Queen-of-the-night bacteria becomes bioproduct to promote drought tolerance in plants

Bacteria found in the rhizosphere of queen of the night (Cereus jamacaru), an important cactus of the Caatinga region which is locally known as mandacaru, will help Brazilian corn crops withstand droughts. The rhizobacteria Bacillus aryabhattai is the basis of new bioinput that increases corn plant resilience and capacity of adaptation to water stress. The product, which received the brand name Auras, is capable of promoting the growth of the same crop in drought conditions.

The new technology is the result of over 12 years of research and is reaching the market through a partnership between Embrapa Environment, São Paulo, and NOOA Agricultural Science and Technology, from Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is the first commercial product aimed at mitigating the effects caused by water stress in plants and there is no record of competitors at the Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (Mapa).

Auras can reduce the effects caused by prolonged droughts, thus minimizing risks and fully expressing the farm's potential. The technology was developed by Embrapa and will be exclusively produced and distributed by NOOA.

The initial focus of the product will be corn, with 70% of estimated demand in the second harvest (double-cropping) and 30% in the summer harvest, the first one. This is because the second harvest or off-season corn is more affected by dry spells and water restrictions in general. NOOA warns that their product does not increase production, however, it protects the crop from losses caused by water stress. The estimate is that Auras saves between six and eight bags of corn per hectare, on average, within a setting that turns over about half a bag of maize per hectare. The intention is to expand the use of the product to other crops, such as soybeans and wheat.

“For the time being, this is the only study regarding this technology in tropical agriculture, which in fact suffers the greatest impact from droughts”, stresses Itamar Soares de Melo, the Embrapa researcher who conducted the research on rhizobacteria from which the bioactive was extracted. He reports that the bacterial isolates can perform important roles towards promoting plant growth in dry soils, for instance.

“There is no doubt that bioinputs have a relevant role in the sustainable development of Brazilian agriculture. And Auras brings forth a new landmark in this growing market for biological products,” states the head of Embrapa Environment, Marcelo Morandi.

“This technology is the result of many years of research in the selection of microorganisms with traits of interest for agriculture and the partnership with a company who glimpsed at this future, and now the product is available for farmers”, he adds.

The NOOA projects that the new technology will be adopted in 1% of the  area planted with corn in Brazil for the first year. “We intend to reach 10% of this area in five years,” anticipates the CEO of the company, Claudio Nasser. “The focus of solutions for the agricultural sector has to be in the causes and not in the treatment of the symptoms that affect the plants and soil balance. Learning about such factors and breaking paradigms is the pathway towards a more efficient and sustainable agriculture”, the executive underscores.

Claudio Nasser, CEO of NOOA, presents the new Auras technology

The research

The foundation for the research started in 2009, with an investigation on the biodiversity and the bioprospection of microorganisms in the Caatinga that Melo proposed. The work originated the first Collection of Microorganisms of Agricultural and Environmental Importance , launched in 2013 with the support of the São Paulo State Research Support Foundation (Fapesp), with almost 20,000 isolates of fungi, bacteria, yeasts, archaea and actinobacteria..

The idea to research drought mitigation by beneficial bacteria appeared in 2016, through a partnership between Embrapa Environment and Embrapa Semiarid Region. “We analyzed actinobacteria isolates that could reduce the effects of water stress in soybeans, corn and wheat due to enzymes, phytohormones, nutrient mineralization, phosphate solubilization, and nitrogen fixation”, the researcher explains.

Samples were collected throughout the Caatinga in five states: Bahia, Ceará, Piauí, Paraíba, and Rio Grande do Norte. The researchers observed that whether the period of sampling was rainy or dry was the main factor for changes in the structure of the bacterial communities, which allowed the identification of potential microorganisms responsible for resilience to water stress.

Melo reports that when drought-tolerant bacteria colonize the root systems of plants under abiotic stress, they produce substances that hidrate the roots called exopolysaccharides. In order to have the microorganisms reach the plants, a simple procedure is used at the time of sowing: the bacteria are mixed to the seeds when they are sown, in a liquid suspension, which can be water.

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