Tag: agriculture

I’M SO UPSET THAT SO FEW PEOPLE I KNOW (outside of tumblr, which I thank you nerds for spreading the word which lead to it hitting my end of the grapevine~) ARE EXCITED ABOUT THE NITROGEN FIXING SNOT CORN.

ITS BOTANICALLY FASCINATING AND HORTICULTURALLY HUGE!!!!

I agree with Sarah Taber’s point on how this landrace of corn won’t likely become that big in short-summer temperate regions like the northly parts of North America (4 months is often cutting it close in our canadian region when it comes to growing corn), however there are some definite things it could change that would be huge;

  • other tropical farms; as it is now many of them are growing modern day commercial corn, which in the long-run is not as productive as it is in the temperate regions due to the heavy nutrient/fertilizer requirements. They could possibly afford to grow the slower nitrogen fixing corn in exchange for the potentially larger yield when it comes to their longer growing season.
  • it could still change temperate farms, just not as majorly; the snot corn landrace is too slow for such farms and will probably always be too slow, however an intermediate form (so more aerial roots than modern corn, but less than the snot corn) might still be beneficial, though, it will still take time/experiments to truly confirm.

Another point I’ve just realized is that corn may still be a fertilizer hog (as in, it may still deplete the soil in the long run, as with modern corn)

even with the nitrogen fixing bacteria, it’s just that it’d make it less of a fertilizer hog. Other agricultural methods may still have to be used or improved upon (crop rotation, green manure, unfortunately fertilizer too just hopefully less so). We also don’t know what factors are required for the mucus (and bacteria) that make it appear or not appear; as it only is produced some times of the year, the question is why? What environmental/developmental factors are in play to make it have mucus some times of the year and not at other times of the year?

IM STILL UPSET NO ONE IN MY AGRICULTURAL FAMILY IS EXCITED ABOUT THIS AMAZING SCIENCE MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!  I haven’t felt such an excited science rush since my younger days of reading about the rediscovery of corn’s wild ancestor the tesonite.

Can We Grow One of the World’s Largest Food Crops Without Fertilizer?

kittydesade:

kawuli:

plantyhamchuk:

HOLY SH*T. THEY FOUND NITROGEN-FIXING CORN BRED BY INDIGENOUS PEOPLE IN MEXICO. @botanyshitposts​

“The study found the Sierra Mixe corn obtains 28 to 82 percent of its nitrogen from the atmosphere. To do this, the corn grows a series of aerial roots. Unlike conventional corn, which has one or two groups of aerial roots near its base, the nitrogen-fixing corn develops eight to ten thick aerial roots that never touch the ground.

During certain times of the year, these roots secrete a gel-like substance, or mucilage. The mucilage provides the low-oxygen and sugar-rich environment required to attract bacteria that can transform nitrogen from the air into a form the corn can use.

image

“Our research has demonstrated that the mucilage found in this Sierra Mixe corn forms a key component of its nitrogen fixation,“ said co-author Jean-Michel Ané, professor of agronomy and bacteriology in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UW–Madison. “We have shown this through growth of the plant both in Mexico and Wisconsin.”

…

“

Researchers are a long way from developing a similar nitrogen-fixing trait for commercial corn, but this is a first step to guide further research on that application. The discovery could lead to a reduction of fertilizer use for corn, one of the world’s major cereal crops. It takes 1 to 2 percent of the total global energy supply to produce fertilizer. The energy-intensive process is also responsible for 1 to 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“

I’ve written about this before, this is one of those ‘saving the planet’ levels of discovery. No joke.

if you’ve been here any length of time you will recall that I’m usually the killjoy over here going “there are no silver bullets.” And this has a long way to go before it’s actually of use to farmers, but IF that happens (and that’s still a BIG IF) this would be a legit Big Fucking Deal.

Two things make me hopeful that this will not just disappear into corporate-owned varieties: one, this research was largely done through two land grant universities. Over decades. This is what land grant universities are FOR: their stated purpose is to do useful shit that’s too unprofitable for corporate R&D to care about. They are exactly the people you want developing awesome new ag tech. Mars, Inc. is involved with this too, and I trust them…not at all, but they’re not Monsanto, so it could be worse.

The other thing is this, from the linked article:

The municipal authority and community in the isolated village in the
Sierra Mixe region were an integral part of this research project.
Biological materials were accessed and utilized under an Access and
Benefit Sharing (ABS) Agreement with the community and with permission
from the Mexican government. An internationally recognized certificate
of compliance under the Nagoya Protocol has been issued for such
activities.

The ABS Agreement was structured under the terms of the Nagoya
Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing, which is designed to ensure the
equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic
resources and contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity.

I don’t know the details of the Nagoya Protocol. But at the very least, this isn’t outright theft of indigenous technology for corporate profit. Someone has at least thought through an equitable way for the community that developed this trait over centuries of growing maize to benefit from its use.

Finally: this is (one reason) why it’s important to preserve local crop varieties (also called landraces). Most industrialized agriculture is incredibly homogeneous genetically. It’s from the landraces that people developed slowly for specific conditions that we can find new traits–this is an extreme example, but it’s common to find landraces that are resistant to certain pests and diseases.

Oh and one more thing: Zea mays aka maize aka corn aka “indigenous Mesoamericans were better crop breeders than anyone alive today, apparently” is the WEIRDEST FUCKING PLANT, WHAT THE FUCK.

for more: Sarah Taber has an excellent twitter thread here (seriously y’all she’s my new best friend who doesn’t know i exist), and the journal article is in PLOS Biology, an OPEN SOURCE journal, here

SNOT CORN! SNOT COOOOOOOORN.

Yes read Sarah Taber’s twitter thread she brings up a lot of details what how amazing this is!

Can We Grow One of the World’s Largest Food Crops Without Fertilizer?

Oddities in cattle animal husbandry include (without context);

– pregnant cow driving a tractor

– screeching at a cow like a strangled bantam rooster during a standoff

– tackling/snatching a calf and lugging it into a car trunk

Apparently it’s World Soil Day (or was, just missed by a few minutes) so here’re my soil-based books.

Publication 494 Ontario Soils- Physical, Chemical and Biological Properties and Soil Management Practices from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food

Soil Management- Best Management Practices from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs.

Ok I didn’t realize these two books were so localized, also the books are oriented for those heavy in the agricultural business (so mentioning the of certain machinery and practices which a common gardener wouldn’t use), however much of the information they have is applicable to those who want to learn about soil.