Slivers of land could power cheaper, greener nitrogen fertilizers

Nitrogen-based fertilizer contributes to the high yields expected from crops in the developed world, but its high use also damages nearby waters and ecosystems. Conversely, developing countries that most need yield improvements ...

Some domesticated plants ignore beneficial soil microbes

While domestication of plants has yielded bigger crops, the process has often had a negative effect on plant microbiomes, making domesticated plants more dependent on fertilizer and other soil amendments than their wild relatives.

Branching out for a new green revolution

Researchers at the University of Oxford and the Chinese Academy of Sciences have discovered a new gene that improves the yield and fertilizer use efficiency of rice.

Ecological fertilizer from wastewater nutrients

Wastewaters contain large amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen, which are valuable nutrients. Aalto University's NPHarvest process enables recovery of these nutrients as clean ammonium sulfate and sludge containing phosphorus ...

Consider soil in fall-applied ammonia rates, study says

Fall-applied anhydrous ammonia may not fulfill as much of corn's nitrogen needs as previously assumed. According to a new study from the University of Illinois, the effectiveness of the practice depends on the soil.

Helping plant nurseries reduce runoff

You may have heard how excess nutrients, such as phosphorus, can run off of crop fields. This can cause harm when the nutrients end up in rivers and lakes. However, there are other sources of excess nutrients you might not ...

Coated seeds may enable agriculture on marginal lands

Providing seeds with a protective coating that also supplies essential nutrients to the germinating plant could make it possible to grow crops in otherwise unproductive soils, according to new research at MIT.

New paper points to soil pore structure as key to carbon storage

Alexandra Kravchenko, Michigan State University professor in the Department of Plant, Soil and Microbial Sciences, and several of her colleagues recently discovered a new mechanism determining how carbon is stored in soils ...

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