Show air fertilization smithsonian institution scientists have discovered how to make wheat greatly increase its yield without adding anything to the soil notes pathfinder magazine they fertilize the air instead since plants use atmospheric carbon dioxide and water in the presence of light to manufacture their substance dr earl S johnston foh of the dl dision of radiation and organisms increased experimentally the amount of 0 this heavy gas in the atmosphere around a miniature wheat field until the carbon dioxide content was four times that of ordinary ordin iry air As a result the wheat showed marked increases in growth |