Q43. Microbe activity in root zone – want to understand more.

Answer: Answer: The region around the root zone of healthy plants known as the rhizosphere is the
most microbial active, rich and diverse area in the soil. There is much literature on this topic
and cannot be condensed to a few lines. Plant exudates are concentrated in this region and
signalling between plant roots and microbes actively translocate nutrients from soil microbes
to the roots and, in the case of mycorrhizal fungi, from roots to the fungi. Soil biology is a
term using to describe all the organisms in a good soil. In the chart below you will see the
many levels and interactions that occur naturally in a fully functioning soil food web. It is
getting these all functioning providing healthy plants with the nutrients they need that is our
philosophy in biological farming. Minimising or removing commercial chemicals from the
soil management programme is a good start. Adding amendments to good aerobic thermal
compost is a better way of adding chemicals to the soil. Learn to use a simple microscope
and use it as often as possible looking at soils, composts, compost teas, etc. Take electronic
pictures and email to someone like me, Mary, at agpath@dcsi.net.au and I will give you
identification. You can look for books to buy or use the websites through Google or any
other search engine. There are great pictures, videos, etc on- line for you to search on your
own. Another service Agpath offers is the closed part of the website where people who have
participated in workshop s can join and submit their pictures but also have access to all the
other pictures people have sent in and I have written an explanation of the content.

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