USU researchers use microbes to create stress-resilient crops

Stress-resilient plants have the ability to overcome conditions like drought. These plants are believed to be able to do this through the use of microbes in the roots or soil. Discovering why these plants are resilient could lead to the ability to grow more reliable health food without the use of genetically modified plants.    

Amita Kaundal is a researcher and professor with a Ph.D. in life sciences at Utah State University who is conducting a research project concerning microbes in agriculture. Kaundal has a graduate student and an undergraduate student assisting her. The team works closely with native Utah plants and a number of fruit and vegetables such as watermelon, wheat and corn. 

Similarly to how gut microbes stabilize human bodies, plant microbes can be used to improve plant health. 

“In our lab, our main focus is the development of stress resilient crops. With climate change, there are so many incidences of drought and increased salinity,” Kaundal said. “Drought and salinity both are not good for crop production. They directly reduce the production and deteriorate the soil health.” 

Kaundal’s goal is to produce stress-resistant plants that can be used as an alternative to genetically modified crops, herbicides and pesticides. Her research is a start to producing healthy and nutritious foods that can grow in harsh conditions. 

“Our aim is to identify microbes, test them for production and growth, study crop growth and development to help them mitigate all these abiotic stresses or biotic stresses, and then release them as bio fertilizers for farmers to use to replace chemical fertilizers and also to mitigate the drought and salt stresses in crop production,” Kaundal said.

The research is performed both in the lab and out in the field after sample bacteria is grown for testing and isolated. The bacteria is then combined with soil and a test subject plant, which is carefully observed. For the greenhouse plants, they use soil strata for the field and emulate conditions the plant and bacteria would be facing outdoors.

“Basically what my job is, is to take the soil, dilute it and put it on these Petri dishes and then try to get as many of the bacteria and fungus that are present in that soil by themselves,” said Ty Wilson, the undergraduate researcher assisting Kaundal.

The research hasn’t been simple, especially with this year’s grasshopper infestation rampaging through fields and crops. The research team wants to keep their field as chemical-free as possible, so using a pesticide is completely out of the question. 

“With the large amount of grasshoppers and locusts we’ve had this year, this summer destroyed our wheat field, and it was lucky we had the opportunity to take some data before they actually came in,” Wilson said. “We’re not sure if the data is going to be good. We might just have to repeat the experiment next year, which will be unfortunate.” 

Despite the damage and potential setback the grasshoppers have caused this year, the team is committed to continuing their research to improve the planet’s health and discover a way to produce food in a more healthy and reliable way. 

“We are not only improving the plant health,” Kaundal said. “We are also improving soil health. That’s just motivating me to do it.”