Nitrogen Content

Car Fumes, Weeds Pose Double Whammy for Fire-Loving Native Plants

Katherine E Kerlin — February 15, 2024 - 9:00am

A �ٺ��Ƶ study found that wildflowers that usually flourish after a fire were replaced by invasive plants in places where nitrogen from vehicle emissions were high.

Growing Cereal Crops With Less Fertilizer

Amy M Quinton — August 05, 2022 - 9:47am

�ٺ��Ƶ researchers have found a way to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizer needed to grow cereals such as rice, wheat and corn.

Balancing Protein in Your Diet Could Improve Water Quality

Katherine E Kerlin — July 07, 2022 - 9:00am

Balancing how much protein you eat with the amount your body needs could reduce nitrogen releases to aquatic systems in the U.S., study says.

Fertilizer Feast and Famine

Amy M Quinton — August 05, 2019 - 11:00am

Research led by the University of California, Davis identifies five strategies to tackle the two-sided challenge of a lack of fertilizer in some emerging market economies and inefficient use of fertilizer in developed countries. The study examined solutions to the global nitrogen problem.

Gene Network Lets Plant Roots Handle Nitrogen

Andy Fell — October 24, 2018 - 9:45am

With robotics, computers and advanced genetics, researchers at the University of California, Davis, and Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory have established a core set of genes that help plants metabolize nitrogen, the key to plant growth and crop yield. They published their findings Oct. 24 in the journal Nature.

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

Kelley Chu — August 07, 2018 - 3:04pm

Read how �ٺ��Ƶ researchers found a special kind of corn in Mexico that can absorb nitrogen from the air, reducing fertilizer use and improving crop yields.

Study Finds Indigenous Mexican Variety of Corn Captures the Nitrogen It Needs From the Air

Amy M Quinton — August 07, 2018 - 11:01am

Researchers from �ٺ��Ƶ, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Mars, Incorporated have found that an indigenous variety of corn can "fix nitrogen" from the atmosphere, instead of requiring synthetic fertilizers. If this trait could be bred into conventional varieties of corn, it may reduce the need for added fertilizer.

New Source of Global Nitrogen Discovered

Katherine E Kerlin — April 05, 2018 - 4:25pm

Not all of the nitrogen on the planet comes from the atmosphere, according to a �ٺ��Ƶ study in the journal Science. Up to a quarter comes from Earth’s bedrock. The discovery could greatly improve climate change projections.

Smog-Forming Soils

Katherine E Kerlin — January 31, 2018 - 12:26pm

A previously unrecognized source of nitrogen oxide is contributing up to about 40 percent of the NOx emissions in California, according to a study led by the University of California, Davis. The study traces the emissions to fertilized soils in the Central Valley region.

California Nitrogen Assessment Shows the State of the Science on Nitrogen Use and Pollution

Katherine E Kerlin — August 09, 2016 - 2:26pm

The California Nitrogen Assessment, a new report from the UC Daivs Agricultural Sustainability Institute, presents a big picture of the scale and impacts of nitrogen in the state.