A group of BYU researchers may have found a way to reverse falling crop yields caused by increasingly salty farmlands throughout the world.
Led by Brent Nielsen, professor of microbiology and molecular biology, the BYU scientists have used bacteria found in the roots of salt-tolerant plants to successfully inoculate alfalfa plants against overly salty soil.
“We take the roots of these salt-tolerant plants (called halophytes), grind them up and grow the bacteria in a petri dish in the lab,” Nielsen said. “Doing this, we isolated over 40 different bacteria isolates, some of which can tolerate ocean-level salt content.”
The team then applied the bacteria isolates to alfalfa seeds through a solution and tested the alfalfa’s ability to grow in high-saline conditions. They saw significant growth of the alfalfa both in their lab and in greenhouse experiments carried out by collaborators at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Virginia.
The study identifies two specific bacteria isolates — Halomonas and Bacillus — that worked to stimulate plant growth in the presence of 1 percent sodium chloride (salt), a level that significantly inhibits growth of uninoculated plants. This discovery is significant since soils throughout areas of China, Australia and the Middle East have grown increasingly salty, as well as major farmland in the southwest United States.
“As an area of land is repeatedly used for farming, the salinity rises; the irrigation water has salt in it and when it evaporates or is taken up by the plants, the salt is left behind,” said student Caitlyn McNary, one of six BYU undergraduate co-authors on the paper. “With what we’ve found, lands that are now unable to sustain plant life due to high salinity could once again be used for crops.”
In addition to the work on alfalfa, America’s No. 4 crop, the research team has already started to conduct lab and greenhouse experiments on rice, green beans and lettuce. The next step is to carry out field trials on the inoculated crops.
The lab work for the research, recently published online in Frontiers in Microbiology, was carried out primarily by six BYU undergraduate students: McNary and fellow first author Jennifer Kearl, Emily Colton, Steven Smith, Jason West and Michelle Hamson. While McNary and Colton will be back at BYU this fall, others are heading off to dental school, medical school and law school. BYU Plant and Wildlife professor Zachary Aanderud also served as a study co-author.
“We’ve long wondered if increasingly salty land was just a losing battle or if there was something we could do about it,” Nielsen said. “Now we have shown there is something we can do about it.”
Learn more: BYU scientists discover way to make crops grow in salt-damaged soil
The Latest on: Salt-tolerant plants
[google_news title=”” keyword=”salt-tolerant plants” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
via Google News
The Latest on: Salt-tolerant plants
- 19 Colorful Varieties Of Veronica Flowers You Can Plant To Attract Hummingbirdson May 11, 2024 at 11:30 am
Veronica flowers are beautiful blooms that draw in hummingbirds and all sorts of pollinators, and you can find a variety that suits your garden.
- Looking for a low-maintenance native plant that attracts butterflies? Try the coontie.on May 11, 2024 at 2:06 am
The coontie is native to the Florida peninsula where its natural habitat has well-drained soil dominated by pine trees. It is hardy from zones 8B through 11 and can survive winter temperatures as low ...
- What a shrinking sea might teach us on life after environmental disasteron May 6, 2024 at 10:18 am
Sixty years ago, the Aral Sea began drying up, leaving salty, barren soil in its wake. Lessons learned here will help other parts of the world experiencing climate change.
- Alfalfa is not Arizona's water-use enemy. Why we grow so much of it hereon April 24, 2024 at 6:16 am
Opinion: Some argue that growing alfalfa in Arizona is a waste of water. But this crop uses less water than many others and provides many benefits.
- Twisted pollen tubes induce infertility in plants with multiple sets of chromosomeson April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Plants with multiple genomes adapt better to the environment and are salt-tolerant or drought-resistant. In addition, they often produce larger seeds or fruits and result in greater yields ...
- Twisted pollen tubes induce infertilityon April 15, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Plants with multiple sets of chromosomes, known as polyploids, are salt-tolerant or drought-resistant and often achieve higher yields. However, newly formed polyploid plants are often sterile or ...
- Genetic underpinnings of environmental stress identified in model planton April 10, 2024 at 5:00 pm
Bono noted that some genes regulated by salt, dehydration and osmotic ... to the discovery of novel stress tolerance mechanisms and pathways in plants. We will continue to develop methods and ...
- 8 Plants To Avoid Adding Epsom Salt Toon December 9, 2023 at 11:09 pm
Epsom salt for plants can also cause the soil to be overly moist, and sage doesn't tolerate this well because it's drought-tolerant. This plant originated in South America, in the Andes. They thrive ...
- Salt Impacted Agricultural Landson February 28, 2023 at 3:59 pm
UD Cooperative Extension, in collaboration with other partners, is investigating an alternative salt tolerant crop that may be able to sustain the productivity of these impacted lands. Seashore mallow ...
- RESURRECTION PLANTSon April 18, 2020 at 10:17 pm
Another promising line of research has been the discovery that this teff-related plant is also very tolerant of salt. This is a very important finding. Increased salinity in groundwater due to ...
via Bing News