Sometimes we think of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and other soil microbes as pests, a fungus infecting your tomatoes for example, but they are not all bad and they all have their own role in the soil food web. In fact, beneficial bacteria and fungi help to decompose many nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable for plants to use. Some bacteria and fungi even have specialized interactions with certain plant roots, where they exchange nutrients to help one another grow. “Building Better Soil for Better Crops” states that mycorrhizal fungi, a group of beneficial fungi attached to plant roots, can help improve water/nutrient uptake, nitrogen fixation, and can even help plants suppress soil borne disease, parasitic nematodes, environmental stresses, and nutrient deficiencies. Soil is mostly made up of non- plant parasites, although some fungi, bacteria, and nematodes infect plant roots. These plant parasitic organisms can cause damage to our beloved plants, but the soil ecosystem is highly diverse and complex where plant parasites are not the only parasites living in the soil. Nematodes, for example, are mostly fungal and bacterial feeders, not plant feeders. We need microorganisms in our soil and without them plant life would not be able to exist.
For more information about soil microbes, follow this link (https://bit.ly/2x31l2N) to the “The Living Soil” chapter in “Building Better Soil for Better Crops” and watch this video (https://bit.ly/2icXS5f) provided by the NRCS. (This educational series is made available partially by the North Central SARE Program). (Chandler Day)
For more information about soil microbes, follow this link (https://bit.ly/2x31l2N) to the “The Living Soil” chapter in “Building Better Soil for Better Crops” and watch this video (https://bit.ly/2icXS5f) provided by the NRCS. (This educational series is made available partially by the North Central SARE Program). (Chandler Day)
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