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Soy in 1000 gardens

Soy in 1000 gardens

A citizen science project that aims to build a large collection of nitrogen-fixing bacteria that can help farm soy in Flanders.

Sojaboon

The power of soy beans

Soybean is one of the most important plant derived protein sources for food and feed. In addition, soybean cultivation also improves soil quality and reduces nitrogen pollution making it a sustainable crop. However, it is currently challenging to cultivate soy in Belgium with an acceptable yield, in part because soybean requires interaction with nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their root nodules. No commercially available bacterial inoculants are endemic and are therefore not adapted to the Belgian soil and environmental conditions.

Soja plant

1000 gardens

In this project, we engage 1000 citizens to grow soy in their own garden. We will isolate endogenous Rhizobium bacteria from soy plants grown in Belgian soil and integrate data regarding soil type, microorganisms, and soy variety for the development and implementation of guidelines on optimal cultivation methods for soy in our region. In the long-term, this should help to produce tailor-made seeds inoculated with nitrogen fixating bacteria that are adapted to local soil conditions and can improve soy yields. 

In addition, this project aims to improve public know how and awareness about the benefits of legumes for health, sustainable gardening, and agriculture. 

Local soy production contributes non-legume plants to sustainable agriculture because soy is part of the legume family that requires much less fertilization than non-legume due to the symbiosis with nitrogen-fixing bacteria of legumes.
Sofie Goormachtig
Sofie Goormachtig
VIB-UGent

More info

Learn more about this citizen science initiative via the project's website in Dutch