Allies in the Soil: Mycorrhizal Fungi | Dr. Adam Cobb

Today Dr. Adam Cobb joins us to talk about our allies in the soil: Mycorrhizal Fungi
✅ EXTENDED SALE! Sign up today and get 45% off our Soil Regeneration Classes 👉 promo.soilfoodweb.com/
Improving plant-mycorrhizal symbioses can reverse soil degradation and help regenerate our world, because mycorrhizal fungi improve host-plant nutrition and stabilize soil ecosystems. Adam’s research primarily explores how the genetics and management of grasses, from annual grain crops to perennial pastures, influence the abundance, diversity, functions, and benefits of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in agroecosystems. His findings indicate that plant selective breeding can boost the growth and nutritional advantages of mycorrhizal partnership to deliver substantial economic and environmental benefits for farmers and communities around the world.
Follow the Soil Food Web Blog: www.soilfoodweb.com/blog/
Follow us on Instagram: / soilfoodwebschool
Follow us on Facebook: / soilfoodwebschool
----------
The Soil Food Web School’s mission is to empower individuals and organizations to regenerate the soils in their communities. The Soil Food Web Approach can dramatically accelerate soil regeneration projects by focussing on the soil biome. This can boost the productivity of farms, provide super-nutritious foods, protect and purify waterways, and reduce the effects of Climate Change. No background in farming or biology is required for our Foundation Courses. Classes are online & self-paced, and students are supported by highly-trained Soil Food Web School mentors.
Over the last four decades, Dr. Elaine Ingham has advanced our knowledge of the Soil Food Web. An internationally-recognized leader in soil microbiology, Dr. Ingham has collaborated with other scientists and with farmers around the world to further our understanding of how soil organisms work together and with plants. Dr. Ingham is an author of the USDA's Soil Biology Primer and a founder of the Soil Food Web School.
00:00 Intro to Dr. Adam Cobb
05:08 Lessons from the Tallgrass Prairie
06:07 Agroecosystems
13:42 Three Different Plant Nutrition Pathways
16:23 Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi
22:38 How to unleash this symbiosis
#fungi #MycorrhizalFungi #dradamcobb

[@paulmageeberry2451]

their research found that compared to sorghum crops bred by corporate agriculture, older varieties of sorghum that can more effectively partner with them fungi generated "about a 30% gain in total human nutrition (incl increases in protein, zinc and iron)- and total yield."

[@GenerousWealth]

The large information screen and small speaker photo enhances learning. Thanks Great perspective, attitude and knowledge.

[@dertythegrower]

Very important and under researched topic, especially by small farmers and large alike.

[@Durio_zibethinus]

Life is hard, should invites a 'fun guy' on our work. I'll show myself out.

[@theresafinn4257]

I truly enjoyed this talk. It also supports what I’ve heard that foods today are not as nutritious as they once were.

[@GulliversCovers]

Amazing presentation, SFWS👍340 Looks absolutely great! Happy to be here! Appreciate the visit, thank you so much! All the best and have a blessed Thursday 🥰 Keep up the excellent work, Friend!

[@adamcobb6423]

Appreciate your lovely words!

[@wingless841]

Thanks Adam! The thing I love most about you guys @SFW School is that you bring the receipts!

[@helentc]

Really great lecture. Love your teaching & communicating style, very accessible!

[@adamcobb6423]

I really appreciate you saying that! I dream of living in a world where everyone has opportunities to fall in love with living things, like soil fungi :)

[@steveroberts3713]

I love learning about soil!!

[@evilroyslade2491]

Thanks to your and other soil information I will now backyard garden as organically as possible. My plant roots will become equally important as my plant crop. In the past, I used fertilizers and never considered soil health.

[@erbauungstutztaufgnade1875]

Great video thanks. Can you make a video in which you would explain the biochemistry and microbiology in all details?

[@cannaflex420]

Very knowledgeable video lived all the information and how it was broke down so I could understand as always on this channel keep these coming live them all in my garden and it's it all too you my plants are more beautiful then ever

[@AndrewDuff-ep1ci]

great info and makes perfect sense! Love the connection to soil health and human health.

