The 6th International Multidisciplinary Conference for Young Researchers (MCYR), hosted on 9–10 October 2025 by the BioResources and Technology Division (BRT) at the Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences (FTZ), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CZU), brought together emerging scientists from across the globe for two days of exchange, collaboration, and interdisciplinary insight. Centered on the theme “Science and Innovation: Advancing the Path to a Sustainable Future,” the conference provided a space for early-career researchers to present their work and reflect on how scientific innovation can create real-world impact.

 Within this vibrant setting, the MCYR 2025 Storytelling Competition – “Your Research, Your Story” invited participants to reimagine their abstracts as compelling narratives linked to one of four European research projects: OSIRIS, COMUNIDAD, BIO-CAPITAL, and AgriSci-UA.

 

In the category AgriSci-UA: Applied Agri-Tech Innovation and Pre-Commercial Research, Pavla Přinosilová from the Institute of Genetics and Plant Breeding in Lednice, Faculty of Horticulture, Mendel University in Brno was recognised for her engaging submission, “Growing olives in a glass jar – heroism or madness?” Her story offers a creative, reflective look into early-stage agri-tech experimentation and the curiosity-driven research that fuels agricultural innovation. The winning narrative captures the essence of AgriSci-UA by highlighting how hands-on trials, unconventional thinking, and scientific exploration can shape the future of sustainable food production.

 

 

Olives. You either love them, or hate them. I’m the exception — I can’t quite enjoy their taste (yet), but my life is surrounded by hundreds of olive trees growing in glass jars. Why do I do it?

During my master’s studies, I took a course on plant tissue culture, where I first saw how tiny pieces of plants can turn into new life under sterile conditions. Later, a visit to a tissue culture lab in Czechia convinced me that this was what I wanted to do. Today, I am conducting my research in that very same lab, allowing me to see firsthand whether these approaches work in practice and to observe the results grow from tiny stems into healthy shoots.

However, as you can imagine, olive trees grow very slowly and can live for hundreds of years. But what happens when there’s a growing demand for new trees, especially for cultivars that produce exceptional olive oil and can withstand drought? Everyone in the Mediterranean region wants them, but the supply is limited.

That’s where in vitro micropropagation comes in, a technique that allows us to grow new plants from small pieces of tissue, under sterile and carefully controlled conditions. In a small, sterile jar, just a few millimeters of olive stem can grow into a whole new tree.

In agriculture, this method means more than just science; it offers a way to preserve valuable cultivars and produce healthy, uniform plants faster than traditional propagation methods. For species like olives, which are notoriously slow and difficult to multiply, micropropagation could help meet the growing global demand while maintaining genetic diversity and quality.

However, it’s not as simple as it sounds. Olive trees are surprisingly stubborn; each cultivar reacts differently to the nutrients and hormones used in the growth medium. What works perfectly for one cultivar may completely fail for another. And while the plant hormone zeatin helps shoots multiply, it’s also one of the most expensive ingredients in the process, making large-scale production less sustainable.

This challenge made me wonder, could there be a way to make olive micropropagation more efficient and sustainable? Some researchers have tried adding natural supplements such as neem oil or coconut water to the culture medium, but what fascinated me most were nanoparticles. They are incredibly small, a thousand times thinner than a human hair, yet they can have a remarkable effect on how plants grow and respond to stress.

In my research, I work with two types of nanoparticles: silicon dioxide (SiO2NPs) and copper oxide (CuONPs). Silicon helps plants strengthen their structure and tolerate environmental stress, while copper plays a key role in photosynthesis and has antifungal properties that can reduce contamination, one of the biggest challenges in micropropagation. By adding these nanoparticles in precise concentrations, I aim to find out whether olive shoots can grow just as well — or even better — with lower amounts of zeatin.

To put this idea to the test, I focus on two prized olive cultivars: 'Galega vulgar' and 'Frantoio'. I cultured segments of their stems on a specially designed growth medium, adjusting both the amount of zeatin and the concentration of silicon and copper nanoparticles. Over three cycles of multiplication, I observed how the shoots responded.

For 'Galega vulgar', the best growth happened when I combined higher levels of silicon nanoparticles with moderate zeatin, while a small amount of copper nanoparticles also helped. In some cases, the shoots grew just as well as the controls, but with less zeatin. For 'Frantoio', similar patterns appeared: certain combinations of copper or silicon nanoparticles allowed the shoots to multiply almost as effectively as the standard high-zeatin treatment. Even at reduced hormone levels, the shoots maintained healthy growth, demonstrating that nanoparticles can support olive propagation while reducing costs.

 These preliminary results suggest that nanoparticles can help produce healthy, uniform plants more efficiently, contributing to a more sustainable propagation process. For nurseries and growers, this approach could make a tangible difference in producing valuable cultivars at scale.

For me, every shoot in a glass jar is a reminder of the challenges and potential of plant science. By testing new tools like silicon and copper nanoparticles, we are exploring ways to improve micropropagation methods and make olive cultivation more resilient. Applied innovations developed in the lab can have practical benefits in agriculture, helping to meet the demand for valuable cultivars while maintaining quality and diversity.

While I may still not enjoy the taste of olives, my work surrounds me with the small beginnings of future trees, a modest but concrete step toward understanding and supporting the plants that have been cultivated for centuries.