Native Microbial Team Helps Acidic Soil Recover While Boosting Crop Growth

Acidic soils can make it difficult for crops to obtain nutrients and thrive. Now, researchers have developed a small, carefully selected community of native soil bacteria that can reduce acid stress while helping plants access essential nutrients.

“Instead of introducing microorganisms that may struggle to survive in a new environment, we wanted to use native bacteria that are already adapted to the challenging conditions of acidic, nutrient-poor soils,” said Xiaofeng Li, corresponding author of the study. “Our results show that these microorganisms can work together to improve the soil environment and promote plant growth through several complementary biological processes.”

Soil acidification is a major challenge for agriculture. Low soil pH can reduce nutrient availability, disrupt microbial communities, and interfere with the biological processes that support healthy crops. Conventional approaches can improve acidic soils, but the researchers investigated whether naturally adapted microorganisms could provide another sustainable tool.

The team collected microorganisms from the rhizosphere, the narrow zone of soil surrounding plant roots, in strongly acidic red soil in Guangxi, China. By gradually reducing the amount of available carbon during laboratory enrichment, they selected microorganisms capable of surviving under both acidic and carbon-limited conditions.