Disease-Suppressive Soils

The microflora of disease-suppressive soils is usually dominated by antagonistic mi­croorganisms that produce copious amounts of antibiotics. These include fungi of the genera Penicillium, Tricho­ derma, and Aspergillus, and actinomyce­tes of the genus Streptomyces. The anti­biotics they produce can have biostatic and biocidal effects on soil-borne plant pathogens, including Fusarium which would have an incidence in these soils of less than 5 percent. Crops planted in these soils are rarely affected by diseases or insect pests.

Even if fresh organic matter with a high nitrogen content is applied, the production of putrescent substances is very low and the soil has a pleasant earthy odor after the organic matter is decomposed. These soils gener­ally have excellent physical properties; for example, they readily form water sta­ble aggregates and they are well-aerated, and have a high permeability to both air and water. Crop yields in the disease­ suppressive soils are often slightly lower than those in synthetic soils. Highly ac­ceptable crop yields are obtained when odors especially after tillage, b) favorable soil physical properties (e.g., increased aggregate stability, permeability, aeration and decreased resistance to tillage), c) large amounts of inorganic nutrients, amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and other bioactive substances which can di­rectly or indirectly enhance the growth, yield and quality of crops, d) low occu­pancy of Fusarium fungi which is usu­ ally less than 5 percent, and e) low production of greenhouse gases (e.g., meth­ane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide) from croplands, even where flooded rice is grown.

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Our products improve soil health by stimulating and feeding native microbial life in the soil which creates a higher yielding crop. To learn more about how you can increase photosynthetic inefficiencies, contact us today!