The Long, Leguminous Quest to Give Crops Nitrogen Superpowers

If crops could feel envy, it’d be for legumes. Bean plants have a superpower. Or more accurately, they share one. They’ve developed symbiotic relationships with bacteria that process atmospheric nitrogen into a form that’s usable for those plants—an essential element for building their tissues, photosynthesizing, and generally staying healthy. This is known as nitrogen fixation. […]

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