"The Nitrogen Solution" with Dr. Christine Jones (Part 3/4)

April 13th 2021
Dr. Christine Jones discusses the Nitrogen problem we face in conventional agriculture. She also answers audience questions for practical applications on how to change.
There have been over 200 scientific articles published from the Jena Biodiversity Experiment.
One of the findings from the Jena research was that high plant diversity with no added N was just as productive as low plant diversity with 200 kgN/ha/yr (roughly equivalent to 200 lbN/acre/yr). Here is the article and the link ......
Weigelt, A., Weisser, W. W., Buchmann, N. and Scherer-Lorenzen, M. (2009). Biodiversity for multifunctional grasslands: equal productivity in high-diversity low-input and low-diversity high-input systems. Biogeosciences, 6: 1695-1706, doi:10.5194/bg-6-1695-2009
www.biogeosciences.net/6/1695...
The four functional groups used in the Jena Biodiversity Experiment are described in detail in the following publication ...
www.sciencedirect.com/science...
If you click on the above link it will take you to the on-line version, from which you can download the PDF for free.
The article describes the criteria for selecting the four functional groups and provides the names of the plant families to which each of the 60 species belong.
There were 16 plant families used in the Jena Biodiversity Experiment (Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Brassicaceae, Campanulaceae, Dipsacaceae, Fabaceae, Geraniaceae, Juncaceae, Lamiaceae, Plantaginaceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Primulaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Rubiaceae).
The Jena folks put together a great little video, only 8.55 mins .... definitely worth a look.
• Jena Experiment Intro ...
In summary, plant diversity increased microbial diversity, resulting in increased soil carbon, which in turn improved soil health, increased productivity, enhanced the availability of nitrogen and phosphorus (and a whole heap of other plant nutrients) and improved soil water-holding capacity.
An important point to emerge from the Jena Biodiversity Experiment was that plant diversity significantly increased root exudation which in turn supported greater microbial biomass, particularly soil fungi. See for example the excellent article by Nico Eisenhauer et al.
Eisenhauer, N., Lanoue, A., Strecker, T., Scheu, S., Steinauer, K., Thakur, M.P. and Mommer, L. (2017). Root biomass and exudates link plant diversity with soil bacterial and fungal biomass. Nature Scientific Reports 7: 44641. doi:10.1038/srep44641
You can download the PDF from the link below .....
www.nature.com/articles/srep4...
And here's a link to the relationship between plant species richness and the sequestration of soil carbon, which is what I'll be talking about next week.
www.nature.com/articles/ncomm...
From what I see around the world, functional diversity in annual covers and companions seems to require a minimum of four plant families.
During my presentation I also mentioned an excellent piece of Irish research from Thomas Moloney's PhD (Teagasc was the lead agency)
A mix of perennial ryegrass, timothy, red clover, plantain and chicory receiving no inorganic N fertiliser matched the annual yield achieved by perennial ryegrass receiving up to 360 kg N/ha per year (equivalent to 780kg urea/ha/yr).
See ........
archive.sciendo.com/IJAFR/ijaf...
I've pasted Part c) of Figure 2 below.
Figure 2. Annual DM yield of (c) PRG, Mix 1 and Mix 2 at inorganic nitrogen rates of 0, 120, 240 and 360 kg/ha per year. All values are averaged across the Early, Middle and Late harvest schedules. PRG = perennial ryegrass; Mix 1 = PRG, timothy, red clover and white clover; Mix 2 = PRG, timothy, red clover, plantain and chicory.
As you can see from the above figure, Mix 2 (perennial ryegrass, timothy, red clover, plantain and chicory) out-yielded perennial ryegrass at all rates of N.
Or to put that another way, ryegrass required over 200 kgN/ha to produce what Mix 2 could produce with no added N.
Mix 2 was four plant families (four functional groups).
On the subject of diverse pastures, there was a great little video released last month, featuring Irish dairy farmer James Foley ... (only 4 mins). Check out the glossy coats on the cows!!
• Case Study: Multi spec...
At Green Cover, we grow, clean, mix, and deliver the highest quality cover crop seed directly to agricultural producers across the United States.
We'd love to provide you with excellent quality seed, expert cover crop advice, and a custom seed blend designed to meet your goals for your field.
Contact our expert sales team at [phone] or [e-mail]
Or visit us online at greencover.com
Build your own custom mix at smartmix.greencoverseed.com

[@microsoilenhancersinspirey5750]

Dr Jones is brilliant!!! We have reduced our dry fertilizer 100% and N 50% plus no fungicide or insecticide year 1 with multi species cover crops, liquid chicken manure compost plus carbon and sugar... We grew 70 bu beans this year with no cover crops, only liquid chicken compost, liquid carbon and sugar!.. We also took her advice this year from these webinars and planted a cover crop behind these full season beans with 5 family groups before wheat!..if I could some how send you a pic you can visually see the difference where we planted and didn’t!.. from that we are gonna try to finish our wheat with 3 gal or less of N!., Thank you doctor jones for your knowledge and understanding of what happens beneath our feet!.. And thank you green cover for bringing us this knowledge with such a passion and love for!.. Shalom!..

