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Integrating plant microbiome to increase quality and water use efficiency of major crops in Sub-Saharan Africa

Drought is a major constraint for rainfed farming in sub Saharan Africa (SSA) and may lead to poverty as agriculture is a mainstay for rural people living in drylands.  The work proposed here concerns economically important cereals sorghum and wheat and is  part of the larger ASARECA-led project Improving Agricultural Water Productivity. Our preliminary results reveal five times greater survival and 78% higher biomass in inoculated plants under drought stress using the plant growth promoting bacteria (PGPR) from the harsh environments. The yield is further increased by 25% at the presence of sol-gel produced nanoparticles (NP). We hypothesize that the increased biomass results from significant re-programming of higher plant metabolism via the stimulation of mineral element uptake and utilization that lead to a boost in the metabolic activity. We assume that the process is controlled by surface characteristics of the NPs. To test the hypothesis mineral NP library will be developed, characterized and  used for PGPR formulation on sorghum and wheat isogenic lines. The inoculation effect on plants will be tested using advanced phenotyping technologies such as synchrotron X-ray fluorescence microscopy, inductively coupled plasma  mass spectrometry, scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The NP-PGPR complex studies will lead to biomarkers development and will ensure their reproducible application for SSA smallholder farmers, thus improving their livelihoods.

Project ID

SE-0-SE-29-2017-05524_3-285-43082

Activity status

2 - Implementation

Aid type

D02 - Other technical assistance

% to Uganda

100.00

Organisations

Funding

Sweden

Extending

The Swedish Research Council

Implementing

Sveriges lantbruksuniversitet

CRS code	%
Research/scientific institutions (43082)	100.0