H2020 PANTHEON Project: Novel Approaches to Plant Health Monitoring

An early warning system for poor crop health. Scientists are developing a new system that monitors plant health at the cellular level. Climate change is causing an increase in heat waves, droughts, and other extreme weather events that threaten European crops. Plant stress is a major concern, as poor plant health affects agricultural productivity. Pest and disease outbreaks are also becoming more common, further exacerbating the threats.

This situation has considerable economic implications, as agriculture is essential for food security and livelihoods. From an environmental perspective, plant stress decreases biodiversity, reduces carbon sequestration, and exacerbates soil erosion, affecting ecosystem health. "Better monitoring is vital to support EU initiatives promoting sustainable agriculture," explains Panagiotis Nikolaou Moschou, Associate Professor of Plant Molecular Physiology at the Hellas Foundation for Research and Technology.

Current plant monitoring methods, which often rely on observing changes in appearance, cannot detect physiological stress early enough to allow corrective interventions. Collecting samples from damaged plants and analyzing them in a laboratory can also be time-consuming. Researchers on the PANTHEON project, funded by the Marie Sködodowska-Curie Actions program, developed a new method for monitoring plant health using remote sensing combined with spectroscopy, a technique that tracks changes in the electromagnetic spectrum. “Our project aims to revolutionize crop protection by enabling early detection of plant stress,” says Moschou. New monitoring techniques.

The team's laboratory research has generated promising targets for plant breeding, uncovering previously underappreciated small entities within plant cells that display a remarkable capacity for rapid response to environmental challenges. These comprise both proteins and RNA, and exhibit specific responses to various stress conditions. "This important discovery has not only improved our understanding of plant stress response mechanisms, but has also been instrumental in securing further funding, including a prestigious European Research Council (ERC) grant, allowing us to scale up this crucial research," notes Moschou. Advanced Research Training.

The PANTHEON project also had an educational component, facilitating internships between research organizations. These internships offered researchers at an advanced stage of their careers the opportunity to access diverse research environments. "These experiences proved instrumental in enhancing their career prospects, and several participants subsequently secured positions abroad within the research sector," says Moschou.

The internships broadened the researchers' scientific horizons and fostered international collaborations, while providing them with the skills and networks needed to thrive in a competitive global research landscape. “The program’s success in boosting researchers’ international careers underscores its impact on developing highly skilled professionals in this field,” Moschou adds. An early warning system to protect Europe’s future crops The team is currently working on developing an early warning system that detects changes in plant health at the cellular level in the field.

This will allow farmers and agricultural advisors to take timely measures, such as adjusting irrigation, applying targeted treatments, or implementing other preventative measures to minimize the impact of stress on crop yield. "Ultimately, this proactive approach to crop management will contribute to greater food security and economic stability in the European agricultural sector," says Moschou.