GRAIN
SCIENCE
NEWS
Fertileground
BIG LEAPS IN INNOVATION DON’T
occur every day. It sometimes takes
special people (think Steve Jobs) or teams
(think NASA) to imagine so far beyond
our current experience that they create a
new paradigm. In hindsight, these major
advances might seem obvious or inevita-
ble, but if you have lived through any of
them, you’ll recall the awe with which
people viewed the change.
Those big leaps in understanding and
technology are rarely associated with the
fertilizer business. However, that could
change thanks to new Canadian research
to improve nitrogen-use efficiency using
the latest in smart coating technologies.
Fertilizer is critically important in food
production—feeding the world’s popula-
tion in 2050 will mean doubling current
food production. There will be a heavy
reliance on fertilizer, and improved use
efficiency will go a long way toward con-
serving the resources we have and using
them sustainably.
Bill Gates understands the importance
of fertilizer. In September 2015 he said,
“I’m the world’s biggest fan of fertilizer.
I’m endlessly fascinated by the stuff. It’s a
magical material that can transform the
lives of the poor by helping them grow
bigger harvests and adapt to the impacts
of climate change.”
To say the fertilizer industry in Canada
is huge is an understatement. According
to Fertilizer Canada, the industry employs
over 12,000 Canadians and creates $12
billion in annual economic activity.
Canadian fertilizer is exported to over
80 countries and the world depends on
Canada for 12 per cent of its supply. That
Canada would be an incubator of fertilizer
research should not come as a surprise.
Maria DeRosa and Carlos Monreal,
from Carleton University and Agricul-
ture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC),
respectively, are developing a fertilizer
technology so innovative and so advanced
it’s difficult to comprehend how it even
works. One has to understand and accept
that plants communicate through their
roots with the soil flora and fauna, and
Winter
2016
Grains
West
48
RESEARCHERS DEVELOP CONTROLLED-RELEASE FERTILIZER COATING
Photo: Derek Hodgson
SOIL SCIENCE:
Maria DeRosa’s research on responsive materials was originally geared towards delivering drugs, rather than fertilizer nutrients.
