"A technique that introduces fungi to crop roots can make rice grow five times faster and potatoes require much less fertiliser, say researchers. Some fungi can cause disease in crops, but others, known as mychorrhizal fungi, have a mutually beneficial effect. The fungi extract nutrients, such as phosphate, from the soil around a plant, which the plant can then use. The fungi, in turn, receive sugars produced by the plant through photosynthesis.
Scientists at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, said research has shown that the fungi can have a major impact on yield in the acidic soils of tropical regions. "There, phosphate fertiliser gets bound to the soil which makes it difficult for crops to extract it without fungal help", said biologist Ian Sanders.
The team used traditional approaches to breed fungi (Glomus intraradices) and inoculated rice with them, aiding the exchange of nutrients between the fungi and the rice roots and leading to five-fold faster rice growth, the researchers reported. Trials also showed that the same amount of potato can be grown with less than one-third of the phosphate fertiliser normally applied."
Source: n.a. 2010. Yield Improvement: Good Fungi. Spore, The magazine for agricultural and rural development in ACP countries, http://spore.cta.int. No. 149, October-November 2010, p.10.
Scientists at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, said research has shown that the fungi can have a major impact on yield in the acidic soils of tropical regions. "There, phosphate fertiliser gets bound to the soil which makes it difficult for crops to extract it without fungal help", said biologist Ian Sanders.
The team used traditional approaches to breed fungi (Glomus intraradices) and inoculated rice with them, aiding the exchange of nutrients between the fungi and the rice roots and leading to five-fold faster rice growth, the researchers reported. Trials also showed that the same amount of potato can be grown with less than one-third of the phosphate fertiliser normally applied."
Source: n.a. 2010. Yield Improvement: Good Fungi. Spore, The magazine for agricultural and rural development in ACP countries, http://spore.cta.int. No. 149, October-November 2010, p.10.
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