Plant Research Explains Nutrient Flow

A WSU researcher in plant biology is hoping a recent discovery could help plants fight off pests better and make crops more efficient.

Professor of Plant Cell Biology Michael Knoblauch said he’s discovered strong support for the theory that nutrients flow through a plant’s phloem.

“Understanding the interaction between those can lead to new methods to prevent aphids to be able to feed on the system. We have discovered, for example, proteins in the phloem that shut the phloem off in case of injury. These proteins have the potential to shut off this flow to aphids that feed on the phloem.”

Knoblauch said the phloem is similar to a human heart that pumps blood to throughout the body.

This could have a major impact on how growers approach pesticide use according to Knoblauch.

“This would reduce the amount of chemicals we need to put on our plants to protect them from pests. The farmers and the consumers would be very happy if we used less chemicals.”

Knoblauch said his discovery will allow the next step in research to go forward, but we’re likely at least 10 years away from actionable results.

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