Fungus Could Boost Winter Wheat Productivity, Improve Soil and Conserve Water

Apr 20, 2020

By Prasun Ray

Just as people need to remain healthy to perform all the necessary activities of daily life, the health of soil plays a critical role in its ability to support production of food, fuel and fiber. Light, water and healthy soil are three essential natural resources required for agricultural productivity. There is growing, widespread awareness of the impact of human activities in agriculture on soil health and water quality. Due to depletion of the world's natural resources, it is essential to discover technologies that satisfy the requirements of economic, social and agricultural sustainability.

Microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, that promote plant growth have been used extensively for many years in agriculture to offset fertilizer inputs such as nitrogen and phosphorous. At Noble Research Institute, I work with a special type of plant-growth-promoting fungus called Serendipita bescii, which resides inside plant roots and helps the plant receive nitrogen and phosphorous from soil more efficiently. This type of fungi is known as mycorrhiza (in Greek, “mykós” means fungus and “riza” means roots).

Although Serendipita fungi are well known for improving the growth of agronomically important crops, agriculture hasn’t been able to use them widely because of a shortage of available strains. I have addressed this limitation by isolating a strain of Serendipita called Serendipita bescii from Oklahoma — the first of its kind in North America. This is beneficial because using microorganisms native to U.S. soil would reduce the chance of negative side effects on soil health. For this reason, discovery of Serendipita bescii fills a major gap in field application for improving crop productivity in the United States.

Winter wheat (NF101) infected with Serendipita bescii (bottom) produces more grain heads when compared to uninfected plants (top).

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Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.