Sorghum Self Defense Mechanism May Help Other Crops

Researchers harvesting sorgoleone producing sorghum roots, grown soil-free using a capillary mat system.

Sorghum is an important crop in the United States and around the world as both a cereal staple and major bio feedstock for ethanol production. Now, ARS scientists at the Natural Product Utilization Research Unit in Oxford, MS, are examining one of the things that makes sorghum naturally resistant to weeds – a natural herbicide the plant secretes from its roots.

Sorghum plants produce sorgoleone in their root hair cells, where it is then secreted into the soil. The compound stifles the growth of nearby pest plants by inhibiting photosynthesis – the ability to use sunlight to synthesize food and other proteins required for critical cellular processes. Scientists have identified the biosynthetic enzymes they need to create sorgoleone. Their goal is to introduce the ability to make the compound into other important food and energy crops, like corn, wheat, and soybean. If successful, farmers will be able to depend on the naturally produced sorgoleone to keep pesky weeds at bay. This would, in turn, help reduce the chance of synthetic chemical herbicide impacts to the environment and reduce the expense of purchasing and spraying synthetic herbicides for farmers.

Related Information

Article: Transferring Sorghum’s Weed-Killing Power to Rice

Publication: Sorgoleone

Explore Other Discoveries

Beans That Help Prevent Iron Deficiency

ARS scientists have developed yellow bean varieties that contain more absorbable iron.

New Tool Fights Citrus Greening Disease

Developed by ARS's researchers, symbiont technology can be delivered to citrus trees in the field and is scalable from a few to millions of trees.

New Tool for Addressing Water Scarcity

An ARS research team along with the Southwest Climate Hub in Las Cruces, NM, developed a resource called The Water Adaptation Techniques Atlas.

Now Crops Have an App For That

A team of ARS researchers is providing farmers in Hawaii with new apps to help manage threats to their crops.

Fine-Tuning Plant Performance

ARS researchers have developed a tool that can provide more precise answers that lead to healthier plants and greater yields.

One Plant’s Pest Another Plant’s Benefactor

Researchers are developing techniques to trap and transfer earwigs from stone fruit orchards to the pome fruit orchards where they are beneficial.

A Suit of Armor for Biopesticides

ARS scientists in collaboration with Israeli partners, developed a new formulation to protect beneficial fungi and nematodes from UV radiation.

A pepper plant showing significant damage from cold.

Silicon: It’s Not Just for Chips

Scientists at the Application Technology Research Unit in Wooster, OH, are discovering that silicon could be a key contributor to agriculture.

Topic

Crop Production & Protection