Breakthrough Technology Enables Crops To Take Nitrogen From The Air — Effective Means To Replace Nitrogen Fertilizers Developed

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A potentially "World-changing" technology has been developed by researchers at the University of Nottingham - a means of enabling any type of crop to take nitrogen from the air.

Legumes possess the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere thanks to the nitrogen fixing bacteria that live within them.

Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow.

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 fertilizer.

A leading world expert in nitrogen and plant science, Professor Cocking has long recognized that there is a critical need to reduce nitrogen pollution caused by nitrogen-based fertilizers.

With regard to the new technology - which has been dubbed 'N-Fix' - Professor Cocking had this to say: "Helping plants to naturally obtain the nitrogen they need is a key aspect of World Food Security. The world needs to unhook itself from its ever increasing reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizers produced from fossil fuels with its high economic costs, its pollution of the environment and its high energy costs."

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