Keynote speakers – brias agri 2025
Prof. Uwe Conrath – RWTH Aachen University
Uwe Conrath is a professor of plant biochemistry and molecular biology at RWTH Aachen University, a cofounder of AgPrime GmbH, and a scientific advisor to agricultural and biotech companies. In particular, he’s a passionate pioneer and acknowledged world leader in the research of defense priming. The term describes the enhanced capacity of immunized plants to mobilize defense resulting in earlier, faster, and more robust activation of defense which often leads to immunity. Uwe’s research also addresses various agbiotech and bioeconomy aspects for translating concepts discovered in model systems to agriculture. They include tools for spotting priming-inducing compounds, defense pathway engineering, and leaf-sticking gels and capsules for the slow release of active ingredients.
Plant defense priming
When locally infected by necrotizing pathogens, plants activate a systemic immune response, called systemic acquired resistance (SAR). In this process, distal leaves become primed to activate a more robust defense response upon reinfection. Defense priming is associated with an elevated level of microbial pattern receptors (e.g., flagellin-sensing 2), accumulation of dormant signaling enzymes (e.g., mitogen-activated protein kinases 3 and 6), and with modification of chromatin. The latter comprises the covalent modification of histones (e.g., histone H3 and H4 acetylation and/or methylation) and the formation of open chromatin indicative of regulatory DNA with a role in defense priming. Together, these events provide a memory to the initial infection and enable the boosted recall defense response. I will summarize these fascinating discoveries and disclose their potential for sustainable agriculture by introducing smart tools and approaches for identifying and employing priming-inducing chemistry and microbes. When plants are locally infected by necrotizing pathogens, they trigger a systemic immune response known as systemic acquired resistance (SAR). This response primes distal leaves to mount stronger defense upon subsequent infection. Defense priming involves an increased presence of microbial pattern receptors (e.g., flagellin-sensing 2), the accumulation of inactive signaling enzymes (e.g., mitogen-activated protein kinases 3 and 6), and chromatin modifications. These chromatin changes include covalent modifications of histones (e.g., acetylation and/or methylation of histones H3 and H4) and the formation of open chromatin, highlighting regions of regulatory DNA that play a role in priming. Collectively, these processes establish an immune memory of the initial infection, enabling a faster and stronger defense response upon reinfection. In my talk, I will present these exciting discoveries and discuss their potential for sustainable agriculture, focusing on innovative tools and approaches to identify and utilize priming-inducing chemicals and beneficial microbes.
Prof. Yael Edan – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev
Yael Edan is a Full Professor in Industrial Engineering at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU). She has a B.Sc in Computer Engineering and a M.Sc in Agricultural Engineering both from Technion, Israel Institute of Technology and a Ph.D from Purdue University. For the last 30 years she has led research in robotics, sensors, simulation, and decision-making systems. Her current robotics research focuses on human-robot cooperation in social assistive robotics. In addition, she has made and is advancing major contributions in the introduction and application of intelligent automation and robotic systems to the field of agriculture with several patents. Her more than 90 graduate students are in leading worldwide positions in academia and industry. Prof. Edan has led many international projects (USA, Japan, Europe). At BGU she is an endowed-chair professor and Director of the Agricultural, Biological and Cognitive Robotics Initiative and has served in several management functions including Deputy Rector, Chair of the Dept. of Industrial Engineering and Management and of the Paul Ivanier Center for Robotics and Production Management.
AgRobotics for Smart Agriculture
Agricultural robots have been developed for many agricultural applications such as transplanting, cultivating, spraying, trimming and selective harvesting. As advanced computing and sensing technologies and dexterous grasping become more capable and cost effective these robots are penetrating into market. By equipping these robots with advanced sensor technologies, real-time accurate and timely crop data can be collected providing improved spatial and temporal crop monitoring and management. With the advent of IoT (internet of things) and cloud computing, AI (artificial intelligence) systems can then integrate the online sensory information with remote sensing data, historical data, Information Communication Technologies (ICT) [e.g., cellular technology, global positioning system (GPS), geographic information systems (GIS)], and biological knowledge of the crop and its environment (e.g., crop weed and pest growth models, weather models). AI models developed for the different crop growth phases: cultivation (e.g., selecting crops to be planted, planning and preparation of land, irrigation planning, seed preparation, seed sowing), monitoring and controlling the growth (crop health monitoring, fertilizer use and application, disease/weed identification, and pesticide spraying), and harvesting (e.g., crop cutting, storing, and selling to the market) can be linked to the robots operating in the field. Farmer feedback can be incorporated ‘on-the-go’ to enable continuous improvement of decisions and provide the robots with a ‘green thumb’. These intelligent systems should be advanced to include also social, environmental and economic parameters to optimize decisions. The AI system output can then provide on-the-go controls for the smart farm robot to apply the optimal precision technology at the optimal time and the optimal location (e.g., water and fertilization application, harvesting timing, disease/pest management) leading to improved production costs, yield and quality and enabling better crop control and management. Equipping these autonomous robots with intelligence and connectivity will enable to provide the operational smart farming solutions. Current Digital Farming (also known as Agriculture 4.0) enabled by precision agriculture aims to optimize the agricultural processes by adapting the operations to apply what is needed, when and where is needed. Although information is provided at the plant, crop, soil and environmental level, overall control is mostly at the field level only (not enabling individual plant treatments). Farmers are overwhelmed with data, what is currently missing is the closed loop control which can be provided by the robots. Smart agriculture (defined as Agriculture 5.0), will empower these data-driven farms linking the sensors, IoT and AI to robots that can provide ultrahigh-precision farming (providing ‘phytotechnology’=precise decisions related to how, where and when at the plant level). The concepts of multi-robots, human-robot collaboration, and environment reconstruction from aerial images and ground-based sensors and robots working together will advance smart farming ensuring sustainable precision agriculture.
