Microbes could help reduce the need for chemical fertilisers
Ariel Furst, an Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab (J-WAFS) 2022 seed grant recipient, developed a metal-organic coating that protects nitrogen-fixing bacteria from damage.
Ariel says, “We are using these natural food-grade compounds that are known to have benefits on their own, and then they form these little suits of armour that protect the microbes.”
Production of chemical fertilizers accounts for about 1.5 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. MIT chemists hope to help reduce that carbon footprint by replacing some chemical fertilizer with a more sustainable source — bacteria.
Bacteria that can convert nitrogen gas to ammonia could not only provide nutrients that plants need, but also help regenerate soil and protect plants from pests. However, these bacteria are sensitive to heat and humidity, so it’s difficult to scale up their manufacture and ship them to farms.
To overcome that obstacle, MIT chemical engineers have devised a metal-organic coating that protects bacterial cells from damage without impeding their growth or function. In a new study, they found that these coated bacteria improved the germination rate of a variety of seeds, including vegetables such as corn and bok choy.