As the human population increases, so too do the demands and
stresses on agriculture. In the January 2013 issue of International Journal of
Plant Sciences, Penn State University Waller Professor of Plant Biology Dr.
Sarah Assmann explores how the responses to environmental stresses by one
small, genetically diverse plant species might illuminate possible approaches
to addressing growing human demand for crop products amid decreasing resources.
In the article, Dr. Assmann describes how human population
growth presents new challenges to twenty-first-century agriculture, especially
since such abiotic stresses as climate change and poor-quality soils can
disrupt the ability of many crops to flourish and provide sufficient calories,
nutrients, and other resources. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture
Organization, the Earth's population will reach nine billion people by the year
2050. To meet the needs of this population, Dr. Assmann says, plant biologists
must study how and why some plants are heartier and more capable than others of
tolerating these stresses.