MARE in 90 segundos de ciência

Bernardo Duarte, a researcher at MARE, took part in the radio program "90 minutes of science" on Antena 1.  90 Segundos de Ciência is a project of the António Xavier Institute of Chemical and Biological Technology - ITQB NOVA, the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities - FCSH NOVA, both of Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and Antena 1, with the support of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT).

In episode no. 1750, broadcast on March 22, Bernardo Duarte talked about marine bacteria that facilitate the growth of plants in estuarine salt marshes. In 90 seconds, the researcher talked about how he is using these microorganisms as a solution to some of the problems that affect cultivated plants of agronomic interest.

"We tested applications, either foliar, through watering or using a system we've been developing, in which we try to trap the bacteria in microspheres, which can be placed precisely where we want them, instead of having to water large areas, which greatly reduces the amount of inoculum and bacteria we need," explains the researcher. "We found that, depending on the application (...), we ended up having better effects on the plant, and the plant ended up resisting the heatwave better, but also recovering better after the heatwave had subsided."

To listen to the episode (in portuguese) click HERE