Dr John Day, microbiologist, with wife and baby daughter

Aug. 08, 1975 - Briton leads second green revolution: Dr John Day, a British scientist, is at the centre of a major agricultural advance which could become part two of the Green Revolution which doubled wheat and rice yields in the 1960s. The breakthrough could eliminate or greatly reduce the need to apply nitrogen fertiliser to pastures and green crops, including wheat, in many parts of the world. Reduced world demand for fertiliser would ease the demand for oil which is used intensively in the fertiliser manufacturing process. Poor countries would be relieved of mounting fertiliser costs. Nitrogen fertiliser has nearly tripled in price to about £70 a ton in the past three years because of rising oil prices. Now, Dr Johanna Dobereiner, head of the soil section at the Agricultural Research Institute of South-Central Brazil, and Dr John Day, a microbiologist at the Rothamsted experimental station, Hertfordshire, England, have discovered that some varieties of wheat, maize, sorghum and pasture grasses can thrive without any applied nitrogen when certain bacteria are present around their roots. The bacteria take nitrogen from the air and transfer it to the plants. Photo shows microbiologist Dr John Day with his wife Jeanne, and their 4-month old daughter, Janine, at his parents public house at Kings Walden, Hertfordshire

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Apply Bacteria Breakthrough Briton Certain Costs Crops Demand Discovered Doubled Ease Eliminate Experimental Fertiliser Grasses Greatly Hertfordshire Intensively Janine Johanna Leads Maize Microbiologist Mounting Nearly Need Nitrogen Pasture Pastures Prices Reduce Reduced Relieved Roots Soil Sorghum Thrive Transfer Varieties Walden Wheat Yields

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