g.gerard@cgiar.org

Biological Nitrification Inhibition (BNI) describes the ability of certain plants to specifically inhibit the growth and activity of nitrifying microorganisms in rhizosphere soil. This trait is a promising plant breeding target, allowing for increased N fertilizer use efficiency while mitigating the release of the potent greenhouse gas N2O in the farmer's field.

The International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center has been able to transfer the BNI capacity from Leymus racemosus into spring wheat. Preliminary studies using a set of different elite spring wheat lines carrying the translocation have shown no negative effects on agronomically important traits while showing promise in reducing agriculture's nitrogen footprint. One goal within the CropSustaiN 4-year mission is to expand and explore the potential use of the BNI trait in winter wheat.

The transfer of the BNI translocation from spring to different winter wheat backgrounds is being carried out in collaboration with different public and private partners globally. Field studies using winter wheat BNI isogenic lines are expected to be carried out in the short-medium term to assess potential effects on agronomically important traits, BNI activity, and Nitrogen losses aiming to determine the technology's potential in winter wheat backgrounds/environments.