Fungi Could Reduce Reliance On Fertilisers

Introducing fungi to wheat boosted their uptake of key nutrients and could lead to new, ‘climate smart’ varieties of crops, according to a new study.

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Researchers at the University of Leeds have demonstrated a partnership between wheat and soil fungi that could be utilised to develop new food crops and farming systems which are less reliant on fertilisers, reducing their contribution to the escalating climate crisis.

It is the first time the fungi, which form partnerships with plant roots, have been shown to provide significant amounts of phosphorous and nitrogen to a cereal crop. The fungi continued to provide nutrients under higher levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) predicted for 2100, which has important implications for future food security.

The results were published today in the journal Global Change Biology.

Lead researcher Professor Katie Field, from the University of Leeds’ School of Biology and Priestley International Centre for Climate, said: “Fungi could be a valuable new tool to help ensure future food security in the face of the climate and ecological crises.

“These fungi are not a silver bullet for improving productivity of food crops, but they have the potential to help reduce our current overreliance on agricultural fertilisers.”

Agriculture is a major contributor to global carbon emissions, partly due to significant inputs such as fertilisers. Whilst meat production contributes far more to global warming than growing crops, reducing the use of fertilisers can help lower agriculture’s overall contribution to climate change.

Ancient plant-fungi partnership

Most plants form partnerships with fungi in their root systems, known as arbuscular mycorrhizas, which enable them to draw nutrients from the soil more efficiently. In exchange, the plants provide carbohydrates to the fungi as a form of payment, known as a symbiosis.

Plants can give 10-20% of the carbon they draw from the air to their fungal partners, in exchange for up to 80% of their required phosphorous intake. These fungi can also help