Scientists are developing plant-friendly fungi and bacteria that promote plant growth and protect their hosts against disease to reduce chemical fertiliser and pesticide use.
Over millions of years, plants have formed mutually-beneficial relationships with certain soil microbes. Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, for example, help plants to capture nutrients from the soil and protect their hosts from disease, while root-colonising rhizobacteria promote plant growth.
Further details: Plant-friendly microbes as pesticides