039. 2020 AgEmerge Podcast - The Rhizophagy Cycle And Its "Plant Managers"

So good we gave it a reboot! And we think we'll have you doing your own system reboot as we talk research on plant, microbe, and soil interactions. It’s hard to believe we’ve been doing the AgEmerge podcast for a year and a half. Today we’re doing a reboot with a podcast we recorded early on in our podcasts, why? Because this is some cool research that's helping us understand the incredible interaction between plants, microbes, the soil. And honestly, it’s a big deal. Dr. James White is Professor of Plant Biology at Rutgers University and he and his students conduct research on beneficial microbes that inhabit plant tissues. In this part one of a two-part podcast, he discusses the rhizophagy cycle, a mechanism where plants attract microbes and acquire needed nutrients. But even more interesting, there’s also a mechanism where plants can actually cultivate their most beneficial microbes and then populate the soil with those microbes so they can maximize nutrient acquisition. We’re looking at the soil, plant, and microbe interaction from a whole new perspective. We explore what plants are actually doing to help bring those microbes in through the root hairs, take a listen.