Bionote
Yeshambel Emewodih Mihiret completed his bachelor degree in biotechnology at the University of Gondar, Ethiopia, in 2012. Then, he worked as a researcher for the Ethiopian institute of agricultural research for three and half years. Then he joined the Agricultural Sciences and Resource Management in the Tropics and Subtropics program at the University of Bonn in 2017 with DAAD scholarship support and completed his master’s degree in 2020. Currently, he is a doctoral student at University of Bonn. His doctoral research focuses on diagnosing nutrient imbalances and understanding the molecular mechanisms of nutrient homeostasis and perception in plants. For further information, you could contact him via email: mihiret@uni-bonn.de.
Presentation Abstract
Plants require 14 essential nutrients for growth and development. Nutrient imbalances, including deficiencies and toxicities, significantly impact agricultural productivity. Conventional methods for assessing the nutrient status often face limitations in identifying the primary nutrient constraints particularly in acidic soils where multiple imbalances often coexist. Non-invasive technologies such as chlorophyll meters are widely used to estimate crop nitrogen (N) status but rely on indirect spectral measurements. These can be influenced by factors such as other nutrient imbalances, drought, or pathogens, leading to inaccurate diagnoses, and in consequence over-fertilization, and potentially environmental harm. Thus, developing precise tools to detect nutrient imbalances is critical for sustainable agriculture. Our project aims to develop strategies and identify markers for accurately diagnosing nutrient deficiencies and toxicities under field conditions. We started by using hydroponic experiments in barley, where we induced mild deficiencies of all 14 essential nutrients, as well as aluminum and manganese toxicities, followed by transcriptome analysis. We will present our findings on element-specific differentially expressed genes, which enable precise identification of nutrient imbalances, and discuss their potential to improve fertilizer management and promote sustainable agriculture.
Co-Authors: Anja Hartmann2, Marion Deichmann1, Ricardo F. H. Giehl2, and Gabriel Schaaf1
1Plant Nutrition, Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation, University of Bonn; 2Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research (IPK), Gatersleben