Cornell scientists develop colour-changing tomatoes to signal low nitrogen levels

NewsScience NewsCornell scientists engineered tomatoes that turn red-purple when nitrogen is low and are testing whether the colour change can help farmers use fertiliser more precisely Cornell scientists engineered tomatoes that turn red-purple when nitrogen is low and are testing whether the colour change can help farmers use fertiliser more precisely TOI Science Desk / TIMESOFINDIA.COM / Nov 01, 2026, 01:30 IST Representative Image of genetically engineered tomato plants displaying red-purple hues in a field in response to nitrogen deficiency (AI-generated image) The project is part of Cornell’s Centre for Research on Programmable Plant Systems (CROPPS), which investigates ways to engineer plants to communicate information about their surroundings.

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