Adding life back to your soil brings farmers closer to sustainability, according to Dave Stark, president of Holganix.

While no-till has many benefits like extra crop residue on your soil, Stark says there’s one issue that some no-tillers may not realize.

“Not one tiny bit of that residue or those nutrients ever gets returned to the soil for a future crop unless a microbe breaks it down,” Stark says. “We need microbial activity to do that.”

What Influences Microbial Activity?

Many of the same factors that impact a crop’s growth also impact microbial activity. Soil type can influence microbial activity. Things like the pH levels, moisture levels and oxygenation of the soil are direct influences for crop growth and microbial activity.

Soil temperature and composition of the residue in the soil are also important. Stark also points out that the microbes in the soil are constantly changing due to a number of factors. Tillage can decrease the microbial population in the soil but so can over-application of fertilizer.

Less than half of the fertilizer most farmers apply to their fields ever actually reach the crop, according to Stark. Lost fertilizer is lost money, he says, and no-tillers are no stranger to the issue of lost fertilizer.

Stark says soil microbes are one way that farmers can increase fertilizer efficiency and avoid watching money roll off their fields. This will also help make it easier for conventional farmers to reduce tillage and become more sustainable.

“Biologically healthy soils produce greater corn yields per unit of input for fertilizer,” Stark says. “Most of a crop’s nitrogen (N) needs in healthy soils pass through a microbe first.”

Microbes can unlock nutrients like phosphorus (P), potassium (K) and N and make it more accessible to the crop. According to Stark, diverse microbe representation is important. Bacteria, fungi, protists, nematodes and actinomycetes are all crucial to making the system function and thrive.

One Holganix product, Bio 800+, contains more than 200 species of fungi, more than 600 species of bacteria and hundreds of species of protozoa, including amoeba and nematodes. The product is ideal for farmers looking to enhance planter performance and to break down crop residue faster and more effectively. Holganix Bio 800+ is packaged in 2.25-gallon jugs, 50-gallon drums, and 250-gallon totes. The product is applied at 0.5 gallons per acre after harvest.

“It is a complete product — you don’t need to add anything else,” Stark says. “This is living biology, and that’s what you want.”

Stark cautions growers against using products that are powders or liquids packaged in tightly sealed jugs.

“Those products cannot be diverse biology because diverse biology needs oxygen,” Stark says. “You can’t dry it down. Our product is a liquid that is refrigerated.”

Related Content:

Digging into Crop Residue: The Role of Soil Microbes [Webinar]

Holganix's Bio 800 Breakdown Improves Planter Performance

Reducing Fertilizer Costs Starts with Your Soil: Roundtable Discussion [Webinar]