A new project from SDSU looks to improve the soybean plant's ability to naturally fix nitrogen, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.
Researchers to improve nitrogen-fixing capabilities in soybeans
As elite soybean varieties move later into their growth stages, their ability to fix nitrogen — an essential growth nutrient — declines, leading to a depletion of soil nitrogen. This requires farmers to apply costly synthetic fertilizers to ensure yields remain high. Researchers from South Dakota State University look to remedy this issue by genetically editing soybean traits that allow them to fix nitrogen later into the growth cycle, thus reducing — or even eliminating — the need for fertilizers.
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