Root awakening: Bayer joins Switch Bioworks’ nitrogen fixation efforts
Biological nitrogen has been one of agriculture’s most promising frontiers. However, the field has faced a stubborn technical trade-off: microbes engineered to produce nitrogen fertilizer can struggle to establish on the root, while those that establish reliably often don’t produce enough to create real value for growers.
Switch Bioworks’ genetically engineered microbes address this issue by establishing on the root before switching on nitrogen production. In grow-room studies, that genetic programming produced five times more nitrogen than always-on control strains.
Benoit Hartmann, Insights, Innovation & Partnerships Lead at Bayer Crop Science said Bayer’s expertise in product development, formulation, field testing, and commercialization complements Switch Bioworks’ know-how.
Switch has obtained USDA and EPA authorization for first-in-class field trials of its engineered microbial fertilizer, now underway at multiple sites across the U.S. Midwest.
Category: Chemicals & Materials
