H2020 BoostCrop Project: Boosting crop growth using natural products and synthesis-enabled solar harvesting
- Type Project
- Status Firmado
- Execution 2019 -2023
- Assigned Budget 4.940.403,75 €
- Scope Europeo
- Main source of financing H2020
- Project website Proyecto BoostCrop
Cold stress can severely reduce crop yields. Low temperatures restrict plant growth and development, while frost causes tissue damage. Yield losses are even more severe when cold stress occurs during the reproductive stage. The EU-funded BoostCrop project seeks to increase plant resilience to cold stress and stimulate their growth under different conditions using an innovative concept called molecular warmers.
These are naturally occurring molecules that absorb parts of the electromagnetic spectrum that are harmful to plants or unused during photosynthesis and then convert these wavelengths into longer wavelengths (heat). The proposed method could significantly reduce yield losses and extend growing seasons.
Using sustainable processes to synthesize two families of "molecular heaters," one composed of sinapoyl malate (SM) analogs and the other of diketopyrrolopyrrole (DPP) analogs, we have successfully assembled a library of over 60 compounds, with novel, green synthetic pathways optimized at the multigram scale. The results obtained by our fellow analysts with these samples continually inform the choice of new SM analogs to be synthesized. For example, we are currently synthesizing new SM analogs with tunable hydrophobicity to improve their formulation and thus facilitate foliar application. Production and optimization of existing analogs for field and greenhouse trials continues. DPP development continues, although the SM family is currently the most promising and is the primary focus of upcoming testing, as described below. Cutting-edge analytical experiments are underway to understand the light-molecule interactions that modify their efficacy as "molecular heaters." We have gained insight into the key relaxation pathways (excited state dynamics) in several of our model molecules. Some exhibit very good characteristics, while others exhibit only adequate characteristics.
Additional studies that help us understand how to manipulate these relaxation characteristics will contribute to the synthesis of new molecules and product formulation. Development of models for excited state dynamics: We continue to perform calculations of the gas-phase and complex environment electronic structure of molecular heater candidates to better understand their photophysics and photochemistry. These calculations are run in synergy with our collaborators' experiments. We have been able to predict the relaxation characteristics and reactivity of synthesized molecules to inform the synthesis of new analogues before beginning this work. Byproduct and toxicity analysis of our molecules: Initial screening of candidate molecules for potential toxicity using in silico methods indicates that none of our molecules should exhibit mutagenicity or carcinogenicity.
This allows us to continue developing candidate molecules with a high degree of safety assurance for food production. Notably, three new candidate molecules have passed all initial safety tests. Using thermal imaging and biomass measurements in the laboratory, greenhouse, and field, we have successfully demonstrated a significant thermal increase in both the plant and leaves following application of the molecule under UV-A/B radiation. Three candidate molecules exhibit better heating than our first prototype. In tests with a mixture of our standard SM and an adhesive adjuvant on tomato, benth, and pepper plants, we have repeatedly observed an increase in plant dry weight, up to 12.3% in our most successful case. These tests have also demonstrated that formulation is essential to optimizing the effects of SM on growth, and our ongoing work is focused on successfully formulating a prototype product for greenhouse and field trials.
A major challenge in the 21st century is increasing global food production to feed a growing population while the quality and quantity of arable land is declining. Central to this problem is the need to increase the yield of numerous important crop species and find ways to expand the geographic locations suitable for agriculture. Cold stress is an environmental extreme that hampers crop yield. Low temperatures restrict plant growth and development, while frost causes tissue damage. Yield losses are even more severe when cold stress occurs during the reproductive stage. Breeding programs for new tolerant varieties are diverse and are generally tailored to the specific needs of a particular crop. However, the plant response to cold stress is complex and involves many physiological, structural, and biochemical changes, which interact with other environmental factors and metabolic processes. BoostCrop represents a novel approach to improving crop yield by protecting plants from cold stress and stimulating their growth under a variety of growing conditions.
The invention is based on "molecular heaters"; nature-inspired molecules that absorb light from energies that are harmful to the plant or not used in photosynthesis and convert this light energy into heat. BoostCrop's long-term vision is to develop a set of molecules for local heat generation for food security. BoostCrop's novel and ambitious research program, which substantially exceeds any existing technological paradigm, employs a bottom-up approach to design light-to-molecule heaters that optimize the absorption of selected components of the solar spectrum.
Thus, the key to BoostCrop lies in using these revolutionary light-molecule heaters in a foliar spray to improve crop growth at low temperatures and high UV radiation exposure, increase crop yield at high plant density (conditions that result in a lower ratio of red to far-red wavelengths; low R:FR), and consequently reduce greenhouse energy costs. To realize this vision, BoostCrop brings together a team of scientists with expertise in diverse areas of the physical and biological sciences.
The radically new, science-based technology the project will generate involves:
- Guiding the flow of photon energy in molecules.
Use this energy to combat ongoing European and global challenges, primarily in sustainable food production, as well as in improvements in both healthcare and clean energy production.
