The next major crop technology will be fungi and bacteria
that boost yields, says Kay McDonald of Big Picture Agriculture.
She says that Monsanto’s $300-million purchase of a Danish
company, Novozymes, has so far “flown below the radar,” but heralds a big step
into a new technology.
She predicts that the advances will come from mycorrhiza
fungi and rhizobacteria.
Both are likely to be incorporated with seeds and both will
work their magic at the interface between roots and soil.
The first mycorrhiza products will likely counter drought
and improve absorption of phosphorous.
Rhizobacteria are already used to help plants develop their
own source of nitrogen. The inoculants used for soybeans are a rhizobacterium.
“Novozymes
says they already have a product that coats seeds with a fungus that grows
along the plant’s roots and produces phosphates, promoting growth and saving
chemical fertilizer,” writes McDonald.
She
has written nothing about Alltech of Kentucky which is moving from its base in
livestock and poultry feeds into crop supplements.
It
makes its products by fermenting yeasts and says “without compromising
profitability or sustainability, we have found ways to successfully increase
plant health, quality, and yield.”
