2014 Plant Nutrition Trust Travel Scholarship Report Michael Heaven

Dr Michael Heaven Agriculture Research Division Agriculture Group Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) Victoria, Australia

Recipient of Plant Nutrition Trust Travel Scholarship to attend World Congress of Soil Science 2014, Jeju, South Korea

The World Congress of Soil Science is like the Olympics of soil. It happens once every four years, in different countries around the world, and the location voted on by members of the soil societies based in various countries. Bribery was evident from the candidates of the next congress – being chocolates, bookmarks and from the winner of the next Congress, little balloon creatures! Thanks in large part to the Plant Nutrition Trust, in June 2014 I was afforded the opportunity to attend the World Congress in balmy Jeju Island, South Korea. Jeju Island, a dormant volcano off the south coast of the Korean peninsula, was certainly an excellent choice for a conference exploring and explaining about all things growing on top of and under the ground, as well as the ground itself. The volcanic rocks presented themselves in various fashion, from the black sand of the beaches to the spiky, stone like formations of Jusangjeolli, the lava remnant of Sanbang-ro sticking abruptly out of otherwise flat ground, and finally the towering, almost 2 km high volcano, Mt. Halla, that disappeared into low cloud that permeates Korea in June.

About 2000 scientists from around the world swamped the International Convention Centre (ICC) Jeju to discuss and present the latest results of their research. The morning sessions were for keynote speakers, who presented weighty issues of global significance, with session titles such as Soil for Peace, Soil Security, Soil-Plant Welfares for Human, and Global Soils: Future Nexus. I was struck by how these keynote speakers could connect the big picture with the paddocks and pastures we use for research. For instance, Prof. Rattan Lal of Ohio State University showed how historically and today civilisations live and die depending on how they treat their soil, be it for things such as crops, forests or carbon sequestration. He presented a bold claim that all wars are connected to soil degradation. Closer to our conference destination, I was surprised to find from speaker Dr. Ho-Seung Yang that World Vision, whose first programme began with helping Korean orphans after the Korean War, were sponsoring programmes of joint research and collaboration between North and South Korean scientists using agriculture as a means to bridge the distrust between the two warring states. It was heart-warming to know that research to improve pasture and crop quality, research we all do, was being used to break down barriers between two disparate ideologies, and hopefully feed people who often don’t have enough to eat. However, more dire predictions were made by the keynote speakers of the Soil Security and Soil-Plant Welfares for Human sessions, who warned of the challenges of the human created “Anthropocene” (8000BC to present). The take home message was that agricultural scientists had a great responsibility to feed a growing world that is likely to have an increased variability in climate, using soils that are being increasingly degraded. As Prof. Donald Sparks of the University of Delaware pointed out, there is a knowledge gap between the research we do and how it is applied in the field, and interdisciplinary groups are a key to resolve the problems of increasing the productivity of the soil without degrading the environment.

These keynote speakers led the way for a plethora of talks and presentations on soil science. My own research, using metabolomics to understand biogeochemical processes in soil and leachate, appeared to be a relative newcomer to soil science – nothing like being on the cutting edge! Our research at DEPI, which detailed how organic phosphorus compounds found in soil water extracts from a dairy farm were related to pasture type (ryegrass or a ryegrass/clover mix), cultivation or annual phosphorus application, was presented to a wide variety of people. I discussed with various scientists from Australia, Germany, USA and elsewhere, how metabolomics could be combined with traditional agricultural analyses to help understand why certain agricultural practices are affecting nutrient concentrations in soil. In particular, I was questioned how we can make sense of the massive amounts of data collected when using metabolomic techniques. As with most agricultural scientists, statistics, in particular, multivariate statistics, provided a guide and a visually arresting description of what was occurring in soil. The ICC is a huge convention centre, and with 2000 delegates it was impossible to see everything. And there were many interesting things to hear about. German scientists from the University of Gottingen discussed the progradation of land, where I was surprised to find that Australia has the second largest area of abandoned agricultural land after Russia. While progradation is leading to increases in soil carbon, it is projected that it would take 170 years to return Russian soils to their pre-agricultural state. Korean scientists from Kangwon National University discussed how they combined remote sensing technology with reports from Mongolian sheep and goat herders to get a better understanding of the processes linking climate, livestock rates and vegetation. Closer to my own research, Taiwanese scientists from National Chung Hsing University discussed how they determined interactions between phosphorous and iron in soil, and ways that this new knowledge may be used to increase nutrients available to plants. It was also good to see a fellow DEPI scientist, Dr Abdur Rab, show how using standard X-ray computed tomography technology can provide insight into soil macroporosity in Australian farms. The overall message I took from the conference presentations was that Australian research into agriculture is as advanced as anywhere in the world, and that combining our skills with others from other scientific disciplines will provide insights that we couldn’t find on our own. The World Congress was an excellent chance to see the latest in agricultural research from around the globe. It was good to meet up with fellow scientists, see new ways of doing research, and to take home ideas for future projects to help the farmers of Victoria. I thank both the Plant Nutrition Trust and DEPI for giving me the opportunity to see how fellow scientists are tackling the same questions we have in Australia, and to present our own leading research.

