Wheat That Makes Its Own Fertilizer? UC Davis Says Yes
Sure, we’ve heard about technology in crop genetics, but wheat that can create its own fertilizer? That’s exactly what scientists at UC Davis are working on.
A team led by Eduardo Blumwald, a distinguished professor in plant sciences, used the gene-editing tool CRISPR to get wheat plants to produce more of one of their own natural chemicals. When the plant releases that extra chemical into the soil, it helps certain bacteria turn nitrogen from the air into a form the wheat can use. The study was published in the Plant Biotechnology Journal and highlighted in an article from UC Davis.
Blumwald points out that in Africa, many farmers can’t afford fertilizer, and most farms are small. He said, “Imagine, you are planting crops that stimulate bacteria in the soil to create the fertilizer that the crops need, naturally. Wow! That’s a big difference!”
And here in the U.S., fertilizer is a major expense. Farmers spent about 36 billion dollars on it in 2023. Blumwald calculates that if this wheat could cut fertilizer use by even 10 percent, it would save growers more than a billion dollars each year.
The UC Davis team has already applied this approach in rice, and they’re working to extend it to other cereals. It’s early days, but the potential for farmers is big: healthier yields and major cost savings.
