Potentially world changing agricultural technology

[B4UTRUST]

Link

25 Jul 2013 12:21:56.663
PA 249/13

A major new technology has been developed by The University of Nottingham, which enables all of the world’s crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilisers.

Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertiliser.

Professor Edward Cocking, Director of The University of Nottingham’s Centre for Crop Nitrogen Fixation, has developed a unique method of putting nitrogen-fixing bacteria into the cells of plant roots. His major breakthrough came when he found a specific strain of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in sugar-cane which he discovered could intracellularly colonise all major crop plants. This ground-breaking development potentially provides every cell in the plant with the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. The implications for agriculture are enormous as this new technology can provide much of the plant’s nitrogen needs.

[Josh]

Technology comes through again.

[Comrade Tortoise]

*gibbers like a madman for a moment*

This is a Big Fucking Thing. Nitrogen fertilizer? Dont need it anymore. Herbicides sprayed on crops? Dont need them anymore because weeds just became largely irrelevant.

[B4UTRUST]

My big fear though is someone like Mosanto coming through and trying to buy this out of existence because it poses a threat to their profit margin somehow.

[Josh]

I'm just waiting for demonstration of practical implementation. If it comes through, it's nothing short of a miracle and a world-changer.