What Lurks Beneath: How Soil Microbes Support Plant Health

For decades, companies have developed fungal additives for farmers to increase crop productivity. But little is known about how well those work even in the most common crop plants such as corn and soy. Even less is known about the bacteria that influence plant health and about the impact these microbes have in plant ecosystems other than common crops.

At this STEM Café, learn about how microbes in soil affect plant health and how plant health, in turn, affects humans and the planet. NIU Biology Associate Professor Wesley Swingley will share insights from a current National Science Foundation-funded study at The Morton Arboretum and the Nachusa Grasslands designed to illuminate how bacteria and fungi interact with prairie plant roots.