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Scientists at CSIRO Plant Industry have discovered how plants survive acid soils - a world first development which could save the rural industry millions each year.
"We have discovered the clues to how some plants manage to survive against the potentially lethal effects of aluminium released by acid soil conditions," said Dr Peter Randall, CSIRO Plant Industry scientist.
"Our research shows it is the roots which either allow or disallow the entry of aluminium," he said. "This finding brings us one step closer to making plants resistant to soil acidity.
"Acid-sensitive plants take up the aluminium - killing the root tips and leaving the plant unable to take up water and minerals, resulting in water-stressed plants and very low yields. We have found that a substance called malic acid is released around the root tips of acid-tolerant wheat plants when the tips encounter aluminium." he said. "The malic acid then protects the growing point of the root from the harmful effects of soil acidity."
According to Dr Randall, soil acidity is emerging as one of the major threats to the sustainability of our best agricultural production land, currently costing the industry more than $300 million per year.
"A recent national review found that 33 million hectares of Australian soils were highly acidic," he said. "However, one of the key problems is that often farmers do not realise the severity of their acid soils.
"While lime applications are an excellent way to overcome soil acidity when it is in the topsoil, this is costly and uneconomical for treating subsoil acidity," he said. "In such cases, the development of acid-proof plants would be a more efficient way to maintain productivity on acid soils. Our aim now is to find the gene responsible for this tolerance and use it to improve sensitive agricultural plants such as canola and lucerne."
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