Two Cambodian researchers are among the nine nominees for the 2nd IRD Innovation Awards

Kakada Oeum, a doctoral student at the Institut de Santé des Plantes in Montpellier, and Ratha Muon, a doctoral student at the Institut d'Ecologie et des Sciences de l'Environnement in Paris, have been selected for their projects in a research area that addresses the societal challenges faced by the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD).

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Three winners, one from each region, will be honoured at the “SCIENCE 4 ACTION” Forum on 7 October at the Palais du Pharo in Marseille, as part of the IRD's 80th anniversary celebrations.

Researchers

Kakada Oeum, PhD student at UMR PHIM

Her research project focuses on PGPR rhizobacteria to increase rice resistance to plant pathogens.

Kakada Oeum, PhD student at UMR PHIM

Rice (Oryzae sativa) is the staple food of more than half the world's population. Several diseases, including fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes, are destroying rice production. To save their crop and increase yields, farmers use agrochemical fertilisers, which lead to environmental pollution, loss of biodiversity and soil compaction. Plant microbiota have been presented as an alternative solution to agrochemicals for sustainable agriculture. It is home to phytobeneficial microbes that can improve the health of rice.

The main objective of the project proposed by Kakada Oeum is to identify microbial taxa linked to plant health, by exploring the microbiome of leaves and roots of healthy and diseased rice in Cambodia, cultivating them and testing them as biofertilisers and biocontrol agents. At the end of the project, bacterial strains from Cambodian rice could be used as rice bioproducts, reducing the use of pesticides or chemical fertilisers to improve rice yields and inhibit the growth of rice pathogens.

Ratha Muon, PhD student at UMR iEES Paris

Her research project concerns the sustainability of termite mounds to increase soil fertility.

Ratha Muon, PhD student at UMR iEES Paris

In Cambodia, termite mounds are commonly found in rice fields, in the form of mounds of earth covered with trees and plants. Ratha Muon's thesis, “Termite bioturbation in Cambodia - From characterization to application”, reveals that farmers regard termite mounds as a valuable way of improving soil fertility. But the density of these termite mounds is decreasing due to the intensification of agricultural practices and the felling of forests. With her project “Ecological management of termite mounds for sustainable agriculture (Eco-Termite)”, the PhD student aims to develop sustainable solutions for preserving the fertility and biodiversity of these plots. Conducted at the Chrey Bak long-term observatory and the Institute of Technology of Cambodia (ITC), the study comprises three work modules:

• analysing the soil properties of a termite mound

• determining the optimum amount of termite mound soil to improve crop yields

• working with farmers to ensure sustainable use of termite mounds

This work is supported by the ITC's soil ecology laboratory in collaboration with the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) and the REASOL and ECOTERM projects.

Source : IRD