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Introduction
Saman Seneweera is a dedicated researcher focused on studying the impact of climate stress on the physiological processes of crops, with the ultimate goal of enhancing their yield potential. He employs a diverse range of techniques, including genetics, proteomics, metabolomics, and ionomics tools, to identify novel physiological traits that can contribute to crop improvement. Moreover, he utilizes cutting-edge breeding technologies to enhance crop quality.
Additional affiliations
May 2018 - May 2021
January 2013 - April 2017
January 2017 - January 2017
Education
January 1991 - January 1994
Publications
Publications (259)
Dietary deficiencies of zinc and iron are a substantial global public health problem. An estimated two billion people suffer these deficiencies, causing a loss of 63 million life-years annually. Most of these people depend on C3 grains and legumes as their primary dietary source of zinc and iron. Here we report that C3 grains and legumes have lower...
Though rice is the predominant source of energy and micronutrients for more than half of the world population, it does not provide enough zinc (Zn) to match human nutritional requirements. Moreover, climate change, particularly rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, reduces the grain Zn concentration. Therefore, rice biofortification has...
The present paper reviews current knowledge on how changes of plant metabolism under elevated CO2 concentrations (e[CO2]) can affect the development of the glyphosate resistance of C3 and C4 weeds. Among the chemical herbicides, glyphosate, which is a non-selective and post-emergence herbicide, is currently the most widely used herbicide in global...
Phytic acid (PA) is the primary phosphorus (P) storage compound in the seeds of cereals and legumes. Low PA crops, which are considered an effective way to improve grain nutrient availability and combat environmental issues relating to seed P have been developed using mutational and reverse genetics approaches. Here, we identify molecular mechanism...
Context:
Scopolin and scopoletin belong to the class of coumarins and have experimentally proven natural antioxidants. Natural antioxidants are crucial in mitigating the impact of oxidants in the human body through radical scavenging. Even though scopolin and scopoletin are proven antioxidants by experimental results, their antioxidant mechanisms...
Many Asian elephant populations inhabit fragmented human‐dominated landscapes. Human–elephant conflict (HEC) has intensified in such regions, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of people and elephants each year. Controversy between stakeholders then arises as people debate the merits of HEC mitigation approaches, stifling progress. We conducted a...
This research describe about usage of Vegetative Indices for Coconut cultivation.
Aversive geofencing devices (AGDs) or animal-borne satellite-linked shock collars might become a useful tool to mitigate human-elephant conflict (HEC). AGDs have the potential to condition problem elephants to avoid human-dominated landscapes by associating mild electric shocks with preceding audio warnings given as they approach virtual boundaries...
Agricultural production systems are facing major challenges as a result of rapid urbanization and extreme climate events. There are various accessible gears in current science to circumvent these limitations. Advanced nanotechnology can be used for achieving food security while improving soil fertility, crop productivity, and maintaining the sustai...
Animal-borne aversive geofencing devices (AGDs, or satellite-linked shock collars) are commercially available and used on livestock to restrict their movement within a virtual boundary. This technology has potential application as a human-wildlife conflict mitigation tool, where problem animals might be conditioned to avoid human-dominated habitats...
Rice (Oryza sativa L.) has inherently low concentrations of nitrogen (N) and zinc (Zn), and those concentrations are falling as the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ([CO2]) increases, threatening the quality of human diets. We investigated the effect of two levels of Zn supply (marginal and luxury), on Zn and N concentrations in whole gr...
Aversive Geofencing Devices (AGDs) are designed to emit audible warning signals followed by electric shocks when animals reach virtual fences (VFs) with the intent that animals will learn to turn away at audio warnings and thereby avoid receiving shocks. AGDs are a potentially useful tool for mitigating human-elephant conflict, but a greater unders...
Asian elephants are a principal cause of human-wildlife conflict. This results in the death/injury of elephants and humans and large-scale crop and property damage. Most current human-elephant conflict (HEC) mitigation tools lack the flexibility to accommodate the ecological needs of elephants and are ineffective at reducing HEC in the long-term. H...
Predictions for wheat grown under future climate conditions indicate a decline in grain protein concentration accompanied with an increase in yield due to increasing carbon dioxide concentrations. Currently, there is a lack of understanding as to the complete mechanism that governs the response of grain protein concentration (GPC) to elevated carbo...
