Researchers make nitrogen

Plant breeders have developed wheat plants capable of creating their own nitrogen fertilizer. Article content

Researchers at the University of California used gene editing technology to increase naturally occurring chemicals that allow wheat to fix nitrogen. Article content

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“For decades, scientists have been trying to develop cereal crops that produce active root nodules, or trying to colonize cereals with nitrogen-fixing bacteria, without much success. We used a different approach,” said Eduardo Blumwald in a report in ScienceDaily publication.

Researchers, led by Blumwald, examined 2,800 chemicals that plants make naturally and identified 20 that could encourage nitrogen-fixing bacteria to form biofilms, the report said.

The university has appli