technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air

http://phys.org/news/2013-07-world-technology-enables-crops-nitrogen.html



World changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air

A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world's crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilisers.


Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

Professor Edward Cocking, Director of The University of Nottingham's Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation, has developed a unique method of putting nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots. His major breakthrough came when he found a specific strain of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sugar-cane which he discovered could intracellularly colonise all major crop plants. This ground-breaking development potentially provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The implications for agriculture are enormous as this new technology can provide much the plant's nitrogen needs.
..............

N-Fix is neither genetic modification nor bio-engineering. It is a naturally occurring nitrogen fixing bacteria which takes up and uses nitrogen from the air. Applied to the cells of plants (intra-cellular) via the seed, it provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix nitrogen. Plant seeds are coated with these bacteria in order to create a symbiotic, mutually beneficial relationship and naturally produce nitrogen.

http://www.azotictechnologies.com/



no field trails yet but this could prove to be interesting

Hope Monsanto doesn't buy up the patent rights to it!

The title should read
"technology enables ALL crops to take nitrogen from the air"
as you will see from the article below.
http://phys.org/news/2013-07-world-technology-enables-crops-nitrogen.html

Some plants receiving too much nitrogen will continue to grow greens at the expense of less fruit.
or
If all "fast carbon pathways" have n-fixing properties, they may become very very hard to manage.

What are your opinions on this?

I have mixed feeling about this one. On one hand it would be nice to eliminate petroleum base fertilizers which cause environmental issue on various levels but on the other hand I get a feeling this will simply be used in addition to synthetic fertilizer in hope to get an even bigger yield. It will only be a matter of time before DuPond/Monsanto creates a new GMO which will insure fast growth from the extra nitrogen but not at the expense of the fruit.

I don't understand why have a need to fix something that isn't broken.

Thanks,
Kris

D.W. + Kris : I think, we are like mice voting to bell the cat, or maybe blind men trying to describe an elephant by feel ! I for one would love to hear Paul Stamets to
weigh in on this ! Big AL !

Well, it is GMO, so I doubt there will be much interest in it here. You know, for planting in our own gardens.

Some farmers may try to use both methods but there's lots of logistics in getting nitrogen into the soil. If that could be avoided, some farmers will give it a try. Also, inputs are a major category of expense on a farm. If there's one thing you can bet on, it's that the bottom line matters. So if it saves money, there will be customers.

Also, it should be noted that too much nitrogen in the soil will produce certain defects in plants. Pink-eye purple-hull peas, for example, won't produce if there's excess nitrogen. On the other hand, I've never heard to a corn plant getting too much nitrogen....

http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/news/pressreleases/2013/july/world-changing-technology-enables-crops-to-take-nitrogen-from-the-air-.aspx

Excellent work. I hope it is not licensed to any one particular company, and if it was paid for by public funds, it should be publicly available technology.

Combine this with mycorrhizal fungi that can translocate phosphorous, and those two technologies take care of 2/3 of the plant fertilizer business.

This one is a terrifying fascination???

I get the same feeling as the start of "I am Legend" as the cure for cancer becomes the cause of the apocalypse.