Bacteria to aid sutainable sugarcane production

Scientists have discovered a bacterium that could reduce the use of fertiliser in sugarcane production and improve yield.

Sugar is an important commodity around the world and sugarcane accounts for about 80% of production. The price of sugar has increased at a rate considerably above inflation over the last 30 years. This is not least due to the rising cost of fertilisers, which is partly driven by increased global demand, and linked to the degradation of soil quality over decades of agricultural use. Of course, with increasing pressure on water, energy and other resources, there are multiple other reasons to reduce the use of synthetic chemicals in agriculture wherever possible.

This research, published today (19 December) in SfAM's journal, Microbial Biotechnology, describes how scientists searched the roots of sugar cane and found a new bacterium, Burkholderia australis, that promotes plant growth through a process called nitrogen fixation.

Lead researcher, Dr Chanyarat Paungfoo-Lonhienne from The University of Queensland, Australia, said "We took a new approach and went looking for bacteria that were present in large numbers around the roots of thriving sugar cane plants. While two of the most abundant bacteria did not have noticeable effects on plant growth, Burkholderia australis was doing quite well in competition with other soil bacteria in the environment, and turned out to be particularly good for the plants."