London's A&L Biologicals Inc. is getting $1.19-million from the federal government to study how farmers can increase corn yields.
The company is working to develop a diagnostic test that will detect which microorganisms have an affect on farm production.
"These microbial populations on a plant change from the spring to the fall, as the plant dies other opportunistic agents show up, so the first thing we have to determine is when to sample the plants," says Research Director George Lazarovits. "These organisms have huge impacts on our health and we're discovering the same thing exists in plants and they were here before us. If you can understand how they regulate crop health then we can eventually manage that ecosystem."
Lazarovits tells BlackburnNews.com the study will see a partnership formed between the company and Western University.
"They can do hundreds of millions of cell counts using genomics. Plus, more importantly, they can tell us what these microbes are doing. In the long run, we don't care as much about who is there, but rather what they are doing."
A&L Biologicals currently employs 17 people and will hire two more scientists to help with the study.
Corn fields across Ontario, Quebec and Manitoba will be sampled.