MICROBIAL BREWING

Virgin soils have a natural bio-diversity and balance and initially are relatively free of crop diseases. While crop pathogens will be present they are held in check by the bio-diversity of the soil. Crop diseases usually start to appear when the natural balance has been altered by loss of soil carbon, cultivation, chemicals and /or the introduction of new pathogens.

The co-operation and complexity within a healthy soil's microbial community is only just beginning to be understood. For instance scientists at the Berkley Lab recently analysed soil from a sugar beet field that was resistant to Rhizoctonia root rot and found 17 soil microbes working together fighting this fungal disease. The scientists also identified 33,000 bacterial species in this soil using a new DNA method called the PhytoChip that can identify up to 59,000 species.

While some of the processes that help to maintain a healthy soil such as competition for nutrients and space, antibiosis and parasitism have been known for some time, induced systemic resistance is a relatively new science.

When disease suppression and nutrient cycling processes are better understood, farm management practices can be modified to enhance the soil's bio-diversity. SmartBug and DownUnder compost tea brewers ensure high aerobic conditions essential for the rapid growth of beneficial microbes. At our workshops farmers are encouraged to form partnerships with Nature rather than working against Nature.