L3 - Professional License - Plant Experimentation for the Improvement and Protection of Mediterranean and Tropical Plants (EVAPPMT)

In the first part, this module aims to give a general culture around plant improvement. A historical analysis of plant improvement is carried out in order to initiate a reflection on the evolution of the speed of genetic progress, ideotypes and also the profession of breeder.

In a second part, the different methodologies to improve germplasms and to create are described. Classical selection schemes such as backcross, recurrent selection, pedigree selection and diallel tests are described in detail. A part of the course is also used to give tools to reason / follow these selection schemes (e.g. AGC/ASC calculations, heritability calculations, genotype evaluation statistics,). These theoretical courses are also illustrated by courses given by different actors of plant improvement.

Example of interventions:

• Arnaud Boisnard (CFR): course on rice breeding in Camargues
• Frederic Bakry (CIRAD): course on banana breeding
• André Clement-Demange (CIRAD): course on rubber tree breeding
• Vincent Gensollen (GEVES) : visit of GEVES Montpellier

Experimentation in conservation breeding is discussed in a third part of the course. The different methods of seed production and the different ways to improve seed production and quality are discussed with the help of professionals.

Examples of interventions:

• Sophie Colénot (Bayer) experience in seed production
• David Martinez (Clause Hm) seed quality experimentation

In addition to the lectures, students are required to give a presentation in which they must develop a breeding program for a crop species. In order to prepare this presentation, students must apply what they have seen in class and also have exchanges with breeders.

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This module begins with an introduction to molecular and cellular biology. Then, the course presents the impact of biotechnologies on genetic progress. Finally, a description of the different biotechnologies useful in plant improvement is given. These biotechnologies are classified in two groups: (i) those that allow to create or propagate interesting mutations (mutagenesis, polyploidization, haplo-diplomethods, in vitro culture, transgenesis, genome editing, ...) and (ii) those that favor the recombination of mutations (interspecific crosses, somatic hybridization, molecular marking, ...) These courses are illustrated by presentations made by professionals.

Examples of courses conducted by professionals:

• Frederic BAKRY (CIRAD) Banana biotechnologies
• Léo HERBERT (CIRAD) : CrispR on vine and rice
• Sébastien TISNE (CIRAD): Biotechnology in oil palm improvement

9 hours of practical work on in vitro cell cultures (tobacco, potato, carrot, etc.) and microsatellite genotyping and QTL research on a biparental rice population.

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This course is offered to students in the L3 professional program "Plant Experimentation for the Improvement and Protection of Mediterranean and Tropical Plants". Its objective is to present (or recall, depending on the student's curriculum) the basic notions of agronomy concerning (1) the functioning of the "plant" system in interaction with its environment and ecosystem, (2) the soil parameters influencing plant growth, and (3) the climate parameters influencing crop development and yield. Some important topics (plant pathology, soil ecology, experimentation, irrigation, yield modeling) are then further developed through specialized lectures. The handling of these concepts and the relationships between them are worked on in the context of plant experimentation through the study of articles or case studies.

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After a review of statistical inference (estimation, tests on one or two populations), the course introduces the classical experimental designs used in agronomy for one or two factors and focuses on the usual statistical approaches related to them (ANOVA, linear Gaussian fixed effects model). Emphasis is placed on the conditions underlying the application of statistical methods, the validation of the statistical models used and the interpretation of the software outputs. The R software, under the Rcommander interface, is used for the statistical treatments.

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This module aims to give some tools for insertion into a company. It is organized in :

Lectures / Practical work

• Franc-Christophe BAURENS (CIRAD) - Safety rules (greenhouse-laboratory)
• Ludovic MARIN (UM- staps) - Postures at work CM and carrying heavy loads (TP in Gymnasium)     

Company visits. The company visits are divided into two parts.

• Hiring exercise. 15 days before the visit, the students receive a job offer sent by the company. The students have one week to respond (CV + cover letter). On the day of the visit, a member of the company in charge of recruitment debriefs the CVs and cover letters.
• Visit of the facilities.

The companies visited were:

• Bayer (Nimes). Example of a seed company. From varietal creation to seed distribution.
• Staphyt (Marsillargues). Example of a plant experimentation company. Description of the process of a trial from A to Z. Discussion on the jobs of technician/experimental leader.
• CTIFL (Balladran). Example of a technical center. Description of the activities of the technical center and visit of the experiments conducted in the greenhouses.
• CIRAD (Montpellier). Visit of the greenhouses and description of the experiments conducted there.

