Bacteria pitted against fungi to protect wheat and barley

Soil-dwelling bacteria that depend on wheat and barley roots for their "room and board" could soon prove themselves helpful to the plants in return.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) scientists in Pullman, Wash., are investigating the bacteria's potential to biologically control root-rot fungi that cause crop yield losses of 10 to 30 percent annually in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and elsewhere.

The bacteria are members of the genus Pseudomonas and include 11 strains that stymie the growth of Pythium and Rhizoctonia fungi, which cause diseases in wheat and barley crops.