Enabling Biological Nitrogen Fixation for Cereal Crops in Fertilized Fields
Amy Wen, Keira L. Havens, Sarah E. Bloch, Neal Shah, Douglas A. Higgins, Austin G. Davis‐Richardson, Judee Sharon, Farzaneh Rezaei, Mahsa Mohiti‐Asli, Allison Johnson, Gabriel Abud, Jean‐Michel Ané, Junko Maëda, Valentina Infante, Shayin S. Gottlieb, James G. Lorigan, Lorena Williams, Alana Horton, Megan McKellar, Dominic Soriano, Zoe Caron, Hannah Elzinga, Ashley Graham, Rosemary Clark, San-Ming Mak, Laura Stupin, Alice Robinson, Natalie Hubbard, Richard Broglie, Alvin Tamsir, Karsten Temme
Abstract
137-1036 ("Kv137-1036") retains the capacity of the parent strain to colonize corn roots while increasing nitrogen fixation activity 122-fold in nitrogen-rich environments. This technical milestone was then commercialized in less than half of the time of a traditional biological product, with robust biosafety evaluations and product formulations contributing to consumer confidence and ease of use. Tested in multi-year, multi-site field trial experiments throughout the U.S. Corn Belt, fields grown with Kv137-1036 exhibited both higher yields (0.35 ± 0.092 t/ha ± SE or 5.2 ± 1.4 bushels/acre ± SE) and reduced within-field yield variance by 25% in 2018 and 8% in 2019 compared to fields fertilized with synthetic nitrogen fertilizers alone. These results demonstrate the capacity of a broad-acre BNF product to fix nitrogen for corn in field conditions with reliable agronomic benefits.