MANAGING PLANT MICROBE INTERACTIONS IN SOIL TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE

Crop plants are increasingly under stress due to climate change, soil nutrient depletion, decreased rainfall, and increased pathogen and pest exposure. This research seeks to elucidate and employ the natural symbionts of relatives of crop plants in modern crops. Many of these symbionts have been lost from modern crops through years of selection and chemical applications. Re-establishing these symbioses in modern crops should enable us to enhance resistance of crops to numerous pests, diseases and create crop plants that are generally hardy. This will increase crop yields, reduce costs to crop production, and reduce pesticide and fertilizer inputs on crops.