Garden & Greenhouse June 2018 Issue | Page 22

One solution has been to use
chemicals to feed the plant. The re-
sult is massive loss of SOM, leading
to decreased microbes and loss of
carbon to the atmosphere. This also
is a factor in soil erosion, the in-
ability of soil to maintain water and
an increased need for pesticides be-
cause the microbes once protected
the plants from invaders. Microbes
are tightly bound to soil particles
so they remain near the plant and
they die and release their nutrients when the plant
needs them. Chemicals are applied in one or several
feedings and the only way they can remain where
they are dumped is to be taken up by microbes or
plants. This is a slow process and up to half of all
chemical fertilizer washes away. As SOM is lost so are
microbes and higher level of chemical fertilizers are
needed to sustain plant growth. These chemicals are
toxic to a microbe which leads to reduced SOM.
Since SOM is over 90% the remains of dead mi-
crobes we must increase the soil microbial mass if we
wish to replace it. This requires providing food for
the microbes and decreasing microbial-toxic amounts
of chemicals. Cover crops, organic fertilizers and cir-
cumspect application of chemical fertilizers can meet
this requirement but the solution must be specific:
T A I L O R E D
each soil (and each soil crop com-
bination) is unique in its nutrient
needs and requires supplements
that provide a balanced diet for the
microbes. Some of the treatments
researchers have used have been
shown to increase microbes and
SOM, but some organic treatments
actually decrease SOM.
Currently it is very difficult for
farmers, who operate at 1-2% profit
to risk a switch in their practice.
Further, organic farming has been shown to decrease
crop yield by ~20%. In Europe it has been reported
that this loss is offset by lower input costs, less fertil-
izer, pesticide and water and maybe higher prices for
organic products. In the U.S. there are farmers who
have successfully implemented cover crops and other
green initiatives as well as farmers who have paid a
painful price for the same, but there need to be many
more and it will be hard to convert the larger agricul-
tural community without new tools to assess the pos-
sibility of success of a given strategy. GG
Judith Fitzpatrick, Ph.D. is the president Prolific Earth
Sciences. You can visit here website at Microbiometer.com.
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June 2018