< br />
MOSCOW, December 1 Scientists of the Russian State Agrarian University-Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev began researching the use of short peptides in agriculture – a new area of agricultural technology aimed at increasing the productivity of agricultural crops and which has no analogues in world agricultural practice, the press service of the academy said.
“Young scientists from the Russian State Agrarian University-Moscow Agricultural Academy named after K.A. Timiryazev have begun researching the use of short peptides in agriculture. Thanks to new technologies, it will be possible to improve the quality of the harvest of agricultural crops that are strategically important for Russia, increase the stress resistance of plants to external factors, and also ensure more high percentage of seed germination,” the press service reported.
Peptides are protein fragments that are used in a plant to transfer information from cell to cell. They are able to influence plant metabolism, improve yields, resistance to droughts, diseases and pests, and the introduction of such technologies in agriculture around the world has been a current trend of the last ten years. But there are also unexplored areas: for example, now in world practice there is practically no information on the use of short peptides, the press service noted, and drugs based on them are currently only available in the field of medicine.
The effect of short peptides occurs faster than from medium-chain peptides, which have been studied at the university for more than 15 years. Now scientists have begun to study the properties of short peptides and assess their impact on the growth and development of strategically important agricultural crops – for example, wheat, barley, soybeans, lupine, oil flax and long flax, as well as medicinal plants. The research is carried out within the framework of the Priority 2030 program.
Stages of work
The first laboratory stage of testing has now been completed – pre-sowing seed treatment : based on its results, effective concentrations were determined that affect the energy of seed germination, the number of sprouted seeds, their morphological characteristics and chemical composition.
“As a result, short peptides had a positive effect on seed germination – laboratory germination increased by 20-30%, and germination energy – that is, the speed of the plant to sprout and dynamically develop into an adult plant – by 10-15%,” the press reported. service.
November 28, 05:00
At the next stage – it will also take place in laboratory conditions – the dynamics of growth and development of plants after their treatment with peptide preparations will be assessed. And only then, the press service clarified, field experiments will follow: based on the results of assessing the quality of the harvest harvested next fall, it will be possible to determine the level of effectiveness of using such drugs in agriculture.
For example, scientists are confident that short peptides – some of them antimicrobial agents – can be used to increase plant resistance to bacteria, fungi and viruses. Another important aspect of peptide technologies is the environmental aspect, since their use can reduce the use of pesticides and fertilizers. Based on the results of the study, it is planned to obtain products with improved characteristics and develop recommendations for the use of new drugs for various crops.
“To date, the State Catalog of Pesticides and Agrochemicals Permitted for Use on the Territory of the Russian Federation has not registered a preparation for agricultural crops that contains only short peptides. If our tests are successful, and, as we expect, positive results will be obtained, the production of peptides can be quickly increased,” the press service concluded.
Recent Comments