricultural research landscape. Recognizing agriculture as one of the world’s largest industries, sustaining billions of people and employing a significant portion of the global workforce, I strive to bridge the gap between modern technological advancements and the traditional farming practices of small-scale farmers.
My mission extends beyond technological advancement; I aim to cultivate a symbiotic relationship between technology and humanity, ensuring that agricultural innovations benefit communities at the grassroots level. My commitment to inclusive digital technologies underscores my dedication to promoting sustainable agriculture, environmental stewardship, and community well-being. Throughout my career, I have made significant contributions to cropping system agronomy, genetic innovation, and digital inclusion. My work has not only enhanced the prosperity and resilience of vulnerable populations but has also facilitated greater nutritional security worldwide.
As a digital agriculture scientist, I lead pioneering research initiatives that leverage remote sensing and A.I. technologies to generate valuable insights for agricultural sustainability. My multidisciplinary approach, combined with state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, positions me at the forefront of precision agriculture.
Title : Women in Agriculture and Plant Research: Russian Historical Perspective
Name : Olga Elina
University : Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow
Country : Russia
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The contemporary agenda of historical science reveals a growing interest in the issue of women in agriculture and plant research. This interest coincides with and perhaps is caused by today’s growing presence of women in ensuring global food security, especially in the realm of developing countries. The history of women’s entry into agriculture and plant research is generally well documented and includes both the study of national characteristics of higher education, industries, and professions related to agriculture and horticulture and individual cases of women’s impute to plant research. In this presentation, I will contribute to comparative international and national historical research by uncovering the still little-known case of Russia. My research focuses on motivations and obstacles for women’s coming into agriculture and horticulture in Russia at the beginning of the 20th century. Despite the prevailing model of higher education in the Russian Empire being a predominantly state institution, I argue the impact of the scientific societies on actualizing the discourse of female education and launching a chain of non-governmental schools for women. My primary target is to identify the key actors that took part in transforming of traditional understanding of women’s “subordinate” role in agriculture, and the mechanisms through which it was accomplished. I will particularly explore yearly educational institutions for women in terms of teaching ideology, curricula, and practical training courses. Finally, I will trace the professional trajectories of the first women agronomists and plant scientists, including their career choice motivations, political positions, scientific accomplishments, and personal lives.
Biography
Olga Elina, PhD, is Chief Research Fellow at the Institute for the History of Science and Technology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Her research interests are in the history of agricultural science and gardening, science patronage, visualization in science, gender and science, and science in imperial and socialist culture. Her most critically acclaimed book is the two-volume “From the Tsar’s Gardens to Soviet Fields: A History of Agricultural Experimental Institutions, XVIII c. to the 1920s” (2008). Her articles appeared in Ambix, Annals of History and Phylosopy of Biology, Centaurus, Endeavour, History of Gardens and Designed Landscapes, Osiris, Science in Context, and others.
Title : Efforts of Vegetable Crop Improvement
Name : Balappa B Madalage
University : University of Agricultural Sciences Dharwad 580005. INDIA
Country : India
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The opportunity to work on under exploited native vegetables alongside many need based vegetable species of the region at the University and off the University enabled to develop improved varieties / hybrids:
‘Suwasini’ in Murraya koenigii, ‘Dhanraj’ in Moringa oleifera, ‘Vikram’ in Ipomoea batatas, and ‘DWD3’ in Coriandrum sativum, ‘Megha’ a bacterial wilt resistant Solanum lycopersicum and ‘COMP1’ and ‘COMP2’ of Solanum melongena at the university for 20 years of service. Working in corporate companies for over 25 years concentrated mainly on Onion (Allium cepa) improvement programme at IAHS developed a first ever four parent synthetic named as ‘Marshel’ followed F1 hybrids ‘Indam4’ in red and ‘Indam25’ in white. where as at I&B Seeds a high yielding open pollinated variety ‘Virat’ and a six parent synthetic ‘Vega’ were commercialised. The F1 hybrids like ‘PyareLal’ and ‘ShigraLal’ in red and ‘WH8’ (Gori Deri) in white are being commercialised. Being Fusarium Basal Rot (FBR) in Onion occurring due to climate change in recent years, the collaborative work with Pathology group resulted to identify Spp of Fusarium and breeding efforts to resistance to this malady identified the source of resistance. Screening the germplasm in wilt sick blocks and the Laboratory inoculation test conformed the resistance of WH8, a highly resistant to F.falciforme.
