Skip to main content

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: 

Click on the following link to learn more about Soil Secrets “TerraPro” Soil Conditioner:



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

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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.  Recalcitran...

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

How does nitrogen work in the soil and where does it come from when we don't have a bag of fertilizer to supplement it?

I've spoken many times on this subject at conferences and it was the main theme of my talk when I represented North America at the World's 1st Humus Experts Meeting in Vienna Austria back in 2013.   Most of the Nitrogen used by the vast tropical rain forests, or the fastest growing biomass place on Earth, the Coastal Redwood Forests of California, comes from the production of protein by the Free-Living Nitrogen Fixing bacteria in soil and the massive biomass structure of the mycorrhizal fungi.    The proteins as it breaks down in the soil into amino acids are the building blocks of life and the explanation of the Soil Food Web.  However, in order for those amino acids to enter a plant and be part of the nitrogen budget of the plant they must have the assistance of the mycorrhizal fungi.  It's much more efficient for a plant to uptake amino acids whose molecules include nitrogen needed to build tissues than to uptake just nitrogen minus the amino acid. ...