Nitrogen-fixing genes moved into new bacterial strains, opening path beyond fertilizer

https://phys.org/news/2026-05-nitrogen-genes-bacterial-strains-path.html

Most major crops, such as wheat and corn, require expensive nitrogen fertilizer to flourish. But what if bacteria could help those plants draw nitrogen from the atmosphere, as peas and beans do?


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17 points · 4 comments · view on lemmy.world

4 Comments

pomegranatefern@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 106d

Reminds me of a nitrogen-fixing variety of corn I just heard about today, too, from back in 2018. It's tropical and water-intensive, though, so not a great fit for all environments.

Flagstaff@programming.dev · 2 pts · 106d

Good, because I recently read that the Strait of Hormuz may be blocking fertilizer.

johnefrancis@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 106d

sounds like a recipe for superweeds

GrabtharsHammer@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 106d
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spicehoarder@lemmy.zip · 0 pts · 106d

Are beans just too fucking hard to plant or something?