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The boffins are working on self fertilizing crops now: https://e360.yale.edu/features/indigenous-maize-who-owns-the-rights-to-mexicos-wonder-plant https://e360

• alliao 3y ago
  some say crop some say pest tomato tomato... really got that winter adapted hogs vibe that are causing havoc between Canada and the US
• adastra22 3y ago
  It’s been a thing for hundreds of years. That’s why agriculture traditionally rotated crops and planted beans every 3rd season or so. I’m not sure what if anything is deferent about this species of corn, except perhaps that it is itself a desirable crop with more market value. We stopped doing this and moved to artificial fertilizers in the 20th century because it vastly improved crop yields, and is cheaper.
  • RajT88 3y ago
    > I’m not sure what if anything is deferent about this species of corn This species of corn has weird roots halfway up which drip goop down on the ground. The goop contains nitrogen fixing bacteria from the soil which pull nitrogen out of the air to fertilize the soil. It is massively different from what you say. It would vastly reduce farm runoff while increasing yields. All facts contained within the article.
    • adastra22 3y ago
      I’m not sure you understand my post. Beans have the exact same nitrogen fixing bacteria in their roots too.
      • RajT88 3y ago
        Beans still require extra fertilizer. This corn species does not. Also it is corn, and not beans...? Beans is used in crop rotation in service of corn harvests. What if all of a sudden you don't have to rotate crops? This is a big deal. Don't pooh-pooh it.
        • adastra22 3y ago
          Beans have been used for thousands of years without fertilizer. They restore the nutrients in the ground by exactly the same process as this maize, because it is the exact same nitrogen-fixing bacteria at work. I'm pooh-pooh'ing the idea because this isn't any more practical than rotating beans to restore a field was. These microbes don't fix nitrogen anywhere fast enough to supply acceptable yields. You end up with fields giving out 3-4x less end product with this strategy vs. using artificial fertilizer. You're not going to feed the worlds population with replenishing crops.
          • RajT88 3y ago
            I defer to you, internet expert.
• throwawaymaths 3y ago
  that's strictly nitrogen, which comes from the atmosphere. There are many plants that host nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Corn is not one of them. You cannot make other elements out of whole cloth unless they discover how to do transmutation in vivo. Not saying it's impossible, but we are far from there yet.