In Michigan, high yielding switchgrass varieties that require minimal nitrogen fertilization are crucial to bioenergy research because of their economically and environmentally sustainable qualities. Switchgrass, like other perennial grasses, extracts nitrogen from soils by growing long roots and by forming relationships with root fungi. Switchgrass also associates with microbes that can fix nitrogen, i.e., take […]
In England, researchers from the Imperial College London and the Polish Academy of Sciences report that bacteria could be made to produce more ammonia than they required, providing an improved means of fertilizing crops. The researchers have found a pathway whereby carbon and nitrogen interact, whereby the amount of ammonia is created. In the article […]
In Florida, lipid accumulation in algal cells begins only hours after they are starved of nitrogen, according to a new study from the University of Florida’s horticultural sciences department. The findings, which also found that 30% of lipids produced under nitrogen stress occurred as the membrane began to degrade inside each cell, has altered the […]
Today on Twitter: BigPictureAg Today’s news picks include a possible way for crops to fix nitrogen from the air instead of from applying fertilizer. annesteckel: “The fact is that the RFS is delivering what it promised…” vIASPACE Industry News: Potential biomass ethanol plant slated in Malaysia
In Illinois, miscanthus and other biofuels crops actually reduce the escape of nitrogen into the environment, according to a study performed at the University of Illinois. The study compared miscanthus, switchgrass, and mixed prairie species against a traditional corn and soybean rotation, and discovered that certain perennial crops quickly reduce nitrate in the soil. The […]
In California, Rentech Nitrogen Partners filed a registration statement with the US. Securities and Exchange Commission in connection with a proposed initial public offering of its common units representing limited partner interests. An application will be made to list the common units on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “RNF.” Rentech Nitrogen […]
In Texas, researchers at Rice University have discovered that using fertilizer at the same rates as corn for food as corn for ethanol can actually make it more difficult for biofuels processing because that additional nitrogen speeds up the production of lignin—getting in the way of cellulosic ethanol production. The researchers found that lignin yields […]
