17 www.seed.ab.ca | fall.2018 was adopted initially by a group of Australian researchers in collaboration with others around the world. They were inspired by experiments conducted by NASA [National Aeronautics and Space Administration] in the 1980s and 1990s looking at growing plants in controlled environmental conditions including constant light,” Rajagopalan says. The NASA scientists were experimenting with the use of plants to help maintain human life in space. “In these experiments, they observed a linear effect of light on photosynthetic rate and production of plant biomass. In simple terms, photosynthesis is the process by which a plant converts atmospheric carbon dioxide into storable sugars using energy that comes from sunlight, and in the process it emits oxygen back into the atmosphere. [The scientists observed that] if you increase the supply of light to the plant, then it continues to perform photosynthesis and continues to grow more and faster and produce more biomass,” he notes. “In addition, in certain plants, especially in cereal crops like wheat and barley, applying continuous light also seems to increase the plant’s development rate. So the plant goes from seed to flowering faster, and you get to the next generation of plants faster. This is simply because constant light could act as a stress factor. When you apply stress to a plant, the plant responds by producing flowers and seeds, and completing its lifecycle as early as possible before it dies or desiccates.” Rajagopalan notes other environmental stress factors can also accelerate plant development in a similar way. So, along with constant light, the project is testing factors like moisture stress, nutrient availability stress and stress from smaller pot sizes. The research team is also using a propagation method called embryo rescue to go more quickly from one generation to the next. “We harvest seeds before they are fully mature and dried, Product/Campaign Name: Web Publication: Alberta Seed Guide Date Produced: October 2017 Size: 7.125” x 3.25 SEC_WEB17 Genes on-line. Genes on-line. For genes that fit your farm® , visit secan.com secan.com Genes that fit your farm® is a registered trademark of SeCan. SEC_WEB17_ABSG_SEC_WEB16_ABSG.qxd 2017-10-15 6:03 PM Page 1 “The project’s overall aim is to speed up plant growth so breeders can achieve multiple generations of the crop in a very short time.” —Dr. Kishore Rajagopalan