Biotechnology to improve vetch and wheat production

 The Department of Microbiology and Genetics of the University of Salamanca is working on a project that aims to improve the productivity of vetch ( Vicia sativa ), a crop that is used as fodder for cattle and is planted in rotation with cereals. To achieve this, the researchers are betting on the design of new biofertilizers based on bacteria that favor the growth of this legume and that, once present in the soil, would also benefit a subsequent planting of wheat.

"The idea is to look for autochthonous inoculants that can adapt to the vetch," says Raúl Rivas González, head of this initiative, which was one of those selected in the call for research projects of the Salamanca Provincial Council, the result of an agreement with the Salamanca academic institution to promote technology transfer in the primary sector.

There are microorganisms that grow in symbiosis with plants, benefiting both species. In this case, in collaboration with farmers from Aldeatejada, scientists have analyzed in recent months the bacteria that could be related to vetch. Although the work is not finished yet, they have selected three. "In particular, two of them are the ones that are more likely to be used as inoculants," says the researcher.

Precisely, the most interesting thing about these new biofertilizers is that they help to obtain good agricultural yields without the need for farmers to resort to other conventional fertilizer products that can be more polluting for the environment. These are microorganisms that do not present any type of problem for the environment or for animal and plant health, so "now we just have to make sure that they have optimal performance in the field."

In fact, European policies are committed to agriculture that is sustainable or beneficial to the environment, called 'greening', and links part of the CAP aid to it. Within this philosophy it is important to renew the nutrients in the soil and applying a fertilizer based on autochthonous bacteria contributes to this.

In this sense, an outstanding aspect of the project is that it not only favors the development of vetch. "Although bacteria do not establish symbiosis with wheat, we can say that they enter a little in its roots and also help its growth," says Rivas González.

The project began last summer and has a duration of one year, a very tight time in agricultural research but that may be enough to be able to present results next September in the framework of the important Salamaq agricultural fair, in which the University de Salamanca has been present in recent years through the Vice-Rector's Office for Research and Transfer to try to establish synergies between science and the primary sector, an essential economic engine for the province.