Wheat is a staple crop for most of the world, providing 20% of all plant-derived calories in the human diet, with nitrogen fertilization being a key to bolstering production.
However, it appears that some of that nitrogen is being lost through ammonia emissions, resulting in lost nutrients and contributing to environmental pollution, as a report shared by Phys.org detailed.
Researchers at Hefei Institutes of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences believe they've found a way to improve the soil's capability for retaining nitrogen through the application of an ammonium adsorbent.
A press release from the school explained: "Ammonia emissions are closely linked to the soil's capacity to adsorb ammonium, and improving this capacity can help mitigate ammonia losses."
This adsorbent is primarily humic acid-modified montmorillonite, which is a clay-based mineral-organic composite that's safe for the environment.
Their application of this material resulted in a 2% to 42.3% reduction in ammonia emissions in the soil used for harvesting wheat. When they combined this with a nitrogen fertilizer at a shallow 0-10-centimeter depth, it was just as effective as the traditional deep nitrogen placement method.
"Our findings provide new insights and practical solutions to reduce nitrogen loss and improve nitrogen use efficiency in wheat production," as Dr. Yang Yang, lead researcher of the study, shared.
Methods to improve wheat crop yields are needed to help global farmers maintain production levels, especially in the changing climate. A similar study has shown that management of silicon levels in the soil can increase crop resilience, productivity, and sustainability.
While wheat crops in colder regions may benefit slightly from a warming planet through reduced frost and cold-related damage, soaring temperatures are far more dangerous to overall yields. Excessive heat can cause wheat plants to mature too quickly, leading to shorter growth phases and a struggle to absorb water from the soil.
Extreme weather has forced Russian farmers to plant less wheat and focus on hardier crops after losses threatened their profitability. The country's output was noted as 83 million tons as of last year, while updated statistics for the 2024/25 period list a drop down to 81.6 million tons.
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Not enough time ⏳ Global wheat production has delivered some positive numbers, though, with 0.76% growth year-over-year, and data-driven research plays a big part in this.
From planting multiple crops in the same field to improve soil nutrients, to applying zinc oxide to crops suffering blistering temps, we're slowly working out ways to improve food security across the globe.
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