These tiny soil microbes could rescue crops from salty farmland
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Researchers have uncovered an unexpected natural ally that could help farmers tackle one of agriculture's fastest growing challenges: salty soil.
A team including scientists from the University of East Anglia (UEA), led by Chinese researcher Dr. Yanfen Zheng, found that naturally occurring soil bacteria can significantly improve plants' ability to survive in saline conditions. The study also uncovered a previously unknown way these microbes protect crops such as maize, tomato, and rapeseed from salt stress.
The discovery could eventually help farmers grow food on land that has become too salty for conventional agriculture. Salt buildup in farmland is becoming an increasingly serious problem because of climate change, irrigation practices, and rising sea levels. As salt accumulates in soil, it stunts plant growth, damages roots, and can sharply reduce crop yields.
Prof Jonathan Todd, from UEA's School of Biological Sciences and the Quadram Institute on the Norwich Research Park, said: "The build-up of salt in farmland is a major and worsening problem -- driven by climate change, irrigation and rising sea levels. "Salt chokes plant growth, damages roots and severely impact entire harvests -- putting global food supplies at risk. "We know that plants rely on communities of microbes around their roots, called the root microbiome, to help them cope with environmental stress.
But exactly how these relationships work, and whether they are consistent across crops and soils, has remained largely unclear. "We found that plants appear to recruit beneficial bacteria in salty soil conditions, which in turn trigger internal changes that strengthen their physical structure and resilience. "If scientists can harness this natural process, it could mark the beginning of a new era in climate-resilient agriculture."
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