Potatoes are the third-most consumed food worldwide and a delicious snack. But modern farm potatoes require large amounts of nitrogen in the form of nitrate fertilizers, which are costly and can be environmentally harmful.
A group of researchers has found that the same genetic mechanism that tells potatoes when to grow flowers and tubers (the edible part) is also a key player in the plant’s nitrogen management. The findings, described November 6 in New Phytologist, could lead to the development of potato varieties that require less fertilizer, saving farmers money and reducing the environmental footprint of potato cultivation.
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