Find out how activating your soil microbiome can help boost your bottom line in 2022.
Sponsored by Heliae® Agriculture
Sponsored
You manage many important assets on your farm, from your equipment to seed to crop inputs. But one of the most critical assets is right below your feet—soil. Your soil is full of valuable bacteria and fungi that are mostly dormant and not contributing to the growth of your crops without the right food source. As you make plans for the 2022 crop season, consider making your soil microbiome a priority to uncover your soil’s potential.
The health of your soil is dependent on how the microorganisms, such as bacteria and fungi, interact in their ecosystem. A single teaspoon of your soil contains one billion bacteria and one million fungi, searching for a proper food source. When they have a healthy environment and food source, the microbes can improve soil quality, thus improving the environment for your crops to grow and receive beneficial nutrients.
Healthy soil resists erosion, reducing soil degradation from water or wind. It also improves nutrient use and profitability, while reducing the effects of unpredictable events and externalities.
For the best moisture retention in areas more susceptible to drought or dry periods between rainfall, healthy soils are well aggregated and allow for water infiltration. Aggregation of soil particles allows for water to fill in between soil pores and around soil particles to provide moisture for the crop for a longer period of time.
The structure of your soil is critical to supporting the growth of your crops. Common practices such as excessive tillage, soil compaction from equipment and the use of inorganic fertilizers can negatively impact your soil structure, resulting in decreased soil health.
On average, 75% of the microbes in soil are dormant and starving. By providing a food source for microbes, you can activate the native microbiome in the soil and bring it to life to help restore the biological potential of the field. The activated microbiome increases the soil’s NPK availability and water holding capacity, while supporting abiotic plant stress and improving soil aggregation.
Microalgae has proven to be the key in providing the right nutrients to your soil’s microbiome. Found naturally in water and in soils, microalgae are unicellular photosynthetic micro-organisms. When delivered in a high-load formulation to feed the microbiome, their application has been proven to have extensive benefits to increase yield.
By building native microbial communities with a microalgae-based soil microbial food, farmers across the United States are seeing their crops thrive. Research and field trial results have shown direct response to the treatment and 33x more microbial activity.
Soils with poor water holding capacity result in increased water stress and poor nutrient uptake by plants. The right food source for your microbiome improves water retention within the soil by up to 10%, while also improving access to nutrients and increasing NPK and micronutrient availability.
Activating the microbes in your soil is crucial to increasing the productivity of the microbiome. A proper food source brings your soil to life so it can properly retain water, feed your crops and allow you to reap the benefits with enhanced yields and ROI. When you feed the starving microbes a superior food source, you wake up the soil microbiome to put it back to work.
SPONSOR MESSAGE
Wake Up Your Soil with PhycoTerra®
PhycoTerra® soil microbial food is sourced from microalgae and is an innovative forumlation for your soil’s beneficial microbes. PhycoTerra® promotes healthy soil structure, water productivity, and nurtrient availability by activating the soil microbiome, which supports your crop through abiotic stresses and translates to healthy yields and optimized ROI. PhycoTerra® is pasteurized and feeds the native microbes already in your soil, it mixes with a large variety of crop inputs, and works across crop and soil types.
For more information on soil health and PhycoTerra®, visit www.phycoterra.com.