Dr. TAKADA Kanako, a research fellow in the Crop, Livestock and Environment Division, received the 2022 Promotional Award for Achievement in Tropical Agriculture from the Japanese Society for Tropical Agriculture (JSTA) for her research on biological nitrogen fixation and symbiosis of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in tropical yams. The awards ceremony and lecture were held on March 15, 2022.

This prize is awarded to JSTA members who have made outstanding research achievements that contribute to the advancement of tropical agriculture and are expected to make further progress in the future.

The award-winning research focused on biological nitrogen fixation by symbiosis with microorganisms in yam, which is produced as a staple food crop in tropical and subtropical regions such as West Africa. The study revealed symbiotic relationships of yam with various bacteria, including nitrogen-fixing bacteria, and that these bacteria are able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere and promoted the growth of yam. The research results have been recognized for elucidating the unique nitrogen absorption mechanism of yams, and for demonstrating new findings that symbiotic microorganisms contribute to the growth and nutrient absorption of yams.