If solved
Self-fertilizing crops
Cereals that make their own nitrogen would cut fertilizer cost, pollution and emissions, especially for farmers who cannot afford fertilizer.
Open in the interactive tree →If wheat, rice or maize could host nitrogen-fixing partners as legumes do, the Haber-Bosch fertilizer chain would become far less important to the food supply. Farms would depend less on natural gas prices and fertilizer imports.
What it brings
- Much lower fertilizer demand and ammonia-related emissions
- Cleaner groundwater and coastal waters
- Higher yields in regions with poor fertilizer supply
- Less exposure of food prices to energy shocks