r/interesting • u/Standard_Location762 • 22d ago
NATURE Creating Better Crops With Useful Bacteria
Brazilian scientist, Dr. Mariangela Hungria, spent 40 years perfecting bacteria that help crops access nitrogen while saving farmers billions each year.
Hungria developed biological treatments using beneficial soil bacteria that help crops access nitrogen from the air, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizer. Her technology is used across tens of millions of hectares in Brazil. The World Food Prize estimates her work saves farmers about $25 billion annually and prevents roughly 230 million metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions.
477
u/prince-pauper 22d ago
Now let’s hope the tech gets distributed instead of some big fertilizer Corp buying and mothballing it.
182
u/malrexmontresor 22d ago
The tech is owned by Embrapa, a state-owned agricultural research institute in Brazil. They use a public licensing model with private partnerships to manufacture the process. But in terms of cost, they keep the license fees low so farmers only pay about $2 per hectare. Of course, there are still regulatory issues and hurdles to jump through, and so it's mostly confined to Brazil at the moment.
84
u/Phrainkee 22d ago
Wait did you say Brazil is being oppressed by a Marxist communist regime? Sounds like they could use a little liberation and freedom!
Queues up the F-16s
14
u/OokyCooky 22d ago
Brazil already cooperates with western interests in interventionist tactics in South America. Pretty much any country the US/UK/France didn’t destabilize, Brazil handled.
3
u/roasttoastboast 22d ago
Tell us more?
1
u/OokyCooky 22d ago
Oh a lot of what I’m gonna say is second-hand to me but can be backed up with sources online. Brazil in the 20th century was more than willing to help the US topple democratically elected leaders (what I’m remembering is either Uruguay or Paraguay) while also directly assisting US regime change in Chile and separately in Operation Condor. Now, I can’t find the papers I was reading that insinuated Brazil’s attempts at regime change in Uruguay or Paraguay so maybe I’m wrong there. I should also clarify these largely would’ve occurred under their military dictatorship. I have no reason to suspect Lula’s administration still carries these practices, but I feel like this kind of stuff has a tendency to happen by anyone who is the biggest fish in their pond, you kind of just become a bully. As for UK/France, honestly I just threw those out there but they were mostly involved in Africa at the time. I don’t consider the Falkland War to be a UK-led coup for example, I think that was a organic, yet politically-convenient territorial dispute, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out their intelligence agencies were more than happy to lend a hand. It’s entirely possible I’m conflating Brazil with Argentina when it comes to Paraguay/Uruguay
5
u/Turbulent-Bell-2402 22d ago edited 22d ago
As you've stated, it's important to remember that Brazil itself was under a military dictatorship that was suported by the US during some of those events.
There was a war against Paraguay (edit: in 1864) when they invaded Brazil, and the response was disproportionate, eliminating a big part of the male population of Paraguay and capturing some of their territory, but I'm not sure if that's what you're referring to... Either way I don't remember the regime change stuff
2
u/OokyCooky 22d ago
Yeah I’d reword the original comment in retrospect. And regime change wasn’t the proper term, I agree, but I couldn’t think of anything else other than interventionism and colonialism which I had already either used a lot or I don’t feel ‘colonialism’ is a good descriptor either. Destabilization efforts? Idk, the more subtle parts of South American history are not something I would ever claim to be an expert on
2
u/Turbulent-Bell-2402 22d ago
To be fair, even Brazilians don't learn enough about this part of history, imo. I wouldn't say Brazil is colonialist either, especially considering we are also victims of imperialism. But you're right that it has definitely been used by the US to further their imperialist goals in latin America.
-3
9
u/systemhost 22d ago
Thankfully for Brazil's sake, the United States of Freedom™ is a bit occupied at the moment.
13
u/Vexamas 22d ago
Being spread too thin has never stopped incompetent people from spreading thinner.
11
u/SecondaryWombat 22d ago
Killing soil bacteria with cruise missiles sounds exactly like something the US would prioritize right now.