Biography
Balappa B Madalage : Hailing from the farmer’s family in a village called Benahal. (Dist: Gadag, Karnataka INDIA) got M.Sc (Agri) and Ph.D in Horticulture availing Jr. and Sr. Research Fellowship of ICAR New Delhi. Got higher training at USDA Beltsville (USA) for disease resistance breeding in vegetable crops under FAO/UNDP fellowship programme. Served the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) Bangalore and UAS Dharwad at various positions for 20 years engaging in Post-Graduate teaching and Research. Guided 5 Ph.Ds and 30 M.Sc in Vegetable Crops. Later, shifted to corporate companies engaged in Vegetable Seeds for nearly 25 years. At present I am with Unisem Agritech as a Non-Executive Director.
Title : Potential Pesticidal Activities in Lamiaceae herbs: A Linkage Through Phytochemical Analysis
Name : Om Prakash
University : G.B. pant University of Agriculture and Technology
Country : India
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There is a growing demand of alternatives in pest management for sustainable agriculture as a result of awareness about the environmental and health risks associated with synthetic pesticides. Biopesticides, derived from plants, microbes, and minerals, have emerged as a promising solution to address and mitigate these concerns. The natural pesticides are eco-friendly and leverage the natural properties of living organisms or their byproducts to manage pests. Unlike synthetic chemical pesticides, biopesticides have minimal risks to non-target organisms, including humans, beneficial insects, and the environment. They posses several advantages, viz; high specificity, biodegradability, low persistence, and reduced development of resistance in target pests. The biopesticides can be integrated with other pest management strategies, such as cultural practices and biological control, to establish comprehensive and sustainable pest management programs. The potential applications of biopesticidal span across various sectors of agriculture, like crop protection, horticulture, forestry, and stored product management. The biopesticides have efficacy against a wide range of pests, including insects, mites, nematodes, plant pathogens and weeds, particularly important in organic farming systems, where their use aligns with the principles of ecological sustainability and reduced chemical inputs. The compatibility of biopesticides with integrated pest management (IPM) approach also allows for effective pest control. The unique characteristics, like high specificity, low toxicity, and eco-friendly profiles, make them valuable tools in modern pest management strategies. As research and development in this field continue to advance, biopesticides hold the potential to revolutionize agriculture through promoting sustainable practices, safeguarding human health, and conserving biodiversity. Further exploration, innovation, and adoption of biopesticides are crucial to foster a resilient and sustainable future for pest management. In view of these facts and in continuation to our research programme we are working on the pesticidal activities of essential oils/extracts/pure compounds against root knot nematodes like Meloidogyne incognita insects like Spilosoma obliqua, Lipaphis erysimi, etc. In present deliberation emphasis will be given to taxonomic identification pescticidal applications, chemical diversity, of some important Lamiaceae herbs growing in Uttarakhand Himalaya of India.
Keywords: Lamiaceae, essential oil, Phytochemical, Spilosoma obliqua, Lipaphis erysimi, Meloidogyne incognita
Biography
Prof. Om Prakash has experience of 24 years in the field of natural products chemistry which can be evidenced with more than 200 research publication in international and nation journals of reputes with more than 2470 citation, 23,h-index and 62 i-10 index and he has presented about 35 papers in the international and national conferences. Dr. Prakash has guided 12 Ph. D. students and 25 students as Major guide for the M.Sc. students. Dr Prakash has explored investigations on the chemical composition of medicinal plants with the help of chromatographic and spectral techniques such as HPLC, GC, GC/MS, LC-MS, IR, UV and NMR and therapeutic potential of various aromatic and medicinal plants along with the effect of the environment on the quality of phytochemicals (secondary metabolites). The medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have potential to biosynthesize the chemicals which can be either directly used or can be a model for synthesizing natural products based synthetic alternatives. At present, the Dr Prakash is engaged in the investigations of MAPs with exploration of natural bioactive components. Secondary metabolites have tremendous potential in the field of bioprospecting and pharmaceutical industry.