Zinc (Zn) is an important micronutrient in the human body, and health complications associated with insufficient dietary intake of Zn can be overcome by increasing the bioavailable concentrations in edible parts of crops (biofortification). Wheat (Triticum aestivum L) is the most consumed cereal crop in the world; therefore, it is an excellent targ...
Photosynthesis in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) pericarps may contribute appreciably to wheat grain yield. Consequently, we investigated the temporal variation of traits related to photosynthesis and sucrose metabolism in the pericarps and flag leaves of three wheat genotypes, Huandoy, Amurskaja 75 and Greece 25, which are reported to differ in expr...
There are four main waste products produced during the harvesting and milling process of sugarcane: cane trash, molasses, bagasse and mill mud-boiler ash mixture. This study investigates the value proposition of different techniques currently not being adopted by the industry in the utilisation of these wastes. The study addresses the technical cha...
Angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) is the driving force of the protective arm of the renin angiotensin system (RAS). ACE2 plays an unequivocal role in counterbalancing the deleterious effects of the classical RAS comprising ACE. A protective role for ACE2 in antagonising tissue injury and fibrosis has been well characterised in mouse models of...
https://jnsfsl.sljol.info/articles/abstract/9776/
This book contains 29 chapters focusing on wheat, maize and sorghum molecular breeding. It aims to contribute the latest understandings of the molecular and genetic bases of abiotic stress tolerance, yield and quality improvement of wheat, maize and sorghum to develop strategies for improving abiotic stress tolerance that will lead to enhance produ...
This book contains 29 chapters focusing on wheat, maize and sorghum molecular breeding. It aims to contribute the latest understandings of the molecular and genetic bases of abiotic stress tolerance, yield and quality improvement of wheat, maize and sorghum to develop strategies for improving abiotic stress tolerance that will lead to enhance produ...
Production of rice grains at non-toxic levels of arsenic (As) to meet the demands of an ever-increasing population is a global challenge. There is currently a lack of investigation into integrated approaches for decreasing As levels in rice agro-ecosystems. By examining the integrated iron-modified rice hull biochar (Fe-RBC) and water management ap...
Global food security is threatened by increasing population growth and the adverse effects of climate change. Of all the cereals, rice is the third‐most‐important, being the primary carbohydrate source for more than 2 billion people. To sustain future demand, rice production must increase by at least 60% by 2050. A dramatic improvement in the yield...
The health risks associated with ingestion of arsenic (As) via consumption of rice are a global concern. This study investigated the effects of integrated biochar (BC)-water management approaches to As stress and to associated health risks in rice. Rice cultivars, Jayanthi and Ishikari, were grown, irrigated with As-containing water (1 mg L⁻¹), und...
Arsenic (As) is a class one human chronic carcinogen and also not an essential element to plant growth and development. More importantly, the bioavailability of As and its consequent accumulation in rice grains could increase under flooded conditions. A poly-tunnel experiment was carried out to investigate the effect of As in soil on plant physiolo...
Carbon dioxide concentration [CO2] in the atmosphere has been progressively rising from approximately 280 μmol/mol during the pre-industrial era to a current average of approximately 410 μmol/mol and is predicted to increase by up to 500 – 1000 μmol/mol by the year 2100. Elevated atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) causes warmer temperatures and more frequent d...
Arsenic (As) in rice agroecosystems causes a loss of both rice yield and quality of rice grains. In this study, an integrated approach of biochar (BC) and alternative water management is proposed to reduce As content while sustaining essential elemental concentrations in rice. The rice cultivar, Jayanthi, was grown, irrigated with 1 mg L − 1 of As-...
This article addresses particle size reduction technologies currently available and their potential application in bioenergy production from waste biomass. It is believed the reduction of the particle size of biomass wastes to nano-scale will have a significant impact on the quality, quantity, and price of biofuels. Currently, these technologies ha...
Pratylenchus thornei is an economically damaging root-lesion nematode that has a world wide distribution. It is one of the major threats for wheat production in Australia and is particularly damaging in the northern grain region of the country. This nematode causes damage to root cells causing nutrient deficiency and water stress, which results in...
Main conclusion
Site-specific changes of photosynthesis, a relatively new concept, can be used to improve the productivity of critical food crops to mitigate the foreseen food crisis.