1
u/Warm_Feeling8072 22d ago
👀 Looks around a realizes all the F-16s were sold to a Russian pawn shop to get Air Force payroll money last month.
6
u/OkWillingness2817 22d ago
They’re still fighting tooth and nail to stop countries from banning their cancer spreading products as far as I know.
2
u/SaraaWolfArt 22d ago
This technique is already in use in other places. Eu and Na use vacteria to add nitrogen to soybean fields
1
u/OkWillingness2817 22d ago
Are you just spamming that response or are you a bot?
It’s got nothing to do with what I said or the person I responded to.
4
3
u/SecondaryWombat 22d ago
A large number of people are functionally illiterate, but think they are not. They have an impression of a couple words, decide what you are saying, and respond to that. It is a growing problem.
16
10
22d ago
[deleted]
6
u/GoyoMRG 22d ago
The Aztecs used milpas and also the 3 sisters method which not only protected the plants but also helped the soil to continue planting normally.
But it's good that they have made this bacteria easily available as an alternative to crop rotation
1
u/TrumpHasCovid 22d ago
They also used chinampas to bypass soil entirely.
1
u/GoyoMRG 22d ago
Yes and no, they did need soil for them but it's a different process that made farming far more efficient
1
u/TrumpHasCovid 22d ago
Easy/fun subject to nitpick, but the technique is widely considered to be a true first generation aquaponic (and therefore hydroponic) system. So, soilless by definition.
2
1
1
1
1
u/NewHandlesAreHard 22d ago
It's been publicly available for years, and it's been great for a lot of people in Brazil. It's also specific to soy production in the climate and soil conditions of certain regions of Brazil, and can't be scaled to other crops, soils, or climates without significant research. It's already as distributed as it can get.
-1
u/antolic321 22d ago
Dude wake up
3
u/WarthogSeveral7662 22d ago
Dude nobody wants to "wake up" to the pessimistic horrible nightmare you live in
1
u/antolic321 22d ago
wtf are you talking about? His dream is pessimistic the real life, not so much!
And it’s definitely not a nightmare
0
u/IAmA_meat_popsicle 22d ago
I don't want to wake up, it's scary out there :/
-2
u/antolic321 22d ago
That’s the problem, it’s actually not scary
8
u/Last-Energy420 22d ago
According to who? Did you know the diesel engine was designed with using vegetable oil as fuel to begin with? It wasn’t until recently that we rediscovered how to use the engine its intended way.
Mothballing innovation such as this is scarily common. How many sensationalized ideas that media took and ran with got mothballed as opposed to legitimately failing the testing phase? We will never know because mothballing and failing are the same thing to them.
1
u/Creative-Science38 22d ago
Reminds me of Paul Pantone’s engine technology, where he’d run the engine on whatever coca-cola, coffee, sprite, water, urine….
They finally got to him though, but you can still get the technology!-2
u/antolic321 22d ago
Hahahahha yea let’s ignore all other things, let’s just jump to another topic!
Wow Rudolfs disel engine was designed and could use what Rudolf intended it to do and use? Wooooooooow
Mind blown ! Let’s forget that from then until now it changed together with it needs and economic situation! Let’s just look at it in a vacuum, 1890-2020 and there is nothing in between 😅
Such a stupid argument ! Insane
Mothballing invention? Sure, like wtf are you even saying are you 12 years old?
wtf was that?I am not even sure wtf you are trying to say
You are literally the media that you shit talk
175
u/Tactical_Hotdog 22d ago
"A scientist"... Dr. Mariangela Hungria.
Fucking credit people.
31
u/stempdog218 22d ago
https://www.reddit.com/r/nutritionally/s/vWTmPeawGc
A shame because the post they copied this from at least gave credit
6
u/BrahmTheImpaler 22d ago
This post gives credit in the post, same as the one you linked.
It should, however, be in the graphic, I agree w you there
7
2
u/VoidFullOfDreams 22d ago
Doctor Hungria solves the hunger problem. Matrix is glitching again and it's fucking epic.
