When micro plastics end up in fields, they can damage plant growth. But two young researchers now report combining fungi (真菌) with certain farm wastes can partly address that problem.
May Shin aged 20 had desired to explore how micro plastics might affect the ecosystem. Jiwon Choi aged 18 was crazy about plants and fungi. They met in a research design class at the Fryeburg Academy, a high school in Maine and teamed up to find out the impact of long-lived plastics on farm crops.
Scientists have shown certain fungi can aid root growth and a plant’s nutrient uptake. Those organisms are named arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF). Farm wastes known as mushroom substrate (基质) can provide nutrients to plants and help stabilize their roots.
May and Jiwon planted over 2,000 scallion (大葱) seeds in pots of soil. Half the seeds got soil polluted with micro plastics. The rest grew in plastic-free soil. The plants then were further divided into four groups. The two young added AMF to the soil in one group. Another group had a top layer of mushroom substrate. A third group got both treatments. The last group got none. For three weeks, the pair tracked how many scallions sprouted (发芽) in each group and measured the plants’ height once each week.
About twice as many scallions sprouted in clean soil in comparison to that containing plastic bits. But among plants surviving in the polluted soil, a combination of AMF and mushroom substrate helped them out. Those getting both treatments grew 5.4 centimeters per week. That was faster than either of the treatments alone or those getting none.
They then looked at the roots with a microscope. Where AMF had been added, it grew into those roots. That increased the scallion roots’ surface area, thus promoting their uptake of nutrients. “I see this project as a possible sustainable solution for plant growth in polluted soils,” said May.
【小题1】What’s the goal of May and Jiwon’s cooperation?| A．To explore the effect of micro plastics on ecosystem. |
| B．To find out the bond between fungi and crops. |
| C．To see how micro plastics influence crops. |
| D．To test whether crops can grow in polluted soil. |
| A．To arouse readers’ interest in the process of the test. |
| B．To help readers better understand the process of the test. |
| C．To measure the growth of scallion seeds more accurately. |
| D．To make the result of the test more convincing. |
| A．Plants grow better in polluted soil with AMF and farm wastes than in clean soil. |
| B．Plants grow better in clean soil than in soil containing micro plastics. |
| C．AFM enables seeds to sprout most in polluted soil than in clean soil. |
| D．Farm wastes help seeds sprout most in clean soil than in polluted soil. |
| A．By providing more nutrients to plants. | B．By exposing the plants’ roots to a larger area. |
| C．By increasing the deep area of plants’ roots. | D．By stabilizing the roots of the plants. |
