Modern corn depletes soil nitrogen so rapidly that farmers must constantly replenish it to maintain productivity.

Modern maize (Zea mays) is one of the most nutrient-intensive crops in global agriculture. It requires approximately 0.5 kg of nitrogen to produce a single bushel of grain. Since a high-yielding acre can produce over 200 bushels, the soil's nitrogen demand is immense. Nitrogen is the primary building block for chlorophyll, the molecule that enables plants to convert sunlight into energy through photosynthesis.Historically, Indigenous Americans grew corn using the 'Three Sisters' method, planting it alongside beans and squash. The beans hosted Rhizobium bacteria that fixed nitrogen into the soil, naturally replenishing what corn consumed. Modern monoculture farming has abandoned this balanced approach, creating heavy dependence on the Haber-Bosch process for synthetic fertilizer production.Research from Iowa State University shows that without supplemental nitrogen, corn yields can drop by more than 50 percent within just a few seasons. This high demand stems from the plant's rapid biomass accumulation during its vegetative stages. When nitrogen is scarce, the plant cannibalizes nutrients from its lower leaves to support new growth, causing older leaves to yellow and die. This nutrient-demanding characteristic makes corn a primary driver of global fertilizer consumption.