THE PLANT NUTRITION TRUST has been established to encourage and promote research and technology transfer in the mineral nutrition of plants, soil fertility and fertiliser and soil amendment technology, and includes areas where these impinge on other fields such as plant breeding.

THE TRUST invites applications for awards to assist in carrying out a study tour or to attend a conference or such other activity related to the stated objectives.

Awards will be made to promising students and early-career scientists working in the areas mentioned above. More than one award may be made, depending on the applications received.

In making these awards independent assessors will consider the applicant’s achievements, recent contribution to industry, research, technology transfer and their potential for future contributions to plant nutrition.  The amount of each award depends on the number of applications received, the nature and cost of the activity proposed and the potential for other sources of funding.

Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents and be based in Australia.

Applications for the next round close on 2 March 2015

Further details and application forms can be obtained from:

Dr Peter Ryan                         e-mail:    Peter.Ryan@csiro.au

CSIRO Agriculture

GPO Box 1600

Canberra  ACT 2601

Tel:      (02) 6246 5053

About the Plant Nutrition Trust: The Trust was established from a combination of surpluses collected after previous international conferences held in Australia, donations from The Sulphur Institute, the Australasian Soil and Plant Analysis Council (ASPAC) and other individuals.  Further donations are welcome. The Management Committee has included people associated with the Fertiliser Industry Federation of Australia, the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology, the Australian Society of Soil Science, the Australian Society of Plant Scientists, the Australian Soil and Plant Analysis Council and CSIRO Agriculture.

Plant Nutrition Trust application 2015

Stephanie Watts-Williams – 17^th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey

I was fortunate enough to be granted a Plant Nutrition Trust award, in order to attend the International Plant Nutrition Colloquium 2013 in Istanbul, Turkey, in August. After a long journey from Melbourne, I arrived into the amazing city that I had heard so much about.

On the first day, we were welcomed to Istanbul and the IPNC by the colloquium’s chairman, and esteemed plant nutritionist, Prof. Ismail Cakmak, before settling down to hear the plenary presentation by Prof. Walter J Horst. Throughout the day, we heard talks from some of the world’s brightest and best young plant scientists in the Marschner session, dedicated to early career researchers, as well as some wonderful keynote presentations from researchers around the world.

Early on the second day of the colloquium, I was given the opportunity to present a talk in one of the parallel sessions under the topic of ‘rhizosphere process, root biology and nutrient acquisition’. I presented my PhD work to date, which involved a number of glasshouse experiments investigating the role of arbuscular mycorrhizas on plant zinc and phosphorus nutrition, and preliminary data from a meta-analysis. I was glad to find that other delegates approached me with questions, both in the designated discussion time, and also in break times during the rest of the colloquium. I thought it was wonderful of the colloquium’s committee to have offered oral presentations to so many PhD students, as it gave us the opportunity to expose our research to an audience who may not have encountered it otherwise.

Later that day, I heard some motivating talks in the keynote presentation that centered on the theme of biofortification – a topic that interests me greatly. Speakers included the director of Harvest Plus, Dr. Howarth Bouis, and Prof. Philip White, from the James Hutton Institute. Of particular interest were the new breeds of staple crops that have been genetically engineered to be biofortified with one of iron, vitamin A or zinc, and were in different stages of implementation into agricultural practices in various countries. The three most common micronutrient deficiencies worldwide are represented here, and are thus the focus of Harvest Plus’ research. The next challenge for these researchers is to investigate the biofortification of multiple essential micronutrients into one crop. I left this session feeling particularly inspired to take part in research of this nature in the future.

The rest of the week was spent attending various sessions, viewing posters, and networking with other delegates. In particular, there were many talks discussing or utilising imaging techniques that allowed for the visual localisation of nutrients within plant tissues, which many delegates would find useful in their own research. I left the colloquium contemplating how I could improve the design of my future experiments, based on the techniques I had seen presented over the last four days.

Lastly, Prof Jan Schjoerring presented us with information on the next IPNC, to be held in Copenhagen in 2017. I was leaving for Copenhagen the next day, to embark on a research visit with an esteemed researcher in the study of mycorrhizas, and so left the colloquium feeling even more inspired.

