The AlbLavendel project - 20/11/2023

Swabian lavender cultivation: aesthetic and sustainable

Blue-violet, fragrant fields like those in Provence may soon become a common sight in the Swabian Alb. As part of the AlbLavendel project, the University of Hohenheim along with the company naturamus GmbH and the German Institutes of Textile and Fibre Research Denkendorf has started to investigate the cultivation of lavender, the production of essential oils and the use of distillation residues for producing textile fibres in the local region.

Mobile units for processing fruit and vegetables on-site may play an important role in food supply in 2035. The EU’s FOX project investigated the form that such local food chains might take. To this end, Fraunhofer ISI developed future scenarios that could be used to test the viability of business models for regional food processing and distribution.

Rising sea levels due to climate change and artificial irrigation cause soil salinity to increase. This has a negative impact on agriculture, including viticulture. The plants die, yields decrease. Researchers of Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) have therefore studied a wild grapevine of higher salt tolerance. Their goal is to identify the genetic factors that make the grapevine resilient.

Molecular biologist Professor Holger Puchta from KIT is granted funding within a Reinhart Koselleck Project by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for work on specific restructuring of plant genomes. Puchta, a pioneer of green genetic engineering, has used molecular scissors in plants for 30 years now. His new project is aimed at using the CRISPR/Cas method to freely combine genes in crops, thus making Gregor Mendel’s dream come true.

Team of Freiburg researchers shows how information about the quantity of absorbed light passes from the leaves to the roots. Plant growth is driven by light and supplied with energy through photosynthesis by green leaves. It is the same for roots that grow in the dark – they receive the products of photosynthesis, in particular sucrose, i.e. sugar, via the central transportation pathways of phloem.

Daisies, peas, canola, etc.: Researchers at the University of Hohenheim want to replace gluten protein with new alternatives. Instead of ovens, 3-D printers would be possible

Review - 09/02/2023

5th Gene Technology Report – a critical observation of a cutting-edge technology

The societal importance of genetic technologies was demonstrated during the coronavirus pandemic, when it was possible to rapidly develop suitable vaccines thanks to genetic engineering methods. As a result, the Fifth Gene Technology Report published in autumn 2021 reads like a validation of many years of work, as well as making it clear that the will to continue the detailed long-term monitoring is very much present.

Vaccination for plants - 23/01/2023

Dialogue instead of a chemical maze – new strategy for sustainable crop protection

Climate change creates stress. This provides an opportunity for pests to exploit plant weaknesses and reproduce. For the infested plant, this can be catastrophic and often fatal. But instead of continuing to protect harvest yields with toxic substances as before, the transnational DialogProTec project is now taking a completely new approach: researchers want to intervene in the communication between plants and pests to keep them healthy.

Lentil cultivation in a producers’ association - EIP-AGRI Rhizo-Linse project - 23/05/2022

From cultivation to market – lentils from the Swabian Alb

Complicated cultivation, fluctuating yields and complex cleaning: Leisa – as lentils are called in Swabian – are demanding. So to produce lentils economically, 130 farmers in the Swabian Alb have joined forces and set up the organic producers’ association Alb-Leisa. Their lentil harvests are processed and marketed by a company called Lauteracher Alb-Feld-Früchte.

Lentil cleaning - EIP-AGRI Rhizo-Linse project - 26/04/2022

Lentil cleaning in the Altdorf mill

The Altdorf mill, just under 7 km south of the city of Böblingen, has operated lentil cleaning facilities since 2019, the year that the Sessler mill in Renningen, 20 km further north, ceased all operations including lentil cleaning. After receiving a number of enquiries from farmers and local mills, brothers Karl and Jörg Ruthardt took a chance and launched a lentil cleaning operation in addition to their mill and farm shop business.

European collaborative project led by the University of Hohenheim shows: Combining bioethanol production with carbon storage can effectively reduce CO2.

Lentil cultivation and cleaning on the farm - EIP-AGRI Rhizo-Linse project - 16/03/2022

Lentils return to the Heckengäu region

Lentils are among the oldest crop plants in Central European agriculture and were once a popular food in ancient Egypt, Persia and Mesopotamia. The legume was widespread in Germany until the mid-20th century, but has since disappeared completely from farmers’ fields. Over the past decade, lentils have reappeared as a crop grown locally and are cultivated in harmony with nature.

Alternative foodstuff ? - 09/03/2022

Hemp: regional superfood and valuable source of protein

If there were a competition for the ‘crop of the future’, hemp would certainly be at the top. But not because of the intoxicating effect of some hemp varieties. Cannabis has the potential to help supply protein in the quantities required by a growing world population – in a sustainable way. The TASTINO project brings together researchers from academia and industry to work on ways to make the regional superfood available as a vegan alternative.

The “Rhizo-Lentil" EIP-AGRI project - 03/03/2020

University of Hohenheim wants to improve the conditions for lentil cultivation

Lentils were once considered poor man’s food, but in Germany demand for them has never been greater. And to satisfy this growing demand, more lentils need to be cultivated. This is why the University of Hohenheim is involved in the EIP-AGRI "Rhizo-Linse" project. The aim of the project is to find rhizobia strains that go well with lentil plants to increase yield and improve quality.

EIP-AGRI project coordination - 12/12/2019

nadicom: “Rhizo-Linse” project – excellent small fertiliser factories

Lentil plants, rarely cultivated in Central Europe in the twentieth century, are making a comeback. The "Rhizo-Linse"1 EIP-AGRI project aims to reintroduce old lentil varieties and make them appealing to farmers. A company called nadicom Gesellschaft für angewandte Mikrobiologie mbH is working on the development of an ecological product consisting of nodule bacteria that can improve lentil plant growth.

CRISPR/Cas9 and genetic engineering laws - 27/11/2019

Transgene-free plant breeding using genome editing

Plant geneticists from Tübingen have used genome deletion to breed a variety of tomato that is resistant to powdery mildew. The CRISPR/Cas9 technology that they used enabled them to achieve this in a relatively short period of time. They also demonstrated beyond any doubt that the new tomato variety contains no foreign DNA and is indistinguishable from naturally occurring deletion mutants.

Two-part interview part 2 | Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn on the green genetic engineering debate - 26/08/2019

"Green genetic engineering is a scapegoat, but no longer an innocent one"

Many scientists are expecting revolutionary advances in research to come from new molecular biology tools such as the CRISPR/Cas gene scissors. These methods are very important for agriculture, especially plant breeding and nutrition. However, the debate on green genetic engineering 2.0 looks like it may once again be heading for ideological battles. We talked with Prof. Dr. Ortwin Renn and asked him about opportunities for better communication.

Article - 10/01/2019

Stocktaking and recommendations for action: the BBAW’s fourth gene technology report

In the new gene technology report, the interdisciplinary working group of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences (BBAW) takes stock of gene technology developments in Germany during the past few decades, and discusses the societal, legal and ethical challenges associated with these technologies in the future. The report is highly topical due to the controversy surrounding the ruling of the European Court of Justice on CRISPR/Cas9 genome…