UCLA Researchers in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology have developed a simple method for allowing the increased emergence of seedlings in harsh soil environments, enabling increased farming production.
BACKGROUND:
With the world's population continually growing, food science has become particularly popular: focusing more on plant-based solutions to an otherwise growing food crisis. Unfortunately, many farming sites are chosen for favorable soil qualities that limit production in some areas of the planet. Further exacerbating this issue, is that farming practices may lead to crust formation, making once favorable soil, not tenable. For instance, during the developmental stages of plant seeds to seedlings that will give rise to the vegetative development of the plant, seedlings must efficiently emerge from the soil. However, not all soils are amenable to this emergence, stemming from the topsoil structures that may include coarse rocks, or soil crusts, that force seedling to grow in various directions to emerge. This extended emergence can ultimately impact the health of plants, reducing expected yields in food production. Further exacerbating this issue, certain environmental factors in the soil caused by reduced water availability, like salinity, can limit the elongation of seedlings hindering emergence. Therefore, there is a current growing interest in the development of simple methodologies that can be implemented to increase the emergence potential of seedlings in multiple soil types.
INNOVATION:
UCLA Researchers in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology have developed a simple method for allowing the increased emergence of seedlings in harsh soil environments, enabling increased farming production. The researchers found that the addition of low concentration sucrose solutions allowed seedlings to emerge more efficiently in fine and coarse sand, comparative to non-sucrose treated seedlings. Furthering this observation, the researchers tested the emergence efficiency of Arabidopsis seeds treated with sucrose in soil covered with compost soil. The sucrose treated seedlings emerged in higher numbers than controls. Interestingly, the treatment of seeds with sucrose solution could mitigate effects to seedling elongation due to soil salinity by 14%. The simple application of sugars to seeds before planting and water applied after germination could be easily implemented in farming practices, potentially leading to higher food production and open the possibility to farm in rougher environmental conditions.
POTENTIAL APPLICATIONS:
• The use of sugar treatment to seeds and seedlings could allow more farming to occur in rougher soil environments (rockier, or high in salinity)
• The adoption of sugar treatment in current farming applications could increase food production
ADVANTAGES:
• Natural treatment without the use of modified seeds that may otherwise prohibit widespread adoption due to costs
• Non-damaging method to the soil that is inexpensive
DEVELOPMENT-TO-DATE:
The sucrose treatment has been shown to increase seedling emergence in mechanically challenging soils, and soil that displays high levels of salinity.
RELATED MATERIALS:
Bou Daher, F. et al. Anisotropic growth is achieved through the additive mechanical effect of material anisotropy and elastic asymmetry. eLife 7, e38161 (2018).