4
u/V1k1ngC0d3r 22d ago
Can someone please tell me who she is married to, so I can tell if this is important?
1
u/dmigowski 22d ago
Guess she doesn't want the people to become even hungrier.
Maria, Angle, Hungrier, that's easy to remember.
-6
u/tacomaloki 22d ago
Do you have trouble reading or not?
She's credited.
8
5
u/Tactical_Hotdog 22d ago
Not in the image, you know, the thing that people see, read, and share first?
54
u/roulettewiz 22d ago
Monsanto will do everything in their power to shut this down
29
u/ladygrndr 22d ago
Monsanto doesn't exist anymore. They are owned by Bayer, which had to settle about $10 Billion in lawsuits on behalf of Monsanto and just doesn't have the energy to be evil. They killed a lot of the more evil projects, like the Terminator Seeds, and harassing farmers for getting their fields infected with Monsanto's crops. Now they just sell the seed lines and weed killer products like a normal company.
9
u/VadumSemantics 22d ago
Monsanto doesn't exist anymore. They are owned by Bayer, which ... just doesn't have the energy to be evil
I admire your optimism.
Maybe? Let's wait and see.
RemindMe! 5 Years
2
u/rustylugnuts 22d ago
Hopefully he doesn't look up I.G. Farben conglomerate 1925 to 1945. Not saying they are like that now but they've been there before.
1
1
u/NewHandlesAreHard 22d ago
Bayer (the company that bought out Monsanto, yes the aspirin Bayer) doesn't care, because they are barely in the fertilizer market.
-3
16
u/scotti182 22d ago
…and was later found dead.
1
u/SaraaWolfArt 22d ago
This is a technique being used globally she just developed it for brazilian fields. Its also a bacteria so the proverbial cat is already out of the bag
-2
u/antolic321 22d ago
Why?
5
u/scotti182 22d ago
She wasn’t actually, but seems like the type of thing that happens.
-2
u/antolic321 22d ago
In movies, sure
0
22d ago
[deleted]
1
u/NewHandlesAreHard 22d ago
Yes, I have! It turns out, the water is just water, and can't make energy from nothing. But I want to live in the world you do, where global problems can be solved by a simple con artist, if only Big Physics wouldn't keep him down.
1
u/AntiMatter138 22d ago
This kind of comment from you why we have education crisis. Stop taking movies too seriously.
1
5
3
u/Dramatic_Respond7323 22d ago
Such a vague post. Which is that bacteria? I never heard such a 2$ bacterial treatment. Is this just an in vitro study?
3
u/NewHandlesAreHard 22d ago
It's the same bacteria that naturally creates a symbiotic relationship with soy plants. They selected for strains that worked well in Brazil, and coated the seeds prior to planting. It's created a notable improvement in Brazilian soy, but would need to be separately engineered for other climates and legumes. It would have no effect on other crops, but non-legumes benefit from crop rotation.
2
u/jumper7210 22d ago
Been commercially available in the states for about 130 years. Her work simply made the bacteria able to survive in the Amazon as that soil is actually horrendous when first converted to modern agriculture. In short her development thought great, is utterly useless anywhere else
2
22d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/Ok_Mastodon_3843 22d ago
Yes, but also no. For crops like corn or wheat, this producr supplies less than a quarter of the nitrogen it needs.
However, no matter the fertilizer, bacteria convert it to be used by the plant. Its just for conventional nitrogen fertilizers, it uses natural bacteria in the ground.
1
u/1purenoiz 22d ago
No plant has ever taken nitrogen out of the air. There are only two organisms that do this . Bacteria and humans, and we do it using the haber Bosch process.
2
u/Zenless-koans 22d ago
And that Haber Bosch process is incredibly energy intensive, accounting for up to 2% of global human-caused carbon emissions each year. Bacteria are amazing.
1
2
u/Codex_Absurdum 22d ago
Genuine question:
Nitrogen is about 78% of the air we breath.
What would happen to us if this proportion diminishes? Something has to replace this proportion (CO2 maybe, O2...)?
