The Microbiome Gets the Attention it Deserves
By Richard Jones, Corporate Content Director, Meister Media Worldwide
The idea that healthy soils are beneficial to growing abundant, high-quality crops seems intuitive. Most agree, however, that until recent years, insect, disease, and weed management and maximizing the results of a crop nutrition program were much higher on the list of concerns for growers every season.
But that's changing, and in a big way. Whether it's due more to outside influences from consumer, retailer, or regulatory demands for more sustainable production methods, or the agriculture industry simply better understanding the science and its benefits, soil health is a focus for growers. And they’re beginning to ask all the right questions.
" In the last ten years I’ve seen a tremendous uptick in the interest in soil health and soil biology,” says Meri Mullins, Product Consultant, Biome Makers. “There's been an increase in inbound conversations, with questions like, ‘How can we do something differently? How are we going to keep producing food in the changing climate? How can we create resilience on our farm for generations to come?’”
“I think now, more than ever, there’s a dedication to investigating healthier soils and the positive impacts they have by way of promoting better nutrient uptake, better water retention, and improved water quality by reducing runoff." – Mike Allan, Vice President, North America, Certis Biologicals
Soil health is definitely front and center with all the stakeholders involved in production agriculture, says Mark Herz, Technical Specialist, CHS Agronomy. “I believe producers know the path to their next yield increases requires good soil health. The understanding of the complexity around soils and living organisms is becoming better understood. And most everyone's viewing soil health as an opportunity,” he says.
Mike Allan, Vice President, North America, Certis Biologicals, agrees. “I think now, more than ever, there’s a dedication to investigating healthier soils and the positive impacts they have by way of promoting better nutrient uptake, better water retention, and improved water quality by reducing runoff. These are all things that are becoming mainstream knowledge and incorporated into an overall integrated program on the farm.”
New generations taking the lead in growing operations all over the country are bringing an openness to new ideas for the farm as well.
“As younger generations enter the industry, we've noticed a greater interest in incorporating products and practices to increase soil health on their operations,” Philip Kayal, Vice President, Rogitex, says. “I think it has to do with being more sensitive to sustainability. When you have a new generation coming into the family business, they want to introduce new ideas and practices that they believe could benefit the operation.”
Supplementing the MicrobiomeOne of the first steps to building healthier agricultural soils is understanding that the soil itself is a complex system with many components working together to allow growers to produce healthy, high-quality crops, Herz says.
“Adding beneficial microbes is all about the consortium or the diversity." – Gilman Farley, Partner/President, Biodyne-USA
“We talk a lot about the soil microbiome. What that describes is a large, diverse community of microbes living together in a community and in concert with each other. There's a mutual, symbiotic relationship between the roots of plants and microbes. The roots secrete exudates that the microbes feed off of, and the microbes, in turn, release enzymes that help the plant roots take up water and nutrients more easily. It's all happening at a microscopic level, but it's very important. There's a lot of activity going on right there in that zone, Herz says.
A lot can be done to protect and build the microbiome naturally, from cover crops, to reducing soil compaction and tillage to feeding the soil with crop residues. Supplementing those practices with microbial products and soil amendments is an increasingly common practice as well.
“Adding beneficial microbes is all about the consortium or the diversity,” says Gilman Farley, Partner/President, Biodyne-USA. “It’s adding capable, beneficial microorganisms that we really understand what their capabilities are, whether it be solubilizing insoluble phosphorus to make it more plant available, fixing atmospheric nitrogen, or recycling organic matter or that leftover residue.”
Some microbial products can produce vitamins or hormone-like substances, or even remediate things present in the soil like leftover petroleum hydrocarbons that may have been a carrier for chemicals twenty years ago, he says. “By surrounding that rhizosphere, or that plant, or that soil with a diverse viable collection of purposely put together microbes, you can really add some biodiversity to that soil and make it a lot more productive. It used to be about bigger roots, bigger plant mass, quicker emergence, and ultimately hoping in a better yield. Now we've really taken that a step further to quantify and identify that we're able to use less external nutrients. For example, by adding the right microbes you can produce a situation where you can solubilize the phosphorus that's already in the soil. You talk about a huge savings to a grower, especially in this environment, it can be unbelievably valuable.”