Abstract
Global food security is threatened by an increasing population and the effects of climate change. Large yield improvements were achieved in major cereal cro...
An Amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.
Human exposure to As through rice consumption is a worldwide health concern. There is an urgent need to either remediate As contaminated paddy soils, or to screen for low As accumulating rice varieties, thereby limiting the build up of As in their grains. This review presents a number of agronomic, physico-chemical, and biological approaches that m...
Abstract The increasing [CO2] in the atmosphere increases crop productivity. However, grain quality of cereals and pulses are substantially decreased and consequently compromise human health. Meta‐analysis techniques were employed to investigate the effect of elevated [CO2] (e[CO2]) on protein, zinc (Zn), and iron (Fe) concentrations of major food...
The response of wheat to elevated carbon dioxide concentration (e[CO2]) is likely to be dependent on nitrogen supply. To investigate the underlying mechanism of growth response to e[CO2], two wheat cultivars were grown under different carbon dioxide concentration [CO2] in a chamber experimental facility. The changes in leaf photosynthesis, C and N...
The response of wheat to elevated carbon dioxide concentration (e[CO2]) is likely to be dependent on nitrogen supply. To investigate the underlying mechanism of growth response to e[CO2], two wheat cultivars were grown under different carbon dioxide concentration [CO2] in a chamber experimental facility. The changes in leaf photosynthesis, C and N...
Foxtail millet (Setaria italica) is a nutrient-rich food source traditionally grown in arid and semi-arid areas, as it is well adapted to drought climate. Yet there is limited information as how the crop responses to the changing climate. In order to investigate the response of foxtail millet to elevated [CO2] and the underlying mechanism, the crop...
BACKGROUND
The strawberry cultivars ‘Albion’ and ‘San Andreas’ (‘SA’) were grown under various combinations of day temperature (25 and 30 °C) and carbon dioxide [CO2] (400, 650 and 950 μmol mol⁻¹) conditions. The influence of different growth combinations on the polyphenol, flavonoid, anthocyanin, antioxidant, and individual phenolic compound conte...
Human exposure to arsenic (As) through the consumption of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a worldwide health concern. In this paper, we evaluated the major causes for high inorganic As levels in cooked rice foods, and the potential of post-harvesting and cooking options for decreasing inorganic As content in cooked rice, focusing particularly on As endem...
Human exposure to arsenic (As) through the consumption of rice (Oryza sativa L.) is a worldwide health concern. In this paper, we evaluated the major causes for high inorganic As levels in cooked rice foods, and the potential of post-harvesting and cooking options for decreasing inorganic As content in cooked rice, focusing particularly on As endem...
Photoperiod and temperature are two important environmental factors affecting vegetative growth and yield of rice. The varietal diversity based on the response to temperature and photoperiod during vegetative growth was determined in a core collection of 40 Sri Lankan traditional rice accessions (SLTRA) and 2 improved and 2 wild rice types in terms...
The global energy demand continues to grow while the available fossil fuel resources are limited. Usage of fossil fuels results in a net increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, leading to global warming. Second-generation biofuel production from lignocellulosic biomass is a promising alternative. Sugarcane bagasse is the most abundant lignoce...
The expected rise in [CO2] concentration from 400 to 550 μmol mol⁻¹ by the middle of this century will have a significant impact on crop productivity and quality. For C3 plant species, photosynthesis, biomass, and yield will be substantially increased at elevated CO2 levels, whereas only a small increase will be observed for C4 plants. For both C4...
Improving the micronutrient content and reducing the phytic acid (PA) in major staple food crops through plant breeding techniques are considered sustainable strategies to increase micronutrient bioavailability. This study documents the variation in PA and zinc (Zn) contents within the natural genetic variation of rice using the World Rice Core col...
Results Objectives • Develop an understanding of how photosynthesis of different functional group response to e[CO 2 ]. • Understanding different abiotic factors (temperature, drought, and nitrogen) associated with the photosynthetic response to e[CO 2 ]. • Understanding how photosynthetic acclimation to e[CO 2 ] is associated with leaf nitrogen.
