Smart Farming Solutions

Army worms feed on some 50 plant species; and infestation can be devastating. However, according to Juen Tautz and his colleague Michael Rostas from the University of Wurzburg in Germany, bee noise traffic can keep the caterpillars at bay.

Wasp eat caterpillars and therefore caterpillars tend to stay clear of them. Tautz says he found sensory hairs on the caterpillars which detect air movement from the wasp's flapping wings, which serve as a warning mechanism. Bees on the other hand do not attack caterpillars. Yet their similar buzz has the same effect. In controlled experiments, the plants exposed to honey bee traffic showed markedly less damage than the control, (in absence of bee traffic). He says that gardeners may take advantage of this relationship by alternating rows of vegetable and flowers which attract bees to ward off the caterpillars and decrease pesticide use. This research was posted on line, December 22 in Current Biology.

Labels: beneficial insects, biological pest control, organic gardening, pesticide

It’s called Hydretain. It is a revolutionary new chemistry designed to reduce the watering requirements of plants by as much as 50%. Hydretain is used professionally by golf courses, landscapers, greenhouse growers and farmers to control watering schedules and reduce the overall watering requirements of bedding plants, grasses, trees, shrubs as well as food producing agriculture.
It is liquid and easily applied with a hose-end sprayer. Hydretain works by capturing and retaining water vapors coming in contact with the roots, dramatically reducing drought stress. In essence it prevents moisture from leaching or evaporating and makes it available to the roots at all times. It is not a wetting agent which reduces water surface tension and allows it to penetrate.

I have to admit, I was very skeptical when I first heard about this product. Ecologel, the company which manufacturers the product is based in Ocala, Florida; so a year ago I visited them and obtained samples to try on my lawn and garden. Every spring Florida is in a drought, a perfect time to test the merits of Hydretain. And of course my yard, like most homeowners has areas of dying grass because sprinklers do not reach properly or sprinklers are damaged and need replacement. To make matters worse, Florida is a giant sand bar, meaning that water leaches instantly or is evaporated in the air the minute it hits the grass. In addition, we are under strictly enforced lawn watering restrictions and it’s virtually impossible to properly maintain a lush green yard under those conditions.

I specifically applied Hydretain to the dry and dying areas of my yard followed my about 1.5 inches of water to drive it to the root zone. Within 48 hours the grass came back to life and remained green and healthy the rest of the year, even with minimum watering. I was sold.

I became even more enthused with my garden tomatoes. Tomatoes require constant watering to develop normally. It is a time consuming daily chore and not always possible when you spend a lot of time on the road. I was amazed at the yield and size of the tomatoes. The best crop I ever had and that’s without watering for many days at a time.

This product is well worth the money, particularly if you live in a subdivision with lawn care maintenance rules, watering restrictions and costly city water.

And I am not the only one who thinks it's terrific. Watch KSAT in San Antonio Texas report on the power of Hydretain in fighting seasonal drought

Labels: irrigation, Lawn Care, soil moisture, watering your lawn

Among the many soil microbes, bacteria and fungi play major roles in providing plants with nutrients, hormones, drought and disease tolerance and other benefits.

Bacteria

The basic function of bacteria is the reduction of complex organic compounds to simpler substances. Bacteria disintegrate plants and animals, returning basic elements to the soil and air which are used again to create new life.

Depending on the depth, moisture and temperature of the soil, bacteria population in one gram of soil can range from several million to over a billion.

Bacteria have a symbiotic relationship with plants at the root zone, a part of the soil called Rhizosphere. Most soils are low in available carbon, while soil microbes consist mostly of carbon. As a result, soil microbes are usually in a state of starvation. However, some species of bacteria at the root surfaces extract needed nutrients from the plant, including sugars, amino acids, vitamins, tannin, to name a few. Sugars provide readily available sources of carbon, while amino acids provide nitrogen.
In return the Rhizobacteria provide numerous benefits to the plant including:
• Mineralization of organic nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorous.
• Fixation of nitrogen
• Increasing root area.
• Causing oxidation-reduction reactions.
• Promoting plant growth
o Producing plant hormones
o Protecting against harmful pathogen
o Enhancing nutrient uptake and use
• Increasing breakdown of synthetic pesticides and other contaminants.
• Enhancing drought resistance.
• Improving soil aggregation/aeration.

Bacteria population numbers and diversity can rapidly increase when calcium is readily available, when soil pH increases towards neutral, and sugars and amino acids are available.