Soil Structure, Chemistry, and BiologyWhether focusing on more traditional methods or adding additional products to the mix, it’s critical to maintain a balance of all the elements of a healthy soil profile.
“There are three key components of an agricultural soil. There is the physical component — the structure of the soil; the chemical components of the nutrients and the minerals that are there; and then there is the biological component,” Mullins says. “Without all three of those balanced, you're not getting maximum nutrient use efficiencies.”
“Take the three components of a healthy balanced soil; physical, chemical, and biological. The physical component is the soil structure, it allows for water flow and nutrient movement. The chemistry component is the macro and micronutrients, and minerals needed for plant health. The biological component influences many of these processes” Mullins says. “The biology in the soil plays a role in enhancing nutrient availability, soil aggregation, stress response, and so much more. Without all three of those balanced, the soil is not optimized for resilience and production.
“The nitrogen cycle is biologically driven. The carbon cycle is biologically driven. Potassium, phosphorus, zinc, iron, calcium, boron — how all of those things move and become bioavailable and transported in the soil is influenced by biological processes. So, when we start to really tap into that and focus on how we rebuild and nurture the soil biology, we improve all of those efficiencies,” Mullins says.
Stress adaptation is another critical benefit of the biological functioning in a healthy soil microbiome.
“Biostimulant products like algae or kelp nurture the stress response in the microbiome,” Mullins says. "They recruit the biology that supports a robust plant immune response" Mullins says. “The biology is responsible for the hormones that help a plant be more resistant to stress. Things like heat tolerance, drought tolerance, salinity protection, and improved water holding capacity are functions of the soil biology.”
Growth hormones like gibberellin, auxin, and cytokinin are also produced by the soil biology, she points out. “All of these hormones are important for the plant flowering, leaf production, and overall a greater photosynthetic capacity. Without robust soil biology our yields are limited,” Mullins says.
Giving plants the ability to better manage abiotic stressors helps with managing pathogens as well.
“An integrated pest management program has to include soils,” Allan says. “It has to be a system where growers are looking at all of the factors and variables that go into what is today a very long equation to get to the positive result at the end.”
“We know that microbials in the soil are natural enemies to diseases and pests." – Mike Allan, Vice President, North America, Certis Biologicals
Enhancing the soil microbial environment helps develop natural defenses within plants and allows for better resistance to those things that are attacking them, he says. And basic practices that help improve soil dynamics — crop rotation, minimizing soil disturbance by taking steps to reduce compaction and deep tillage — builds a better soil structure and platform when a grower plants a seed or puts a transplant in the ground, and nurses that through the season and yield a profitable quality crop.
“We know that microbials in the soil are natural enemies to diseases and pests. They fight against things that will attack roots, they decrease soil disease populations, they outcompete soil insects, and of course, enhance the ability to decompose matter which feeds the microbes. So, there's a real synergy between this insect life, the worms that are in the soil, and the microbial population that's there, all in an effort to make a plant have more sturdy structure and to be able to fight against stressors like heat or cold, and, of course, any diseases or pests that would be necessary,” Allan says.
“It works in a very holistic fashion. Small changes can have very big results,” Kayal agrees. “It's almost like a domino effect. You start making some small changes, and these things start working together and piling on top of each other, and all of a sudden, you have increased nutrient cycling. You have increased biology. You have increased diversity. You're seeing a healthier plant. The root zone is growing more. The plant looks healthier and its foliage is darker. Pests and diseases are still there, but the plant is able to fight them without the use of pesticides and fungicides or herbicides. It has a snowball effect.”
“Pathogen resistance, hormone production, stress adaptation, and nutrient efficiencies are the key functions of the soil microbiome. This is why it is so important to nurture the soil biology if you're looking to create the greatest resilience and efficiencies on your farm,” Mullins says.
Soil Testing RoleUnderstanding how the components of a healthy soil microbiome work together is a critical first step but making the right decisions to help you get there under your specific soils and conditions is equally important. That’s where soil testing comes in.
