What is it about?
We searched the soil of the Negev desert for microbes that associate with native plants living and surviving in arid soils. We reasoned that these bacteria would be good inoculants for crops grown under stressful conditions.
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Why is it important?
Corn is an important crop worldwide. The use of fertilizers and pesticides over the last 50 years has led to soil degradation and environmental pollution. We looked for microbes to replace these synthetic amendments and that can restore the soil. We found one, which is described in this paper, that promotes corn growth in the field.
Perspectives
I am grateful to Dr. Drora Kaplan who worked with my lab on this project and gave me the opportunity to learn from her and from her experience with desert environments. We believe that improving soil health to improve plant health is the best strategy to pursue in our changing world.
Professor Ann M. Hirsch
University of California Los Angeles
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Inoculation With a Microbe Isolated From the Negev Desert Enhances Corn Growth, Frontiers in Microbiology, June 2020, Frontiers,
DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2020.01149.
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