Native Bacterial Partnership Boosts Lettuce Growth in Acidic Soil
· newswise.com · popularity 19/100 · 0 similar stories today · Quantum Computing (Science)
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Summary
<img src="https://www.newswise.com/legacy/image.php?image=https://media.newswise.com/pio/articles/858178/6af084b4832a4_1_858178.jpg&width=100&height=150" alt="Newswise image" />A research team has developed a bacterial partnership that reduces soil acidity and promotes lettuce growth by combining native microbes with a sugar-processing byproduct. The treatment raised root-zone soil pH from 4.73 to 5.50 and substantially increased plant biomass in greenhouse experiments. It also enriched microbial genes associated with carbon fixation, nitrogen cycling, phosphorus mobilization, and plant hormone production. By addressing acidity and nutrient limitations together, the approach offers a promising foundation for microbial soil amendments that could help restore productivity in acidic, nutrient-poor farmland while putting an agricultural processing residue to practical use.
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