![]() ![]() ![]() For instance, the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser supply chain alone was responsible for an estimated 10.6 per cent of agricultural emissions, and roughly two per cent of total global GHG emissions in 2018.Īnd for countries where fertiliser has been either too expensive or difficult to access, supporting plants to better recruit the help of soil microbes could deliver the increased nutrients needed to overcome historically low yields and worsening food insecurity.įor instance, fertiliser use in sub-Saharan Africa is around one-quarter of that used in the United States, and two-thirds of the continent’s agricultural land is already categorised as degraded.Īs a result, crop yields remain stubbornly low at a time when food security pressures are rising. It would also have vital implications for climate action. While this is an ambitious goal, with any future nitrogen-fixing cereal still years in the making, its success could transform the face of agriculture across the world, reducing fertiliser usage while still supporting highly productive farming. However, researchers are working towards transferring this same nitrogen-fixing ability to all of our major food crops worldwide, including staple cereals such as maize and rice, as well as those crops which are vital for smallholder farmers across the developing world, such as cassava. Likewise, researchers are looking to better understand a soil bacteria called rhizobia, which has a unique ability to convert, or ‘fix’, nitrogen from the air into a form that can be absorbed by plants.Ĭurrently, these bacteria only bond with legume crops like beans, peas and lentils. If scientists can ensure continuous colonisation of plants by fungi, even where sufficient nutrients are present, by using modern genetic engineering techniques, it could result in substantially less chemical fertiliser being needed, as more will be absorbed after each application. ![]() Doing so means that more fertiliser needs to be applied since root systems are less efficient in absorbing nutrients on their own. However, crops often ‘turn down’ this connection to fungi if they sense sufficient nutrients already in the soil in order to prevent wasting energy. This is important because, since 1960, global fertiliser consumption has more than quadrupled in order to keep up with rising demand for food, yet this model has come with many trade-offs, including more polluted waterways and significant greenhouse gas emissions.īy helping crops better interact with soil microbes, scientists can reduce the current dependence on fertiliser and help deliver more sustainable and productive farming for the future – from smallholder plots to large commercial farms.įirst and foremost, all plants already have the ability to engage with beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, which expand the surface area of their roots to capture critical nutrients, such as nitrates and phosphates, in greater quantities and more efficiently. In doing so, they offer a viable, sustainable alternative to the use of chemical fertilisers, which can be expensive and damaging to both the environment and the climate. Symbiotic fungi and nitrogen-fixing bacteria, perhaps the best known of these beneficial microbes, help crops access key nutrients in the soil in exchange for carbon provided through the plant’s photosynthesis. These microbes are vital to how our crops grow, yet they offer even more potential in helping to sustainably feed a growing world population in the future. Just like the tip of an iceberg, these fields hold a secret underground: vast communities of beneficial microbes in our soil. Imagine a farmer’s field and you’re already missing half the picture. ![]()
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