Fungi

Like bacteria, fungi play a major role in the decomposition process and the formation of humus. In fact up to 50% of the substances decomposed by fungi may become fungal tissue, compared to about 20% with bacteria.
Certain fungi have a similar relationship with plant roots as Rhizobacteria. This relationship is called Mycorrhizae. They derive a huge survival advantage by teaming with plants. Instead of competing with other microbes for decaying organic matter, they obtain sugar directly from root cells. Amazingly, they can drain 5% to 30% of the plant photosynthate production. However they provide an enormous benefit in return: their hyphae (tentacles) grow out in the soil 5 to 15 cm from the infected root, reaching into small soil particles pores, which root hairs are unable to do, thereby bringing moisture and nutrients to the plant in far greater quantity. The Mycorrhizal fungi can provide as much as ten times more absorptive surface area to the infected plant.

Unfortunately increased quantities of fertilizers and pesticides, the absence of crop rotation and the frequent tilling of the soil kills or greatly diminishes the beneficial microbe populations. Fumigation also renders a soil sterile. The result is decreased plant vigor, more susceptibility to drought and diseases and lower yield.

One way to rejuvenate the soil is by inoculating it with specific species of bacteria and fungi. Many farmers and gardeners are discovering that they can greatly decrease fertilizer and pesticides rates by incorporating inoculants on a routine basis as part of their normal and sustainable cultural practices.

One word of caution: there are many types of inoculants, be sure to choose the appropriate one for the task. For example, there are products specific for decomposing thatch/grass clippings, which is very desirable if you are a turf grower or you are one of the unlucky ones to mow your yard more than once a week during the summer. On the other hand, there are inoculants specific for plant growth and yield.

Another important point when applying inoculants: there populations grow logarithmic when food is available, which includes fertilizers. It also means that during their rapid multiplication they will compete with plants for nutrients. Therefore it is important to provide them an alternative source of food. Many farmers and gardeners apply molasses overhead or through drip irrigation on a regular basis to alleviate this problem. It is also important to reduce fertilizer rates when implementing an inoculation program.

If you are an organic farmer or gardener, inoculants along with calcium are probably your best weapons to fight off diseases and increase plant vigor and yields. The same applies to turf.

Labels: benefical bacteria, inoculants, organic farming, soil remediation

Do you have problems growing turf due to compacted soil? Does water puddle on your lawn after a rain shower? Do you have drainage issues due to a hard pan?

If the answer is yes, then you may need to aerate your soil.

Before discussing methods of aeration, it is important to understand soil properties.

Oxygen in the soil must be plentiful to allow root respiration. A well aerated soil will hold approximately 20% oxygen- slightly less than our atmosphere. Likewise, the soil must be moist to provide mass flow of nutrients to root zones. Excessive moisture will replace oxygen and waterlog the roots, killing the plant. Not enough moisture will result in wilting and plant starvation.

Compacted soils (due to the particle composition) retain too much water after a rain event and do not allow oxygen to penetrate between particles.

Soil consists of three general particle sizes- sand, silt and clay. Particles smaller than 0.002 mm (clay) have several interesting characteristics. A spoonful of clay has the surface area of a football field. Like colloids they hold negative charges. In addition, they are dotted with micro-pores, giving them tremendous water holding capacity. The mutual attraction between water molecules and charged particles makes the clay exhibit increasing stickiness or plasticity as particle size decrease. This means that clay particles can be greatly compacted, leaving no room for air. In addition roots have great difficulty growing between tightly bound particles.

There are four ways to aerate a compacted soil.

1) Mechanically- By spiking the soil or turf. Lawn maintenance companies offer this service by driving a spiked roller on top of the turf. However this method has limitations. Spikes compress the soil they perforate, so unless the spikes have a small diameter, the soil gets more compacted in the spiked zones. This is particularly true with heavy clay soils. In other words, spiking loamy or sandy soils may be very beneficial, where as spiking clay soils may be counter productive.

2) Applying dolomite or gypsum- Calcium and magnesium in theses rocks have positive charges. When mixed in the soil they will bind to the negative surface of the clay particle thereby forming microscopic clumps called floccules. These clumps have more space between them then tightly compressed clay particles, (think of the space between a stack of basket balls and a stack of golf balls); as a result air is able to penetrate and roots have more space to develop. However, to be effective, the dolomite or gypsum must be incorporated in the soil. Meaning the soil must be tilled or disked to break it up, then the dolomite or gypsum spread and mixed in the soil. Usually 500 lbs to 1,000 lbs per acre is needed to be effective. This is an expensive option but may make sense on a new construction.

