CSU team tests crop efficiency

Colorado farmers face a dual pressure: shrinking water supplies and rising fertilizer costs. In response, scientists at Colorado State University are investigating whether they can re-engineer plant growth to require fewer resources.

The project centers on synthetic biology, a field that involves studying and modifying how plants develop. Professor Arjun Khakhar leads the team looking at how a plant's physical structure determines its resource use.

"Our research is to figure out ways to re-engineer how plants grow, like the shape in which they grow, to make them more resource use efficient," Khakhar said.

The team studies both the shoot above ground and the root system below. The shoot captures sunlight to produce sugar, while roots absorb water and nutrients from the soil. By identifying the genes that control the size and shape of these parts, researchers hope to optimize how plants utilize limited inputs.

"Controlling the size of the shoot and the root will basically control how much surface area there is to capture that light to produce sugar, or to capture that water or nitrogen within the soil," Khakhar explained.

For local growers, the stakes are high. Dave Petrocco, a third-generation farmer, noted that drought has already forced his family to adjust operations. "Drought was made an impact. We were short of water, and we weren't able to plant all of our acres, and so we were trying to be very careful," Petrocco said.

Petrocco described the high desert as a unique environment where early frosts, summer drought, hail, and strong winds create constant challenges. "Here on the high desert, we're very unique, and we need all the help we can get because Mother Nature really, really could be impactful here," he said. The CSU work remains in early stages, but scientists aim to develop crops that grow efficiently with less water and nitrogen.