How to Interpret Soil Foodweb Assays

Step 12

Earthworms, Microarthropods.
If earthworms and/or microarthoropods are present, then the full food web is present, and if everything is in a good biomass or numbers of individual organisms, then plant health is pretty much assured, because all the processes will be functioning. How much do I add to fix any group?

In any case, just an inoculum is required, since all of these organisms will multiply, resulting in increased numbers. Of course, the higher the initial number of individuals added, the faster the return to health. Addition of foods for the organisms will increase the rate of return to health as well.

If toxic chemicals are present in the soil, or litter material, then these materials have to be consumed by the organisms before the twelve step program can be performed. Addition of foods to help consumption by organisms will increase the rate of return to health.

Bacteria – add bacterial foods, such as simple sugars, simple proteins, simple carbohydrates. Molasses, fruit juice, fish emulsion and green plant material high in cellular cytoplasmic material feeds bacteria. The more kinds of sugars and simple substrates added, the greater the diversity of species of bacteria, and the more likely the full range of beneficials will be present.

Bacterial AND fungal inocula can be found in most good AEROBIC composts, or compost teas made with compost documented not to contain E. coli, or other human pathogens.

There are some "starter" bacterial inocula that are useful as well. What you need to look for are maximum diversity in the bacterial species. Unless you are trying to make fermentative compost, you need to avoid inocula containing anaerobic bacterial species.

There are no fungal inocula on the market. Yeasts are rarely useful fungal species in soil, or at least there is little data to support their usefulness. Some effort needs to expended to show the veracity of this view point.

Fungi – add fungal foods, such as complex sugars, amino sugars, complex proteins, soy bean meal, fish hydrolysate, fish oils, cellulose, lignin, cutins, humic acids, fulvic acids, wood, paper or cardboard. The more kinds of fungal foods that are present, the greater the diversity of fungal species will grow.

Protozoa – consume bacteria, and thus to improve protozoan numbers, bacterial biomass needs to be enhanced. Protozoa inocula are compost, compost tea, and some commercially available protozoan cultures.

Nematodes – consume bacteria, fungi and each other. Inocula of certain entomopathogenic nematodes are available, for control of certain insect species, such as root grubs and root weevils. Compost and compost tea are the only source of inocula for the beneficial nematodes.

Mycorrhizal fungi – need roots to germinate and grow successfully. Humic acids can improve germination, but then the germinated fungus has to rapidly find a root to colonize or it will die. Spore inocula exist for all kinds of mycorrhizal fungi. Make sure you have the kind needed for your plant. Make certain to get the spores into the root system of the plant, such as injecting the spore, or adding compost mix into the soil, filling soil cores with a mix of compost and spores.

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