Scientists have found a new method to protect plants

Scientists at Cambridge University have found a method of grafting plants that can increase yields and eliminate disease in some of the most vulnerable crops, reports World of NAN, citing FreshPlaza.

The method of grafting plants, in which the root of one plant is attached to the shoot of another, has long been used. It has improved crop growth and eradicated disease on apple trees or citrus trees. Previously, this method was thought not to work for a major group of plants: monocotyledons. This group includes all grains, such as wheat and oats. These plants lack a tissue called the vascular cambium, which helps grafts heal and fuse.

Julian Hibberd of Cambridge University and his colleagues found an approach to grafting on monocotyledonous groups of plants. They extracted a sample of germ tissue from the seeds of a monocotyledonous plant and applied it to a grafting site between two samples of monocotyledonous plants.

The team's preliminary research in the lab shows that grafting can work between species. They grafted wheat seedlings onto the roots of oats, which are the most resistant to disease. This could protect wheat from soil-borne diseases, although it is still unclear whether such protection would be feasible in the real world.