“The importance of soil testing is knowing where you are today biologically. Growers have been doing chemical fertility analysis for years. We haven't had a good way of looking at the biology through a functional lens. Now we do with new age metagenomics.” Mullins says.
Having a full understanding of where you are starting out allows you to create a plan of action, she says. “Say, for example, you have low biological activity relative to local potential. What can you do? If you know early season that your nitrogen pathway is suffering, there are actions you can take today to improve those efficiencies using biology. This will ultimately save you money and headache down the road. By improving the biological nutrient pathways, you can dramatically increase input use efficiencies. You can also diagnose potential nutrient deficiencies or pathogen pressure before they become a problem later in the season when it’s too late. By taking an annual look at the soil biology, that we do now with chemistry, we can take a proactive approach to nutrient efficiencies, stress adaptation, hormone production, and pathogen pressure. Looking at soil biology and chemistry together is critical in making better agronomic decisions that promote soil health and increase resilience in our farming systems,” Mullins says.
Farley emphasizes that point on continual testing during the season. Once a plan is in place, soil testing can play a role in determining if you’re accomplishing what you set out to do, Farley says. “We know what our microbes are doing in terms of their capabilities and things that we see visually, but now soil testing can really allow us to pinpoint what's happening.”
He cites an example of applying a microbial product designed to increase phosphorus solubility. With a post-application soil test, it can be readily apparent if those goals are being met.
“We can see if we apply these biologicals at a certain time whether the P is moving into the plant. We've not added any additional P, so for us it's the proof to either show that it's working, not working, where to position these products, and how to formulate future products. You can release X number of pounds of nitrogen, or X number of pounds of phosphorus, but at the end of the day you’ve got to be able to prove it, and it's got to make it back to the farmgate in terms of ROI.”
Next Steps for Improving Soil HealthSo, what can growers, and agriculture as a whole, do to improve in the area of soil health?
Herz advocates a focus on the basics. “My advice: More basic blocking and tackling. That's how we're going to get better at our farming,” Herz says. “There's too many times people want to jump to, ‘I’ve got this product that solves everything.’ The products are a piece, but I think education's key. I think you have to understand what you're going to do, and why you're going to do it, and what you want to affect.”
Kayal agrees that finding a single silver bullet shouldn’t be the focus. “I would say microbial diversity is important. There have been a lot of efforts in the industry directed towards finding the perfect bacteria, or the perfect fungi that will change everything. But when diversity is there, the soil immune system as a whole is stronger, increasing the nutrient cycling, and making it harder for pathogens and diseases to thrive. We should be putting more emphasis on building that diversity to be able to help that immune system,” he says.
Diversity and finding solutions that build on each other is important, Farley says.
“From an innovation perspective, I think it's really in the marrying or the formulating of technologies to work together,” Farley says. What we're identifying in this biostimulant market is the microbial piece that is foundational to what's going on. But you can really create a cumulative effect — one plus one equals three — by adding other specific nutrients or biostimulants at certain times, or even at the same time. You can get an effect that really takes that efficiency quotient up even higher. That will result, in yield and return on investment for growers, but, more importantly, that long-term soil health and sustainability to make a more productive situation for us all.”
“Really, it's about today becoming knowledgeable, monitoring, staying informed, making a dedicated effort to employ the best management practices in your soil program, Allan says. “Factor that into the overall equation of ‘How do I grow this crop most efficiently? What are my practices going to be after this crop is out of the ground? What am I going to do to the plant that would be following this crop in particular, and really keeping the records to create a long-term approach and understand that every action has a reaction?’ Every decision is going to have an impact on the total system. Having that framework in place is going to make for a much healthier soil, a soil environment, and soil structure that’s going to give you much healthier plants and a much richer environment for your crop to grow,” Allan says.
At the end of the day, going where the science leads us will be a winning strategy.
“With the new age technology we have, look to nature for the solutions that will carry us through the challenges we face in agriculture today.” Mullins says. “Turn to biology, use the data that we have, and think about our food system as the living system that it is.”
