Deeper-rooted soybeans: a new test for carbon-storing crops

Researchers at the Salk Institute are field-testing soybean plants engineered to grow deeper roots. The goal is twofold: help crops reach water during drought and push more carbon into soil where it may stay longer. Early lab work points to roughly one additional metric ton of CO2 stored per hectare per year, but field results will determine whether that holds up outside controlled conditions. Salk is running trial plots in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, with support from an $18 million Bezos Earth Fund grant. The open questions are whether deeper roots can keep yields competitive and whether the carbon stays underground after normal tillage. Initial field data is expected this fall. If the numbers hold, the same genetic approach could be applied to corn, cotton and canola.