Phosphate–a limiting nutrient for agriculture–is applied to soils worldwide by the millions of tons. However, in alkaline or acid soils, phosphate forms insoluble precipitates making most of it unusable to plants. Phosphate fertilizer run off is a major environmental pollutant, and improving the ability of plants to absorb and use phosphate has become a key concern. In this issue, Herrera-Estrella and colleagues ( p. 450) tackle this problem by engineering plants that require less phosphate to achieve optimal growth in alkaline soil. Acid applied to soil was previously known to free up phosphate in insoluble calcium phosphate complexes. They overexpress citrate synthase from Pseudomonas in tobacco, making plants that secrete citric acid into the soil, converting the insoluble complexes into a usable form.