CSU scientists explore ways to help crops grow with less water and fertilizer

FORT COLLINS, Colo. Drought and water shortages are making it harder for Colorado farmers to grow crops. On top of that, rising fertilizer costs are adding to the challenges.

Now, researchers at Colorado State University are exploring a way to help plants grow more efficiently, potentially using fewer resources like water and nitrogen.

Denver7's Northern Colorado and Eastern Plains Reporter Peter Choi explains how CSU researchers are using synthetic biology to study ways plants can use fewer resources in the video below:

The research focuses on something called synthetic biology, which involves studying and changing how plants grow.

CSU professor Arjun Khakhar is among the researchers working to better understand how a plant's structure affects the way it uses resources.

"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.

In simple terms, researchers are studying how plants grow both above and below the ground.

The part above the ground, known as the shoot, helps capture sunlight. The roots below the ground absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

By understanding the genes that control the size and shape of these parts, researchers hope to learn how plants can make better use of limited resources.

"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.

The research could eventually have implications for farmers dealing with unpredictable weather and limited water supplies.

Dave Petrocco, a third-generation farmer, said drought has already affected how his family operates.

"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.

He said farmers in Colorado's high desert face several challenges throughout the year, including early frosts, summer drought, hail and strong winds.

"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," Petrocco said.

The CSU research is still in its early stages. Scientists hope their work could eventually help develop crops that grow more efficiently while requiring fewer resources.

For farmers facing increasingly difficult growing conditions, that could make a difference.