April Crissman

Title of Work: 

Cultivating Resilience: Investigating Drought-Resistant Soybean and Sorghum Varieties for Relay-Cropping Practices

Abstract:

Rising temperatures and decreased precipitation have led regions in Southwestern France to severe crop failure, posing a significant challenge in the context of a rapidly increasing population. To address these periods of drought, relay-cropping emerges as a potential solution. However, its effectiveness hinges on crop species' adaptation. This study delves into the analysis of soybean and sorghum cereal varieties employing the Optical Visualization technique to evaluate occurrences of cavitation within the xylem. To measure the hydraulic conductivity, we used a psychrometer to find the xylem water potential (MPa). Our investigation is centered on comparing vulnerability to hydraulic stress by assessing the P50 mean of the plant and its water potential. Preliminary findings indicate that sorghum exhibits greater drought tolerance in comparison to soybeans. However, due to high variability, additional replications are necessary to draw definitive conclusions regarding which crop species may perform optimally in relay-cropping practices.

Keywords: relay-cropping, adaptation, xylem, hydraulic stress, water potential

Title of Work (IGP Language):  

Cultiver la résistance pour la culture en relais : Une recherche sur les variétés du soja et du sorgho les plus résistant à la sécheresse

Abstract (IGP Language):

Le Sud-Ouest de la France a fait face à des échecs de récolte graves, posant un défi majeur compte tenu d'une population en augmentation. Pour contrer la sécheresse, la culture en relais émergent comme une solution potentielle. Cependant, son efficacité dépend de l'adaptation des espèces cultivées. Cette étude se focalise sur l'analyse des variétés de soja et de sorgho en utilisant la technique de visualisation optique pour évaluer les occurrences de cavitation dans le xylème. Pour mesurer la conductivité hydraulique, nous avons utilisé un psychromètre afin de déterminer le potentiel hydrique du xylème en (MPa). Notre enquête s'est concentrée sur la comparaison de la vulnérabilité au stress hydraulique en évaluant la moyenne du P50. Les résultats préliminaires indiquent que le sorgho présente une plus grande tolérance à la sécheresse par rapport au soja. Toutefois, en raison d'une variabilité élevée, des répliques supplémentaires sont nécessaires pour tirer des conclusions définitives. 

Mots-clés : culture en relais, tolérance, xylème, stress hydraulique, potentiel hydrique

Elevator Pitch Video

Elevator Pitch Transcript: 

Bonjour. Hello, my name is April Crissman and I'm an IGP student at Northern Arizona University. I spent an academic year abroad in Bordeaux, France

I’m majoring in French and Environmental Sustainability Studies.  During my time abroad, I took classes at the University of Bordeaux, in English and in French, and I completed my internship for my STEM major at one of the university laboratories. Overall, my internship experience was really challenging, but also really rewarding. I learned knowledge in plant biology and plant physiology, as well as software skills and scientific tools, and participated in additional fieldwork, where we were working with one of the partner farmers on his relay-cropping agricultural field to test the soil quality. However, the main focus of my internship was on the study of drought tolerant, sorghum and soybean varieties. These are cereal plants. And I presented the findings so far to a press press conference.

The preliminary findings depicted that sorghum is more drought tolerant than soybean.

What makes this project so interesting is the opportunity to work on a study that may touch parts of the world that I haven't. And that climate change is happening. Decreased precipitation and rising temperatures are leading to crop failure. This has the potential to provide solutions for people around the world and, and ensure global food security. Due to this profound scale, I think that this is what makes my project so interesting. And I hope to take what I've learned during my internship, culturally, the experience skills and apply that to further the efforts go beyond myself.

Thank you.

I hope to see you at the summit.

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