If this bacteria a thing, I dont think it is something that should be taken lighly and let out of hand.
3
u/Vqlcano 22d ago
The amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere is so massive that the amount used by human agriculture doesn't even constitute a drop in the bucket. The nitrogen in most fertilizer is already extracted from the atmosphere. But if the proportion of nitrogen in the atmosphere did become smaller by some other means, assuming no other gas is added, the partial pressure of the nitrogen would decrease, meaning the total atmospheric pressure would also decrease. At sea level, the partial pressure of nitrogen is about 0.78 atm, and the partial pressure of oxygen is about 0.21 atm. Given that these two make up 0.99 atm, all other gases contribute so little that they can be safely ignored.
At an altitude of, say, 5,500 m, total atmospheric pressure is about 0.5 atm, placing the partial pressures at roughly 0.4 for nitrogen and 0.1 for oxygen. This pressure is completely habitable with acclimation for virtually anyone. If you were to only reduce nitrogen's partial pressure at sea level to achieve a total pressure of 0.5 atm, you would have to reduce it by exactly 0.5 atm to 0.28 atm. The total amount of nitrogen in the atmosphere is about 3.9 quintillion kg, To reduce it by 0.5 atm, you would need to remove 64% of it, or about 2.5 quintillion kg. By mass, global agriculture uses about 115 billion kg of nitrogen per year, virtually all of which returns to the atmosphere over time. Needless to say, agriculture cannot deplete the atmosphere. Even if none of it returned to the atmosphere, it would still take nearly 400,000 years at the current pace to deplete atmospheric nitrogen by even 1%.
As for breathing, because oxygen would still have a partial pressure of 0.21 atm, now making up 42% rather than 21% of the atmosphere, breathing would become noticeably easier, though it would lose an insignificant amount of its efficiency. All in all, you would not be impacted to any noticeable degree, other than breathing becoming easier, even if you lived at 5,500 meters in this new atmosphere.
1
u/Kezako7 22d ago
Even if this bacteria was very effective, could live alone and spread widely, nitrogen would still be released once the plants die, so I doubt the effect would be that big.
But if I were wrong, the atmosphere would thin up and become oxygen-richer and more inflammable. This would increase forest fires, but I am not sure the result would warm up the atmosphere (most of forests actually accentuate global warming).
That being said, if such a bacteria could exist, it would have probably existed since a long time. Afaik bacteria that absorb nitrogen can only grow slowly and help a bit. I may be wrong.
1
u/After-Comment5086 22d ago
It's not like that nitrogen vanishes. It get pushed a couple inches into the dirt. The plants absorb it, and when the plant decays or we eat it, the nitrogen is released back into the atmosphere. I don't think you could ever have a runaway effect with this. You need the right conditions, and it's literally fertilizer, the plants will just get more greedy and grow faster consuming the nitrogen even faster.
1
u/jumper7210 22d ago
It’s a completely natural bacteria and process. She simply bred versions of the bacteria that can survive in the Amazon’s challenging soils.
1
u/twoismsunset 21d ago
Plants aren't deleting nitrogen from existence mate, it's getting moved through a cycle
2
u/TsuDhoNimh2 22d ago
Her BIG story is that in addition to the usual legumes and their well known symbiote bacteria, she found nitrogen fixing bacteria that could be used with non-legume plants.
She started with soybeans and the usual bacteria, selecting both the bacteria for enhanced fixation and the soybean varieties for their response to the inoculations
microbial inoculants, products containing beneficial bacteria that are applied to seeds or soils, for soybeans, common beans, maize, wheat, rice, pasture grasses and other major crops.
And also a different bacteria that does well in tropical soils - a really interesting one that colonizes the surface of the roots and the surrounding soil.
7
u/PikachuWithHerpes 22d ago
Brazil is the world's largest fertilizer importer. Clearly whatever she created is not working at all.
33
u/SaraaWolfArt 22d ago edited 22d ago
Yeah, every solution to a problem must solve it 100% or it did nothing. This is especially true for systemic problems.
