One of America’s top agriculture researchers is using biotechnology to
put the P and N back in plants.
Most of the phosphorus and nitrogen applied to crops is wasted. Carroll
Vance, research leader of the United States Department of Agriculture’s
plant science research unit, said that has to change because fertilizer
is a non-renewable resource.
The fertilizer dilemma is a small part of a bigger quandary that
agriculture faces. Farmers can produce enough food to feed the world,
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but that may not always be the case.
“The next 40 years is critical – can we stay ahead of the game?” Vance
said.
The answer depends on advancements in agriculture biotechnology, which
Vance acknowledged makes many people uncomfortable. However, he added,
it’s all there is.
“I don’t hear anybody offering other strategies.”
Vance was speaking to delegates attending the Agricultural
Biotechnology International Conference 2002 in Saskatoon. Organizers
say 400 delegates from 27 countries registered for the conference held
Sept. 15-18.
During his talk, Vance told conference goers that the earth’s six
billion population is expected to increase to eight or nine billion by
2030. Estimates peg the world’s hungry at one billion people, growing
to 1.4 billion by 2030.
The current problem is food delivery rather than food shortage, but
scientists have grave concerns about the ability of today’s cultivated
acreage to feed the world in a few decades.
The solution is to devote more land to agriculture or to make the
existing acreage more productive. Bulldozing rain forests doesn’t seem
the way to go, said Vance, who feels it is incumbent upon governments
and researchers in wealthy countries to use biotechnology to help feed
the less fortunate.
“I think it is a moral obligation and if we fail to do that, we have no
one else to blame for the problems we see in the developing world.”
Improving plants’ ability to acquire phosphorus and nitrogen is one of
the most pressing problems that needs to be addressed.
Agriculture consumes 14.5 million tonnes of nitrogen and 5.5 million
tonnes of phosphorus a year. At current use rates, farmers will be
using 60 million tonnes of nitrogen and 30 million tonnes of phosphorus
by 2030.
Fertilizer manufacturers use between four and seven percent of the
earth’s natural gas output to produce the two types of fertilizer,
which makes them non-renewable resources.
Vance said plants make use of less than half of the fertilizer applied
to crops. The residual contributes to greenhouse gases, water pollution
and decreased biodiversity.
Increasing plant uptake of nitrogen and phosphorous will help reduce
pollution and will make it more feasible for farmers to grow better
crops in areas of the world that can’t afford fertilizers.
Researchers at the USDA and other institutions have used biotechnology
to increase phosphorus and nitrogen uptake in plants.
Vance’s team has created an alfalfa plant that releases organic
compounds from its roots, enabling it to acquire more phosphorus and
improving the variety’s nitrogen-fixing ability.
An unexpected side benefit of the genetically modified alfalfa is its
aluminum resistance. More than 35 percent of the world’s soil is
“aluminum toxic” to plants.
“This is mainly in the developing world and it’s mainly in soils that
are very old and weathered.”
Vance is optimistic that the over-expressed gene in the alfalfa can
also be used in other plants to stabilize soil conditions, improve
nutrient uptake and help the bottom line.
“We’re going to be able to provide that farmer with more nitrogen that
he can put into his cropping system that he doesn’t have to buy from
the fertilizer dealer.”
In three or four years, Vance expects to have an alfalfa type that will
be ready to be increased by seed growers. Oats will be next, followed
by beans and soybeans.
