Scientists hope deeper-rooted soybeans can withstand climate extremes
and store more carbon
[September 19, 2026] By
JOSHUA A. BICKEL and ANNIKA HAMMERSCHLAG
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — Research scientist Ashish Rajurkar kneels in the
dirt, lifting a large clod of soil tangled around a soybean plant. He
knocks away pieces of earth from the plant's roots, which slope straight
down instead of out to the side like typical soybean plants.
Researchers hope roots like these could help crops withstand some
effects of climate change while also drawing more carbon from the
atmosphere and storing it underground. Carbon dioxide released by
burning fossil fuels traps heat in the atmosphere, driving human-caused
climate change.
For years, scientists have explored ways to remove some of that carbon
from the atmosphere, including through direct air capture, changes to
ocean chemistry so seawater can absorb more carbon, and reforestation.
Now, researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies are
testing whether deeper root systems could become another tool.
But scientists still need to show how much additional carbon those roots
can store under real farming conditions, how long the carbon would
remain underground and whether the crops can maintain yields.
An $18 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund will help Salk
researchers test those questions in the field by measuring how resilient
these plants are to drought and other climate stressors, how much carbon
they can store and for how long, and how to get the plants onto farms at
scale.
Wolfgang Busch, director of the institute’s Harnessing Plants
Initiative, said the issue is pressing.
“We are actually steering in a direction that is very concerning,” he
said. “It will become harder to grow enough food for enough people.”
Scientists use genes to create deeper roots
Over the last six years, Salk scientists uncovered the genetic
information of hundreds of versions of common row crop plants such as
soybeans and sorghum from around the world, creating an “encyclopedia”
of plant genomes, said Todd Michael, a research professor at the
institute.
After identifying 347 genes related to carbon storage and root growth,
scientists were able to edit the plants' DNA and create ones with roots
that penetrate the soil further down.
“We wanted to leverage the natural variation of a given plant,” Michael
said. “We just have to be able to make the right crosses to bring in
those genetics.”
During droughts, they hope the roots will allow plants to access water
below the top layer of soil while also storing carbon farther
underground, where it may be less vulnerable to being released when
farmers till their fields.
Researchers are also trying to boost carbon storage by growing larger
root systems so more carbon-rich plant material is left in the soil, and
by increasing suberin, a cork-like substance in roots that contains
carbon and decomposes more slowly than many other plant tissues.
Researchers hypothesize that more steeply shaped root systems may also
allow farmers to plant more crops in a smaller area, potentially
increasing yield.
Salk scientists think longer, bigger roots could also absorb more
nitrogen and other fertilizer runoff, which can cause algae blooms and
lead to low-oxygen environments that kill marine life.
Based on earlier lab results, Salk researchers estimate one hectare (2.5
acres) of deeper- and bigger-rooted soybean plants could store an
additional metric ton of carbon dioxide per year. How long that carbon
stays stored depends on how deep the roots can grow and the surrounding
environment in the soil. Initial results from the field are expected
this fall, Busch said.
At one of these field sites at the University of Illinois
Urbana-Champaign, Salk is growing deep-rooted soybean plants under a
canopy that can open and close to control the amount of rainfall plants
receive, testing how the plants perform in drought conditions. Using
underground cameras and sensing equipment, research partners at the
university can track the amount of carbon in the soil and view the root
structure's growth in real-time.
[to top of second column] |
Ashish Rajurkar, a research scientist at the Salk Institute,
examines a greenhouse of genetically-engineered soybeans Tuesday,
Sept. 1, 2026, at a research farm in Champaign, Ill. (AP
Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)
 But there is still uncertainty about
how these plants will perform outside a lab. Salk researchers hope
data collection at the site in Illinois, along with ones in
Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, will provide accurate estimates of carbon
storage and crop yield.
Because most plant breeders haven't focused on root systems in the
past, “we don’t really know what the real trade-off is,” Busch said.
“You have to test it in the field.”
Rapid adoption relies on industry and farmers
Busch acknowledges that getting new seed technology into farmers'
fields can be difficult. Having a crop that has clear benefits to
farmers and large seed companies is key to getting it adopted
rapidly. He noted that companies and farmers adopted
herbicide-resistant crops in less than a decade once the technology
was introduced.
“Historically it’s clear, if you have a technology that is
interesting to a big seed company, it will go out there very, very
fast,” he said.
And large-scale adoption on farm fields will be required to have the
kind of carbon-reduction impact Salk scientists want. A 2025 study
that Busch co-authored modeled that about a gigaton of carbon
dioxide per year could be removed from the atmosphere by 2040 if
deeper-rooted soybean, corn, cotton and canola crops were adopted in
countries where genetically-modified crops are already grown.
Adoption could be rapid because deeper-rooted crops could be planted
on current farm fields using existing agricultural infrastructure
and land, according to the study.
Andrew Bovarnik, head of global food systems for the United Nations
Development Programme, cautioned new crop technologies can take
longer to implement than researchers expect. Farmers’ decisions are
shaped not only by what happens on their fields, he said, but also
by seed companies, commodity buyers, government subsidies, trade
rules and access to financing.
“There’s a sense that if you innovate and come up with a good idea,
then boom, it can happen,” Bovarnik said. “But it tends not to. We
are stuck in a system that is pretty entrenched.”
Farmers are also reluctant to take risks on unfamiliar crops, he
said, particularly without evidence they won’t bring unintended
problems such as greater susceptibility to disease or heat.
Subsidies and other incentives could help speed adoption, Bovarnik
said, but even if deeper-rooted crops prove useful, their impact
will depend on how land is used, how soils are managed and whether
crops such as soy are being grown for the most efficient or
beneficial purposes.
“Always keep looking at that bigger strategic, systemic lens to
food,” Bovarnik said, “not just the end-of-pipe innovation.”
Busch also acknowledged that crop and seed development can take
years. Ambitious solutions, he said, require fast funding.
“It’s a race against time,” he said of climate change. “We are
racing against limiting the damage and crossing tipping points,
where it’s much harder to return from.”
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