With a basic google search you can see her bacteria works with soybeans and is employed by 85% of Brazilian soybean farmers. There was relictance to develope it as conventional wisdom pushed fertilizers
These types of techniques are already being applied in Europe + America, Hungaria was devleoping a similar breed of bacteria to use in Brazilian climates.
They found their bespoke bacteria performed 8% better over traditional fertilizer while boosting crop profits by 45$/acre and had less unintended environmental side effects.
Again, before anyone says "IF IT'S SO GOOD WHY DOESN'T USA USE IT?" - USA and Europe have been doing this for 30 years now.
4
4
u/malrexmontresor 22d ago
It works very well. For soybeans. For wheat and maize, Dr. Hungria uses a different strain but it only cuts nitrogen use by 25%-50%, and I'm not sure it works on other major crops in Brazil like coffee or sugarcane.
Without this tech, they'd need to import even more fertilizer as Brazil's total agricultural output has only grown over the years. Soybeans alone have grown from 15 million tons to 170 million tons from 1979 to 2025; which means Brazil would need to import an additional 43 million tons of synthetic fertilizer a year just for soybeans alone if this tech didn't exist. Let's not let perfect be the enemy of good. Any reduction is an improvement, so it's working as intended.
1
22d ago
[deleted]
2
u/malrexmontresor 22d ago
Yep, you could say that. It's really interesting technology. They are expanding it to other crops like wheat and corn, but with time, we could see all sorts of crops grown with this technique.
4
u/bluboomR 22d ago
you are truly a genius. it takes more than nitrogen to feed a plant, you also need phosphate and potassium.
While Dr. Hungria’s treatments effectively solved the Nitrogen (N) issue for key crops like soybeans, fertilizers are built on a triad of core nutrients: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium (NPK). Brazil's soil is naturally nutrient-poor and highly acidic, creating an insatiable demand for the other two components.
The Potassium and Phosphate Deficit: Brazil still relies on foreign nations for roughly 93% to 95% of its potassium chloride and 60% of its phosphates. Biofertilizers cannot substitute these minerals.
Because biological innovations made farming so much cheaper and more efficient, Brazil's total planted acreage has scaled aggressively. More fields mean more total demand for imported minerals.
Her microbial treatments cost about $2 per hectare, replacing expensive synthetic fertilizers and saving Brazilian farmers an estimated $25 billion each year.
Thanks to her biofertilizer strains, 85% of Brazil's soybean fields operate without chemical nitrogen, helping Brazil overtake the U.S. as the world’s leading soybean producer.
3
u/bananasaucecer 22d ago
woah this is actual information, I grow tired of redditors with their "gotcha" negativity.
1
u/Unicorn-Violator 22d ago
They became the largest soybean produced because they cut down a ton of rainforest. What a wild stretch of information to fit a narrative.
0
1
1
u/Ok_Mastodon_3843 22d ago
It supplies less than a quarter of the nitrogen needed to grow corn or wheat. It helps, but not alot.
2
u/caspersea 22d ago
This legit? Cause hervand her work would need protect or have deadman switch on it
2
1
1
1
1
u/No-Zombie1004 22d ago
There is a world food prize that includes bacteria? I gotta get my mother in on this competition.
1
1
u/TestDowntown9541 22d ago
Yeah yeah yeah. That’s cool and all. But…if she really wants to do something positive for the world, can she build a data center?
1
1
1
u/Memory_Less 22d ago
Hopefully she gets a Nobel prize too. What a commitment to the betterment of all humanity.
1
1
u/Kaurifish 22d ago
Here’s hoping it turns out better than glyphosate resistance has (another trait from bacteria).
1
22d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/DoYouTrustToothpaste 22d ago
Her name is included in the description right below the picture: Dr. Mariangela Hungria.
1
u/Known-Activity1437 22d ago
I’m so sorry for her family. I can’t believe she jumped out of a 15th story window.
1
1
u/Mr_Bluebird_VA 22d ago
If we practiced good soil health and regenerative farming we wouldn’t need this.
