Latest news with #Azospirillumbrasilense
Agriland
20-05-2025
- Science
- Agriland
World Food Prize awarded to Brazilian microbiologist for soil bacteria work
The World Food Prize for 2025 has been awarded to Brazilian microbiologist Dr. Mariangela Hungria, whose work has led to significant yield increases in the world's major crops. Dr. Hungria was recognised for the results of her 40-year career, which has been dedicated to isolating bacterial strains favourable to crop growth and yield. In addition to substantially reducing the need for chemical inputs, her work has now been augmented by being awarded the food industry's own Nobel Prize -the World Food Prize – and the sum of $500,000 that goes with it. The World Food Prize Foundation announced its decision to award the prize to Dr. Hungria earlier this month. She will be presented with the gong at a ceremony in Iowa later this year. Life's dedication Dr. Hungria was an early proponent of biological nitrogen fixation, specifically in soybean. Over her 40-year career with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), national soybean production increased from 15 million tonnes to an anticipated 173 million tonnes in 2025. The microbiologist's studies began with Rhizobia bacteria, the group of microbes that infects legume roots to provide nitrogen in the form of ammonia in exchange for nutrients from the plant. These bacteria can live independently in soil, but do not produce ammonia under natural conditions. In addition, their soil populations are relatively low. The trick is to ensure that, as a seed germinates, it doews so in an environment rich with rhizobia, which is where treating the seeds with an inoculant comes into play. Dr. Hungria found that applying this strain to soybean through an inoculant increases yields by up to 8% when compared to the use of synthetic fertilizer. Taking a step beyond Yet Dr. Hungria went further, for she was also the first to isolate a strain of the bacterium genus Azospirillum brasilense, a nitrogen-fixing bacterium that can boost the uptake of nitrogen and phytohormones, even at low oxygen levels. Dr Hungria is the recipient of many awards and honours in Brazil and elsewhere Her research demonstrated that combining and applying both A. brasilense and strains of rhizobia could double the yield increase in common beans and soybeans . Today, it is estimated that more than 15 million hectares of soybean are treated with a combined dose of these two microbe groups annually in Brazil, helping to make it the world's largest exporter of the crop. Critics will point out that this growth is as much to do with deforestation. While Dr. Hungria is sympathetic to this view, she notes that by increasing the yield ofcrops, existing land pressure on forests could be much reduced. What may be of further interest to Irish farmers is that is usually found in association with grass worldwide. Dr. Hungria has turned her attention to the inoculation of pasture, which has shown an increase of biomass of up to 22%. Soybean has become a major part of Brazil's agricultural output. Image: Proterra Although the Azospirillum genus was first identified in the Netherlands in 1923, this particular species was not described until 1978 by Dr. Hungria's mentor, Johanna Dobereiner. Quite how the relationship between A. brasilense and crop roots operates is still the subject of debate amongst researchers, but its potential for reducing fertiliser use while maintaining yields in grass has been shown to be significant.
Straits Times
13-05-2025
- Science
- Straits Times
Brazilian researcher who helped country's grain boom wins World Food Prize
FILE PHOTO: A drone image shows a farm worker operating a combine harvester during the soybean harvest season in Brazil's southernmost state, on a farm in Lagoa dos Tres Cantos, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Diego Vara./File Photo NEW YORK - Brazilian microbiologist Mariangela Hungria, whose research has helped farmers in the country sharply boost grain production, has been named the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate, the Iowa-based foundation organizing the prize said on Tuesday. Hungria has been a researcher for more than 40 years at Brazil's state-run agricultural center Embrapa, where she works on seeds and soil treatments that enable plants to source nutrients through soil bacteria, a particularly important development for soybean crops. Her work helped Brazil increase soybean production from around 15 million metric tons in the 1980s to more than 170 million tons today, making the country the world's largest producer and exporter of the commodity. "I was always interested in making viable the use of biological materials in commercial agriculture," Hungria told Reuters. Good soybean growth requires a lot of nitrogen for the plant, but relying on nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers was expensive for Brazilian farmers and meant the country was heavily dependent on imported fertilizers, she said. Hungria isolated strains of a soil bacteria named rhizobia and developed a way to inoculate it in the soybean seeds used in Brazil. The strains helped the soy plants extract more nitrogen from the soil, boosting their growth. The solution has since become widespread and is used in more than 40 million hectares of Brazil's roughly 48 million hectares of soy plantations. Hungria also developed other biological solutions, including using strains of Azospirillum brasilense bacteria to boost the size of roots on crops such as corn, allowing the plants to reach deeper for humidity or nutrients. The use of biological products in agriculture has grown quickly in recent years, as consumers increasingly demand food produced with fewer chemicals. The researcher will receive $500,000 for being named a Laureate. The World Food Prize was created by Norman E. Borlaug, an American agronomist who developed solutions to increase agricultural production. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