[@elizabethblane201]

You're a good speaker, Adam.

[@KlavierKannNichtMehr]

one thing that is missing in this equation is the effect caused by population increases, creating greater demand for more food, and thus intensive farming. it‘s not just the idea of regenerating the soil - we also have to find ways of producing different foods, for example, peas as a means of replacing meat.

[@williamgibson2760]

I think you missed Adam talking during the photo from Saturn looking back at Earth. And, really, any credible source of data & statistics show that we already produce far more food than needed and it’s more about getting waste and corruption stopped so it actually goes to the people.

[@gaiabeleza]

Thank you so much!! Deepened my understanding of the importance of AM Fungi!! May we use your research to change our course! 🙏🏻🥳

[@audreybarnes6527]

Another rocking video 💚

[@chenscott8788]

Great lecture with a great summary.

[@williamgibson2760]

Bravo! Encore! Well thought out & delivered presentation w inspiring theme & meaty (microbe-y) basis of information. Knowing of your breeding work & that some vars/strains of the commercial sorghums do NOT associate well w AMF very important as it is CLAIMED across the seed world that ALL sorghum family are exceptional associates with & propagates of AMF.

[@vladimirkragulj6586]

excellent lecture, thank you dr. Cobb

[@adamcobb6423]

Thanks for watching

[@maggarlion]

Great lecture. This yr I have been focusing primarily on eliminating weeds in my lawn and I have largely been successful. This yr I will focus on getting my soil in grerat shape.

[@Lochness19]

Interesting about the hybrid vs heirloom varieties. I haven't noticed much of a difference between the yields and vigour of my hybrid vs heirloom pepper and my hybrid tomato variety is out-producing my heirloom (which could also be because it's determinate rather than indeterminate). I would say my hybrid eggplant variety (Hansel) is outproducing my heirlooms too. However, my Jambalaya okra's production is pretty dismal and far poorer than my top producing heirloom varieties (Red Burgundy, Jing Orange and White Velvet). The Jambalaya plants are also tiny compared to the heirloom, as in 2ft tall vs 6ft, with something like 5x less leaf surface area... Jambalaya is a hybrid that's supposed to be a top producer among okra so it's performing far below expectations. Not sure if it's because they're bred to grow in the heat of the southern US and our summers are much milder, or if it's because I mostly just use native soil, compost and infrequent watering.

[@schayban16]

Thank you for the work you do! I've never sprayed any pesticides or fertilizers because common sense told me not to, then I stumbled on videos like yours later on in my life and glad I was right

[@Test7017]

Have you looked into compost tea? You can ecellerate bacteria and fungi growth at home using simple tools concepts. Its how proffesionals grow big fruits and cannabis

[@jktriple_g_129]

I love this great info thank u thank u thank u

[@user-cs6yd8dc8d]

Excellent !

[@420Trees]

Thanks

[@overlordsshadow]

Mindblowing and Awesome!

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Thank you so much 😀

[@garybrohard3144]

I have seen a few people talking about mycorrhizal fungi and saying it does not benefit the brassica family. Is that true or does what you are referring to in this video help with them as well?

[@soilfoodwebschool]

@Gary Brohard, Please email us at [e-mail] so that we can have Adam Cobb weigh in on this question for you.

[@williamgibson2760]

Generally understood that AMF do not associate directly with brassicas - BUT some studies and field observations show that AMF on nearby plants also show benefits to brassicas.

[@ericagreen451]

Thank you Dr. Cobb for this presentation & Soil Food Web School! My love & understanding of the importance of AM fungi has exceeded and I’m excited to pass this information to my children. The stone arch diagram is a wonderful teaching tool! I don’t exactly know much about this new topic I was introduced to or how fungi might play into it, I know it uses it somehow, but does any of what is in this presentation relate to the Shikimate Pathway?

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Our pleasure!

[@ericagreen451]

Could you point me in the direction of getting print outs for the multiple diagrams and graphs in this video?

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Please send your request to [e-mail]

[@voice4voicelessKrzysiek]

Fascinating stuff; it comes from an electrical engineer playing with raised beds "agriculture" for the last few years!😀

[@soilfoodwebschool]

We're glad you enjoyed the presentation!

