A recent study at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California led by Darren Drewry shows by using advanced vegetation models and high performance computer optimization techniques that soybeans can be redesigned to increase productivity by 7% without the use of any additional water. The study also shows that soybean plants can be redesigned to either use 13% less water or to reflect 34% more light back to space without the loss of crop yield. This study concludes that there is a combination of traits that can accomplish increased productivity without trading off water conservation – that the two goals can be achieved simultaneously. The model used in the study was developed by Mr. Drewry to study Midwest agricultural systems but can be modified to research other types of vegetation. The model quickly finds answers that would have taken decades of crossbreeding in the field to conclude. The study by Drewry and co-authors Praveen Kumar and Stephen Long, both of the University of Illinois, was published April 4th in the Journal Global Change Biology. To read more about this research:
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