The combined efforts of BoostCrop team, combining the expertise of 6 participating universities with 13 university principal investigators, one government institute with one section leader, one SME with two group leaders (see Section 4) and covering the 3 main disciplines of Chemistry, Physics, Biology, to create a highly efficient, environment-friendly and affordable foliar sprayer for crop growth enhancement and thus sustainable food security. >
Cold and freezing stress are major constraints on crops and horticulture. BoostCrop seeks to reduce this stress through an invention called "molecular heaters." These are nature-inspired molecules that absorb solar radiation and convert it into thermal energy. The invention would reduce yield losses due to cold stress, extend growing seasons and geographical locations suitable for agriculture, increase crop yields with high crop density, and simultaneously reduce greenhouse energy costs. BoostCrop strives to increase food production to feed an ever-growing population, thereby addressing a major European and global food security challenge.
The multidisciplinary research program described in BoostCrop will demonstrate how intrinsic molecular processes underlying energy transfer, occurring on timescales of tens of billionths of a second, can be manipulated in ways that affect macroscopic properties. The goals of the research program include: applying state-of-the-art experiments and theory to track and understand, in unprecedented detail, the flow of energy in specific molecules inspired by nature; manipulating this energy flow through chemical modification; and developing a suite of molecules to meet the needs of crop growth in the field and under protected (greenhouse) conditions. These molecules will then be applied to crops via aqueous foliar spray.
The proposed research program offers a transdisciplinary and synergistic approach to developing and understanding the properties of novel photon-to-molecule heaters. The combined expertise of six universities (and staff spanning chemistry, physics, and biology), a government institute, and an SME with a distinguished track record in developing sustainable agrotechnologies will ensure that BoostCrop's long-term vision of developing molecular heaters for use in foliar spraying is realized, thereby significantly contributing to Europe's future food and technology security.
A special non-toxic molecule that farmers can spray on plants acts as a natural heater to help crops withstand cold snaps and boost yields. Some plants suffer considerably from cold snaps. Improving cold resilience can increase productivity, lengthen the growing season, and allow crops to grow in areas where they were previously at risk of frost damage. On a larger scale, it could improve food security. The EU-funded BoostCrop project identified natural, heat-producing molecules that can be applied to crops in the field. “We call them molecular heaters; they’re like thermal blankets that protect the crop from sudden cold snaps,” explains project coordinator Vasilios Stavros, professor of physical chemistry at the University of Birmingham, UK. “We identified a specific molecule in plants that absorbs light in certain regions of the spectrum that don’t interfere with the plant’s photosynthesis.
The plant converts that light energy into heat, which is then distributed throughout the leaf. That was our starting molecule. We knew it was non-toxic, and we thought we would try to design new molecules around this natural molecule that can be included in a foliar spray. Bio-inspired heat molecules for plant growth Chemists, physicists, and biologists teamed up with an agritech SME. With the help of a chemist who specializes in creating nature-inspired molecules, the team considered what new molecules could be designed to better convert light into heat in leaves. Using a combination of green synthetic chemistry, spectroscopy, and theoretical modeling, the team developed several novel molecules and tested them under simulated conditions in a growth chamber.
Phasing Down Candidate Molecules “We successfully demonstrated in the lab that there was a significant thermal increase in both the plant and the leaf following application of the molecule and under UV-A/B radiation,” Stavros notes. “We discovered that the rapid energy conversion of molecules into heat is crucial for effective molecular warming technology.” A previous project, the EU-funded NatuCrop, looked at natural crop protection against heat and other stressors to improve yield. However, Stavros explains that some potential molecular warmers were almost impossible to synthesize in a lab. Others proved to be toxic and had to be discarded, leaving three new candidate molecules that passed all initial safety tests. The candidate molecules needed to be formulated into a product that could be sprayed onto plants and spread evenly along the leaf without bubbling. The formulation also needed to be stable for around two years in a container. However, some candidate molecules break down or degrade within 2 to 3 hours of irradiation, which would also render them unusable in the field. Field trials in crops Following laboratory tests, the candidate molecules were field tested on tomato, cucumber, and lettuce in Spain, and on spring wheat, corn, and sugar beet in Germany.
During long weeks of experiments, biologists monitored the molecules that produced the greatest temperature change. Field trials were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the team had to focus on a particular time of year with potential for frost damage. Stavros says, "With COVID, we missed two growing seasons." Nevertheless, during these trials, an increase in yield was observed, which was as good as or better than that of commercial biostimulants. At the end of the five-year project, "We were able to synthesize up to one kilogram of the molecule of interest and successfully conduct field trials, which is quite incredible," Stavros comments. The next phase is commercialization; the preliminary cost analysis shows it is feasible, he adds.
Agriculture is a crucially important issue for the EU (and globally): almost 40% of the EU's annual budget is spent on agriculture. The global agrochemical market in 2015 was estimated at €179 billion, of which Europe accounts for 11%, while the US (59%) and Asia (22%) dominate the market (www.marketsandmarkets.com). Clearly, there is significant scope for the EU to improve its global leadership in this sector. Cold and freezing stress are major constraints for crops and horticulture.
BoostCrop's invention of "molecular heaters" to increase crop yields during cold stress, extend growing seasons, expand suitable geographic locations for agriculture (e.g., at higher altitudes), and increase crop yields at high crop densities will have a major impact globally. Furthermore, the projected reduction in greenhouse energy costs would be immense; an industrial-sized greenhouse with a floor area of 40,000 square feet (3,700 m²) would save approximately €3,000 per month on heating. This estimate assumes the use of propane as fuel to maintain the greenhouse at 17°C, with an average outside temperature of 0°C, and molecular heaters achieving a temperature increase of 3°C (realistic).
- THE UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM (UoB)
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