"Custodians of the soil" - that’s how progressive farmers see themselves.
It’s been said that a farmer is only borrowing the land for the time they use it and the responsibility is to return that soil to the next farmer in better condition than when it was received. That’s a huge challenge, but it is absolutely possible and we believe should be a primary driver for everyone in agriculture.
Soil Heath - why is it so important?
In a handful of healthy soil, there are more living organisms than the total number of humans that have ever lived.
Soil biology is an intricate, interdependent, and fragile network of life from the primary consumers (bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi) to the larger predators (insects and birds etc.) and everything in between.
All plants – including crops – engage in a symbiotic relationship with soil biology, giving up some of the simple sugars produced through photosynthesis (exudates) to feed the bacteria and mycorrhizal fungi in exchange for the nutrients and minerals necessary for plant growth.
This symbiotic relationship is fundamental for agriculture and a key part of our focus.
Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria:
As well as helping maintain healthy soils, Nova Q specialise in regenerating depleted soils to full health using our Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria, which perform key functions to help a plant grow.
Our Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria help the soil to become the key worker on your farm.
What are plant growth promoting bacteria?
In return for plant exudates, Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria (PGPB) in the soil perform key functions, including fixing nitrogen from the atmosphere, solubilising essential nutrients such as phosphorous and potassium, and producing phytohormones to encourage plant growth.
Plant Growth Promoting Bacteria will perform these functions naturally, but when it comes to agriculture and the need to optimise crop yields, we often come into an area of conflict. Conflict because conventional farming practice involves the addition of chemicals that kill or inhibit the very lifeblood of the soil that is so important. Every time a pesticide, herbicide or fungicide is applied, some level of the soil food web is damaged. Excess chemical fertilisers damage the symbiotic relationship between plant roots and the soil biology.
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All crops will have a different response to biology and a different nutrient requirement. This is obviously going to start with the soil, but we must also consider the types of organic nutrient available for deployment by the farmer.