b'RewritingtheSYNTHETIC NITROGEN HASpowered modern agriculture for more than a century. But its never been perfect. Some of it feeds the crop. The rest escapes into Nitrogen Rulesgroundwater, into the atmosphere or off the balance sheet. As costs rise and regulations tighten, seed developers are turning to a new ally: engineered microbes that feed corn from the root up.Fixing Nitrogen Where It Matters MostA gene-edited microbe is giving cornRecent gene-editing breakthroughs have allowed scien-constant access to nitrogenwithouttists to modify naturally occurring bacteria, enhancing their the waste, the runoff or the fertilizer bill.ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen. When integrated into seed treatments, these microbes offer seed developers a By Peter Scharpe, Seed World U.S. Contributor promising tool to improve nutrient efficiency and reduce environmental impact.Nitrogen in air is two nitrogen atoms that are triple A summer cornfield flourishesbonded, and it takes a good amount of energy to break under blue skies. Scientiststhat triple bond and then ultimately reduce it to a plant hope breakthroughs in gene- available form, explains Logan Woodward, product edited microbes will soon helpdevelopment agronomist for Pivot Bio.these roots fix their ownWoodward, a University of Illinois alum, completed his nitrogen, reducing runoff andgraduate work researching Proven 40, a biological product boosting sustainability from thedeveloped by Pivot Bio. Proven 40 is the first gene-edited ground up.PHOTO: LOGAN WOODWARD bacteria of its kind, designed to continuously convert atmospheric nitrogen into forms usable by plants.8/ SEEDWORLD.COMSEPTEMBER 2025'