Understanding Rhizobiome-Driven Plant Growth Promotion For Perennial And Annual Crops
Perennial plants like switchgrass and miscanthus are a crucial target for the sustainable development of biofuels. In addition to yielding large amounts of biomass that can be converted into biofuels and bioproducts, perennial crops offer a broad range of ecosystem services that support efforts to mitigate climate change, such as sequestering greenhouse gases and driving nutrient cycling in the soil.
Like all plants, perennials are home to a wide variety of microbes, and many of these microbes benefit their hosts. For example, some plant-associated microbes can increase the plant’s productivity and offer some protection against environmental stressors like heat and drought. Because of this, management of the plant microbiome is one tool proposed to promote crop growth and resilience. Along with selective breeding and data-informed field practices, microbiome management is expected to be instrumental in the sustainable production of biofuel feedstocks.
We are exploring which microbes and how can we add them to perennials to improve plant growth and sustainable agriculture.
Collaborators
Ashley Shade, Centre National De La Recherche Scientifiquee
Funding
This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, AFRI project 2024-67019-42477