Biologicals and their Benefits to Soil Health
The Importance of Soil Biology
Soil is much more than “dirt.” Healthy soils can be seen as a living entity. It contains a diverse, living, ecosystem composed of organic (living) and inorganic (non-living) matter. The importance of soil biology is often overlooked, but it is extremely important to ensure your soil has all the components it requires so it can help you produce the healthiest crops and highest yield of quality fruits / flowers / vegetables.
Soil provides a growing medium for your plants to grow and thrive by serving five essential functions:
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Regulating water
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Helping with nutrient cycling
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Providing physical stability and support
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Filtering and buffering potential pollutants
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Sustaining plant and animal life
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All these functions are achieved by healthy soils. In order to produce healthy soils that promote healthy plants, you need biologicals. The term “biologicals” refers to beneficial, living microbes. Some of these biologicals can be found living in diverse communities within and around the roots of plants. One of the most important biologicals for plants are mycorrhizae.
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Mycorrhizae describes a symbiotic relationship between plants and fungi. Fungi known has the ability to improve plant growth and survival. Fungi will colonize plant roots and create an extension to outer soils, increasing the amount of available nutrients and moisture the roots would otherwise not have access to.
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Mycorrhizae stretches far into soil, breaking down and acquiring nutrients, bringing them back to the plant and exchanging them for sugars produced by the plant. Mycorrhizae are a critical component of healthy soil biology and comprise about 80% of all the microbial organisms that support plant growth and health.
WHAT ARE BIOLOGICALS?
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Biologicals are products that contain components from living or once living organisms. Biologicals offer many significant benefits to soil and turf health and can be applied at home and commercial scale farming applications.
Some of these positive benefits include improved root growth, stress tolerance, increased microbial activity, improved nutrient availability and soil water holding capacity.
With a variety of biological products available it can be overwhelming to know which one to choose. Below is a categorized group so you can better understand their differences and unique roles they play in promoting soil health. Most of these products can be applied alone or can be be blended/coated on fertilizer or deliver via fertigation- fertilizer/irrigation systems.
BIOLOGICAL CATEGORIES
Listed below are the major categories of biologicals and their key benefits to soil health.
1. Beneficial Microbes Organisms found in soil where food sources are plentiful. Beneficial microbes used in biologicals are:
Bacteria Fungi (mycorrhizae) Benefits: Bacteria Fix nitrogen gas from the air into usable forms for plants Convert urea into inorganic nitrogen for plant use Share metabolites with plants Fungi (Mycorrhizae) Act as an extension of plant root systems Defend plants against pathogenic bacteria
2. Plant Growth Regulators (PGRs) Chemical substances that are used to regulate the growth of plants. Benefits: PGR's regulate the rate of various plant processes including growth, homeostasis, reproduction, pathogen defense, and abiotic stress tolerance.
3. Humic Substances occur naturally in soils as a result of the breakdown of organic matter. Humic substances in biologicals are: Humic Acid Benefits (Humic): a. Stimulate root growth b. Chelate and complex macro and micronutrients c. Increase the soil’s Cation Exchange Capacity (C.E.C.) d. Reduce soil compaction e. Retain moisture in soils f. Enhance the soil quality for beneficial microbes
4. Seaweed Marine-based species of plants and algae. Benefits: Kelp helps plants adapt their physiology to abiotic stressors such as heat, cold, drought, and salt.
5. Metabolites Microbial metabolites are a byproduct of beneficial soil bacteria (microbes), which are a natural, rich source of protein hydrolysates, organic acids, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fulvic acids. There are two types of metabolites, primary and secondary. Both of which are highly beneficial to plant and soil health. Benefits: Providing organic compounds essential for plant growth and development Driving the plants biochemistry including respiration, cell division, energy production and reproduction, helping plants cope with many biotic and abiotic stresses.
Improves plants survivability by boosting disease resistance and discouraging herbivory (insect damage)
6. Enzymes Protein molecules in cells. Benefits: Accelerate metabolic and catabolic reactions associated with the plant’s metabolism.
References:
https://ag.umass.edu/greenhouse-floriculture/fact-sheets/what-are-biostimulants https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5266735/ https://www.extension.iastate.edu/turfgrass/blog/biostimulant-use-turf-industry
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