The Star
13-05-2025
- Science
- The Star
Brazilian researcher who helped country's grain boom wins World Food Prize
FILE PHOTO: A drone image shows a farm worker operating a combine harvester during the soybean harvest season in Brazil's southernmost state, on a farm in Lagoa dos Tres Cantos, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, April 1, 2025. REUTERS/Diego Vara./File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brazilian microbiologist Mariangela Hungria, whose research has helped farmers in the country sharply boost grain production, has been named the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate, the Iowa-based foundation organizing the prize said on Tuesday. Hungria has been a researcher for more than 40 years at Brazil's state-run agricultural center Embrapa, where she works on seeds and soil treatments that enable plants to source nutrients through soil bacteria, a particularly important development for soybean crops. Her work helped Brazil increase soybean production from around 15 million metric tons in the 1980s to more than 170 million tons today, making the country the world's largest producer and exporter of the commodity. "I was always interested in making viable the use of biological materials in commercial agriculture," Hungria told Reuters. Good soybean growth requires a lot of nitrogen for the plant, but relying on nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers was expensive for Brazilian farmers and meant the country was heavily dependent on imported fertilizers, she said. Hungria isolated strains of a soil bacteria named rhizobia and developed a way to inoculate it in the soybean seeds used in Brazil. The strains helped the soy plants extract more nitrogen from the soil, boosting their growth. The solution has since become widespread and is used in more than 40 million hectares of Brazil's roughly 48 million hectares of soy plantations. Hungria also developed other biological solutions, including using strains of Azospirillum brasilense bacteria to boost the size of roots on crops such as corn, allowing the plants to reach deeper for humidity or nutrients. The use of biological products in agriculture has grown quickly in recent years, as consumers increasingly demand food produced with fewer chemicals. The researcher will receive $500,000 for being named a Laureate. The World Food Prize was created by Norman E. Borlaug, an American agronomist who developed solutions to increase agricultural production. (Reporting by Marcelo Teixeira in New York; Editing by Nia Williams)
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Brazilian researcher who helped country's grain boom wins World Food Prize
By Marcelo Teixeira NEW YORK (Reuters) - Brazilian microbiologist Mariangela Hungria, whose research has helped farmers in the country sharply boost grain production, has been named the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate, the Iowa-based foundation organizing the prize said on Tuesday. Hungria has been a researcher for more than 40 years at Brazil's state-run agricultural center Embrapa, where she works on seeds and soil treatments that enable plants to source nutrients through soil bacteria, a particularly important development for soybean crops. Her work helped Brazil increase soybean production from around 15 million metric tons in the 1980s to more than 170 million tons today, making the country the world's largest producer and exporter of the commodity. "I was always interested in making viable the use of biological materials in commercial agriculture," Hungria told Reuters. Good soybean growth requires a lot of nitrogen for the plant, but relying on nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers was expensive for Brazilian farmers and meant the country was heavily dependent on imported fertilizers, she said. Hungria isolated strains of a soil bacteria named rhizobia and developed a way to inoculate it in the soybean seeds used in Brazil. The strains helped the soy plants extract more nitrogen from the soil, boosting their growth. The solution has since become widespread and is used in more than 40 million hectares of Brazil's roughly 48 million hectares of soy plantations. Hungria also developed other biological solutions, including using strains of Azospirillum brasilense bacteria to boost the size of roots on crops such as corn, allowing the plants to reach deeper for humidity or nutrients. The use of biological products in agriculture has grown quickly in recent years, as consumers increasingly demand food produced with fewer chemicals. The researcher will receive $500,000 for being named a Laureate. The World Food Prize was created by Norman E. Borlaug, an American agronomist who developed solutions to increase agricultural production.
