Episode 99: Reshaping How Agriculture Sees Plant Nutrient Uptake With Dr. James White

Dr. James White is a professor of Plant Pathology at Rutgers University. Dr. White obtained an M.S. in Mycology and Plant Pathology from Auburn University and a Ph.D. in Mycology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1987. Dr. White specializes in symbiosis research, particularly endophytic microbes. He is the author of more than 180 articles and author and editor of reference books on the biology, taxonomy, and phylogeny of fungal endophytes, including Biotechnology of Acremonium Endophytes of Grasses (1994), Microbial Endophytes (2000), The Clavicipitalean Fungi (2004), The Fungal Community: Its Organization and Role in the Ecosystem (2005), and Defensive Mutualism in Microbial Symbiosis (2009). The overall hypothesis of this research is that bacterial and fungal endophytes of the plant microbiome function to defend plants from stress and provide nutrients that enhance the growth and development of plants.
In this episode, James and John discuss:
How plants get nutrients through the rhizophagy cycle
Important microbes lost from commercial seed production
Indigenous wisdom in seed production
Bacteria changing the behavior of fungal populations through nutrients
How endophytes benefit plants
Reshaping agriculture to be based on how plants actually grow
How plants cannot grow without microbes in their cells
Additional Resources To take the course led by Dr. James White that teaches the Rhizophagy cycle, please visit: kindharvest.ag/courses/ra-ur-...
About John Kempf John Kempf is the founder of Advancing Eco Agriculture (AEA). A top expert in biological and regenerative farming, John founded AEA in 2006 to help fellow farmers by providing the education, tools, and strategies that will have a global effect on the food supply and those who grow it.
Through intense study and the knowledge gleaned from many industry leaders, John is building a comprehensive systems-based approach to plant nutrition - a system solidly based on the sciences of plant physiology, mineral nutrition, and soil microbiology.
Support For This Show & Helping You Grow Since 2006, AEA has been on a mission to help growers become more resilient, efficient, and profitable with regenerative agriculture.
AEA works directly with growers to apply its unique line of liquid mineral crop nutrition products and biological inoculants. Informed by cutting-edge plant and soil data-gathering techniques, AEA’s science-based programs empower farm operations to meet the crop quality markers that matter the most.
AEA has created real and lasting change on millions of acres with its products and data-driven services by working hand-in-hand with growers to produce healthier soil, stronger crops, and higher profits.
Beyond working on the ground with growers, AEA leads in regenerative agriculture media and education, producing and distributing the popular and highly-regarded Regenerative Agriculture Podcast, inspiring webinars, and other educational content that serve as go-to resources for growers worldwide.
Learn more about AEA’s regenerative programs and products: www.advancingecoag.com/
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VIDEO: To learn more from John Kempf about regenerative agriculture, watch this conversation between John and three AEA grower partners about how regenerative agriculture is changing lives and conventional farming: • How regenerative agric...

[@cecilycronin6243]

I’m 81 and wish I was 31. Our time now feels more hopeful than any time in the last 70 years. The political economy and environmental knowledge are coming to a critical ferment. Can you feel the excitement?

[@thiongogachie2517]

I'm 31, exciting times to be alive and youthful 😊

[@littleworm101]

I’m about to be 50 and hope to make it to 80. I’ll be using whatever time left making soil better and helping people understand it and do the same.

[@inigomontoya8943]

I’m working on finishing my bachelors degree and was delighted to have my seemingly main stream ag professor mention Dr. James White. He said some of his fellow professors still aren’t on board and adhering to their textbooks from the 80s but you could see how absolutely excited this old PhD was. He pointed to his bookshelf behind his desk, and said not a single one of those textbooks mentions anything like this. It’s like it breathed new life into it for him.

[@a_l_e_k_sandra]

Scientific dogma is the most dangerous dogma. The most important skill in our field is the ability to unlearn. Welcome to 21st century ag.

[@tonywhinkle]

Some of us farmers are getting just as excited! Things will really start to change in the universities only when the flow of $$$ changes. When regenerative farmers start to make enough money per acre that they start outbidding the big conventional farmers for land, the big conventional farmers will then realize they need to change, and then Syngenta, Nutrien, etc. will stop printing money and their influence on academia will wane.

[@inigomontoya8943]

@@tonywhinklethat’s a great point and it seems many Regen operations are already passing their neighbors like the 0 nitrogen input corn John mentions. Things look bright!

[@suburbanbiology]

When two geniuses chat…… great work as always John!

[@Spencer_Plant_Projects]

Amazing. I had read his book: The Clavicipitalean Fungi and was absolutely blown away by it. It didn't even register he had written it until I saw it just now in the details below the video.

