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To Till or Not To Till, that is the question? Part 2:


Another benefit, but not the only benefit of the mycorrhizal fungi No Till relationship is that of 'Humic Recalcitrant Carbon Molecule' production in the soil.  That's the stuff that's black in color and which gives a top soil its characteristic darker color.  It's also the stuff that by bad habit the entire industry generically calls humic acids.   The term humic acid (or acids) does not describe specific molecular structures and the term does not follow the rules of chemistry nomenclature.  However since our State Regulatory offices use this old fashion term and have very vague methods of measuring the stuff, we are stuck with using the term for now.    When Nature builds these amazing carbon molecules, or you supplement them by adding soil conditioners such as TerraPro by Soil Secrets, the molecules involved play a huge role in building macro-aggregate structure.  This is caused by the polarity value of the molecules causing a 'mechanism of action' (MOA).  See the image below which shows a collapsed, dispersed clay that has been reclaimed by using TerraPro, so it now has good macro aggregate structure. 


Being Recalcitrant, these carbon molecules have a long life expectancy in the soil as they do not decay back into CO 2 like compost, manure and mulches will do.   So back to the question of Till or Not to Till? Where do the Humic Recalcitrant molecules come from in the soil?  I'm convinced that they do not come directly from the decay of dead things, such as compost, manures and mulches.  More specifically I believe they are coming from the precursor amino acids of the proteins found in the hyphae of the mycorrhizal fungal tissues.  Another reason to inoculate with quality mycorrhizal products and Not to Till! 

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

Click on the following link to learn more about Soil Secrets “TerraPro” Soil Conditioner:
http://treesthatplease.org/portfolio/commercial-terrapro/



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

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