[@ByrdChemBudz]

Very nice🤙🏾🌿🤙🏾

[@that9blife465]

Good video. You should be doing these vidoes in languages for the people that need to improve their soil the most like africa. Your knowledge would be better utilized.

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Yes, we are working on it!

[@anthonyromano8565]

I compost and have a 27 gallon worm bin on my balcony. It should be highly encouraged but not mandated.

[@NATUREZABELA]

Bom dia amiga!!👍😘

[@thebluegarden2060]

3.5X-180X Manufacturing Zoom Stereo Microscope with 144-LED Ring Light and 10MP Digital Camera AmScope SM-1TSZZ-144S-10M will this work to see what your talking about?

[@m.j.debruin3041]

If you don't eat sugar and starge you don't need so much food ± 1/3 of what you eat with sugar and starge.

[@soilfoodwebschool]

✅ EXTENDED SALE! Sign up today and get 45% off our Soil Regeneration Classes 👉 promo.soilfoodweb.com/

[@80004158]

🙏

[@Lazy_Fish_Keeper]

Excellent information, however a bit disappointed in the decision to feed the stereotype of "poor, starving people" at the 8:30 mark. Majority of ecosystem degradation is generated by imperial practices of imposing mass ag practices of a handful of conglomerates, instead of allowing indigenous people to continue traditional practices that have been effective for millennia. Yes, we have always had allies in the soil, even if "civilized" people are only starting to recognize that soil is alive. The environmental impacts of digging more than two knuckles into the soil (the original definition for which land in the US could be "ceded") will continue to impact our great-great-greatgrandchildren. Can we please be more honest about how we got here? Overall a great presentation, just a little too much sugarcoating and not enough accountability on how well-intentioned scientists in the past have contributed to the climate disaster that industrial countries, comprising less than 20% of the global population, have created.

[@marlyjung4102]

So how can I take my 5 acres that has had wheat on it historically, and add Mycorrhizal Fungi and start a field of healthy horse hay?

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Please get in touch for more information: [e-mail]

[@williamgibson2760]

Yes touch base w SFW, but not too hard to get going w some compost a pretty regular soil test for pH & minerals to buy really good seed AND INOCULATE the SEED with a highly credible AMF powder. Knowing and preparing for much more soil and crop care is essential & you surely have some local compost, ruminant manures, rock dusts, limes accessible for use on your soil. Check local farm for and suppliers and university extension and soil/water conservation district for resources & info.

[@blender_wiki]

Very nice video but please pay attention to your audio, like this is very painful to listen the presentation

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Thank's for the feedback. Hopefully his audio is better in our more recent webinars!

[@aleksandar.calcina]

I read aliens in the soil 🤣

[@angel21991]

This is a highly informative and insightful presentation , but it was a bit disingenuous to present econutritional imbalance in BOTH developing nations and in the industrial scale farms of America without acknowledging its sources in how the commercial at scale agriculture ( which makes local traditional farmers yields always insufficient and commercially non competitive ) and fertilizer industries ( lobby to replace traditional sustainable agricultural practices at a global scale through WTO and other organizations) disrupted self sustaining local agricultural systems. It is essential to acknowledge the effective and sustainable traditional agricultural systems that was replaced because more than often these techniques can be reintroduced and supplemented ( in addition to scientific regenerative practices ) for better soil health that suits the local environments.

[@adamcobb6423]

I absolutely concur that industrial and colonial agricultural mindsets have contributed to huge issues in developing nations, especially the exploitation of humans and natural resources. During this same Soil Summit (link above), I hosted a panel to explore holistic community food systems (particularly in an African context) on Day 2. I would love to hear feedback on that discussion.

[@soilfoodwebschool]

The discussion Adam is referring to takes place on Day 2 of the Soil Regen Summit 2022, and is called, Soil Regeneration Across Global Communities - Live Panel Discussion.

