Academics at Erzurum Technical University initiated a scientific study in 2020 to find solutions to drought and reduce the need for irrigation.

PhD student Merve Şimşek Geyik isolated endophytic bacteria (microorganisms that support plant growth and development) from plants collected from barren areas as part of her thesis work in the “Seed Technology and Production R&D Laboratory” at the High Technology Research Center.

Geyik, who applied the bacteria to alfalfa under sterile conditions and corn in the greenhouse under the supervision of Assoc. Prof. Dr. İsmail Bezirganoğlu, a faculty member at the University's Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, determined that this chemical-free solution, which she produced with the support of TÜBİTAK, is resistant to drought.

Soil and greenhouse trials are being conducted to turn the solution into a commercial product.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Bezirganoğlu, the consultant of the project, told AA correspondent that thanks to the solution they developed as a result of meticulous work, savings in irrigation rate will be provided.

Bezirganoğlu stated that their project is designed to turn the irrigation shortage into an advantage and continued as follows:

“Within the scope of her project, our student applied the endophytic bacteria she isolated from the plants she collected from the barren regions of Erzurum conditions to the alfalfa plant and obtained very important results under sterile conditions. In sterile conditions, we really achieved drought resistance in the endophytic bacteria we gave to the alfalfa plant. In greenhouse conditions, we used corn plants apart from alfalfa plants because corn, as you know, is a plant that consumes a lot of water. In greenhouse conditions, we found that the 4 different isolates we isolated on corn have the capacity to recover against corn. We plan to put this formulation on the market as soon as possible. Our producers will be able to use the commercial solution we have developed as an effective response to drought in agriculture.”

“Our producers will be able to use it easily in our seven regions”

Drawing attention to the formation of sinkholes in the Konya Plain due to drought, Bezirganoğlu said “Crops with high commercial return are constantly planted, however, in response to this, chemical fertilizers are constantly used. The side effect of chemical fertilizers also disrupts the soil structure. Since we will develop bacterial isolates, there will be no effect. Since it does not contain chemicals, it will not cause any harm to the soil. Therefore, our producers can easily use it in our seven regions.”

Bezirganoğlu explained that the solution is capable of responding to every plant and in sterile conditions, they tested alfalfa in the study they prepared with the support of TÜBİTAK, and said:

“There are positive results on corn and fodder peas under greenhouse conditions. Since they are organic compounds, they have no side effects, so other countries will be able to obtain them from us and use them in their agricultural lands with peace of mind. We plan to turn the study into a commercial product. Since the input costs of our farmers are very high, they sometimes cannot afford the product they buy with the money they earn, and they come to the level of giving up agricultural land and farming. When farmers buy our product, they will not pay for irrigation water, it will have economic value. When we reduce this to two or one in products that normally need water 3 times during the vegetation period, it will provide a large amount of economic return to the farmer, it is very important in this respect.”

 “We will obtain more efficient products with less water”

Merve Şimşek Geyik explained that she applied bacteria that tolerate drought stress to alfalfa plants and got positive results.

Underlining that they attach importance to the study due to the drought stress in Türkiye, Geyik continued as follows:

“Drought starts in 2020 and continues to increase towards the 2050s. Due to the drought stress that will affect Türkiye in the 2050s, this study has become more important. We preferred not to apply chemicals in drought stress. We used bacteria isolated from nature that minimize drought stress. We have 30-35 drought stress-resistant bacteria. We first applied them to alfalfa and got good results as a result of the data we obtained. We observed a significant difference between normal alfalfa and bacteria-treated alfalfa in drought stress. We will obtain more fertile products with less water in agriculture. If 100 liters of water is used in a small area, it will reduce to 50, maybe 25 liters. We grew alfalfa in the fattening environment under completely sterile and controlled conditions, we applied drought stress. After this stage, we proceeded to soil trials and conducted greenhouse trials.”

Source: Anadolu Agency