Title : Unravelling the mechanisms of salt stress tolerance in mycorrhizal plants
Name : Bhoopander Giri
University : Swami Shraddhanand College (University of Delhi)
Country : India
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Due to extensive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, low rainfall, increased evaporation, weathering and suboptimal irrigation practices, the accumulation of soluble salts in agricultural fields is increasing gradually, making the soil saline. Increasing soil salinity drastically influences growth and productivity of plants. Mycorrhizal fungi (MF) form symbiotic relationships and play a crucial role in enhancing plant growth by promoting nutrient uptake under saline conditions. They help their partner plants in mitigating injurious effects of soluble salts, prevalent in a saline habitat. MF alter morphological, physiological, biochemical attributes of plants and also help in upholding cell ultra structures remain intact under saline conditions. In our studies, the mycorrhiza-inoculated plants exhibited increased photosynthetic and transpiration rates, internal CO2 and stomatal conductance. They increased the accumulation of glycine betaine, total sugars, trehalose, proline, putrescine, spermidine, carotenoids, proteins and α-tocopherols and decreased lipid peroxidation and lipoxygenase activity, thus validating the increased stress tolerance in mycorrhizal plants. Besides, MF also helped the host plant to overcome salinity-induced nutrient deficiency along with reduced Na+ accumulation, which is an indicative of enhanced nutrient status, and reduced damage to cell structures, particularly plasma membrane and chloroplasts. The ultrastructural analysis of chloroplast revealed preserved thylakoids and grana in MF-inoculated plants in contrast to uninoculated plants under saline conditions. The cell membrane of MF-inoculated plants displayed reduced detachment from the cell wall, representing improved membrane integrity. Our results emphasize the significant roles of MF in mitigating salinity stress and the practical application of MF to improve plant’s tolerance to salt stress and also to promote sustainable agriculture in salt affected areas.
Biography
Prof. Bhoopander Giri has pursued Ph.D in the area of Mycorrhizal Research from the University of Delhi, Delhi, India, and is currently working as a Professor in the Department of Botany, Swami Shraddhanand College, University of Delhi, Delhi, India. Prof. Giri has worked as a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology and also as a Raman Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, USA. He has also served as an Associate Fellow at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), New Delhi. He is a recipient of CSIR Research Associateship and DST Young Scientist Fellowship. Prof. Giri has supervised several Ph.D. students and has published more than 60 papers in the national and international peer-reviewed journals, and books with more than 7000 citations. He has edited three books, Root Biology (2018), Biofertilizers for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment (2019), Microorganisms in Saline Environments: Strategies and Functions (2019), Soil Health (2020), Plant Stress Biology: Strategies and Trends (2021), Pedosphere: Structure and Functions which are published by Springer Nature, Germany. Prof. Giri is a life-member of many prestigious academic societies. He has served as a General Secretary for International Symbiosis Society (ISS), USA. Prof. Giri is serving as reviewers for several international and national journals. He has served as a Member of the Jury constituted by the Director, Consortium for Educational Communication (An Inter University Centre of University Grant Commission) for the award under Best Research category and is a member of preview subject expert committee. He has presented research papers in several international conferences (United Kingdom, Switzerland, Canada and USA) and act as a key note speaker and organizing secretary. He chaired a Session in the 5th Annual Congress on Plant & Soil Science held (2019) London, UK. Instead, he has received best paper presentation award during 98th Indian Science Congress, SRM University, Chennai, India and in the National Conference on Plant Science Research: looking beyond 21st Century, organized by the Society of Plant Science Research & Department of Botany, University of Delhi, India.
Title : Mangrove-Associated Halotolerant Bacteria Augments Salinity Stress Tolerance in Solanum lycopersicum
Name : Mayank Gururani
University : College of Science, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, UAE
Country : UAE
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Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs) can mitigate the detrimental impacts of salt stress on plants. The current research reports the isolation of PGPRs from high-saline mangrove environments. These isolates exhibited ACC deaminase action to alleviate the stress ethylene, along with additional plant growth-accelerating characteristics such as phosphate dissolution and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) biosynthesis. The molecular profiling of PGPRs revealed that the isolates Bacillus subtilis (isolate B1) and Bacillus siamensis (isolate B3) could alleviate salt stress-induced injury and create tolerance in the tomato plants. Inoculation of isolates B1 and B3 protected the tomato plants in the greenhouse, from the detrimental effects of NaCl and significantly boosted the shoot length, shoot dry weight (DW), shoot fresh weight (FW), root DW, root FW, and flowers count per tomato plant cultivated in saline conditions.
