Vienna, Austria
May 12, 2026
Banana varieties grow for mutation breeding research at the FAO/IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory, Seibersdorf, Austria. (Photo: A. Vargas Terrones/IAEA)
Plants provide 80% of the food we eat and produce 98% of the oxygen we breathe, yet up to 40% of crops are lost each year to pests and diseases, threatening global food security and increasing hunger worldwide.
Through the IAEA’s technical cooperation programme and the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture the IAEA and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) support countries in applying nuclear science to protect plants more effectively, sustainably and safely. From controlling insect pests to developing resilient crops, nuclear techniques are playing a growing role in safeguarding global food systems.
To mark the International Day of Plant Health, we look at five ways nuclear science is protecting our crops:
1. Controlling Insect Pests
Invasive and destructive insect pests can devastate crops and spread rapidly across borders. Globally, pests are responsible for a significant share of annual crop losses. Nuclear science offers an effective alternative to chemical pesticides through the sterile insect technique, which controls pest populations without harming people or the environment.
Scientists use radiation to sterilize insects, which are then released into the field to mate the wild. When they mate, no offspring are produced, causing pest populations to decline over time.
The technique has been used successfully against pests such as fruit flies, helping farmers safeguard harvests and reduce crop losses while limiting pesticide use. This also facilitates agricultural trade. For example, Dominican Republic was able to successfully eradicate a new incursion of the Mediterranean fruit fly, a destructive pest threatening agricultural production and trade with the support of the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre.
2. Developing Stronger Crops
Scientists in Jakarta evaluate rice varieties developed through mutation breeding using irradiation (Photo: M. Gaspar/IAEA).
Changing weather patterns, drought and disease are putting crops under pressure. Nuclear science helps researchers develop new plant varieties that can better withstand these challenges.
Through mutation breeding, radiation is used to speed up natural genetic variation, allowing scientists to identify useful traits more quickly. This has led to the development of crop varieties that are more resistant to disease, more tolerant of harsh conditions or better suited to local growing environments.
For example, nuclear techniques helped Liberia develop climate-resilient rice, strengthening capacity and food security.
These improved varieties can boost food production and support farmers facing increasingly unpredictable growing conditions.
3. Advancing early detection of plant diseases
IAEA fellows from Latin America attend a regional training course on mutation breeding and techniques to enhance resistance to banana Fusarium wilt (TR4), FAO/IAEA Plant Breeding and Genetics Laboratory, Seibersdorf, Austria. (Photo: D.Calma/IAEA)
Nuclear-enabled approaches integrated with high-throughput screening and sensor-based phenotyping tools, allow rapid evaluation of plant health and early detection of pests and diseases. These complementary approaches help ensure that biological solutions are applied where and when they are most effective.
Portable, rapid and low-cost, point-of-care diagnostics suitable for use at border inspection points and field sites are significantly improving response time and containment. These allow for rapid decision-making to prevent and control of transboundary pests and pathogens.
For example, the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre has carried out multiplex diagnostic assays for Fusarium wilt in banana, which have enabled simultaneous detection of multiple pathogen races in a single test. These technologies have undergone validation using field infected samples and reference panels from several Member States, demonstrating their reliability and potential for broader adoption.
4. Keeping Plants Healthy by Improving Soil and Water Management
Farmers in Namibia are using a nuclear-based irrigation approach that improves water-use efficiency and increases crop yields (Photo: J. Adu-Gyamfi/IAEA).
Healthy plants depend on healthy soils and the efficient use of water and nutrients. Through climate‑smart agriculture, nuclear science helps farmers and researchers better understand how crops absorb water and nutrients, enabling more precise, efficient and sustainable farming practices.
Using isotopic techniques, scientists can trace nutrients such as nitrogen in the soil and measure how much is taken up by plants. This information helps farmers apply fertilizers more efficiently, improving plant health while reducing costs and environmental footprint such as greenhouse gas emissions and water pollution. With support from the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, Asian farmers increased rice productivity by applying climate-smart agriculture practices.
The IAEA in cooperation with FAO supports countries in applying these techniques through training and technical guidance.
5. Making Food Safer and Easier to Trade
Healthy plants are essential for safe food and successful trade. Countries must meet strict standards to export crops, particularly when related to pest control and risk of contamination.
Nuclear and isotopic techniques help detect residues, track contaminants and verify that agricultural products meet specific requirements. This strengthens food safety systems and supports fair trade.
Through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre, countries have received specialized capacity building, including analytical equipment and training, to strengthen food safety testing and food authenticity using nuclear and related techniques. For example, the IAEA and FAO supported the University of Costa Rica to develop a database of stable isotopes, characterizing country’s Tarrazu coffee as a tool, to build the fingerprint traceability of coffee using nuclear and related methods. Through these techniques, researchers can trace the origin and verify the authenticity of coffee beans and other value chain products.
By improving testing skills and controlling food hazards, countries can reduce losses, strengthen food security, and access new markets, boosting both farmers’ incomes and consumer safety.
To help boost global food production and food security, the IAEA and FAO launched the Atoms4Food initiative in 2023 to expand the use of innovative nuclear techniques to enhance agricultural productivity, ensure food safety, reduce food losses and improve nutrition and the challenges of climate change.
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