Scientists to Develop Maize that Can Self-fertilize

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) has granted a research project that aims to develop a maize variety that can create its own fertilizer. On a global scale, this could lead to a reduction in the use of artificial fertilizers and thereby less environmental pollution.

The international group of scientists responsible for the research project is being headed by Professor Jens Stougaard of Aarhus University in Denmark. Prior to this research, Stougaard has been spearheading a research team that already discovered how legumes are capable of establishing symbiosis with bacteria that can use nitrogen in the air so that the plant – to put it simply – creates its own fertilizer.

If the project is successful, the method will be both cheap and sustainable for the farmers. Cheap, because the fertilizer mechanism is built into the grain they already use. Sustainable, because using a fertilizer is unnecessary, thereby avoiding environmental pollution. In the longer term, the results could have substantial impact worldwide, since it might reduce – or even eliminate – the use of artificial fertilizers and thereby reduce environmental pollution.

See Aarhus University's news release at http://mbg.au.dk/en/news-and-events/news-item/artikel/super-maize-can-put-sustainable-food-on-the-table/.