3) Liquid Flocculants- There are certain molecules such as Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (found in shampoos), which also carry positive charges and flocculate the soil just as effectively as dolomite and gypsum but without the need to disk the soil. They are normally sprayed on the yard with a hose-end sprayer. Note that liquid flocculants are not surfactants (soaps) which break water tension. Dish washing soap will break water tension, allowing water to penetrate in the soil, but it will not clump the clay particles together to allow air to penetrate. Nevertheless brands of liquid flocculants will also contain a certain amount of surfactant, which helps drive the active ingredient deep into the soil.



4) Microorganism such as bacteria and fungi also play an important role in aeration, by occupying space between clay particles. Many gardeners and lawn care enthusiasts apply beneficial bacteria on their soil. Some of these bacteria rapidly break down grass clipping into organic matter which penetrates in the soil providing space between clay particles and nutrients for the turf. Worms and ants also provide aeration.

Labels: aerating your lawn, hard pan, soil aeration

Calcium is critical to plant health and the building of strong cell walls. Calcium also regulates intake of other nutrients. Gardeners and farmers seek inexpensive source of calcium and historically have applied lime rock (calcium carbonate), dolomite or gypsum. Aside from the fact that overtime, the use of these products will increase the pH of the soil, how effective is dolomite, for example, as a source of calcium for the plant compared to BorrePlex Ca?

If you are not familiar with BorrePlex CA, it is a blend of wood sugars and modified calcium lignosulfate. I take the liberty of using the trade name because there is only one manufacturer of this product approved for agricultural use in the US. This is not ment to be a plug for the manufacturer. It is an organic labeled product (OMRI) which is a byproduct of the pulp industry. Lignin which compromises 30% of all plant mass is the back bone of BorrePlex Ca. More on that later.

Without getting too technical, the solubility of calcium carbonate (Ca CO3) is dependent on the soil pH and partial pressure of CO2. Assuming the we focus on pH only, the following molar solubility table will provide some answers.

pH Mol
2 170
4 1.7
6 0.02
8 0.0011

At a soil pH of 7, solubility of calcium carbonate is around o.oo5. This means that if one ton of dolomite (2,000 lbs) is applied per acre, at best only 2.17 lbs of soluble calcium (Ca++) is available to plants, (assuming 100% water saturation). 2000 lbs x 0.005 = 10 lbs x 0.217 (21.7% molar concentration of Ca++ in CaMg(CO3)2 = 2.17 lbs.

This of course assumes that:
1) Particle size of the dolomite is extremely small to interact with water.
2) The dolomite is 100% pure.
3) The dolomite is immersed in water at all times in order to dissolves.
4) There is no precipitation of the calcium with phosphates or any other chemical reactions which may tie up calcium.

The reality is that none of these caveats apply. Particle size vary considerably depending on the source, dolomite is rarely pure, 100% moisture also implies water logging of roots which ultimately kills the plant. lastly, calcium will bind to other atoms or molecules such as phosphate.

In a perfect environment, assuming that the phosphate is already tied up in the soil and will not react with additional calcium input, a realistic 10% soil moisture, and extremely fine powder of 100% pure dolomite, at best 0.217 lbs of Ca++ is available to plants (based on soil moisture). Note that the rate of solubility of calcium is also dependent on the rate of absorption by the plant and the rate at which it binds to other atoms or molecules.

Compare this with the use of Calcium Lignosulfate, an organic source of calcium and sulfur. The recommended rate of 8.5 lbs of BorrePlex Ca, with a 5% concentration of calcium will provide 0.425 lbs in a complexed form which the plant can readily absorbed.

Assuming dolomite is purchased at $26/ton, and one ton is applied per acre, the cost per acre of Ca++ potentially available to plants = $119.81 ($26/0.217 lbs).
The cost per acre of Ca++ from BorrePlex Ca = $51.24 ($21.78 for 8.5 lbs/0.425 lbs), more than half the cost of dolomite.

Borreplex Ca offers a lot more:
1) It is an OMRI approved source of calcium.
2) Its lignin backbone is highly charged, as a result, it complexes (binds) nutrients which would otherwise be tied in the soil particles.
3) It also contains wood surgars which feed and therefore increase microbial populations including rhizo bacteria which fixate nitrogen to roots.
4) It also binds bacteria to root zone causing auxin response by plants, thereby increasing yield.

Bottom line: Studies after studies on a wide range of crops through out the world have shown that Calcium Lignosulfate increases yield from 10% to 30% depending on quantities applied.

One of the best products available for growers interested in higher yields and healthier plants.

Labels: farming, fertilizer, gardening, Lawn Care, plant food, plant nutrition