There are several million to billions of organisms, which typically require a microscope to see, that live in soil and around the roots of plants. The way these organisms interact with each other and with plants is called the Soil Food Web. There is a best balance of all the different kinds of microorganisms for each kind of plant to get best plant health and quite often improve yield. A spoonful of healthy soil should contain only beneficial species of bacteria, fungi, nematodes and protozoa that never cause disease or become pests. These species perform vital “functions” in the root zone that can bring real profits to growers IF soil conditions are managed in ways that allow the microbes to live and work.
Think about the dollar potential involved with each of the following six functions and then be aware that these functions are entirely biological and only occur through a soil foodweb that is built up, intact and working!
A balanced Soil Food Web will:
1.Suppress disease-causing and pest organisms
2.Retain nitrogen and other nutrients such as calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus, etc.
3.Make nutrients available for plant growth at the times plants require at the rates plants require.
4.Decompose plant residues rapidly.
5.Produce hormones that help plants grow.
6.Produce good soil structure, improving water infiltration, oxygen diffusion, and water-holding capacity.
7.Consume pollutants in the soil.
Products and cultural practices that stimulate a “bloom” of bacteria or fungi reproductive growth can be used as tools to achieve nutrient retention. When this function is working in your soil, half of the process that leads to lower rates of N and P with no reduction in crop yield is present. You are retaining N, P, S, Ca, K, Fe, etc, in your soil, and they will NOT end up in surfGreat Big Plants-Soil Imunity Booster or groundwater any longer. Recent studies at SFI have shown that fungi are the most important retainers of calcium in the soil. Lose your fungi, and you lose the ability to retain Ca in the soil.
More information on this will be coming soon so stay tuned to this page!
20 Apr 2007 The Organic Gardener
