Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a new computer model that will help breeders develop soybeans that can increase yield by 8.5% while using 13% less water. The computer model uses numerical optimization techniques to try large numbers of combinations of structural traits such as leaf distribution, leaf angle, and reflectivity, and by manipulating the competitiveness that has been developed in plants over millennia of evolution. By eliminating the competitiveness out of plants, plants in the field will share resources and nutrients, and will conserve water. By changing the number of leaves and their angle, photosynthesis can be optimized on multiple levels, and a less dense canopy would use less water while not affecting production. Manipulating leaf angles can also allow the plant to reflect back solar radiation and combat climate change. Once the computer model builds the optimal plant structure, breeders can then breed for that specific structure from already available forms of soybeans.
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