Robots and AI accelerate development of climate-resilient plants in the Netherlands

Operated jointly by Wageningen University and Utrecht University, the NPEC aims to help build the future of digital agriculture. It does so by translating the physical characteristics of thousands of specimens into massive, high-precision datasets, thereby eliminating traditional bottlenecks in plant breeding.

Research conducted at the center correlates data on physiological traits (phenotypes) with the genetic aspects of plants. The goal is to help breeders quickly identify genotypes that exhibit better performance, higher productivity, and greater resilience to environmental stresses, such as drought, salinity, and disease.

Automated measurements and predictive analytics replace human visual assessments, enabling scientists to forecast how varieties will adapt before conducting large-scale field trials. This drastically reduces the time needed to develop and launch new seed varieties and sustainable agricultural crops adapted to climate change, explained Rick van de Zedde, program manager at Wageningen University, during a visit by the Brazilian delegation participating in FAPESP Week Netherlands.

"We don't do genomics, gene editing, or genetic improvement. Our focus is on measuring plant performance over time under different environmental conditions and providing tools to study as many plants as possible in a single experiment without involving too many people," he explained.

Read more at FAPESP