I would like to sincerely thank the Plant Nutrition Trust for this award, which gave me the opportunity to attend my first international conference. While listening to talks gave me an insight into recent advances in plant nutrition, the colloquium also allowed me to meet an interesting and diverse range of researchers in my field.

Stephanie Watts-Williams        Monash University

Lydia Guja —  Seed Ecology IV, Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China

In June 2013, with financial support from the Plant Nutrition Trust, I travelled to Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China to attend the Seed Ecology IV conference.  The theme of the conference was ‘Seeds and the Future’ and the program addressed evolutionary seed ecology, seed dispersal, soil seed banks, seed germination and dormancy,  seed longevity and storage, and biodiversity conservation and restoration.  The conference program was intense, with 60 oral presentations over 3 days and no parallel sessions. A diverse range of engaging and current seed research was presented.

I gave an oral presentation about my PhD research entitled ‘Full spectrum X-ray mapping reveals differential localisation of salt in germinating seeds of differing salt tolerance’. This research brought together seed scientists and materials scientists from across Australia (with assistance from the R. N Robertson Travelling Fellowship) and investigated how germinating seeds either avoid or tolerate stress from mineral salts in saline environments.  This research represents the first investigation of ionic uptake and salt movement in plant seeds using a multi-detector X-ray mapping SEM developed by my collaborators. We demonstrated that damaging ions were compartmentalised in the endosperm of salt-tolerant seeds, but absorbed by the embryo of salt-sensitive seeds. The manuscript describing this research will shortly be available in the Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society. I enjoyed being able to present this research to the Seed Ecology audience and it was well received and generated some engaging discussion and future opportunities for collaboration.

I also presented a poster ‘Ecological drivers of seed germination in endangered alpine bog and fen communities in Australia.’ This new research is being undertaken in my role as the Seed Conservation Biologist at the Australian National Botanic Gardens (ANBG) and the Centre for Australian National Biodiversity Research (CANBR). This research focuses on conservation and seed ecology of species that define a nationally listed endangered ecological community, ‘Alpine Sphagnum bogs and associated fens,’ recognised under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act 1999. In particular, I am interested in seed germination thresholds in acidic, waterlogged, and cool conditions and how this drives recruitment patterns in such a fragile environment. By presenting the poster I was fortunate to discuss preliminary results and future directions with other researchers working internationally in alpine environments.

This was my first time travelling to China and I was also fortunate to join the post conference field trip to Inner Mongolia to explore the natural beauty and history of this region. Without the assistance of the Plant Nutrition Trust I would not have been able to attend this conference. I’m very thankful for the opportunity to present my work and keep up to date with the latest seed research, professional subject matter, and communicate with leading seed researchers. The knowledge and networks gained are beneficial both for the completion of my thesis and in my new position as Seed Conservation Biologist at ANBG and CANBR.

Seed Ecology IV Conference in China, June 2013.

Top left: Lydia Guja presenting her X-ray mapping paper.

Below: presenting at the poster session.

Spectacular scenery seen during the post conference field trip to Inner Mongolia, China.

Below: An ovoo serves as both a religious site and landmark in the flat open grasslands.

Bottom : Mongolian gers are still used in the grasslands and are scattered between the large modern Chinese cities.

Lachlan Palmer  —  17^th International Plant Colloquium (IPNC) in Istanbul, Turkey

The Plant Nutrition Trust travel award gave me the opportunity to attend the 17^th International Plant Colloquium (IPNC) in Istanbul, Turkey from 19^th to 22^nd of August. The main theme for this colloquium was “Plant nutrition for nutrient and food security”. There were many excellent talks and informative posters that covered a broad spectrum of plant science and in particular, plant nutrition.

The keynote presentations were varied and full of amazing results. I particularly enjoyed the talk by Howarth Bouis, “Biofortification: A new tool to reduce micronutrient malnutrition” detailing the successes of the Harvest Plus breeding programs to improve the Zn, Fe or pro-Vitamin A status of staple food crops, and their plans for release into the developing world over the next few years. Results of feed trials using some of these varieties were also presented along with the adoption of these crops within target communities. This talk demonstrated that the increase of nutrients in the grain really can help communities at risk of nutrient deficiency and so improve health and quality of life.

The talk by Prof Jan Schjoerring titled,  ”Molecular speciation of micronutrients in plants: consequences for transport and storage”  demonstrated some of the methods at the cutting edge for identifying and examining nutrient storage compounds by using an array of interconnected, separation and detection systems. The talk detailed work being done on isolating and identifying the compounds involved in binding and storing Zn in the endosperm of rice. This talk gave a fascinating insight into the type of work that can be done when making full use of analytical tools.

