Plant scientists long have known they can alter crops genetically to improve performance; they've been doing it thousands of years. ... "We changed the way the plant is expressing its genes, even though we didn't change the genes themselves," Mackenzie said. The process is called epigenetics
In particular, plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. When dissolved in water, these nutrients get absorbed by a plant's roots. If a plant can't get the nutrients it needs from the soil, fertilizer can help. Fertilizer provides plants with essential nutrients and helps them grow faster
