Phytobiomes Conference 2026: Focus on Day 1
Tuesday 3 November | Unlocking the Complexity of Phytobiomes
💧 Can microbes help a field hold on to its water?
Early Career Award recipient Alonso Favela will show that more diverse soil microbiomes can store more water, thanks to the sticky polymers microbes produce.
It’s one of several questions that will be asked on Day 1, “Unlocking the Complexity of Phytobiomes.” Staying with drought, Rhea Lumactud will show that a microbial consortium added to red clover has its effects only after the drought ends, when the soil is rewatered. Bridget Emmett will take a wider view, asking whether Europe’s flagship approach to soil health is actually working.
Other talks will bring in deep learning, forest microbiomes and microbiome biobanking, and Shengjing Shi will present a roadmap for breeding plants with their microbiomes in mind to improve stress tolerance.
From soil hydrology to computer vision to land policy, a single day will show how many disciplines phytobiomes science brings together.
The day will start on the ground, with a welcome from the Honourable Robert Black, P. Ag. (Hon), Senator for Ontario, and a keynote by Trevor Charles on the phytobiome potential across Ontario’s diverse agricultural systems. It will continue with the Ground Truths Conversation, sponsored by Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, on what production agriculture needs from phytobiomes science.
📅 Tuesday 3 November | Niagara-on-the-Lake
Registration closes 29 October