Desert plant-derived bacterial inoculants for crop abiotic stress tolerance and yield improvement

Overview

This offering centers on a library of more than 1000 bacterial isolates collected from the root endosphere of desert plants across the Arabian Peninsula. A subset of these strains has demonstrated strong plant growth-promoting (PGP) traits, including the ability to improve tolerance to salinity, heat, and drought stress in economically important crops such as cucumber, tomato, wheat, barley, and alfalfa. Over three years of field trials in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, selected strains delivered increased seed yield in wheat and barley and increased biomass in alfalfa under both saline and non-saline irrigation conditions. The collection is now ready for the next stage of development: testing formulated inoculants and isolated active compounds on high-value vegetables with local farmers in hoop houses and greenhouses.

Technical specifications

• Microbial library: Over 1000 bacterial isolates sourced from desert plant root endospheres in the Arabian Peninsula, representing microbes naturally adapted to extreme environmental conditions.
• PGP traits and biochemistry: The biochemical properties and PGP traits of the most promising strains have been characterized in detail.
• Genomic and transcriptomic resources: Genomes and transcriptomes of the lead strains have been sequenced, enabling mechanistic understanding of stress tolerance promotion.
• Active compound identification: Several active compounds produced by these bacteria have been identified and are being investigated individually for their plant growth-promoting effects.
• Field-validated performance: Bacterial strains have been shown to increase seed yield in wheat and barley and biomass in alfalfa across three years of field trials under saline and non-saline irrigation in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
• Target crops for next phase: Cucumber, tomato, lettuce, and pepper, with planned testing in hoop houses and greenhouses alongside local farmers in Saudi Arabia.
• Target stress conditions: Salinity, drought, and heat stress, which are critical constraints in semi-arid agricultural regions such as parts of Africa and Asia.

Technology readiness level

The bacterial strains have progressed through laboratory characterization, greenhouse screening, and three years of field trials demonstrating yield and biomass improvements in cereal and forage crops under saline and non-saline conditions. Genomic and transcriptomic analyses have been completed, and active compounds are now being evaluated as standalone treatments. The immediate next step is to develop and test different formulations of bacterial strains and active compounds in field trials with local farmers on high-value vegetable crops in protected cultivation systems. Funding is sought for in-house bacterial inoculant production, materials, consumables, and personnel to advance these trials.