this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
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345
Scientists uncovered the nutrients bees were missing — Colonies surged 15-fold (www.sciencedaily.com)
submitted 4 hours ago by Town@lemmy.zip to c/technology@lemmy.world
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Using CRISPR-Cas9, scientists engineered a yeast to produce the nutrient feed. Farmers could have it in two years.

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[–] partial_accumen@lemmy.world 20 points 2 hours ago (1 children)

Instead of letting fields lay fallow for crop rotation, they could plant diverse wildflower meadows to improve quality of bee health for the traveling bees that get shipped around for crop rotation.

I can see a potential problem with this suggestion. How many of those wildflowers are net nitrogen fixers? If they are net-negative this approach could be draining all the nitrogen out of the soil during off-rotation years meaning large amounts of petrochemical fertilizer would have to be used to make the field productive again for nitrogen consuming crops (like wheat and corn).

[–] Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca 11 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Key Native Nitrogen-Fixing Wildflowers:

  • Lupines (Lupinus spp.): Includes Texas Bluebonnet and various perennial species; they thrive in poor soil and are loved by pollinators.
  • Prairie Clover (Dalea spp.): Purple (Dalea purpurea) and White (Dalea candida) are drought-tolerant perennials that fix high levels of nitrogen.
  • False Indigo (Baptisia spp.): Sturdy perennials with showy, pea-like flower spikes (e.g., Blue False Indigo).
  • Partridge Pea (Chamaecrista fasciculata): An annual that grows rapidly, making it excellent for disturbed soils.
  • Wild Senna (Senna hebecarpa): A tall perennial that produces yellow flowers.
  • Canada Milkvetch (Astragalus canadensis): A hardy, native perennial.
  • Groundnut (Apios americana): A vine-like wildflower with edible tubers.

https://edgeofthewoodsnursery.com/wp-content/uploads/Native-Plants-for-Nitrogen-Fixation.pdf

Cheers

[–] GreenBeard@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

Several of those are going to be perennial and end up competing with mono-culture crops the following year(s) (not that I'm trying to defend mono-culture crops, but that's what they're planting). It's a good idea, but not necessarily as simple as you're implying. Still it's an idea that's not without some merit. The biggest obstacle to adoption is no one is making a significant profit off of it, so it's unlikely to see much uptake.

[–] Washedupcynic@lemmy.ca 4 points 37 minutes ago

You aren't wrong, but soil can be turned over, and the wildflowers can be removed.