Skip to main content

To Till or Not To Till, that is the question? Part 1:


The concept of no-till is to favor the proliferation of mycorrhizal fungal roots on the roots of the crop.  The mycorrhizae produce a vast network of fungus roots called hyphae that are microscopic, however they are of critical importance in holding the soil structure together in what we call macro-aggregate structure.  They are also responsible for many other benefits to the host plant, but for now let’s stick to the soil structure benefit.  The slide below shows this soil fungal hyphae relationship. 


When we plow or till soil we clobber this relationship, making it difficult for mycorrhizal fungi to perpetuate in an agricultural setting for very long, resulting in most agriculture crops not being mycorrhizal.  This includes organic farms as well! 

Beyond the physical characteristic of the fungal hyphae gluing the soil macro-aggregate structure together, the hyphae also contain huge amounts of Nitrogen, which potentially is the single largest contributor of that element to the Soil Food Web.  How do we know this, because research has measured the fungal tissues at  10% Nitrogen, a big number when compared to the many approved organic fertilizers on the market.  For example, liquid fish is only 2% Nitrogen, a very expensive way to get Nitrogen into the system.  Protein Crumblies, a product of Soil Secrets is 8% Nitrogen and a much more affordable way of getting organic nitrogen into the system, when supplemental nitrogen is needed!    So if you inoculate your crop seed every year with a mycorrhizal product like Soil Secrets “White Lightning” you will most likely have an abundance of mycorrhizal tissues always cycling in the soil contributing Nitrogen while they are also gluing the soil together.  What a Great Idea!

Click on the following link to learn more about Soil Secrets “White Lightning” mycorrhizal inoculant: 
http://soilsecrets.co/white-lightning-charge-your-roots-to-power-your-plants/#more-1258



Michael Martin Meléndrez
Managing Member of Soil Secrets LLC
www.soilsecrets.com
michael@soilsecrets.com

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Fertilizers formulated for alkaline soils of the Southwest

Recently I was in an Albuquerque retail nursery where a fertilizer was being sold that stated it was formulated for alkaline soils of the Southwest.  It contained high levels of iron and sulfur, plus the N, P and K major nutrients.  Do any of the readers care to comment on this type of product?    Pros, Cons, etc.  I have my take on it, but I'll entertain what you want to say about it.  Michael Martin Meléndrez
9 comments
Read more

Growing Pecan Trees in Western Alkaline Soil

It's common to see nutrient and water inhibition compromise the production of pecans in the arid western states, particularly where the soils are high pH, which can tie up nutrients such as zinc, iron, phosphorus and more. Keeping soils moist is also a problem because the regions were we grow pecan are not wet bottomland soils where pecan is native, but are high and dry desert soils where irrigation is essential. If the irrigation water is high in dissolved solids, the problem is made worse. There are many good things Soil Secrets can offer pecan growers that can overcome these obstacles, by improving the moisture management of the soil, improving nutrient solutioning and availability of both the native minerals as well as the purchased minerals, and improving the porosity of the soil so that water and oxygen can penetrate meters deep without the need to subsoil with machinery. How's this done? By using the power of Nature's own bio-chemical called the Carbon Matrix. Starti
Post a Comment
Read more

Soil Health: Level 2 - Description of Terms (Carbon Compounds)

The  Labile Carbon  is also known as the 'Rapid Cycling Carbon' and its composed of all the Soil Organic Matter that is dead and actively decomposing.  It's benefit to the soil is that it provides a source for minerals that are being recycled as potential plant nutrients, so in a sense it's Nature's fertilizer.  Active Carbon   also known as Reactive Carbon is more complex than the Labile Carbon in that its composed of all the dead and actively decomposing organic matter plus all the living soil microbial community that will eventually die and begin decomposing.   For example, the hyphae of mycorrhizae only live about 5 to 7 days before they die and start to decompose, while the fungus organism itself may live far longer.  Recalcitrant Carbons   are the Humic substances made up of complex organic chemistry, some of which is inert and some of which is very reactive and are powerful biologics, such as the Humic Acids.  Recalcitrant Humic substances are known in la
9 comments
Read more