Episode 35: Alan Bennett - Nitrogen-fixing corn

Farmers and many others are well aware that legumes such as soybeans are able to provide some of their own nitrogen through an association with symbiotic bacteria. Corn production requires the application of nitrogen fertilizers, which are costly in several ways. Listen to UC-Davis professor Dr. Allen Bennet describe his team's discovery of corn that is able to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere, and the future implications of his research. You can learn more about Dr. Bennett's research at https://bennettlab.ucdavis.edu/. The Atlantic also published an interesting article regarding the discovery : https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/08/amaizeballs/567140/. If you are interested in reading the scientific publication, it is available at https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.2006352. For further reading about the Haber-Bosch process, check out The Alchemy of Air, by Thomas Hager,