NM Tech attacks powdery mildew
Biologist uses natural fungus to eradicate malady in crops
In a major breakthrough, a New Mexico Tech biologist has discovered a way to use naturally occurring fungus in soil to protect plants from powdery mildew, a “nasty substance” that can destroy commercial crops.
The discovery can also cure plants that already have been infected.
The university is now working to patent and market the process. The discovery could improve crop quality and yields for many commercial crops, starting with chile and medical cannabis production,
said Peter Anselmo, executive director of the university’s Center for Technology Commercialization.
“It’s a natural, organic way to address a major problem that could have an impact fairly quickly on agriculture in New Mexico and other places,” Anselmo said. “A lot of new technology like pharmaceuticals or robotics can take a long time to see the benefits. But with this, we could see the benefits right away.”
Powdery mildew is a pervasive problem that affects most plants. To date, organic treatments have generally proved ineffective in killing it, forcing many commercial producers to use harsh chemicals to save crops.
The mildew is caused by a fungus in soil that can spread rapidly in humid conditions, said New Mexico State University vegetable specialist Stephanie Walker.
“It’s a very serious issue with chile in New Mexico,” Walker said. “The spores are everywhere. They need humid conditions to get going, but once it’s going, it thrives in dry conditions.”
The fungus causes plants to defoliate, interrupting photosynthesis and hindering crop production. Defoliation also reduces leaf canopy. In chile plants, that opens the fruit to sunburn, reducing chile quality and often making it unmarketable, Walker said. The fungus can also kill plants. “It’s a nasty substance,” Walker said. “It smells bad. When you’re in the field, it gets on clothes and is easily spread by people, machines and wind.”
Powdery mildew is also a serious problem for medical cannabis growers, said Jacob White of Reynold Greenleaf and Associates, which assists marijuana producers in New Mexico and other states.
“For medical cannabis production, it’s one of the top two leading problems,” White said. “All the solutions available to us now either sacrifice the quality of the product by using petroleum-based synthetic chemicals or bacteria-based organic spraying that doesn’t work and causes the crop to fail mandated bacterial testing. A solution without harsh chemicals that’s able to reduce powdery mildew is pretty intriguing.”
The problems faced by medical cannabis growers inspired New Mexico Tech assistant biology professor Siv Watkins, who specializes in environmental microbiology, to begin researching soils where cannabis is grown.
Jeffrey Holland, a social worker and executive director of the nonprofit Endorphin Power Co., which offers services for homelessness and substance abuse, introduced Watkins to medical cannabis producers through his connection with two such operations, Seven Point Farms in Socorro County and another one in Albuquerque.
“No one was researching the soil microbiome associated with cannabis, so I started collecting soil samples from farms,” Watkins said.
She isolated the bacteria and fungus in soil at Tech to study in her lab. She developed genetic fingerprints of soils in which both cannabis and chile plants are growing, including soil from indoor and outdoor operations.
That provided a snapshot of what’s happening with the plants during part of the growing season, leading to identification of one naturally occurring fungus that feeds on powdery mildew.
“I was talking with growers about many of their challenges, and powdery mildew kept popping up,” Watkins said. “With fungus, a natural equilibrium usually exists for a biological way to deal with problems. In this case, we discovered another organism that will kill the organism in powdery mildew.”
If the predator fungus is applied to soil, it can prevent the mildew, and if applied directly to infected plants, it will kill the mildew, with no damage to the plant, Watkins said.
She tested it on chile plants in her lab and on cannabis plants in fields. Results showed it’s effective on both crops.
Ongoing research could lead to more applications against the mildew in other crops.
Meanwhile, Watkins is working with cannabis growers through a new entity, 11 Biomics LLC, that she and Holland created to provide consulting services to growers. A portion of proceeds from 11 Biomics and other earnings Watkins may get from the university commercializing her discovery will be channeled to a new Biomics Foundation to provide services for people facing substance abuse and other problems, Holland said.
White expects medical cannabis growers in New Mexico and elsewhere to embrace the new powdery mildew remedy.
“Many producers are dealing with it and are looking for solutions,” White said. “If it works the way it should, I believe we’ll see a dramatic reduction in powdery mildew problems with more clean, high-quality product available for patients. It could easily mean up to 25 percent increase in production in New Mexico.”