Field evaluation of bacilin 20: Herbicide stress and accelerated flowering

Plants are always associated with a well coordinated and beneficial community of microbes – the phytomicrobiome; this plus the associated plant forms the holobiont, the entity that provides crop yield. There is considerable communication between the phytomicrobiome and the plant, often in through signal compounds. Bacilin 20 is a small protein produced a Bacillus thuringiensis strain and discovered by the Smith laboratory. It is improves plant ability to tolerate stress when applied at very low concentrations. One plant response to stress is accelerated flowering, leaving longer time for grain production. The proposed work will evaluate the potential for bacilin 20 to mitigate herbicide stress on widely produced Canadian crops: wheat, corn and soybean. It will be applied post emergence with glyphosate (corn and soybean) or buctril (wheat), to assess effects on herbicide stress, or at the mid-vegetative stage to determine if flowering is affected and yields increased as a result.

Faculty Supervisor:

Donald Smith

Student:

Mahtab Nazari;Yoko Takishita

Partner:

CXC

Discipline:

Forestry

Sector:

Agriculture

University:

McGill University