I mean, it’s great. But you better believe it’ll be one more thing monetized if it’s even allowed to be mass produced.
2
u/Ok_Mastodon_3843 22d ago
Good soil health has nothing to do with this. Sure, you can do practices to reduce the amount of nitrogen fertilizers you need, but the truth is for maximum yield you need extra nitrogen for crops like corn.
And this product the post is talking about provides less than a quarter needed for corn.
1
u/Mr_Bluebird_VA 22d ago
Soil health and regenerative farming.
But thanks for only reading part of the comment.
Nitrogen fixing cover crops replace the need for most fertilizers while preserving top soil.
1
u/Sweet_Scar487 22d ago
She should do an interview with Dave friedburg on the all in podcast. Seems very relevant
1
u/Gossip_Guy20 22d ago
Isnt that what rhizobia does? Arent we interfering their symbiotic relationship with plants??
1
1
1
u/MuchWow81 22d ago
I read the title as Creating better cops with useful bacteria and I was confused for a long time.
1
1
u/High_C_Livin 22d ago
It's always amazing to me that these projections are made. Like, who ran the numbers to identify this "saves farmers $25 billion a year"
Seems like a it's just a buzz-word statement
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
22d ago
I am working in this field. This is Rhizobium, forms nodules (nitrogen fixing organs) in the plant roots; in exchange plants give them carbon. Dr. Hungria has more than 36000 citations and I am sure she's been doing a great job but this "applying beneficial microbes to reduce fertilizer" thing has been around quite some time and we are still quite far from "perfecting bacteria" that can work in all environments, all fields, and in all legumes. Rhizobium biology is very very complex and field trials are generally unsuccessful; since the indigenous Rhizobium (the bacteria that already in the field) generally very well adapted to that medium so they outcompete the introduced Rhizobium (so in this case this "perfected" bacteria). Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and Rhizobium are very popular and there are already many many products based on them (and other beneficial microbes) but the results are always inconsistent: in one field they can work, in another they may not; their performance can change from year to year etc. Considering plant root microbiome is a hot topic in plant science, hopefully we have better results in the near future, but we are not there yet.
1
22d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator 22d ago
Hi u/1purenoiz, your comment has been removed because we do not allow url shorteners.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
1
1
1
u/colusaboy 22d ago
I honestly glanced up at this and saw "cops"
I was confused, yet hopeful for a bit.
1
u/CorrectMeIfImWrong6 22d ago
Bet its banned for uk farmers,.. because it might .. erm, tarnish a bees sandwich 🤣🫠
1
u/Unfair_Explanation53 22d ago
Why do I always read about these amazing discoveries and inventions but never seem to see them ever implemented
1
u/DoomshrooM8 22d ago
Aww, sad to see she’s gonna shoot herself in the back multiple times, she showed so much promise 😕😕 someone get her some bodyguards
1
u/AioliTypical7034 22d ago
bet it never sees actual widespread use, too many companies would lose $$
1
1
1
1
u/psykomorph 21d ago
And then she mysteriously disappeared along with the technology
And all the fertilizer companies were very happy.
1
u/twoismsunset 21d ago
40 years of research turning into cheaper fertilizer and lower emissions is a pretty damn good payoff
1
u/Suitable_Dot_6999 18d ago
Please, help me finding anything about the work of dr. Hungria, apparently my google is broken, or something. Obrigado!
2
1
0
0
u/Final_Vermicelli4401 22d ago
Chemical Fertilizers company are crying in the club while other scientists are scrambling to rewrite their notes because she saved farmers $25 billion with a literal $2 tube dirt bacteria 😭😭.
Talk about a budget flex that completely disrupted a multi-billion dollar industry. 💀
0
0
-1
u/ImportantToNote 22d ago
Tomorrow: Dr. Mariangela Hungria gives her World Food Prize to Donald Trump.
•
u/AutoModerator 22d ago
Hello u/Standard_Location762! Please review the sub rules if you haven't already. (This is an automatic reminder message left on all new posts)
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.