UK researchers finding ways to make crops more prolific

University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment researchers could be onto a big discovery, one that will help crops develop a valuable nutrient for growth, saving farmers from purchasing and applying it themselves.

Beans, peas and alfalfa, all legume family members, get vital nitrogen by forming a symbiotic, or mutually beneficial, relationship with soil bacteria called rhizobia. This connection leads to the growth of special organs on the roots called nodules. Nodules serve as “factories” where working bacteria convert nitrogen into ammonia the plant can use. However, because sometime the connections are not able to occur, many potential plant-bacterial symbioses don’t happen. Scientists believe that understanding more about the genes involved in the process will provide an opportunity to change them, helping bacteria collaborate with a wider spectrum of plants to produce nitrogen.

UK Department of Plant and Soil Science professor Hongyan Zhu is heading up a team that has found several plant genes that