Replies to post #6722 on The Rising Influence of Rising Affluence

[zipjet]

Thanks for the comment.

Right. I thought about the C,O and H. But I usually do not think about those as fertilizers - nitrogen/urea contrasted. Not sure if that is correct. (I'm assuming farmers do not add C,O or H other than irrigation.)

I also realize that much of the plant in contrast to the "fruit" is recycled back into the soil by decomposition.

So the question regardless of efficiency (which may allow plant function with lower levels) of use, boils down to whether the "fruit" contains soil components (P, Mg, S, etc.) - if they do - they will need to be replaced.

If memory serves me, legumes put N back into the soil (one justification of some crop rotation), so I would think that function would be a target of plant engineering.

ij