A soil microbe that inhibits the rice blast fungus, which destroys an estimated 30 percent of the world’s rice crop, was identified by researchers from the University of Delaware and University of California-Davis, according to an announcement. “Rice blast is a relentless killer, a force to be reckoned with, especially as rice is a staple in the daily diet of more than half the world’s population — that’s over 3 billion people,” says Harsh Bais, associate Delaware professor of plant and soil sciences. The team used gene sequencing to identify the beneficial microbe, Pseudomonas choloraphis EA 105.
The discovery opens the possibility of a natural treatment against rice blast. The scientists plan to conduct field trials using the microbes on rice grown on the University of Delaware farm. There also will be work with rice growers in central India.