Soil Microbes
The addition of soil microbes in all cropping
situations can have a strong impact on root development and
an improvement overall quality and yield.
The combination of soil bacteria and fungi has
differing impacts depending on the crop type.
Cereals, pulses and summer crops receive
benefits from mycorrhizal fungi, which improves the plants
ability to source nutrients (including phosphorus) from the
soil. The
bacterium in the soil improves the conversion of nitrogen
and other nutrients from organic matter.
Trichoderma will reduce the level of non-beneficial
fungal spores and help to reduce the impact on the crop.
The soil microbes work together and will have an
overall positive impact to improve nutrients available to
plants.
Lupins operate differently in that a citric acid
is released to solubilise the phosphorus in the soil
resulting in less dependence on the mycorrhizal fungi.
The benefits gained from the soil microbes are the
important result of applying soil microbes.
The need for microbes in the soil is well documented
for lupins to set seed and fix nitrogen for following crops.
Certain soil bacteria produce plant growth hormones (Cytokinins),
which are essential for seed pod development.
Canola is one of the plant families that
suppress fungal activity.
Research has shown that fungal activity (including
mycorrhiza) is significantly reduced following a canola
crop.
Recent farmer trials have shown that while the
fungal activity is reduced following canola, the bacterial
activity is significantly increased.
This means that an increase in bacterial activity
will help to protect the plant and increase the conversion
of canola stubble to plant available nutrients for the
following crop.
Following a canola crop with a cereal crop
highlights the need to replenish the mycorrhiza fungi (for
sourcing nutrients) and trichoderma fungi (to reduce
non-beneficial pathogens) to improve cereal performance.
The application of in furrow fungicide can have
a dramatic impact on the soils fungal populations and impact
on the soils biological balance.
The result can be a reduction in root size and a
reduction in the plants ability to source nutrients from the
soil. Reduction
of root mass can also have a serious impact on plant yield
potential if there is a dry period during the growing
season.
The application of soil microbes to seed at
cropping is relatively easy but the activation of microbes
needs to be planned in advance to ensure maximum numbers of
microbes are attained through activation.
Soil microbes are available from Western Mineral
Fertilisers.
