Scientists make unexpected discovery after examining ‘grafted’ crops: ‘Key for transformation’

A group of international biologists have analyzed a method of phasing out toxic pesticides in favor of an unconventional but sustainable way of creating resilient crops.

Team review, published in Limits in science and shared by Phys.orgidentified a phenomenon called induced resistance, which attacks the plant’s immune system and enhances innate defense mechanisms to protect against insect pests and microbial pathogens.

“Although induced resistance has been studied for decades, its use in plant protection has only recently started to gain momentum,” said Brigitte Mauch-Mani, professor at the University of Neuchâtel and lead author of the paper Phys.org.

“We advocate a holistic approach to crop protection that combines multiple strategies to deliver tailored solutions. Induced resistance is at the heart of such an integrated approach.”

Scientists have identified a type of induced resistance, called a defense stimulus, that works similarly to vaccination. The plant shows an increased response to attack after previous exposure, and the memory of immune stress can be long-term and even transgenerational.

This behavior is more versatile than tactics currently used in the agricultural industry, such as pesticides and breeding for resistance genes. The former can keep plants one step ahead of pest evolution while providing broader protection against several predators and harmful microbes.

However, plants may divert too many resources to defend against a particular threat, exposing them to other stressors or limiting their growth potential. Therefore, according to the report, induced resistance is best used in combination with additional strategies, as it is not sufficient on its own to achieve full immunity.

Nevertheless, the benefits of this process are multi-faceted and reduce the need pesticides which can increase risk of stillbirth and others health complications while potentially improving the health benefits and nutrition of crops.

Other alternative means pesticides, herbicides and fungicides include use goats for grazing invasive weeds infiltrating crop fields and a robot which uses radiation to kill fungi and molds. The Environmental Protection Agency also announced it would accelerate its review abolition of pesticide spraying to protect farmers, consumers and wildlife.

Scientists need to do more research and need more government support to implement induced resistance on a commercial scale, but they believe they could use it to “reduce pesticides to an absolute minimum… (and) provide much longer-lasting crop protection.”

“We strongly believe that basic research on induced resistance will be crucial for the transition to a truly sustainable food supply” – Mauch-Mani he said.

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