nitrification

November 1, 2017

Selfish weeds can manipulate the nitrogen cycle to suit themselves

Weeds are selfish, self-centred, narcissistic, manipulative pieces of work that will do whatever it takes to make themselves look good and make the other plants around them look bad. Some weeds are so self-obsessed that they can manipulate the soil nitrogen into a form that is just the way they like it. New research by Cathryn O’Sullivan from CSIRO is showing that some weeds release chemicals from their roots that slow down the bacteria that are essential to the nitrogen cycle, retaining nitrogen in the ammonium form that weeds can potentially take up faster than crop plants. Totally selfish! Click through to get the details.

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