Further, chlorophyll-a fluorescence studies displayed that the plants inoculated with isolates B1 and B3 demonstrated higher efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) than control plants, in NaCl-triggered salinity stress conditions.
Additionally, leaf spectral reflectance showed improved stomatal conductance-associated spectral signatures in tomato plants inoculated with B1 and B3 isolates. Overall, the study findings suggested that isolates B1 and B3 could be utilized to develop biofertilizers to improve the production of tomato grown under saline conditions.
Biography
Dr. Mayank Gururani, is a plant biologist with specialization in Molecular Physiology, currently working as an Associate Professor at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Al Ain, UAE. He obtained his PhD in 2013 in Molecular Biotechnology from Konkuk University, Seoul, South Korea. He later worked as a postdoctoral fellow at Jeju National University, Jeju, Korea and Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan, Korea before moving to the UAE. His research areas broadly include abiotic stress physiology and its influence on photosynthetic machinery.
Title : Tropical Tidal Wetland Vegetation Mosaics: Relationships with Micro-Topography and Tidal Hydroperiod
Name : Cecile Vulliet
University : College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University
Country : Australia
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Saltmarshes are critical ecosystems that play key roles in biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration, providing multiple ecological and economic values essential for sustainable development. Yet, saltmarshes are threatened by human activities and sea-level rise (SLR). Long-term restoration and management strategies are necessary but often hindered by an insufficient understanding of the past, present, and future processes that influence tidal wetland functionality and change. Since understanding vegetation distribution in relation to elevation and tidal hydroperiod generally forms the basis of tidal wetland restoration strategies, this research investigated the relationships between micro-topography, tidal hydroperiod, and the distribution of saltmarshes, mangroves, and unvegetated flats in a tropical estuary situated within a Great Barrier Reef Catchment in North Queensland, Australia. We used a combination of high-resolution unattended-aerial-vehicle (UAV)- derived digital elevation model (DEM) and land cover coupled with 2D hydrodynamic modelling to investigate these aspects. We found overlapping distribution across elevation, highlighting that zonation was more complex than strict zonation patterns generally recognised in restoration and legislation. In addition, although each type of tidal wetland cover had distinct mean hydroperiods, and elevation and hydroperiods were strongly correlated, elevation explained only 15% of the variability in tidal wetland cover distribution. This finding implies that additional factors likely play a role in shaping tidal wetland cover zonation patterns in tropical tidal wetlands. These results hold significance as they underscore the need to exercise caution when applying oversimplistic explanations for the causality of tidal wetlands. The suitability of applying simplistic rules in management and restoration is likely to be context-dependent, as demonstrated in our study site. Contextual variabiltiy in environmental and biological factors may lead to different distribution patterns of tidal wetland components, and hence varying restoration and management success. This research also explored the potential effects of sea-level rise (SLR) on the tidal hydroperiods and connectivity of the study site. Our results showed that the inundation experienced by each tidal wetland cover may increase importantly if vegetation does not keep up with SLR. This underlines the importance of acquiring detailed spatio-temporally resolved data to enable the development of robust long-term and adaptive saltmarsh management strategies. This research highlights the uncertainties and complexities in understanding the processes influencing tropical tidal wetland functionality. Recognising these complexities is paramount for effectively managing and restoring tidal wetland ecosystems and, hence, maintaining their critical ecological and economic values.
Biography
I am a PhD candidate at James Cook University, Australia, and I have recently submitted my PhD on the eco-hydrological aspects of saltmarshes connectivity in tropical seascapes under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Nathan Waltham, Dr Jack Koci, and Dist. Prof Marcus Sheaves. Before doing a PhD, I completed my Bachelor of Marine Biology at James Cook University and in Hawaii at the University of Hilo. I then conducted my honours at James Cook University on the ecological connectivity of dry tropical freshwater streams under the supervision of Assoc. Prof Nathan Waltham and Dist. Prof Marcus Sheaves. During my studies, I have volunteered in Asia and Oceania while giving guest lectures and tutoring Bachelor and Master students. I am also supervising masters and honours theses. Overall, I have broad interests in tidal and freshwater aquatic ecosystem functioning, ecology and hydrology, as well as terrestrial and coastal ecosystem management, conservation, and restoration. I believe that multi-disciplinary collaboration and establishing strong links with communities and stakeholders are critical for successful long-term ecosystem management and restoration.
