Scientists hope deeper-rooted soybeans can withstand climate extremes and store more carbon

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🗞️ Driving the news: Researchers at the Salk Institute are testing genetically engineered soybeans with deeper, larger root systems designed to withstand drought while storing more carbon in soil
• An $18 million Bezos Earth Fund grant is supporting field trials to assess their resilience, carbon-storage potential and prospects for large-scale agricultural use

🔭 The context: Scientists identified 347 genes linked to root growth and carbon storage and used genetic editing to develop soybean plants with roots that grow deeper into the soil
• Researchers are now testing them in Illinois, Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, because laboratory results do not yet show how much carbon the crops can retain under real farming conditions or whether deeper roots affect yields

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Deeper-rooted crops could increase the amount of carbon stored in agricultural soils while helping plants access water during droughts, potentially improving climate resilience and reducing agricultural emissions
• They may also absorb more nitrogen and fertilizer runoff, which can contribute to harmful algal blooms and low-oxygen conditions in waterways.

⏭️ What’s next: Initial field results are expected this fall, with researchers measuring soil carbon, root growth, drought resilience and crop yields
• Wider adoption would depend on proven farm-level benefits, seed-company participation, farmer acceptance and regulatory and market conditions

💬 One quote: “You have to test it in the field.” — Wolfgang Busch, director of the Harnessing Plants Initiative at the Salk Institute

📈 One stat: Salk researchers estimate an additional carbon storage of 1 metric ton of CO₂ per hectare per year could be achieved by deeper- and larger-rooted soybeans, based on earlier laboratory results; field trials are needed to validate the estimate

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