In Wisconsin, researchers at University of Wisconsin–Madison are engineering beneficial bacteria and breeding more-resilient crops with the aim to minimize farmers’ reliance on synthetic fertilizers, increase their cost savings and help protect the environment.
The research has support from the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Science Foundation.
“We work to make cereal and legume crops like corn, sorghum and soybeans more effective and resilient to environmental stressors like heat, drought and salinity. We do that by studying the associations between crops and beneficial microbes, like bacteria or fungi, so we can strengthen those symbiotic associations. These beneficial microbes, which we sometimes call biofertilizers, can provide nutrients and water for crops,” said Jean-Michel Ané, a professor of bacteriology, plant and agroecosystem sciences in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.
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Category: Food & Agriculture
