Spraying fungicides on wheat may be (partly) replaced by spraying endocytes, or by coating seeds with these natuarlly occurring organisms.
of pressures – specifically fluctuating environ- mental conditions and the sheer volume of more competitive, already-naturalised mi- crobes present in the soil. “If we spray directly onto the plant, we do see more success.” Raizada adds that insufficient storage during transportation and on the farm are an even greater barrier. As with some other biologi- cals, improper storage commonly means growers are applying dead or low-activity products.
Looking for solutions Raizada says the ideal solution to both issues would be improved seed formulations – that is, something that better protects the endo- phytes in storage and from being outcompet- ed in the soil. “If there’s some formulation that lets the microbes to be coated on the seed and that can tolerate poor storage, that would
be the best solution.” The physical cost of en- dophytes, too, should not be prohibitive for farmers. “Theoretically, the microbe itself is
Not as conclusive
Apart from the greenhouse tests mentioned in the main article, three additional field tri- als were conducted over two years. The re- sults were not as positive – year to year varia- bility in the corn crop itself was a problem, as was inherently low fusarium pressure in the wheat plots – but Guelph professor Raizada reiterates these and other variability prob- lems are typical of in-field microbial studies. The most important revelation, he says, is how effective these microbes can be. Indeed, replicated field trials with corn showed three bacterial endophytes hold promise, with one
very inexpensive. We haven’t worked out the exact cost, but Its certainly competitive with fungicides,” Raizada says.
The M6 strain of endophyte, labelled with green florescent protein. It co-exists with the corn or wheat plants.
strain in particular reducing (DON) mycotoxin accumulation by up to 65%.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 22 May 2020 23
PHOTO: UNIVERSITY OF GUELPH
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
