India, Feb. 6 -- Every year, farmers around the world spread over 200 million tons of chemical fertilizers across their fields. These fertilizers help feed billions, but at the steep environmental cost of polluted waterways, greenhouse gas emissions, and degraded soils. Plants have internal communication systems that connect them with helpful microbes in the soil. Now, scientists have discovered a way to tap into these networks to offer us a way to break our overreliance on synthetic fertilizers.

The key lies in enhancing the natural partnerships of crop plants with beneficial soil microbes. These microbes help plants in crucial ways. Soil microbes have acted as microscopic allies that have helped plants thrive since they first colonized...