How can humans change their lifestyles and living methods so that we can become more eco-friendly? Some solutions to that question focus on how to deal with waste (e.g. encouragement to use paper straws instead of plastic straws), decrease greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. movement to use electric cars), and so on. 

        Another area to focus on is agriculture. According to a recent article, researchers have found smart soil bacteria that could control crop diseases, which is a promising eco-friendly method of managing crop health. Without such bacteria, farmers usually rely on chemical treatments to control crop diseases; yet, these chemicals are often harmful to the environment and also create waste. 

        However, scientists have identified a specific genome in bacteria that could fight pathogen activity. In fact, these molecules, in particular, were found to have an antibacterial effect on certain pathogenic bacteria that can cause potato scabs. 

        Such result is promising because farmers may no longer need to rely on chemical treatments in order to suppress crop diseases; instead, these smart bacteria could be introduced to the fields through methods such as drip irrigation, seed coatings, etc. 

        Scientists have stated that crop diseases are detrimental to agriculture, as many crops often die from them. Although the finding of these smart bacteria is quite new and the bacteria are not ready for implementation yet, researchers argue that further studies of how to regulate such bacteria will certainly bring promising news. 

Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220118104114.htm#:~:text=Smart%20soil%20bugs%20offer%20farmers%20an%20ecofriendly%20route%20to%20controlling%20crop%20diseases,-Date%3A%20January%2018&text=Summary%3A,from%20a%20research%2Dindustry%20collaboration.