Researchers demonstrate new technique for boosting plant growth with bacteria
Researchers have successfully demonstrated a technique for encapsulating bacteria, which can subsequently be preserved and applied to plants to promote their growth and protect them from pests and infections. The technique paves the way for a variety of crop applications that will enable farmers to use these beneficial bacteria in conjunction with agrochemicals.
North Carolina[US], March 17 (ANI): Researchers have successfully demonstrated a technique for encapsulating bacteria, which can subsequently be preserved and applied to plants to promote their growth and protect them from pests and infections. The technique paves the way for a variety of crop applications that will enable farmers to use these beneficial bacteria in conjunction with agrochemicals.
"Many of the beneficial bacteria we know of are fairly fragile, making it difficult to incorporate them into practical, shelf-stable products that can be applied to plant roots or leaves," says John Cheadle, co-lead author of a paper on the work and a Ph.D. student at North Carolina State University. "The technique we demonstrate here essentially stabilizes these bacteria, making it possible to develop customized probiotics for plants."
At issue are plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPBs), which are microbes that benefit plant health and growth, helping plants extract nutrients from the environment and protecting them from pests or pathogens.
"A longstanding challenge for making use of these bacteria has been that if you tried to come up with a single application that combined them with agrochemicals, like pesticides or fertilizers, the bacteria would die," says Saad Khan, co-corresponding author of the paper and INVISTA Professor of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at NC State. "We wanted to develop a solution that would allow bacteria to be used in conjunction with chemicals already in widespread use by growers."
"By the same token, a healthy plant microbiome allows the plants to make better use of nutrients available in the soil and more resistant to pathogens," says Tahira Pirzada, co-corresponding author and a research scholar at NC State. "This may allow growers to use less fertilizer and pesticides without hurting crop production."
The new technique revolves around a custom-made emulsion, with only a handful of ingredients. One part of the emulsion consists of a saline solution that contains PGPBs. For the proof-of-concept demonstration, the researchers used the bacteria Pseudomonas simiae and Azospirillum brasilense. P. simiae acts as a biopesticide by promoting pathogen resistance; A. brasilense acts as a biofertilizer by fixing nitrogen.
The second part of the emulsion consists of a biodegradable oil and a biodegradable polymer derived from cellulose. The polymer can be loaded with agrochemical active ingredients, which means the emulsion can incorporate these ingredients without relying on environmentally harmful organic solvents, which are typically used in pesticide formulations.
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