May/June 2021 - 28

trait in potato! We have crossed these lines to our best
breeding lines. In 2021, the MSU team will screen offspring of
these crosses in the field and will look to identify individuals
that have good tuber characteristics combined with the beetle
resistance. Working with inbred lines, we can also begin
to stack beetle resistance with other traits, such as disease
resistance.
Furthermore, in this simpler genetic system, the Douches
lab is using modern genetic tools like genome editing. Kaiser
is using genome editing to selectively turn off genes, either
one at a time or in combination, to determine if they are
necessary for plant protection. It is important to note that
this method is turning off genes that are naturally in the
potato and no foreign genes are introduced.
Because the Colorado potato beetle is known for rapidly
overcoming even the most noxious pesticides, Douches
recommends that this host plant resistance be implemented
in an IPM scheme to extend the life of this valuable tool.
- Dave Douches, Ph.D., is a professor in Michigan State
Figure 3. Kaiser crossing potatoes with Colorado potato beetle
resistance to potatoes with good tuber production in the greenhouse.
University's Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences.
He has led the MSU potato breeding and genetics program for
more than 30 years. Natalie Kaiser is a Ph.D. candidate in MSU's
Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences studying potato
breeding and genetics.
INDUSTRY NEWS
STUDY: CLIMATE CHANGE HAS HINDERED AG PRODUCTION BY 21%
Despite important agricultural
advancements to feed the world in
the last 60 years, a Cornell Universityled
study shows that global farming
productivity is 21% lower than it could
have been without climate change. This
is the equivalent of losing about seven
years of farm productivity increases since
the 1960s.
The future potential impacts of climate
change on global crop production has
been quantified in many scientific reports,
but the historic influence of anthropogenic
climate change on the agricultural sector
had yet to be modeled.
Now, a new study led by economist
Ariel Ortiz-Bobea, associate professor in
the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied
Economics and Management, provides
insights.
" We find that climate change has
basically wiped out about seven years of
improvements in agricultural productivity
over the past 60 years, " Ortiz-Bobea said.
" It is equivalent to pressing the pause
button on productivity growth back in
2013 and experiencing no improvements
since then. Anthropogenic climate change
is already slowing us down. "
The scientists and economists developed
an all-encompassing econometric model
linking year-to-year changes in weather
and productivity measures with output
from the latest climate models over six
decades to quantify the effect of recent
human-caused climate change on what
economists call " total factor productivity, "
a measure capturing overall productivity of
the agricultural sector.
Ortiz-Bobea said they considered
more than 200 systematic variations of
the econometric model, and the results
remained largely consistent. " When we
zoom into different parts of the world, we
find that the historical impacts of climate
change have been larger in areas already
warmer, including parts of Africa, Latin
America and Asia, " he said.
Humans have already altered the
climate system, Ortiz-Bobea said, as
climate science indicates the globe is
about 1 degree Celsius warmer than
without atmospheric greenhouse gases.
" Most people perceive climate change
as a distant problem, " Ortiz-Bobea said.
" But this is something that is already
having an effect. We have to address
climate change now so that we can avoid
further damage for future generations. "
Ortiz-Bobea and Robert G. Chambers,
professor of production economics at
the University of Maryland, have been
pioneering new productivity calculations in
agriculture to include weather data that has
not been addressed historically, aiming to
bring new accuracy to climate models.
" Productivity is essentially a calculation
of your inputs compared to your outputs,
and in most industries, the only way to get
growth is with new inputs, " Chambers said.
" Agricultural productivity measurement
hasn't historically incorporated weather data,
but we want to see the trends for these
inputs that are out of the farmer's control. "
For the full study report, search
" Anthropogenic climate change " on
nature.com.
- Blaine Friedlander, Cornell University
28
Spudman.com
http://www.nature.com http://www.Spudman.com
May/June 2021

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