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This course is offered to students in the L3 professional program "Plant Experimentation for the Improvement and Protection of Mediterranean and Tropical Plants". The objective is to give students the conceptual basis of plant physiology in order to understand cultural practices. The following major topics of plant physiology will be addressed by presenting the contributions of Functional Biology for the fine understanding of processes at the molecular and cellular level:

• Water nutrition and irrigation,
• N, P, K nutrition, inputs and agroecology,
• C3 and C4 photosynthesis;
• Relationship between water and carbon nutrition,
• Cauline and root vegetative development,
• Floral transition, fertilization, seed and fruit development
• The main plant hormones

Practical exercises will be carried out in order to learn how to build an experimental protocol to study a physiological process

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In the form of lectures, tutorials and practical work, students will explore different aspects of plant pathology experiments:

• To know the different phytopathogenic organisms (viruses, viroids, phytoplasmas, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, insects, weeds)
• To know the functioning of phytopathogenic microorganisms.
• To know the defense mechanisms of plants against phytopathogenic microorganisms
• To know the mechanisms by which phytopathogenic microorganisms bypass resistance genes and phytosanitary products.
• Acquire notions in epidemiology.

Many researchers from CIRAD, INRA, IRD and supagro participate in this module.

During the practical sessions, a pathology experiment is set up (pathogen culture, plant culture, inoculation, reading of symptoms, pathogen enumeration, catalase activity)

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After defining intensive agriculture and analyzing its risks/benefits, this module will allow students to reflect on the different possible ways to make agriculture evolve in an agroecological approach. Examples such as biopesticides, ecological intensification and soil management will be developed. A visit of a company working for a sustainable agriculture is also organized. The site visited varies from year to year depending on the students' wishes and the availability of the companies. Example of visits made within the framework of this module: Bayer, Vilmorin, Geves, CTIFL, sudExpé...

Licenciales.

The students will be asked to present a project or a business creation developing innovative proposals to change cultivation practices, or any other use of plant products in order to reduce the environmental impact.

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In this module, the students, in groups of 3 or 4, work on a concrete project, proposed by teacher-researchers or researchers from private companies, and thus put theoretical knowledge into practice. The project takes place in two stages.

The first step is carried out in the first semester. It consists in preparing an experimentation at the scientific, statistical, technical and financial level. This work will be staked out throughout the first semester thanks to the realization of several orals of type "laboratory seminars" around several topics:

• Seminar 1: Bibliographic research on the theme of their tutored project.
• Seminar 2: Journal club, with a detailed analysis of a key article related to the theme of their tutored project
• Seminar 3: Presentation of the experimental design and statistical processing of data
• Seminar 4: Presentation of the material needs related to their experimentation.

The second step is carried out in the second semester where the experimentation will be set up, monitored and analyzed. The schedule for the second semester is adapted in order to free up time for regular monitoring of the experimentation, which can be done in research laboratories such as those of the CIRAD's UMR AGAP or in a university greenhouse (Bat65). This tutored project is the subject of a 10-page report in English.

Examples of projects:

• Influence of the lunar calendar on germination ofArabidopsis thaliana
• Analysis of the effect of inoculation with Phyllobacterium brassicacearum STM196 on the response of 15 rice varieties to salt stress
• Effect of Burkholderia vietnamensis on rice growth under hydroponic conditions
• Influence of light intensity and spectrum on the germination of stevia
• Effect of Glomus intraradices inoculation and rhizobium pisi inoculation, alone or in combination, on pea growth
• Influence of the lunar calendar on the growth of radish, carrot, lettuce, pea and nasturtium

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The EVAPPMT program includes a long-term internship (5 months): from the beginning of April to the end of August. This internship can take place in private companies or public laboratories, in France or abroad.

Examples of companies/laboratories hosting interns:

• Plant experimentation : Agrolis consulting, AgroXP, Staphyt, ...
• Technical centers: CEHM, CEFEL, CTIFL, IFV...
• Biostimulant/biocontrol companies: Elephant vert,...
• Seed company : CFR, Bayer, Technisem, Vilmorin, ...
• Public laboratory: AGAP (Cirad/inra), BPMP (CNRS/INRA),...
• Private laboratory: ADN-ID, Algosud,...

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In this module, different practices to move agricultural practices towards sustainable agriculture will be presented, discussed and critiqued. Among them, the use of DMOs, alternative fertilizers, soil bacteria, and agroforestry will be discussed in depth. The visit of the Restinclière site, of the Frayssinet company, will allow to make more concrete the notions seen in class.

Students also have a 5-minute video to make around an agroecology practice.

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During this module, the differences and similarities between beneficial and pathogenic interactions are explored. An important part of the course is devoted to the understanding of the mechanisms involved in beneficial interactions (mycorrhizae, symbiotic bacteria, PGPR,...) and their potential for the improvement of agricultural practices. Another important part of the course concerns the regulations around the registration and also the experiments around biostimulants and biocontrol products.

Examples of external stakeholders:

• Karine GROSBEAU (Green Elephant): Regulations around biostimulants / biocontrol products

Two visits

• Green elephant visit : the production of bacterial inoculum
• Visit to Staphyt: product testing of bio-control, GHP, GLP and CEB

A lab in which students have 3 sessions to conduct an experiment to test the effect of a PGPR on the growth of wheat under many conditions. The students have to phenotype the plants, make biochemical assays (sugar, nitrogen, chlorophyll,...) and measure enzymatic activities (catalase, nitrate reductase,...)

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