Natural Soil Microbes Improve Plant Health and Support Stronger Sustainable Farming
Researchers studying potato crops in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, discovered an unexpected example of natural crop protection in healthy farming soil. Potato plants growing in a long-term research nursery remained healthy despite decades of continuous potato production, which normally increases disease pressure and crop damage.
Deane Morrison highlighted research from the University of Minnesota, where Linda Kinkel and her research team explored how beneficial soil microbes supported crop health and protected plants from harmful diseases. Scientists believed the answer could be found within the living microbial communities in the soil.
To study the process, researchers collected soil samples and heated half of them to remove all living microbes. The remaining samples kept their natural microbial populations. Scientists then introduced harmful pathogens into every sample and planted potatoes. Only the potatoes grown in soil containing living microbes showed strong resistance to disease problems.
“We couldn’t understand why,” says Linda Kinkel, a professor of plant pathology in the University of Minnesota's College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. “The field always included some potato varieties that were known to be highly susceptible to disease.”
Further research revealed that no single microbe provided protection. Instead, many beneficial microbes worked together as a system to control pathogens and improve crop growth. These microbes competed for nutrients while helping plants absorb important elements such as phosphorus, potassium, zinc, and iron.
“It’s been established that overall, plants can leak up to 40 percent of the atmospheric carbon they have “fixed” into organic matter via photosynthesis,” Kinkel says. “Microbes compete actively for that food.”
Scientists also found that beneficial microbes naturally produced antibiotics that limited harmful organisms.
“The bad guys become collateral damage from the interactions among the good guys,” Kinkel says. “It takes a village.”
The research later led to patented microbial technologies that help farmers reduce fertilizer and pesticide use while improving overall crop performance. In 2013, Kinkel and her team launched Jord Bioscience to expand field testing and support sustainable farming practices across the United States and South America.
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