[@annburge291]

This is an amazing, significant conversation. Thank you. It's the way forward for greening the desert and protecting our forests and making agriculture sustainable.

[@cecilycronin6243]

Graeme Sait wrote an interesting article some five or ten years ago on first feeding the bacteria and then supplying fungal food.

[@inigomontoya8943]

I’m still praying for the day there’s a podcast with him and John.

[@inigomontoya8943]

Can you link it? Funny his saying “put the microbes behind the minerals” “send them off to work with a lunch box”. Lol

[@jimmartindale]

At about 45 minutes, Dr. White was talking about the necessity of endophytes producing superoxide, a familiar substance from previous talks. This time he got more into the production of the hormone ethylene, also a product of bacterial endophytes. I postulate that The soil eco-system must oscillate between aerobic and anaerobic on a regular (daily) basis for the rhizophagy cycle to function really well. That means the soil has to have efficient gas exchange. This requires management of compaction and micro-erosion.

[@mikrobiofarm]

So is this comparable to how we are discovering the significance of gut microbes to our health as humans? The way that plants also have microbes inside and around them that make nutrients available for them that facilitates their health and growth?

[@marlan5470]

It's related. The food we ingest has the microbiome and it changes our microbiome.

[@trenomas1]

I think we ought to call it indigenous science. Wisdom is about how to organize society. Science comes from trials and observations.

[@nedweeks6964]

Absolutely fascinating conversation. One of your best! Thank you for putting this knowledge out for anyone curious enough to find it to have access.

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

So stoked to hear this one! I had to make myself go to bed, not listen to it last night. 😁

[@jekesainjikizana9734]

kkkk you and me both

[@markus_selloi]

Those landrace corn MO slurries could be of real interest in general crop cultivation, but especially in poaceae. Having this as the main base of all the western diets makes this really exciting.

[@kitmburau]

Great talk!

[@arthurwong991]

Omg...you guys just enlightened (scientifically?) my existing practice of using one of the JADAM methods of farming naturally. In summary and easiness, I used undisturbed, adapted, matured(10-20yrs old) trees' leaf molds from around my farm and multiply these thru a simple process within 24-36hrs to get a huge drum solution of Microbial Solution (MS), concentrated. I use these for seed,seedlings soaking prior to transplanting. And also use a diluted MS to irrigate my farm fortnightly. And the costs to make this MS is dirt cheap, practically negligible. 😂. You guys just make my day as I keep getting criticism on this way of farming without the science to support the JADAM ways. Tq❤

[@cecilycronin6243]

I use Jadam and KNF in my vegetable gardens and am moving into serradella pasture development in this winter season. Keep with it. You are the future. ❤

[@armandobambino]

wanderful! thanks a lot

[@markus_selloi]

This gets released at 3 am local time: Me not going to get sleep tonight:

[@jekesainjikizana9734]

Hahahahaha you know the deal

[@aminzakaria4166]

So incredible.We think we know more but it seems at list we have just triggered the understanding.

[@MrBiofuelmoz]

EXCELLENT.

[@markus_selloi]

Yessssss thanks for the upload!!

[@nicolasbertin8552]

For the corn varieties grown with pesticides and fertilizers, french farmers and scientists have testified that many of them don't (or can't) form mycorhizae. So now they're asking their seed providers for varieties that do form mycorhizae.

[@maddydog1234]

What is the mechanism that allows pathogenic fungi to extract nutrients from the endophytic bacteria? how are they extracting this energy, what is the mechanism? Are they using enzymes to break down the bacteria? And, what is the mechanism for the bacteria to accumulate in the fungi? Is there a certain concentration threshold that you are seeing where the fungi do or don’t prey on the plants?

[@maddydog1234]

Mind blown within first five minutes of this video

[@erbauungstutztaufgnade1875]

Very interesting!

[@robertcunninghammusic6712]

Very good

[@floridanaturalfarming3367]

The plant exposome drives epigenetic changes in plants, I have found the memory of the plant remains in the undisturbed regenerative soil aggregates in soils containing perennial plant diversity, seeds of tropical fruit trees grown naturally do not seem to instill the biology into disturbed Edaphic soils without feeding soil microbiology prebiotics and probiotics in combination with permanent undisturbed perennial plant diversity🐸 Been awhile since I watched any of your videos but I saw Dr. White who I admire, thank you

[@garywinrow6763]

Where in Florida are you located?

