An international research team led by the University of Copenhagen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Nottingham has discovered how plant roots penetrate compacted soil by deploying a well-known engineering principle.
An international research team led by the University of Copenhagen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University and the University of Nottingham has discovered how plant roots penetrate compacted soil by deploying a well-known engineering principle. The finding could have major implications for future crop development at a time when pressure on agricultural land is increasing.
Across the globe, soil compaction is becoming an ever more serious challenge. Heavy vehicles and machinery in modern agriculture compress the soil to such an extent that crops struggle to grow. In many regions, the problem is aggravated by drought linked to climate change.
But plants may in fact be able to solve part of the problem themselves – with a little help from us. It is already known that when soil becomes dense and difficult to penetrate, plants can respond by thickening their roots. Until now, however, it has remained unclear how they manage this, beyond the fact that the plant hormone ethylene plays a key role.
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the University of Nottingham and partners have now pieced together the mechanism. Their results have been published in the prestigious journal Nature.
Read More: University of Copenhagen
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