This project provides partial support for a U.S. delegation to attend an international congress on plant physiology to be followed by an Indo-U.S. Workshop on the application of biotechnology to problems of crop stress. The congress includes four symposium topics: physiological basis of crop yield, environmental stress, nutritional stress, and preharvest and post harvest physiology and biochemistry. The workshop's aim is to focus cooperative projects on overcoming physiological constraints to crop productivity, especially those that are related to cold climate, arid lands or under saline conditions. Scope: The U.S. participants in the Congress, of whom 13 are to be supported under this project, are well known scientists in the specific areas of the conference, namely plant physiology, crop production and biotechnology. Other speakers will come from Canada, Australia as will as India. Indian plant scientists and biotechnologists have accomplished major successes in improving their agricultural output, but there is still great interest in India in combating the devastating effects of droughts, and in expanding farming to marginal land and adverse weather conditions. The same applies to certain region in the U.S. as well as in many developing countries. The congress and the workshop will provide a forum for the exchange of information and highlight specific research areas likely to produce significant applicable results. There is strong likelihood of increased research collaboration as a result of these meetings.