[@wollewatz]

I´m from Germany and do regenerative farming since 5 yers now. This video has so much answers to my questions, that´s amazing. Thank you very much. You leave me with a big smile on my face, because I´ve learned so much. Soil is such a great thing and it´s time for us farmers to understand how to tread it right.

[@lesleypapworth335]

Every moment of this presentation and the QAndAs is amazing! How exciting is soil biology?!! Thank you Christine and thank you Green Cover Seeds.

[@alisterstewart4783]

1 hour 26 seconds, Im from New Zealand and I've seen a dairy farmer in the taupo pumice country 560 cows for pasture did a I think it was 14 species mix with diverse plant families has a 92% calving in 4 weeks, only assisted 3 cows, had only 2 milk fever cases. That's huge.

[@chrismcdonald9844]

Amazing

[@mimibergerac7792]

I am at minute 29 and it already is shapeing up to be very important for the future course of my land...

[@cepeas2219]

we are working in Brazil with Syntropic farming, and Dr Chrstine Jone's knowledge is fantastic. Thank you so muck, Green Cover Seed. Our movies in youtube have subtiltes in english now (cepeas).

[@OrganicCultivators]

Hello! My wife just cam from a women in regenerative agriculture event in Brazil. We are working on a nonprofit and planning a trip back to Brazil to teach Korean Natural Farming and JADAM. We also produce educational content. Would love to speak with you about potential collaborations!

[@donlourie769]

Excellent presentation. If farmers applied this research to their land, they could make topsoil, reverse the global warming trend and make more money per acre. We have been mislead by bad science and the wrong advice for 90 years. Thank you Dr. Jones for your diligent work on soil microbiology.

[@michaelswenson6599]

Misled by liars with something to sell.

[@floridanaturalfarming3367]

In Florida we grow using these methods (plus manure), successfully fruiting multiple rare trees while also building soil aggregates . People around these parts still mostly insist it just isn’t possible. thanks to the information getting out it is slowly changing. Thank you.

[@beemanminnesota7683]

If everyone farmed and gardened this way the Honeybees wouldn't be in trouble and the Monarch butterfly wouldn't be going extinct.

[@michaelswenson6599]

@@beemanminnesota7683 I'm on the mn border in wi. My brother planted a polyculture field of clover and bee forage last year to support wild bees he wants to catch. If you'd like to help manage that field with us and grow more diversity, let's get in touch. My refractometer arrives today, lol.

[@beemanminnesota7683]

​@@michaelswenson6599 First thank you for planting a field that wildlife of all forms need. If I was younger or lived closer I would consider your offer. But I live in Southwest Minnesota not far from South Dakota border. In 2010 I lost my last bees and had not started back beekeeping. I started a produce stand where I always sold my honey, I now raise and sell produce. This spring I purchased 16 nuc beehives to start back beekeeping mainly for pollination in my garden and honey production. At this time I am planting over 20,000 onion transplants in my garden, which has been a real struggle being over 70. I got about ten more days to finish before a 1000 strawberry plants arrive. I also plant melons, tomatoes and many other crops to sell at my produce stand. I had so many people request honey, this year, first time in 10 years will sell it again. I used to sell 10,000 to 15,000 LBS of honey every year. I thank you for the offer but I have too much on my plate at this time and the distance is too far for me. I wish you all the best in your endeavor, and may you be visited by many pollinators. This world needs more people like your brother!

[@soilcreepsandgardengeeks71]

Absolutely love Christine Jones and her work and the way she presents it. Thank you for this. This is everything.

[@angeladarrah6377]

Thank you for sharing all the info in your show notes. I can't wait to read about the Jena Biodiversity experiment.

[@amigobro1557]

I respect the scientist who says l don't know

[@Popper692]

Thanks so much for sharing, fantastic 👏

[@benvanjaarsveld5779]

Beautifull, thank you !

[@hudson8865]

Thank you.

[@nivedithanivu3.0]

Really amazing talk. So in agriculture we need a good soil microbiome, some compost and fish hydrolysate nothing else isn't it?

[@katipohl2431]

Highly exciting even for me as a plant pathologist and gardener from Germany.

[@raulnorbe3135]

Relevant information that urban gardener may able to apply. Thank you.

