COMMERCIAL

HOME GARDEN PERSONAL HEALTH

COMMERCIAL

FOCUSING ON SOIL HEALTH TO INCREASE CROP YIELDS

Earth’s soil plays a vital role in many aspects of our everyday life such as agriculture, food production, natural water filtration, and nutrient cycling. Soil is a complex living organism that is the base and medium for all walks of life, many would agree soil is the life support of our entire environmental system. TeraGanix has worked with farmers for over 20 years following the principles of Dr. Higa to co-exist with our environment by providing low cost, high quality, safe and efficient microbial products that focus on soil, plant and human health.

Focusing on your farms soil health can lead to a more sustainable operation and better, more nutritious yields. The over use of chemical inputs and decades of large scale cultivation has left soils depleted of appropriate populations of beneficial microorganisms as well as nutrients, especially in agriculture. Although larger organisms such as worms, bugs, plants and animals play a role in soil health, microorganisms run the show.

WHY DO MICROORGANISMS MATTER?

Pick up a palm full of soil and you likely won't see many living organisms aside from small insects, ants or possibly an earthworm. However, in that handful alone (assuming it's fertile) there are thousands of species and billions of individual bacteria, actinomycetes, fungi, algae, protozoa and nematodes. Bacteria, both beneficial and pathogenic, outnumber the other organisms at 10⁸-10⁹ per 1 gram of soil (Hoorman. 2010). Most know the vital role microorganisms play in the human body, from gut health to immunity strength. Soil, being a living organism itself, relies on microorganisms as well. Without a balanced population of beneficial microbes, soil is unable to do its job properly (i.e. cycling nutrients, supporting plant growth, filtering water). This generally leads to a vicious cycle of needing more and more chemical inputs to increase nutrients, and fight off pathogenic organisms and pests and more money wasted.

Microorganisms, like those in EM® Products such as Ag1000®, produce metabolites that help increase the populations of other microorganisms as well as larger organisms such as earthworms and inhibit the growth of disease-causing bacteria. A study as far back as 1963 showed that high populations of microbes on the leaf surface protect against pathogens by producing compounds such as acids and bacteriocins (Stirling and Whittenbury). More recent field trials showed that Lactobacillus plantarum, an important microbe in EM®, completely prevented pathogens such as bacterial canker, bacterial spot, and angular leaf spot (Daranas et al. 2019). In the soil rhizosphere, Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces, also in EM®, work as antifungal agents by producing chitinase, an enzyme that breaks down the chitin cell wall of pathogenic fungi. Studies have also shown Saccharomyces cerevisiae inhibited spore growth by up to 70% (Carstens et al. 2003).

INSURE YOU HAVE SOIL ORGANIC MATTER

Commercial agriculture has more recently, in the last decade, become more aware of microorganisms' importance and how to better maintain populations. No-till is one such practice many are switching to in order to limit the depletion of soil organic matter and beneficial microorganisms. Without soil organic matter, microorganisms have little to no food in which to attain energy, resulting in a broken system. Studies show tilled soils lose carbon stores and often release excess nutrients, reducing any future storage needed for optimal growth of microorganism (Hoorman. 2010).

Using your own plant waste to create compost not only makes your operation more sustainable and efficient, but allows you to control the organic matter being applied to your fields. Composting also benefits the environment by recycling organic resources that would otherwise make up a considerable amount of the waste in landfills. Compost provides a clean, sustainable and rich organic fertilizer, reducing the cost of synthetic fertilizers. Composting with Ag1000® can speed up the composting process by fermenting instead of putrefying. Lactic acid bacteria (Lactobacillus) and phototrophic bacteria (Rhodopseudomonas), both found in EM^® products, metabolize proteins and produce amino acids that are directly absorbed by plants. This reduces the time the compost needs to mature.

INCREASE YOUR PLANT GROWTH

Plants do not just rely on microorganisms to defend against stressors, but also rely on the plant-microbe relationship for growth. Because microorganisms produce enzymes, proteins and hormones that are then utilized by the plants, a healthy population of microbes in the soil can significantly increase plant growth. Countless studies show the plant's microbiome affects seed germination, seedling strength and vigor, plant development, disease suppression and productivity (Mendes et al. 2013). In a study on Effective Microorganisms and the plant Kalanchoe daigremontiana, plant growth was significantly higher in treated plants over the control. This included; plant height, number of leaves, plant weight, new shoots, and leaf area. Because of the increase in leaf area, they also saw an increase in chlorophyll, net photosynthesis and water use efficiency (Domenico 2019).

EM^® has been shown to be beneficial as a foliar spray in addition to soil application. When applied to the plant, microorganisms in EM^® can deliver needed enzymes, proteins and hormones without the added stressors in the soil environment. A study on bush beans and EM^® saw a significant increase in nitrogen, potassium, and yields when plants were sprayed with EM^® (Sajjad et al. 2017). Another had a 126% increase in pea plant yields with foliar applications of EM-1^® (Javaid. 2006).

Ag1000^® is a liquid probiotic solution for growing crops and for composting manures. Available in organic and conventional, it is a ready-to-use concentrate of Effective Microorganisms^® for large commercial clients. Ag1000^® and the metabolites produced by the beneficial microorganisms make nutrients more available to plants, making fertilizer work better and leading to less waste.

TeraGanix has worked with farmers for 20+ years with EM Technology^® products. We have wholesale solutions for your agricultural, livestock and environmental needs. Contact us for recent research, farm trials, and peer-reviewed studies on Effective Microorganisms^® and Agriculture.

Sources

(1) Carstens, M., Vivier, M. and Pretorius, I. 2003. The Saccharomyces cerevisiae chitinase, encoded by the CTS1-2 gene, confers antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea to Transgenic tobacco. Transgenic Research. 12:497–508. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024220023057

(2)Domenico, P. 2019. Effective Microorganisms for Germination and Root Growth in Kalanchoe daigremontiana. World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews. 3(3):047-053. DOI:10.30574/wjarr.2019.3.3.0074

(3) Hoorman, James J. 2010. Understanding Soil Microbes and Nutrient Recycling. Agriculture and Natural Resources. Ohio State University Extension. http://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/SAG-16.

(4) Javaid, Dr. Arshad. 2006. Foliar application of effective microorganisms on pea as an alternative fertilizer. 26:257-262. DOI:10.1051/agro:2006024.

(5) Mendes R, Garbeva P, Raaijmakers JM. 2013. The rhizosphere microbiome: significance of plant beneficial plant pathogenic and human pathogenic microorganisms. FEMS Microbiol Rev. 37:634–663.

(6) Sajjad, Y., Jaskani, M.J., Asif, M. and Qasim, M. 2017. Application of plant growth regulators in ornamental plants: a review. Pakistani Journal of Agricultural Science. 54(2): 327-333. DOI: 10.21162/PAKJAS/17.3659

(7) Stirling, Anna and R. Whittenbury. 1963. Sources of the Lactic Acid Bacteria Occurring in Silage. Journal of Applied Bacteriology. 26(1). DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2672.1963.tb01160.x