Conquer Nature by Cooperating with it

An Abundance of Nitrogen

There are at least 3 natural ways to enrich the earth with nitrogen:

• Nitrogen fixing bacteria
• Nitrogen fixing plants (legumes)
• Animal urine and manure

MycorrPlus is a biostimulant that contains nitrogen fixing bacteria. It takes a good 4 to 5 months for these bacteria to transform the soil enough to meet the nitrogen needs of most plants. The wise use of legumes and manures further fortify the soil with nitrogen.

If they have applied nitrogen in the past and the soil has become “addicted” to it, corn and wheat farmers may still need to apply some. MycorrPlus helps to stabilize a nitrogen application so it doesn’t wick off or leach out, thus allowing you to apply less.

Tapping into Phosphorus

A good acre of farm ground contains enough phosphorus to last a hundred years. But phosphorus is quick to react with other minerals in the soil. There is a lot in the soil, but it is tied up and unavailable to the plant. Nature has the solution.

First, there are soil microbes that “eat” phosphorus; they digest it. This breaks the chemical bond and makes phosphorus available.

Second, although phosphorus is not mobile in the soil, mycorrhizal fungi are able to transport it long distances, taking it directly into the plant’s root. MycorrPlus activates the above process.

Mycorrhizae Require Special Care

Because of our farming practices, it is actually rare to find mycorrhizal fungi in farm land. Here are some of the things that set mycorrhizae back:

1. Plowing. Working the soil breaks up fungi networks, not allowing them to really develop. Minimal tillage protects them.
2. Bare soil. Mycorrhizal fungi get their nourishment from sugars sequestered by the plant. When the soil is left bare for an extended period of time, they have no food. Cover crops satisfy this need.
3. Phosphorus applications. When phosphorus is low in the root zone, the plant is highly motivated to sequester sugars in exchange for phosphorus. Mycorrhizal fungi feed these sugars to phosphorus digesting bacteria. This not only makes phosphorus available, but it rapidly builds organic matter in the soil. Applying phosphorus fertilizers hinders this soil building.
4. “Cides” kill microbes. Pesticides, nematicides, fungicides and herbicides all take their toll on soil microbes. MycorrPlus is able to break these down and restore soil life. Just apply it after the chemical.

Mycorrhizal Fungi & Encouraging Their Growth

MycorrPlus Helps Mycorrhizal Fungi by:

• Helping to balance the soil
• Cleaning up toxins
• Remediating salts

Other ways to encourage mycorrhizae:

1. Manures and grazing. Apply some manure or allow animals to graze.
2. Establish multiple species of plants. Mycorrhizal fungi create a community under the soil that links various types of plants together. Each species helps the other, and are also helpful to the fungi.
3. Cover crops. Mycorrhizae are dependent on plants to feed them. Keep something growing so that they are continuously fed, allowing them to develop more fully.
4. Give it time. Applying MycorrPlus each year helps to establish a more complex mycorrhizal organism. Third and fourth-year customers are amazed with the differences they are now seeing with pH, nutrients, clover growth and soil tilth.

Natural Sources of Potassium

• Manures are a good source of potassium.
• Potassium is a major component of clay.
• MycorrPlus helps to optimize and make available potassium that is already in the soil.

Making Calcium Available

Most soils contain a lot of calcium; it is just tied up. If the soil does contain calcium, the microbes in MycorrPlus will help free it up, making it available to the plant. This can really save on lime, plus balance pH.

Enhancing Moisture

• When it rains, water soaks in.
• The soil becomes a larger water bank.
• Mycorrhizal fungi are able to transport moisture to the plant from deep in the soil.