Developing novel genetic approaches to improving crop nitrogen use efficiency

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The use of large quantities of nitrogen fertilizer in crop agriculture leads to significant environmental and economic costs. The majority of the nitrogen from these fertilizers (approximately 70%) is lost. Much of this becomes runoff into surface and ground waters. In addition, nitrogenous fertilizer are responsible for the production of significant levels of N2O and NO into the atmosphere, with agricultural soils being responsible for approximately 70% of the NOx produced in Canada. These compounds contribute significantly to greenhouse gases and the formation of acid rain. Finally, nitrogen fertilizer is currently the most expensive input costs for Canadian cereal crop growers and given that this cost is largely based on the cost of energy, it will likely increase in future years.