Hi Fidelity Genetics Announces Study Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Hi Fidelity Genetics Announces Study Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Peer-Reviewed Journal Details How to Dramatically Reduce Row Crop Emissions and Make Farm Management Practices More Sustainable
DURHAM, N.C., June 21, 2021 – Hi Fidelity Genetics (HFG), a computational crop breeding company, announced today the publication of a peer-reviewed article titled, “Novel Technologies for Emission Reduction Complement Conservation Agriculture To Achieve Negative Emissions From Row Crop Production,” in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), the official journal of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and an authoritative source of high-impact scientific research. Access the full journal article here.
In the article, Hi Fidelity Genetics Co-Founder Dr. Philip Benfey, Dr. Daniel Northrup, and colleagues, detail a three-phase green transition implementing a suite of emissions-reducing technologies to help row crop agriculture sharply cut emissions. Using U.S. maize feedstock emissions as a benchmark to estimate the impact of technology adoption on the emission footprint of grain production, they identify three specific stages to encourage the broad adoption of emissions-reducing farm management practices and reduce the negative environmental impacts of traditional farming methods.
“Our goal was to show that with the right investments and policies, agriculture could realize its potential to be a leader in attacking the root causes of climate change,” stated Philip Benfey.
Study Highlights
Providing a thorough analysis of the best ways to reduce row crop emissions, the study explores three key phases in the transition to more sustainable farming practices including:
- Phase One – Optimize the efficiency of current technologies to reduce the use of nitrogen fertilizer, which is the largest contributor to row crop emissions, in particular nitrous oxide (N2O) – a greenhouse gas nearly 300 times more potent than CO2. For example, using digital agriculture for precision fertilizer application could reduce nitrogen application by 36 percent to achieve a 23 percent reduction in N2O emissions.
- Phase Two – Replace current technology with near-mature, low-emission alternatives, such as crop genetics to improve the efficiency of nitrogen use, electrical ammonia synthesis, microbial synthesis of nitrogen, and electric farm equipment. Together, these greener, second-generation technologies could reduce emissions by 41 percent over the next five years.
- Phase Three – Conduct a full-system redesign of agricultural practices and inputs to use fewer chemicals and locally produced, low-concentration fertilizers. Embrace proven crop genetics advances and soil microbial communities, and deploy small, automated, sensor-guided systems. The final phase could reduce emissions by 71 percent within 15 years.
An excellent way to allow crops to fight climate change is to identify those with root systems that optimize nitrogen use and thus reduce nitrous oxide emissions. Hi Fidelity Genetics has developed a revolutionary technology, the RootTracker™ that monitors root growth of crop plants in the field. This platform can identify crop root systems as they respond to different levels of nitrogen in the soil.