[@juliabennett3106]

Yes I'm an urban gardener and love listening to Christine Jones. I have implemented some of what she has to say.

[@mariannegibson1407]

Thank you, this presentation is gold.

[@williamgibson2760]

Isn't Christine an amazing source of info and a marvelous presenter? I've been learning oodles from her for last couple years. I love that last name, Marianne. They came from Scotland to Rye, CT then part of King's Charter to establish Ryegate, Vermont, 1763. Do you know of family lines back to Vermont? This is where I am, doing the agronomy/soil health thing with NE USA farmers for 3+ decades and growing on small-scale.

[@mariannegibson1407]

@@williamgibson2760 Don't know of any to Vermont, but the Gibsons in my family are definitely Scottish, lines from Ayrshire and from Fife :)

[@williamgibson2760]

@@mariannegibson1407 yes, Gibson is Scottish in the clan Buchanan. And I love Ayrshire dairy cattle! Thanks for the reply. Great to connect with family even if many generations split away. God Bless you, Marianne.

[@jimlewis1992]

22:27 Legumes are not the only plants that can fix nitrogen. Mindblowing.

[@yuppystick]

Wow, good stuff!

[@nicolasbertin8552]

I think throughout the whole talk you should specify something : that you're not saying that you can't sow wheat or corn alone anymore (which is what I thought you were saying at first), but that the important thing is to have a diverse cover crop between cash crops. A lot of farmers watch this, and I think they all wonder "ok what does that mean for my farm". Like "how do I destroy this super varied cover crop". Is a rolofaca enough, or do I need a touch of glyphosate to kill it ? What if I'm an organic farm ? If I'm a veggie farmer, on small surfaces, do I benefit from having perennials near my veggie rows ? If a plant is unhealthy when fed fertilizers, what about sowing tomatoes and summer veggies in pots, with potting/sowing mixes that often contain a form of fertilizer ? It would be super useful to have these questions answered.

[@tonysu8860]

IMO the concluding part of her talk was fairly clear about recommendations... And included both your initial impression and what you picked up later, but also much more. Dr Jones didn't speak of rotating crops but planting a diverse forest of plants chosen for species (specific plants) and functionality (physical differences like plant height, below ground, type), saying that diversity alone is possible to build soil continuously without rotating. The rationale (she's likely guessing) is that activating greater numbers of the thousands of microbiota simultaneously has a synergistic effect with each other that doesn't deplete the soil, the soil actually improves and yearly comparisons of crops and plants seems to show a progressive health with each year. As for your initial impression, planting a single crop like wheat or corn alone in rows is the opposite of diversity. Each plant competes with its neighbor for exactly the same soil resources and utilizes the same exact biota and that is what depletes the soil. Her recommendation is to fill in the spaces between each corn or wheat plant with at least 4 if not 12 or more companion plants which are as unalike from each other as can be, and you should be able to farm ever improving crops each year without the cost and effort needed to continuously amend the soil.

[@123476565656]

Looking forward to the next video! Hopefully I can get some good info on integrating this info into orchards. My dad has been asking me what to plant ever since I showed him a video of Gabe Brown and I have yet to see someone integrating this stuff into long term perennial crops like apple and pear trees.

[@floridanaturalfarming3367]

We developed a system for Florida and grow perennial fruit trees using these methods. Michael Phillips of the holistic orchard network grows apples in a very similar system.

[@kevinmcveigh2784]

Conifer evergreen pine may help in the winter In South Africa interesting work in using grass and mulching it at a particular height encouraging Apple vegetive growth I would interplant 8 different family genus

[@ZombieMIR]

Gracias

[@bridgetdata3565]

do legumes do well if intercropped with other legumes?

[@wendykornberg3934]

Is there a part 4? I can’t find it….

[@agriculturalmarketingwales6709]

How can I contact Dr Christine Jones ?

[@jjime1175]

Apparently she has not used SAP analysis. It’s like getting a blood test, it will tell you a lot so if the soil microbial ( very important) is in her words important then how does she measure growth of the soil? Soil test will not give you a health report

[@jasonsmith1806]

So how do i apply this to broad acre farming, how do i drive a harvester through a crop full of multiple species, what about weeds? Seems only practicle for grazing land or small vegie plots.

[@newedenfarm]

You can inter-crop beans and wheat with the right timing. You can also plant corn, then plant the multi-species a few weeks later to grow until they're shaded out. David Brandt talks about this quite a bit.

[@nivedithanivu3.0]

Hybrid variety of plants and ordinary plants need same environment?

[@williamgibson2760]

Fish hydrolysate is not only good source of protein hydrolysates (PH). Nature Safe brand is hydrolysized animal renderings & feather meal; Ferticell uses organic grown hydrolysized soybean meal. Both are good product lines in my experience w plenty of broad-based success in real world and trials.

