Montpellier Scientific Community



Agroecological adaptation and varietal innovation (AIVA)

Director: Michael Dingkuhn
Website :
In construction
Research area
The Agroecological adaptation and varietal innovation 'AIVA) research unit develops innovative tools and methodologies to improve the agro-ecological adaptation and productivity of tropical crops. Emphasis is on traits conferring phenotypic plasticity, enabling plants to adapt in the course of their development to variable bio-physical environments. The available genetic and phenotypic diversity of plants is thereby studied in view of the diversity and dynamics of environments, including climate change.
Research highlights
  • ORYTAGE project (CIRAD ATP) 2008-2010 developing an international phenotyping network for rice adaptations to drought and thermal stresses in the context of gene discovery and association mapping. Activities in Montpellier, Madagascar (altitudinal gradient), Senegal (heat and chilling stresses), Philippines (heat and drought), Colombia (drought). This is an international project led by the unit on whole-genome association analysis of loci affecting rice stress adaptations, closely linked to the GCP network.
  • SweetFuel FP7 project 2009-2014 developing food-fuel dual-purpose sorghum varieties for water-scarce environments in the tropics and temperate zones, in partnership with Brazil, India, Germany and Italy. This is a multi-disciplinary project led by the unit on the development of innovative sorghum ideotypes producing grain (food) and stem sugar (energy))
  • RISOCAS Gtz project 2008-2010 developing improved models for rice and sorghum adaptation traits to variable climates specifically thermal constraints; with Hohenheim, Senegal, Mali and Madagascar.
  • DELICAS ANR project (2009-2012) developing and applying model assisted phenotyping methodologies for sugar cane in La Réunion.
  • EcoPalm private-sector project (2006-2011) on oil palm seasonal yield prediction and simulation of traits for yield elaboration.
  • AMMA (African Multidisciplinary Monsoon Analysis) FP6 project: Work package on crop impacts of climate variability.
Staff profile
 
Total permanent staff Total Scientists Scientists with "HDR" [1] Post-doc fellows PhD
43
25
2
-
3
[1]French university degree for confirmed thesis supervisor
    
         
Research teams
Team 1: Crop-environment interactions and environmental impacts: 14 perm. staff
Team 2: Diversity and mechanisms of adaptation traits: 9 perm. staff
Team 3: Genetic improvement and selection: 7 perm. staff
Team 4: Applied mathematics and informatics: 3 perm. Staff A
fifth team is currently hosted at the Germplasm conservation and management services Research Unit and involves 7 permanent staff.
Platforms and other tools
  • Ecotrop, a software platform for modeling, designed to facilitate the use and creation of new models through its user-friendly, module assembly concept
  • Platform at Lavalette for model assisted drought phenotyping (rice, sorghum)
  • Small phytotron facility
Most important international partnerships
Institutes of the CGIAR: IRRI (Philippines), ICRISAT (India, Mali), CIAT (Colombia), WARDA (Benin, Senegal); Generation and Climate Change Challenge Programs (GCP & CCCP); Universities: Hohenheim (Germany), Wageningen (Netherlands), Queensland university (Australia); NARS: EMBRAPA (Brazil), IER (Mali), ISRA/CERAAS (Senegal)
Facts and figures
Publications in international ranking journals
2005 - 2008 : 44
Representative publications
Baron C, Sultan B, Balme M, Sarr B, Traore S, Lebel T, Janicot S, Dingkuhn M. 2005. From GCM grid cell to agricultural plot: Scale issues affecting modelling of climate impact. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 360, 2095-2108.

Dingkuhn M, Luquet D, Kim HK, Tambour L, Clément-Vidal A (2006) Ecomeristem, a Model of Morphogenesis and Competition among Sinks in Rice: 2. Simulating Genotype Responses to Phosphorus Deficiency. Functional Plant Biology 33, 325-337.

Dingkuhn, M., Kouressy, M., Vaksmann, M., Clerget, B., Chantereau, J. 2008. Applying to sorghum photoperiodism the concept of threshold-lowering during prolonged appetence. European Journal of Agronomy 28, 74-89.

Kouressy M, Dingkuhn M, Vaksmann M, Heinemann AB. 2008. Adaptation to diverse semi-arid environments of sorghum genotypes having different plant type and sensitivity to photoperiod. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 148, 357-371.

Luquet D, Dingkuhn M, Kim HK, Tambour L, Clément-Vidal A (2006) EcoMeristem, a Model of Morphogenesis and Competition among Sinks in Rice. 1. Concept, Validation and Sensitivity analysis. Functional Plant Biology 33, 309-323.

Luquet, D., Y.H. Song, S. Elbelt, D. This, A. Clément-Vidal, C. Périn, D. Fabre, M. Dingkuhn. 2007. Model-Assisted Physiological Analysis of Phyllo, a Rice Architectural Mutant. Functional Plant Biology 34, 11-23.