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Scientific Breakthrough Increases Plant Yields By One Third (wsu.edu)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the growth-industry dept.

Slashdot reader schwit1 writes, "Plant scientists have found a way to encourage plants to better use atmospheric nitrogen, thus increasing yields by more than one third. The technique not only produces healthier plants and more seeds, it reduces the need for fertilizer, the overuse of which can be an environmental issue." From WSU News: For years, scientists have tried to increase the rate of nitrogen [conversion] in legumes by altering...interactions that take place between the bacterioid and the root nodule cells. [Washington State University biologist Mechthild] Tegeder took a different approach: She increased the number of proteins that help move nitrogen from the rhizobia bacteria to the plant's leaves, seed-producing organs and other areas where it is needed. The additional transport proteins sped up the overall export of nitrogen from the root nodules.

This initiated a feedback loop that caused the rhizobia to start fixing more atmospheric nitrogen, which the plant then used to produce more seeds. "They are bigger, grow faster and generally look better than natural soybean plants," Tegeder said.

6 of 197 comments (clear)

  1. Rushing? by Tablizer · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Why didn't natural selection already "discover" this? Perhaps there's a big trade-off that hasn't been discovered yet.

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    1. Re:Rushing? by Rei · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Natural selection optimizes to a plant's natural environment. Intensive modern agriculture is not a plant's natural environment. Everything comes with tradeoffs, and in nature there are a lot of things that come into play beyond just "racing to as many seeds as possible". Perhaps, for example, by producing more nitrogen they'd be fertilizing the soil for their competitors which would outgrow them - maybe they were limiting the nitrogen for a reason.

      Indeed, this actually does seem to happen. Here in Iceland, lupine is not a native species, but it's taken off like crazy since it was introduced (to try to restore our soil), pushing out native species. However, evidence shows that after an area has grown lupine for several decades, it tends to slowly die out, being replaced by native plants that can now - due to the improved soil - outcompete the lupine. Lupine is, of course, a legume.

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  2. Re:Yeah.. by amiga3D · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Honestly having enough food is the least of the problems with too many people on the planet.

  3. Re:Yeah.. by lobiusmoop · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The big problem is that every calorie of food requires the input of 10 calories of fossil-fuel energy, mainly from oil and gas, which will be running out within your lifetime.

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    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
  4. Re:GMO by ChromeAeonium · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Monsanto's first generation of GE soybean went off patent a while back and anyone can now use it. Unlike copyright, plant patents do actually expire.

  5. Re:Yeah.. by PPH · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Maybe. But then there's that little bit in TFS that says "it reduces the need for fertilizer". Which means less petrochemical input into the food cycle. That could be a good thing.

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    Have gnu, will travel.