Human activity has affected every part of the biosphere – the soil is no exception. Agricultural and industrial practices have deteriorated soil health, impacting ecosystem function as well as food security. For the past two years, I have been working with the e-Seed Start-up to develop an innovative technique called endophytic inoculation, which uses naturally occurring endophytes (microorganisms that live in plant tissues) to improve plants’ resistance to stresses. Endophytic inoculation has a broad range of application, from maintaining and stimulating soil health to improving crop production and reducing the need for pesticides. In our most recent paper, we explored the possibility of using endophytes to enhance plants’ resistance to heavy metal-contaminated soil, paving the way for using endophytic inoculation to help detoxify soils polluted with heavy metals.
Cover image credit: http://modernfarmer.com/2014/04/microbes-will-feed-world-real-farmers-grow-soil-crops/
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