--- title: How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops description: Startup Switch Bioworks is engineering microbes with a genetic switch that lets them colonize crop roots and grow before shifting into nitrogen-producing mode,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/how-engineered-microbes-could-help-feed-the-world-s-crops-tj6hmgdxl twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops | daily.dev og:description: Startup Switch Bioworks is engineering microbes with a genetic switch that lets them colonize crop roots and grow before shifting into nitrogen-producing mode,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/how-engineered-microbes-could-help-feed-the-world-s-crops-tj6hmgdxl og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/TJ6HmGDxl.png og:image:alt: How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops **[MIT Technology Review](https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview)** · 7 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Startup Switch Bioworks is engineering microbes with a genetic switch that lets them colonize crop roots and grow before shifting into nitrogen-producing mode, aiming to reduce farmers' reliance on chemical fertilizer made via the energy-intensive Haber-Bosch process. The switch activates ammonia production once soil nitrogen drops below a threshold. The company is field-trialing the product on corn in six US states, with a commercial launch two to three years away and modeling suggesting it could eventually replace up to 50% of synthetic fertilizer (initially around 25%). Competitor Pivot Bio has been selling microbial fertilizers for over a decade and recently expanded beyond corn to cotton, wheat, sorghum, and barley. Experts note synthetic fertilizer will remain necessary for the foreseeable future since microbes can't fully replace it. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Microbes could extract the metal needed for cleantech](https://daily.dev/posts/microbes-could-extract-the-metal-needed-for-cleantech-ghrmuh1vt) · MIT Technology Review · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Engineering next-generation fertilizers](https://daily.dev/posts/engineering-next-generation-fertilizers-hzshy9taq) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Why worms \(and microbes\) are catching on as a manure pollution solution](https://daily.dev/posts/why-worms-and-microbes-are-catching-on-as-a-manure-pollution-solution-4kglxan3o) · MIT Technology Review · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Upside Robotics is reducing fertilizer use and waste in corn crops](https://daily.dev/posts/upside-robotics-is-reducing-fertilizer-use-and-waste-in-corn-crops-mqpw9dced) · TechCrunch · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Nitrous oxide, a product of fertilizer use, may harm some soil bacteria](https://daily.dev/posts/nitrous-oxide-a-product-of-fertilizer-use-may-harm-some-soil-bacteria-wpb0n9pdz) · MIT News · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#sustainability](https://daily.dev/tags/sustainability), [#biotech](https://daily.dev/tags/biotech) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/how-engineered-microbes-could-help-feed-the-world-s-crops-tj6hmgdxl) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-engineered-microbes-could-help-feed-the-world-s-crops-tj6hmgdxl","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-engineered-microbes-could-help-feed-the-world-s-crops-tj6hmgdxl"},"datePublished":"2026-09-01T09:12:52.642Z","dateModified":"2026-09-01T09:13:13.078Z","description":"Startup Switch Bioworks is engineering microbes with a genetic switch that lets them colonize crop roots and grow before shifting into nitrogen-producing mode,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8ba2197dcfa8e47112148b25ef277f42?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/8ba2197dcfa8e47112148b25ef277f42?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"MIT Technology Review","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"MIT Technology Review","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/a8d03889722f4f22b3986e0b395ff076","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/how-engineered-microbes-could-help-feed-the-world-s-crops-tj6hmgdxl","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"sustainability,biotech","timeRequired":"PT7M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MIT Technology Review","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/technologyreview"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"How engineered microbes could help feed the world’s crops"}]} ```