Plant science and agricultural productivity : Why are we hitting the yield ceiling ?

On the productivity of plant resources - a first article from within the Michel Serres Institute

The capacity of plants to efficiently produce biomass is a strategic issue today.
Many of the solutions to our sustainability crisis depend on "bio-capacity".

Stève de Bossoreille de Ribou, Florian Douam, Olivier Hamant, Michael W. Frohlich, Ioan Negrutiu
Plant Science 210 (2013) 159– 176

Abstract

Our review article explores what we know about plant productivity.
Trends in conventional plant breeding and in biotechnology research are analyzed with a focus on production and productivity of individual organisms. Our growing understanding of the productive/adaptive potential of (crop) plants is a prerequisite to increasing this potential and also its expression under environmental constraints. This review concentrates on growth rate, ribosome activity, and photosynthetic rate to link these key cellular processes to plant productivity. Examples of how they may be integrated in heterosis, organ growth control, and responses to abiotic stresses are presented. The yield components in rice are presented as a model. The ultimate goal of research programs, that concentrate on yield and productivity and integrating the panoply of systems biology tools, is to achieve “low input, high output” agriculture, i.e. shifting from a conventional “productivist” agriculture to an efficient sustainable agriculture. This is of critical, strategic importance, because the extent to which we, both locally and globally, secure and manage the long-term productive potential of plant resources will determine the future of humanity.

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