fungus

Tests with other organisms showed that the method can even replicate the root structure of fungi, called hyphae.

It starts with a pile of soy pulp, which is wrapped in banana leaves and sprinkled with the spores of a fungus called Neurospora intermedia.

A cold-loving fungus that has killed millions of bats across North America has significantly expanded its footprint in California, potentially taking hold from the northern to the southern tip of the state.

"Trees and wood; plants, flowers, fruit and nuts; and fungi play a crucial role in the balance of the ecosystem in all the parks and are an important food source for wildlife," they say.

But every year, California growers apply more than 180 million pounds of pesticides to crops in an effort to defend them from weeds, fungi, insects and other pests.