A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitrogen (2018)

Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by mcgt on Thursday September 10, 2020 @11:18PM (#24438843)

There's a better way to add nitrogen to soil and it's through the nitrogen cycle. The US Midwest (which grows a lot of corn) used to be highly populated with ruminants who did exactly this.

We killed them all (well, most) and now grow corn which we use most to finish off cattle, which is also a ruminant.

Maybe a better solution would be to feed the ruminants off the land now used by the corn? Imagine what that might do.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by mohaine on Thursday September 10, 2020 @11:31PM (#24438902)

This IS a nitrogen cycle. Sure it would be great to utilize waste nitrogen as well but that doesn't take away from this.

Btw this is how lagumes fix nitrogen. This nothing new but since it is already in maze it can probably be crossbred into production corn lines without that toxic GMO label.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by mcgt on Friday September 11, 2020 @06:37AM (#24441181)

Bacteria fix nitrogen, not legumes.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by adrianN on Friday September 11, 2020 @12:33AM (#24439218)

It would make the ruminants meat more expensive. That's a hard sell politically.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by quixoticelixer- on Friday September 11, 2020 @01:40AM (#24439507)

How do ruminants add nitrogen to the soil?

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by function_seven on Friday September 11, 2020 @02:50AM (#24439834)

They pee on it.

http://fertsmart.dairyingfortomorrow.com.au/wp-content/uploa...

(Image hotlinked from https://fertsmart.dairyingfortomorrow.com.au/dairy-soils-and...)

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by quixoticelixer- on Friday September 11, 2020 @04:42AM (#24440420)

Yeah but where is that nitrogen coming from? It's coming from plants.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by function_seven on Friday September 11, 2020 @09:11AM (#24442369)

Yeah, hence the “Nitrogen Cycle”.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by quixoticelixer- on Friday September 11, 2020 @11:07PM (#24449477)

Yes but they do not actually add nitrogen to the soil

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by noselasd on Monday September 14, 2020 @06:22AM (#24468580)

Sure they do, they add nitrogen back to the soil that the plants extracted from the soil.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by Scoundreller on Friday September 11, 2020 @02:51AM (#24439846)

Poop and pee.

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Re:A variety of corn has evolved a way to make its own nitro... by quixoticelixer- on Friday September 11, 2020 @04:43AM (#24440421)

Nitrogen that they get from plants

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