Prof. Fréderic Francis – Gembloux AgroBio-Tech
Frédéric Francis was graduated in agricultural science engineering and got a PhD in 2003 on plant – aphid multitrophic interactions. He is Full Professor at Gembloux-Agro Bio Tech – University of Liege and is the head of Entomology Department from 2012. He is the Faculty Dean from 2017. He is also visiting Professor at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) and at the Shandong Agricultural University. He develops teaching and research activities to understand insect interactions with their environment (to host plant, as virus vector, with symbionts, …) and promote pest biological control with integrated and complementary strategies. For the last 15 years, he also focused on edible insects. He is involved in many projects in developing countries in Africa, south America and Asia to apply practical approaches to manage insect diversity and valorization. He supervised many master and PhD students in their research works leading to a broad range of publications in international journals and many communications in scientific conferences. He is the founder and chairman of Hexapoda museum – Insectarium Jean Leclercq in Belgium managing an entomological collection of 5 millions of insects. He promotes entomology at different scales, from the discovery of insects to younger peoples to the support to amateur and professional entomologists.
Insects need smart promotion … or eradication
Insects represent a functional group of animals showing a very large diversity of living environments, adaptations and finally impacts for humans. They are then captivating models for studies, investigations and understanding in tremendous situations with very distinct applications and consequences. In one hand, many insects are very useful and sources of inspiration to provide very positive services in agriculture such as in pollination, biological control but also by contributing to transform organic residues or/and provide alternative food and biobased materials. In the other hand, some others can be very harmful as crop pests, blood feeders until being vectors of diseases for animals including humans. For all kinds of situations, smart developments are needed and developed for insects either to promote or to control and eradicate them. Several researches performed in the entomological department of Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech will be presented to illustrate insect multitrophic interactions and a diversity of smart proposed strategies leading to efficient and sustainable practices in agriculture focusing on insects.
Dr. Niels Holst − Aarhus University
Niels Holst is a Senior Scientist working at the Department of Agroecology, Aarhus University, Denmark, where he was recently appointed Head of the Agricultural Biodiversity Section. With an MSc in Biology, a BSc in Computer Science and a PhD combining the two, he has since his student days continued his work in Ecological Modelling with a focus on creating new software modelling tools, inspired by a wide range of modelling applications. He has applied modelling to integrated pest management, biological control, greenhouse microclimate, honeybees and crop production.
Agroecological Modelling Explained
We build ecological models to grasp the complexity of natural systems but often complexity bites back at us. That’s when you realise that the model itself has become so complicated that you are the only person in the world who understands it. Nobody wants to invest the time needed to follow you. You gained insights but they are insights that you cannot convincingly pass on to your peers. That again, makes you wonder whether those insights were real after all? To avoid this scientific impasse, there are basic rules of model design and implementation that should be followed. First of all, base your modelling on well-known concepts from physiology and population dynamics (and related sciences as needed, e.g., chemistry and physics). These are your generic model building blocks. Next rephrase your questions and reformulate the intended application domain, as you build the model and realise how little is actually unknown about the system. Be aware that the modelling software that you choose determines what can be expressed conveniently; it will determine not only the structure of your model but also its essence. I will walk you through the phases of model construction: formulation, parameter estimation, verification, testing, validation, uncertainty analysis, sensitivity analysis and publication. I will present examples using Universal Simulator, an open-source, do-it-yourself modelling tool that I have developed (www.ecolmod.org).