[@floridanaturalfarming3367]

@@garywinrow6763 Vero beach🐸

[@floridanaturalfarming3367]

Vero Beach@@garywinrow6763

[@kingdolo23]

Big AG has learned a ton from the cannabis community

[@trenomas1]

I've been working in Oregon's cannabis industry for a month or so. Haven't seen a single organic grow yet. Most cannabis isn't grown outdoors.

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

On the seed saving concept, the thought comes to mind to remain in a higher moisture content and possibly pair with the food source or compost like was talked about, but maybe freeze or even take to just a cool temperature for where fungi, molds and biology we don't want would not propagate. This aligned with the concept of mimic nature with the corn. Cob sits on the ground, frozen over the winter, and then it is spring, the environment changes. Just my two cents

[@jimmartindale]

The CMC company makes a grain storage based on research done at Iowa State in the early 70's. Early commercialization called the technique "chill curing". Hi static air pressure was maintained in a maximum grain depth of 13.3'. The temperature and dormancy produced dormancy at higher grain moisture. The quality of the grain was exceptional and obvious to the eye. It mimmicks crib cured ear corn. I think both have the ability to preserve the viability of the endophyte community to advance the health of the proginy. Seed corn is still being cured on the cob to this day. Then we ruin it by applying a fungicide to the seed.

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

@@jimmartindale Awesome! Thanks for sharing that! (also cleaned up my train wreck sentence structure from speech to text). Going to share this with @growthefarmup and others!

[@jimmartindale]

My attempt to reply doesn't work.

[@FlakeyPM]

When you speak of stimulating bacterial growth and seeing a fungal increase a few weeks later, are you aware the there are some endophitic fungi that survive the cooking process in molassis? Can't recall if this was as spores or as propagules. (I presumed the carbohydrate you used was molassis) Maybe that is the reason for the increase you see.

[@delprice3007]

I'm not here to listen to proselytizing, but simply focused on understanding

[@inigomontoya8943]

I often hear humid and fulvic acid described as fungal food. Can someone explain how if I’m understanding that correctly? Do that break it down for nutrition or is it a stimulant of sorts?

[@josmith1005]

I posted a link but it isn't showing up. Look up the webinar John Kempf did on humic substances, it will answer your questions.

[@michaelwalsh9920]

Sort of, it is organically chelating the food that is there(minerals) so that it can be more easily absorbed by the fungi, so in effect they start eating faster. Fulvic and humic acid work the same, the only difference is that humic acid works within a more narrow range of pH. They also accelerate rhizophagey for the same reasons. 🦬👍👍

[@inigomontoya8943]

@@michaelwalsh9920 sweet thank you

[@pawenowak1338]

how i can find Chariot Meller ?

[@josmith1005]

My post didn't show up. I had a link to her talk with John Kempf, on his podcast, but her name is actually Harriet Mella.

[@elizabethmaltby2945]

At 45:48 John says that's why a tomato grown hydroponically tastes better than a tomato grown in an organic garden. Isn't this the wrong way round? Doesn't an organic garden equate to plants growing in an oxidative, biological soil that James says results in the plant having a more healthy range of phenolics and aromatic compounds?

[@ChristopherBrown-xy1br]

I noticed that, too. I believe he meant it the other way around.

[@trapz5618]

Yea confused me as well. I’m surprised John or James didn’t catch that and correct it. (Assuming it was actually a mistake)

[@Spencer_Plant_Projects]

Clearly he misspoke

[@avp8338]

Human error! Dr. White meant the other way around

[@Peaceful-resistance1]

Why would anyone allow some entity tell them how what when or where they plant anything on the land they care for is WAY beyond my limited ability to comprehend.🤔 Illegal to use or share our own seed? How incredulously unimaginable that anyone would ever submit to evil cloaked as a "law."

[@josmith1005]

Seed genetics have become so controlled that folks are scared to plant a variety back, for fear the open pollinated seeds will have picked up GMO traits and they could be set to lose their crops. As evil as monsanto and the like are, they are very effective at what they do.

[@jimmartindale]

Pure evil. Dr. White sits in the crosshairs of the demon possessed global elites which are striving in every way imaginable to terminate 90% of us as quickly and thoroughly as possible.

[@davidadcock3382]

Monsanto has NOT been in existence for almost 7 years and all that left of them is an empty filing cabinet!!! No ONE tells the farmer what seed to plant!!! It has been illegal to save patented seed for 54 years now and we have had patented seed for 54 years!!!! You are really clueless about this subject. @@josmith1005

[@michaelwalsh9920]

Dr. James White is putting in the good work. The world needs 1000x more of him- thank you John for spreading the good word. 🦬🪱🙏

[@johnnyb4869]

Dr James white is the only one I listen to about microbes 🦠

[@jeremyschissler337]

❤