[@mildredthill2868]

Understanding that past and current destructive practices are destroying our soil and destroying plant nutrition is the first step. Agricultural mismanagement is not intentional. Everyone is doing their best to get an effective food yield. Those who know not and know not they know not need new ways of looking at agriculture. Spending time pointing fingers at corporate fertilizer companies is pointless and simply paints a target on one’s back. People need education. We don’t require blame. Let’s move forward and figure things out together as a planet in the spirit of cooperation.

[@adamcobb6423]

@@mildredthill2868 I absolutely concur that "shaming and blaming" is not the way forward. I do see a lot of embedded biases (status quo being the primary) in the Green Revolution pathway. I don't think we need to imagine villains are involved when normal human flaws are enough to explain why we have massive soil degradation. I hope the path forward includes more nuanced and integrative mosaics of land management principles and practices, which I outlined briefly at a conference in April: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXiYoZKLfa2UraM

[@williamgibson2760]

The pendulum swings…. 1500-1930 ag practices moved from “sustainable” at a scale not too devastating until population rising strongly in late 1800s w industrial age to point where so many acres farmed so hard w steel that Dust Bowl of 30s. Govt Soil conservation programs AND more plant matter (& roots) from higher production crops since 1940s, rotations, learning now of old & new knowledge for stewardship - there’s some level of blending of industrial technological and natural ecosystems we are gaining on. Agricultural ecological degradation and food nutrient density will be well improved in next 10-20 years such they will not be the most causative issues of human or ecological demise. We have war-mongers and greedy corrupt criminals and govts to really worry about.

[@fieldbee3211]

Whoops, I meant here.

[@waynebusse6376]

I'm sorry but I think a lot of hype on soil microbes is not going to produce any increase for several years. Most growers can't wait years for the number of microbes to multiply enough to produce profitable yields. All these "organic" amendments are so expensive it's not sustainable, a couple years of negative cash flow is a sure way to loose the farm. My take after 28 years making a living growing high tunnel tomatoes is adding organic matter to the soil every year. Three of my houses have had back to back tomatoes in them for 28 years. The plants this season were the most vigorous and productive yet. I cut and chop 75 acres of weeds, grass, poison ivy and briars and sheet compost this as mulch between rows and till in a windrow 16'' high by 24'' wide on each bed before planting. Yea, I use a terrible tractor driven tiller to incorporate this " green manure" every season and my crops are thriving. I even spent $ 9,500.00 this summer on a collection flail mower to speed up the harvest of all this free fertilizer.

[@adamcobb6423]

I think you make very valid points. I don't believe AM fungi are a silver bullet, and I don't believe in offering specific prescriptions to land managers and farmers. There are regenerative principles and practices that can be widely adapted to improve soil ecology, soil functions, and soil stability over time. Many of these alternative methods are less destructive to AM fungi. For example, I would NOT say, "never ever ever till;" I would say, "till as little and as intentionally as possible, given the specific context of your land, climate, crop, etc." Globally, there are an accumulating number of food producers who are moving away from chemical and toward biological land management, while maintaining or improving profits. I'm sure the methods they use must be adapted for each unique situation, so I like to focus on the idea of increasing the number of "tools in the toolbox." You may find this conference presentation of interest, because I discuss the idea of blending agricultural philosophies: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXiYoZKLfa2UraM

[@williamgibson2760]

So you ARE promoting the rapid, diverse and in-going populations of soil and plant microbiology with your intensive “green manure” strategy. The plants themselves do not need soil OM. It is needed primarily to store nutrients and water for sustaining soil biology, (yes it matters to plants to have right water & nutrients, but not all nutrients can just be in the soil solution) which makes the soil actually soil & sustains and promotes plant growth and health.

[@fieldbee3211]

I wonder @ Kryst Star if you'd risk putting your email hear in a form that wouldn't be auto magically scrubbed bt the yt masters apps? You know, using (dot), etc that wouldn't be the actual address but might allow community & communications too later! Thx 🌲😎🌲

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Feel free to email us at [e-mail] if you have any questions we can help you with! :)

[@cosmicillusion788]

Dr you have done a great project, are you gonna share more for this project or other ? i also got question, AM fungi seems to provide alot of pros, but is there any cons for this pathway?

[@soilfoodwebschool]

Please send your question to [e-mail] so that a member of our Science Team can address it for you.