b'Why Native Bacteria Dont Always Help by the roots for energy. In return, they provide nitrogen Most soils already host nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Usingthroughout the plants early development.the enzyme nitrogenase, these microbes can convertWe target the roots when applying our microbes, atmospheric nitrogen into ammonium, a plant-availableWoodward says. The roots give off carbon through their form. However, this is an energy-intensive processandexudates, and thats their energy source. Theyre going to microbes tend to take shortcuts. grow along that root and fix nitrogen.Corn growers have typically applied synthetic nitrogen to improve corn yields, and as a result, there are abundantMinimizing Loss,levels of nitrogen in our soils. However, that does not meanMaximizing Efficiencythat all of this synthetic nitrogen is utilized by the plant,Unlike synthetic fertilizersWoodward says. which are prone to loss through When nitrogen is abundant, native microbes stop fixing it.runoff or evaporationthese They use whats already there and avoid the energy cost ofmicrobes deliver nitrogen fixing more. directly to the plant. Its a more consistent and controlled Pumping the Brakes method of nutrient delivery, andLogan Woodward, They tackled that limitation. Woodward says their gene- it positions seed developers toUniversity of Illinois edited bacteria continue to fix atmospheric nitrogen, nooffer a product that enhancesPh.D. graduate, turned matter how much synthetic nitrogen is already present. both yield and sustainability. Pivot Bio product development We basically turned off the feedback mechanism andagronomist.theyll continue to fix nitrogen as long as they have anProof in the Plotsenergy source, he says. At the University of Illinois, field trials showed promising Seed-applied microbes have the advantage of startingresults. Woodward and his team tracked nitrogen uptake work the moment seeds germinate. These bacteria colo- and biomass through multiple growth stages, seeing con-nize the root zone and rely on carbon compounds exudedsistent improvements.SEPTEMBER 2025SEEDWORLD.COM /9'