Title : Exploring of heat shock-regulated genes in high temperature resistant radish (Raphanus sativus)
Name : Man-Ho Oh
University : Chungnam National University
Country : Korea
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Due to the global warming, the growth and production of crops including radish is unstable, and the damage to the farmhouse is increasing. After heat shock treatment in 60 diverse radish varieties, the difference in heat shock resistance is investigated, and excellent high temperature resistant varieties and 3 high temperature sensitive varieties are selected. To identify specific genes involved in heat stress as upstream signaling components in high temperature resistant variety, gene expression of 76 receptor-like
cytoplasmic kinases (RLCKs) under high temperature (37°C, 2 hr) were analyzed and 3 RLCKs (Rs275520, Rs355490, Rs032070) were significantly increased at 37° C compared to normal temperature (23°C) in contrast of a Rs497590 gene expression slightly
decreased. Also, analyzed downstream components, which could be involved in heat stress resistance with RT-PCR. Rs032070 interacting proteins identified 8 proteins with Yeast Two Hybrid (Y2H) system and expression of 8 genes interacts with Rs032070 investigated under ) in heat-shock condition and all of gene expression is induced by heat-shock treatment. Interestingly, protein phosphatase 7 (PP7, Rs499360) gene expression increased in heat-tolerant varieties at 37°C treatment although difference of PP7 expression was not observed in heat stress-sensitive varieties. Using PP7 as bait, identified 4 different interacting proteins with Y2H and 2 genes, SCE1 and chlorophyll a-b binding protein 4 transcripts level increased significantly at 37°C. These results are helpful in understanding the mechanism in terms of climate warming including heat stress in radish.
Title : Sustainable Plant-Based Dietary Supply Chain Design to Reduce Malnutrition in Deprived Areas
Name : Shima Yekkehbash Heidari
University : Cardiff University
Country : UK
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Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has reported that malnutrition elimination and people’s eating habits have the immense potential to alter the world food demand in 2050. Hence, strategists should incorporate the mentioned elements to properly manage the food industry. This paper aims to present a comprehensive model for integrating strategic and tactical decisions to manage a forward environmentally-friendly perishable food supply chain (FSC). In this paper, a new mathematical model is presented in that incorporates location-allocation decisions with sourcing, transportation, and scheduling decisions. A four echelon supply chain to fulfil the nutrient demand of customers and their quality requirements of both fresh and processed products are addressed in this paper. The applicability of plant-based dietary patterns to reduce malnutrition through sustainable supply chain management is illustrated. Initially, a new bi-objective mixed-integer non-linear programming model is provided and intended to minimize both the total costs and the cumulative environmental impacts, including soil degradation, water use, CO2 emissions, and fuel consumption. The nutritional requirements of each customer zone, meat consumption avoidance, and regional development are included as the social aspect of sustainability. Next, a Ɛ-constraint approach is applied to obtain Pareto points. In the end, a real numerical example considering a reduced plant-based diet is analysed for further analysis and managerial insights.
Our proposed model can be employed by the government and non-profit organizations when the salient purpose is to ameliorate the irreparable effects of malnutrition. The model can provide the food sector managers with valuable insights into designing a greener, more responsive, and more profitable supply chain. The resultant managerial insights after solving the proposed model for a real case study are 1) The importance of agricultural production to building a sustainable food system cannot be overemphasized; 2) For managers to alleviate malnutrition while minimizing costs and environmental burdens, the product’s nutrient profile is of a higher priority regardless of its deteriorating speed; 3) Improving the nutritional value of processed products seems to be more effective than establishment and manufacturing costs to ensure the selection of processed products in diets; and 4) Dietary diversity can be achieved by incurring a 14% increase in total costs.
Biography
I’m Shima Yekkehbash Heidari, born in 1996, Shiraz, Iran. I am currently a PhD student at Cardiff University, UK. I have a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering (Shiraz University of Technology), a master’s degree in Logistics and Supply Chain (University of Tehran) and a second master’s degree in social science research methods in business and management from Cardiff university. My research mostly centers around sustainable operations management considering perishability or emerging technologies to address global crises.