Juliane

A large consortium consisting out of multiple universities, companies and farmers will invest the funding to achieve a breakthrough in the transition to sustainable arable farming. Coordinator of the CropMix (Crop mixtures as stepping stone to reach transition to sustainable agriculture) consortium Erik Poelman ( Laboratory of Entomology, WUR) was interviewed by the WUR and explained in more detail how crop rotation and combination will be of benefit for biodiversity. More information can be found here and the announcement of NWO here. 

Erik Poelman receives one of the prestigious Vici grants of the NWO talent programme.  His research focuses on plants and the uncertainty they experience in not knowing when and by what insects they may be attacked. In responding to and defending themselves from the current attacker, plants must also calculate the risk of attacks by future assailants. Poelman studies the evolution of this type of stress management in plants. More information on the NWO or the WUR website  

Merijn Kant works as associated Professor at the Department of Evolutionary and Population Biology. He received the Vici  to investigate "Anticipating pest formation using smart resistance genes". Pest formation is elusive. With this VICI project molecular ecologist Merijn Kant will make pest formation in agriculture predictable. Using "co-evolution in a petri dish", he will first develop smart resistance genes and then map out the spectrum of adaptations with which the pest can break through these resistances. He wants to demonstrate empirically that such smart resistance genes can be used to anticipate and prevent pest formation on crops. For more information [...]