The teacher-searchers

Plant Sciences and Agronomy Department

• Phytopathology
• Basic agronomy and discovery of cultivated species
• Agronomic innovation

My research work lies at the interface between agronomy and pythopathology. It aims to assess the effect of agroecological practices on biotic pressures and damage caused by pests in field crops. As a specialist in the growing of sunflower crops, I believe that the sustainability of this production system depends on the implementation of innovative agronomic practices. Planting Multi-Service Cover Crops (MSCCs) before sunflowers can be an effective way of agroecologically redesigning these systems and improving crop productivity.

In addition to benefits against erosion, soil enrichment and structuring, and their effects on biodiversity, MSCCs can contribute to crop protection thanks to their potential biocidal effect by allelopathy and/or biofumigation against telluric pests. My research uses experiments in the laboratory and in experimental and agricultural plots to evaluate the ecosystem services provided by planting Brassicaceae MSCCs alone or combined with a legume prior to a sunflower crop, with a focus on the regulation of Verticillium dahliae (a telluric pathogenic fungus) and Orobanche cumana (a parasitic plant). The possible disservices caused by the introduction of MSCCs and the practice of biofumigation on microbial communities of agronomic interest present in the soil are also examined.

Identifiers:

ORCID: 0000-0003-0937-3455
IDHAL: celia-seassau

Head of the “Support, Consulting and Innovation in Agriculture” DA (specific area of interest) (fifth year)

PhD in Agrosystems, Ecosystems and the Environment, specializing in phytopathology, from the University of Toulouse, Institut National Polytechnique de Toulouse

2006–2010: Thesis at Joint Research Unit UMR AGIR AGIR (Agroecology, Innovations and Ruralities) – INRAE (National Agricultural, Food and Environment Research Institute), Toulouse, on the etiology of early desiccation syndrome in sunflowers: involvement of Phoma macdonaldii and interaction with crop management.

• Wojciechowski A., Seassau C., Soerensen L., Alletto L., Lamichhane J-R., 2023. Effects of cover crops on maize establishment, root mycorrhizal colonization, plant growth and grain yield depend on their botanical family: A global meta-analysis. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment 356, 108648. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2023.108648.
• Célia Seassau, Stéphane Muños, Mireille Chabaud, Neïla Ait Kaci Ahmed (2022). Biocontrol liquid product, process of obtention and uses thereof (European patent no. FR 22306493.2). INPI (National Institute of Industrial Property).
• Ait Kaci Ahmed, N., Galaup, B., Desplanques, J., Dechamp-Guillaume, G., Seassau, C., 2022. Ecosystem Services Provided by Cover Crops and Biofumigation in Sunflower Cultivation. Agronomy 12(1), 120. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12010120.
• Ait-Kaci Ahmed N, Dechamp-Guillaume G, Seassau C., 2020. Biofumigation to protect oilseed crops: focus on management of soilborne fungi of sunflowers. OCL 27(59). https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2020052.
• Debaeke P., Bret-Mestries E., Aubertot J.N., Casadebaig P., Champolivier L., Dejoux J.F, Maury P., Seassau C., 2020. Sunflower agronomy: 10 years of research in partnership within the “Sunflower” Joint Technological Unit (UMT) in Toulouse. OCL 27(14). https://doi.org/10.1051/ocl/2020006
• Debaeke P., Bedoussac L., Bonnet C., Bret-Mestries E., Seassau C., Gavaland A., Raffaillac D., Tribouillois H., Véricel G., Justes E., 2017. Sunflower crop: environmentally-friendly and agroecological. OCL 24(3), D304.
• Seassau C., Dechamp-Guillaume G., Mestries E., Debaeke P., 2012. Low plant density can reduce sunflower premature ripening caused by Phoma macdonaldii. Europ. J. Agronomy 43, 185–193.
• Lafarge T., Seassau C., Martin M., Bueno C., Clément-Vidal A., Schreck E., Luquet D., 2010. Regulation and recovery of sink strength in rice plants grown under changes in light intensity. Functional Plant Biology 37(5), 413–428.
• Seassau C., Dechamp-Guillaume G., Mestries E., Debaeke P. 2010. Nitrogen and water management can limit premature ripening of sunflower induced by Phoma macdonaldii. Field Crops Res. 115, 99–106.
• Seassau C., Debaeke P., Mestries E., Dechamp-Guillaume G., 2010. Evaluation of inoculation methods to reproduce sunflower premature ripening caused by Phoma macdonaldii. Plant Dis. 94(12), 1398–1404. ⟨10.1094/PDIS-03-10-0180⟩.
• Seassau C., Mestries E., Debaeke P., Dechamp-Guillaume G., 2010. Sunflower phoma and early desiccation: update on research advances. OCL 17(3), 157–160.

UMR 1248 AGIR (Agroecology, Innovations and Ruralities) – INRAE (National Agricultural, Food and Environment Research Institute)‍Toulouse