This week, we'll hear how scientists are using microbes to increase crop yields, and learn about a new wetland in Columbia.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is continuing to check the progress of a wetland constructed in Columbia this past summer. The city funded part of the 3M Flat Branch-Hinkson Creek Wetlands, which is located off of the MKT trail behind Katy Place Apartments, with $45,000 from the city’s park sales tax. 3M Company provided the initial seed money of $40,000. KBIA's Kyle Winker has more on the story.
Also, farmers and scientists have long understood that what lives beneath the soil affects how crops grow. That spurred the field of plant pathology, which in turn brought novel ways of fighting plant diseases. But it’s not just combating the bad. Increasingly, microbiologists are focused on how to harness the good things microbes can do, with the goal of increasing farmers’ yields and diminishing their dependence on chemicals. Harvest Public Media’s Amy Mayer has the story.
