Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

What are Mycorrhizae and Are They Important to Crop Production Systems in 
Atlantic Canada?
Cropping Systems Research Program at the Nova Scotia Agricultural College
Fact sheet #3, October 2004
http://www.agrapoint.ca/publications/JeliazkovMycoFactsheet.pdf

excerpts:

"Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) form very close relations with the roots 
of 90% of land plants, including most major agricultural crops such as corn, 
wheat, soybeans, carrots, potatoes, sunflowers and high-value crops like 
strawberries, fruits crops, grapes and herbs. Exceptions are crops in the 
mustard family (canola, cabbage, broccoli), the beet family (Swiss chard, 
spinach) and the buckwheat family that do not form mycorrhizal associations.

"Mycorrhizae benefits both crops and soils. The overall benefits of 
mycorrhizae for plants include:
- Improved nutrient and water acquisition and nutrient use efficiency;
- Earlier flowering;
- Higher yields;
- Increased resistance to drought, pests and diseases.
Equally or even more important is the role of mycorrhizae for improving soil 
quality. Mycorrhizae fungi release a glycoprotein called glomalin that is 
deposited on soil particles, holding them together like glue and 
significantly improving soil structure. Glomalin was discovered quite 
recently, and first reported in 1996 by Dr. Sara Wright from the USDA. 
According to Dr. Wright, the major benefits of glomalin include:
- Higher aggregate stability that contributes to better soil structure and 
more efficient cropping systems;
- Greater water infiltration and higher permeability of air in soils;
- Better crop root growth and development;
- Higher levels of microbial activity;
- Better resistance to crust forming;
- Better erosion control.

"Research has found that management practices affect glomalin concentration 
and accumulation in soil.
According to Dr. Wright, practices that lead to increased accumulation of 
glomalin in soil include:
- use of no-till cropping systems. Research indicated that tillage disrupts 
the original mycorrhizae network in soil and suppress glomalin production.
- use of cover crops so the mycorrhizae can access living roots year-round
- maintaining adequate levels of phosphorus in soil. It has been shown that 
excessive amounts of P suppress mycorrhizae and hence glomalin production."
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This is the missing info I've been searching for.

paul, tradingpost@riseup.net
---------------
The outstanding scientific discovery of the twentieth century is not 
television, or radio, but rather the complexity of the land organism. Only 
those who know the most about it can appreciate how little we know about it.
   - Aldo Leopold in  Round River, 1933