Beneficial bacteria help wheat stand the heat
Coating crop seeds with bacteria found on a desert shrub boosts yields in hot fields.
Bacteria plucked from a desert plant could help crops survive heatwaves and protect the future of food
Global warming has increased the number of severe heatwaves that wreak havoc on agriculture, reduce crop yields and threaten food supplies. However, not all plants perish in extreme heat. Some have natural heat tolerance, while others acquire heat tolerance after previous exposure to higher temperatures than normal, similar to how vaccines trigger the immune system with a tiny dose of virus.
But breeding heat tolerant crops is laborious and expensive, and slightly warming entire fields is even trickier.