"Vaccination" Protects Plants from Drought and Frost

Biologists at Russia’s Tomsk State University, in collaboration with their Chinese counterparts, have developed an eco-friendly method for protecting plants that relies on a “vaccine” made from natural sugars and plant hormones. The news website Russia Today quoted the university’s media office as saying that this vaccine stimulates the plant immune system, helping plants resist drought, frost, soil salinity, and pathogens, thereby reducing the heavy reliance on traditional pesticides and fertilizers.