Salk Institute Begins Field Trials of Deeper-Rooted, Carbon-Storing Soybeans
Salk Institute began field trials of deeper-rooted, carbon-storing soybeans in four US states, backed by an $18 million Bezos Earth Fund grant, AP reports.
Photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies began field trials this fall of soybean varieties bred for deeper roots that store more carbon in soil, backed by an $18 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund, the Associated Press reported on September 18, 2026. The trials are running in Illinois, in partnership with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, along with sites in Missouri, Kansas and Iowa, with initial results expected this fall.
The work targets three root traits: roots that grow deeper, pushing carbon below soil layers disturbed by farming; larger root systems that add more underground plant material; and roots rich in suberin, a cork-like compound that decomposes slowly and keeps carbon locked in soil longer. Salk researchers identified 347 candidate genes linked to these traits after six years of genome analysis. “We wanted to leverage the natural variation of a given plant,” said Todd Michael, a research professor at Salk who worked on the genetic screening. “We just have to be able to make the right crosses to bring in those genetics.”
Why Salk is testing carbon-storing soybeans in the field now
Salk’s modeling suggests that one hectare, or about 2.5 acres, of deeper-rooted soybeans could store roughly one additional metric ton of carbon dioxide per year. Applied globally across soybean, corn, cotton and canola, the institute estimates the approach could remove about one gigaton of carbon dioxide annually by 2040, though that figure depends on breeding success and widespread adoption that has not yet happened. Wolfgang Busch, director of Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative, said moving from greenhouse results to real farm conditions is the necessary next test: “You have to test it in the field.” He also pointed to the urgency behind the work: “It’s a race against time. We are racing against limiting the damage.”
Busch cautioned that trade-offs between root traits and crop yield remain unresolved. “We don’t really know what the real trade-off is,” he said, noting that a technology attractive to major seed companies could scale quickly once proven: “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.”
| Salk deeper-rooted soybean field trials, September 2026 | Figure |
|---|---|
| Bezos Earth Fund grant for this phase | $18 million |
| Cumulative Bezos Earth Fund support since 2020 | $48 million |
| Field trial states | Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Iowa |
| Candidate genes identified | 347, after 6 years of genome analysis |
| Projected carbon storage | About 1 metric ton CO2 per hectare (2.5 acres) per year |
| Potential global removal by 2040 (if widely adopted) | About 1 gigaton CO2 per year |
| Initial field results expected | Fall 2026 |
The project extends Salk’s Harnessing Plants Initiative, which the Bezos Earth Fund first backed with a $30 million donation in November 2020 to identify genes that help crops capture and store more atmospheric carbon in their roots. That earlier phase identified the 347 candidate genes now being tested and advanced 37 related projects, according to Salk. The new field trials sit alongside other efforts to build carbon storage into farmland: enhanced rock weathering lifted carbon storage by 27% in a Welsh reforestation trial, and separately, a cold-activated peptide has been found to protect crop pollen and yield under climate stress, another approach to breeding crops for a changing climate. Mafix has raised funding to speed the spread of enhanced rock weathering on farmland, a mineral-based approach that, like Salk’s root trials, aims to turn ordinary farmland into a larger carbon sink.
About the Salk Institute’s Harnessing Plants Initiative
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies launched its Harnessing Plants Initiative to breed crop varieties capable of storing more atmospheric carbon in their root systems. The Bezos Earth Fund provided an initial $30 million donation in November 2020, backing a leadership team that includes Wolfgang Busch, Joanne Chory, Joseph Ecker, Julie Law, Todd Michael and Joseph Noel, and work focused on six major crop species including corn and soybeans. The initiative’s September 2026 announcement of $18 million in further Bezos Earth Fund support, bringing total commitments to $48 million, moves the research from genetic identification into multi-state field trials, the stage Busch said is necessary before any of the institute’s carbon-storing crop traits could reach commercial farms.
Sources: Associated Press (via WTTW); Seed World; Salk Institute (background)
Featured image: photo by Tom Fisk on Pexels (free Pexels license).
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I specialize in sustainability education, curriculum co-creation, and early-stage project strategy. At WINSS, I craft articles on sustainability, transformative AI, and related topics. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me chasing the perfect sushi roll, exploring cities around the globe, or unwinding with my dog Puffy — the world’s most loyal sidekick.
