Returning to Our Roots: Making Plant Biology Research Relevant to Future Challenges in Agriculture

Over the next 50 years, considerable stress will be placed on worldwide crop production by a combination of factors, including an increased human population, an increase in the crops used per person, and a number of environmental issues. Given current trends, it will be necessary to approximately double yields worldwide during this time period, and meeting this challenge will require a considerable effort. This article explores the nature of the challenge and the requirements for meeting it. These include novel technical advances and fundamental discoveries as well as new multidisciplinary ways of organizing research to ensure that researchers and technologists target the advances and discoveries that are most needed and effectively use them to enhance important crop traits.