Collaboration between TU Delft and IITD teams to study resistance of natural soils to pathogens
A collaboration between researchers from Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD) has been established to investigate the organic disease suppression mechanisms in agricultural soils. Unlocking the secrets of natural disease suppression may allow us to develop more effective and eco-friendly strategies for farming in the future.
With growing concerns surrounding sustainability, climate change, and the United Nations' sustainable development goals, natural farming practices, such as organic farming, are gaining momentum. Unlike conventional farming methods, organic farming requires little to no use of agricultural inputs. By utilizing organic manure and other biological amendments, this method has been shown to improve soil biodiversity, physicochemical properties, and overall soil health and fertility. These improvements lead to increased microbial activity and nutrient availability, resulting in soil that is more resistant to soil-borne pathogens. As a result, organic farming can effectively prevent food loss caused by pathogenic attacks on crops. However, the exact microbial mechanisms responsible for the disease suppressiveness of organically managed soils are not yet fully understood. Further research is needed to allow for the transfer of this beneficial effect to all agricultural soils in the future.
Professor Shilpi Sharma from IIT Delhi and Associate Professor Martin Pabst from TUD have established a collaboration to investigate the molecular-level microbial processes in soils managed under organic and conventional strategies.
This joint effort takes advantage of the complementary strengths of both research groups, with TU Delft specializing in microbiome sequencing to link functions with microbes in the soil, while IIT Delhi provides expertise in soil engineering and research on the symbiotic relationship between microbes, soil pathogens, and plant growth. The team aims to expand beyond the TUD/IITD seed funding to broaden their field studies.