The determination of the necessary storage volume of rainwater harvesting systems (RHS) for a reliable water supplies for households is not a trivial task. In most areas, rainfall is seasonal, intermittent and highly variable throughout the year and dry periods could linger for a few weeks or months. In contrast, household water demand is relativel...
Increase in atmospheric CO2 concentration [CO2 ] and ambient temperature associated with changing climatic conditions will have significant impacts on agriculture crop productivity and quality. Independent effects of the above two environmental variables on the growth, yield and quality of strawberry were well documented. Higher temperatures over t...
Declines of protein and minerals essential for humans, including iron and zinc, have been reported for crops in response to rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, [CO2]. For the current century, estimates of the potential human health impact of these declines range from 138 million to 1.4 billion, depending on the nutrient. However, chang...
Thiolated arsenic compounds are the sulfur analogous substructures of oxo-arsenicals as the arsinoyl (As = O) is substituted by an arsinothioyl (As = S) group. Relatively brief history of thioarsenic research, mostly in the current decade has endeavored to understand their consequences in the natural environment. However, thioarsenic related aspect...
Micronutrients play a pivotal role in the growth, development, and function in humans and plants. Despite their beneficial effects, micronutrient deficiencies pose serious threats to crop yield and nutritional quality, which, in turn cause deleterious effects on the health and well-being of humans. Many staples are inherently poor sources of micron...
Rice is the main staple carbohydrate source for billions of people worldwide. Natural geogenic and anthropogenic sources has led to high arsenic (As) concentrations in rice grains. This is because As is highly bioavailable to rice roots under conditions in which rice is cultivated. A multifaceted and interdisciplinary understanding, both of short-t...
The negative effects of climate change on crop and animal production are evident across the world, slowing agricultural growth rates and declining the production rate. The grain and grass quality are also observed to decline under climate change, as are important concentrations of proteins and most essential nutrients such as zinc and iron. It is f...
Expected rising CO2 concentration from 390 to 550 L CO2 L-1 by middle of this century will have significant impact on crop productivity and quality. For C3 species, photosynthesis, biomass, and yield was substantially increased at elevated CO2, but little increase observed in C4. For both C4 and C3 species, stomatal conductance was significantly r...
Myo-inositol hexaphosphate, also known as phytic acid (PA), is the most abundant storage form of phosphorus in seeds. PA acts as a strong chelator of metal cations to form phytate and is considered an anti-nutrient as it reduces the bioavailability of important micronutrients. Although the major nutrient source for more than one-half of the global...
Annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.), a troublesome weed in winter cropping systems is likely to increase competitiveness with major crops under climate change. To test this hypothesis, we grew wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv. Yitpi) and annual ryegrass to measure the level of competition and competition-mediated plant defence responses. The exper...
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) is one of the major sources of food in the world. Production of wheat is under threat due to the migratory, root-lesion nematode Pratylenchus thornei, particularly in the northern grain region of Australia. P. thornei causes nutrient deficiency and water stress in wheat, which results in 38 million dollars’ economic loss p...
Plant growth and development are affected by various abiotic stresses like drought, submergence, salinity and high and low temperature. These abiotic stresses cause average yield losses of greater than 50% in a majority of crop plants. Food production needs to be doubled by 2050 to meet the growing demands of an increasing global population. Signif...
Wheat is one of the three major grains in the world and the staple diet because of nutritive value, handiness in
processing and cultivation. Among wheat, durum and bread wheat are widely cultivated in the world. In the
development and growth of wheat, it is unclear about the effect of high CO2 condition on wheat, and there
are concerns about the ef...
Plant responses to atmospheric carbon dioxide will be of great concern in the future, as carbon dioxide concentrations ([CO2]) are predicted to continue to rise. Elevated [CO2] causes increased photosynthesis in plants, which leads to greater production of carbohydrates and biomass. Which organ the extra carbohydrates are allocated to varies betwee...
The increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) has a profound effect on growth and yield of C3 crops. Increased photosynthetic rate, together with lower stomatal conductance, have been identified as the key factors that promote plant growth at elevated [CO2]. However, growth response to elevated [CO2] could not be completely expla...
The rapid growth of the global population brings with it increasing demands on food production. In the coming decades the atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentration is predicted to increase, which will affect global food production both positively and negatively. Wheat, one of the world’s most produced and consumed crops, produces a greater yie...