In collaboration with the International Center for Maize and Wheat Improvement (CIMMYT), Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences has developed a new model for BNI (biological nitrification inhibition) enhanced wheat, which exhibits high productivity with low nitrogen fertilizer, to evaluate the total greenhouse gas emissions generated at each stage of wheat production as "life cycle analysis on greenhouse gas emissions". An article on the new model was published on September 1st in 'Environmental Science and Pollution Research'.
The study showed that applying BNI-enabled wheat with a 40% reduction in nitrification to a new model with corrections related to BNI based on the LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 15.9%. In addition, it was estimated that the nitrogen utilization efficiency of wheat at this time could be improved by 16.7%, and the amount of fertilized nitrogen could be reduced by 15.0%.
On the other hand, it has been shown that BNI-enabled wheat exhibits a good anti-nitrification effect in slightly acidic to neutral soils (pH 5.5 to 7.0). About 72 million hectares, about 30% of the world's wheat production area and about 240 million hectares meet this condition, and it was estimated that if BNI-enabled wheat with a 40% nitrification inhibition rate is introduced, it is possible to reduce greenhouse gases derived from nitrogen fertilizers by 9.5%.
JIRCAS has presented estimates on the development of BNI-enabled wheat, which can reduce fertilizer use and GHG emissions, and will promote the use of BNI-enabled wheat in wheat-producing countries to achieve both high productivity and reduced environmental load from agriculture.