New Understanding of Plant Nutrient Response Could Improve Fertilizer Management Strategies
Published:10 Jan.2022 Source:Carnegie Institution for Science
Green is a color that is almost universally associated with plants -- for good reason. The green pigment chlorophyll is essential to plants' ability to generate food; but what happens if they don't have enough of it?
New work from Carnegie, Michigan State University, and the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment in France reveals the complex, interdependent nutrient responses underpinning a potentially deadly, low-chlorophyll state called chlorosis that's associated with an anemic, yellow appearance. Their findings, published by Nature Communications, could usher in more environmentally friendly agricultural practices -- using less fertilizer and fewer water resources.