The closing plenary presentation by Jian-Feng Ma titled, “Mineral transport from soil to seed” was of great interest as my PhD research is in this area. The work his group is doing on the nodal interface was extremely interesting. The role of this area of research in improving knowledge surrounding the flow of minerals through the plant transport stream cannot be underestimated. I believe that the information presented in this talk and the further reading I have done since will have a great impact on the writing of my thesis and the deciphering of the data I have collected.

Apart from the plenary and key-note presentations there was a great variety of short talks with some very interesting work being presented that is outside of my area of interest, but indeed, still stimulating. In particular, I was fascinated by the work being done in Japan using radioactive isotopes to image plant wide uptake (Tomoko M. Nakanishi “Development of real-time radioisotope imaging system to study plant nutrition”) with some amazing real time videos of the uptake and distribution of several elements being presented. I also found the work being done in the far north of the UK, examining the role of root phytases in managing manganese deficiency on calcareous soils of interest (Timothy S. George “Genotypic variation in the ability of plants to tolerate manganese deficiency in cereals grown in calcareous systems: the role of root phytases”). Phytate is normally considered an anti-nutrient but in this instance it may play a role in ameliorating manganese deficiency in some cases.

I was also given the opportunity to present work from my PhD research as a short talk “Micronutrient variability in phloem: changes in zinc concentration during grain loading”. This talk demonstrated our success at developing a method for measuring K, Mg, Zn and Fe in nano-litre phloem volumes and maturity related differences in elemental phloem concentration over the course of grain loading. I also presented tissue analysis from plants harvested immediately after phloem collection showing interesting relationships between grain and phloem elemental content. This talk was well received and I had some excellent discussions with academics that will help me in further refining the work for my thesis. We have also had enquiries into possible collaboration to make use of the techniques we have developed from my PhD.

I am truly honoured for the opportunity provided to me by the Plant Nutrition Trust. To have the chance to travel to a major international conference and present my work was a wonderful opportunity for me; one which has expanded and added to my experience as a PhD student and increased my knowledge and understanding in the area of plant nutrition. I look forward to making use of this knowledge in future research opportunities.

Report from Recipients of 2013 Plant Nutrition Trust Travel Scholarship Award

Julie Hayes — 17^th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium (IPNC) and Boron Meeting 2013

The 17^th International Plant Nutrition Colloquium (IPNC’13) was held in August of this year in Istanbul, Turkey. With support from the Plant Nutrition Trust, I was able to attend this meeting, as well as a small satellite meeting on boron held immediately prior to IPNC’13.

I work at the Australian Centre for Plant Functional Genomics, and study aspects of plant nutrition and nutritional stresses. For the last twelve years, I have focussed my research efforts on tolerance to high soil boron in wheat and barley. Thus, I relished the opportunity to participate in a small, specialist meeting discussing boron toxicity and deficiency in agriculture internationally. In attendance were around 80 delegates from across the world, including countries that encounter problems associated with soil boron deficiency (China, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan) and boron toxicity (Turkey, USA). Australia was also well represented, with researchers from both the University of Adelaide and the University of Western Australia – large areas across the southern cereal growing regions of our country have toxic levels of boron in the subsoil. In addition to presenting my own research, I heard talks on a wide variety of research topics, from soil science to molecular studies of boron transport in Arabidopsis. Highlights included a report of a new, slow-release boron fertiliser that should reduce the risk of boron toxicity arising as a consequence of fertiliser application. A number of papers were also presented from research groups in Japan, who were the first to identify and describe boron transporters in plants.

The theme for IPNC’13 was nutrient and food security, and a number of excellent talks were given around nutritional aspects of food security. Walter Horst (Germany) identified critical gaps in our knowledge of plant nutrition, including the physiology behind nitrogen use efficiency and the role of plant growth promoting microorganisms. Phillip White (United Kingdom) and Michael Grusack (USA) outlined the challenges of manipulating whole-plant nutrient transport to increase the accumulation of mineral elements in edible plant parts. An economist with HarvestPlus, Howarth Bouis (USA), discussed the ever-increasing severity of micronutrient malnutrition (“hidden hunger”) for humans in the developing world, and demonstrated the potential for biofortification to have a positive impact. After listening to and viewing the many other oral presentations and posters on topics relating to plant nutrition, I realised the importance of a united effort to identify critical areas of plant nutrition research and to make real progress towards meeting quantity and quality targets for world food production into the future.

Julie Hayes (ACPFG, Adelaide)