GRK 2366:  Adaptation of maize-based food-feed-energy systems to limited phosphate resources

• Subject Area: Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Medicine
• Term: since 2018
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 328017493

Phosphate enters agricultural cycles as fertilizers and animal feed, passing various steps from primary production through feed, food and technical biomass conversion into animal excreta, municipal wastewater and organic process residues. Along this pathway, phosphate is partly accumulated in soils unused, while large fractions leave the agricultural material cycle through erosion and via solid waste and wastewater streams. Phosphate is a limited essential nutrient with a range of about 350 years. Effects of a limited essential nutrient, such as phosphorus, and the resulting economic impact are largely unknown. Reducing the consumption of primary phosphates by largely closing the phosphate cycles is therefore a fundamental requirement to minimize negative environmental impacts and to conserve limited resources.Maize is one of the most important crops worldwide with high phosphate requirements, especially during juvenile development, and is thus ideally suited for studying the effects of phosphate limitation. In their complementarity, China and Germany together represent the entire breadth of maize-based production chains in wide climatic ranges.Our research is based on the overarching hypothesis that high productivity and high phosphate use efficiency can be achieved simultaneously under phosphate-limited conditions by closing phosphate cycles and adapting them to the multifaceted needs of maize-based production systems. Interdisciplinarily, we investigate (1) the genetic potential of maize populations to adapt to phosphate limitation, (2) the adaptive potential of maize cropping systems under phosphate limitation, (3) the mechanistic interactions of products with further utilization in human and animal nutrition including phosphate recovery by biomass conversion, and (4) the economic consequences of system changes at different scales. Field trials in China and Germany enable complementary and comparative analyses. Genetic, microbiological and molecular biological methods, proteomics, spectroscopic techniques, remote sensing, economic models as well as phosphate flow and land use modelling considering limited phosphate resources characterize the broad spectrum of methods.The doctoral researchers are accompanied by individually tailored groups of three personal supervisors. Members of the biometrics and econometrics departments, members of the Advisory Board, as well as other international scientists invited for special questions support the supervision activities whenever needed. The training program includes one-week block seminars twice a year in China and Germany, thematic excursions partly with case studies, methods’ courses, self-organized doctoral researchers’ conferences, good scientific practice, and intercultural training.

• DFG Programme: International Research Training Groups
• International Connection: China
• Applicant Institution: Universität Hohenheim
• IRTG-Partner Institution: China Agricultural University
• Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Torsten Müller
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Enno Bahrs; Dr. Kirsten Boysen-Urban; Professorin Dr. Amelia Camarinha Silva; Professor Jan Frank, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Simone Graeff-Hönninger; Professorin Dr. Andrea Kruse; Professor Dr. Uwe Ludewig; Professor Dr. Joachim Müller; Professorin Dr. Waltraud Schulze; Professor Dr. Andreas Schweiger; Professor Dr. Tobias Würschum
• IRTG-Partner: Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Fusuo Zhang