By Addison DeHaven
As fertilizer prices remain elevated, researchers at South Dakota State University are developing an innovative solution to corn's nitrogen supply problems by taking inspiration from an ancient Mexican variety and root nodules found on soybeans. In a new study, published in Plant and Soil, the researchers demonstrate how hydrogel beads may act as a promising solution in naturally supplying plants nitrogen.
Nitrogen is a key building block for life and is the most common gas in our atmosphere. While life on Earth is almost entirely dependent on nitrogen, only a tiny percentage of organisms can actually convert the gas into a usable form needed, in the case of plants, for making food from sunlight or growing new cells.
Researchers around the world have been working to leverage the ability of these select few organisms to naturally fix nitrogen into useable forms for crop production. The goal is to reduce the need for synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which are not only environmentally harmful but are skyrocketing in costs, creating financial instability for farmers.
Microenvironments
In the highlands of Oaxaca, Mexico, scientists observed, first in the 1980s, how a specific variety of corn was able to grow in nitrogen-deficient soils. This was a considerable discovery and was later described in more detail in a 2018 study.
Source : sdstate.edu