[@eimhindavid8971]

wheres parts 1,2,3 ?

[@JRileyStewart]

Doesn't the idea of plant diversity suggest that we should be leaving our "weeds" to grow amongst our veggies in the garden? Ideally (it seems), improving diversity (i.e., weeds with veggies) without supplemental N fertilizers (eg. fish emulsion) should maximize veggie productivity, not minimize it. Similarly, intermixing many types of flowers, herbs, and veggies is better than having a section of the garden for brassicas, another for tomatoes, another for legumes, etc. What am I missing?

[@williamgibson2760]

Many plants we call weeds have likely become adapted genetically to living in poor health soils, while we grow crops that are increasingly 'anemic' from the breeding and the intense tillage, miracle grow & pesticide style of production ag. Seems if the soil is actually healthy, with a great amount of organic matter and biodiversity at a deep level AND we use open-pollinated genetics to get cultivars over time adapted to our site (terrioir, I guess) AND we keep soil health strong..... then 'weeds' are just part of the diversity and not an over-whelming 'problem'.

[@dennisconrad6124]

I’ve been doing a deep dive into trying to learn the biology of soil. I’ve known that the way farmers and gardeners were doing things wasn’t right, but I didn’t know what “was” right. According to Dr Elaine Ingram, once you get the biology right, weeds won’t hardly even grow. I knew before I started my deep dive that weeds are just nature’s way of covering the ground, when nothing else was available. I’m more convinced now then ever. In my poor soil. I grow beautiful weeds. But the things I’m trying to grow,, not so much. I know now, I’m on the right track. I have my first hot compost Bioreactor 20 days into the cooking process. Right here in Northern Maine where last night’s temperature was 6F. I have grass stacked around it to work as an insulator.

[@green-zone36]

@@dennisconrad6124 I hope that works for you. I want to try that but The freezing temperatures In New Brunswick put a damper on that. But I am thinking the biology here must have developed with in the climate we have here. And it is clear we are having milder winters. Currently I am trying to reclaim a gravel pit back to fields. I think the bio reactor is a step in the right direction.

[@dennisconrad6124]

@@green-zone36 I’ll give you a update on my BioReactor. It’s been 32 days now, and it’s finally cooling down the last couple days. But, we had -3F couple nights ago. It was 95 degrees yesterday when I checked it last. But it held above the magic 131F for almost 30 days. Lots of people claim a Hot Compost pile will make compost in 21 days. Not in my opinion! I wouldn’t even call mine compost yet. It looks good, but it’s not compost yet. I believe I’m on the right track. I plan on emptying this one end of May. Then start a new one, and give it the year that Dr David Johnson says they need to mature. I need to get the timing switched to late May. I’m hoping/planning on building 2 more before May. Those two, I’m just going to concentrate on making compost which will be more bacterial dominate. I don’t plan on going a year with those two. I’d like to get two cycles out of them. I’ll tell you what my ingredients were. I tried to stay 60% carbon, 40% nitrogen. How close I ended up is anybody’s guess. Mine is 42” diameter/50 inches tall. But I filled it 8” above the top twice the first 2 days because it was settling so much, so fast! The highest temperature hit 167F. I stirred it at that time to try to cool it down some. For nitrogen I used green pasture grass I cut. (A lot of clover in it). 10 gallons Human urine. Lots of coffee grounds. 3 dozen eggs, just because I have chickens that out lay what I can eat. So I got rid of them in it. Chicken manure, but not a huge amount. For carbon, I just used Barley straw and garden waste (Dead) It’s been very interesting. I’d recommend trying it.

[@green-zone36]

@@dennisconrad6124 thanks for the information about your process. You did use the pipes to permote oxygen getting to all parts of the pile. It will be April or May before I can start one. With the recommendation of 400 lbs per acre spread rate, I will need at least 4 or 5 batches.

[@scottschaeffer8920]

Might be crazy but,,,, looks like we were farming more sustainably in the 1940s-1950s when we had longer rotations with legumes & small grains, etc. Today, I can show field(s) that have been in continuous corn for 20+ years. Ugh!

[@GartenBau-es2jv]

I have poo and pee and bokashi and the liquids of bokashi. Is it better not to use it? Are they all unorganic like the urea? I don't want to distroy the chances to build up rizor shealts...

[@user-sp1jv5jz1b]

One question that comes to mind regarding all plants forming relationships with free-living nitrogen-fixing bacteria, to make chlorophyll. How does this work in terms of potted plants that are primarily living in a peat substrate. All these plants are green too 🤔 Does it mean then that the same process that is happening in soil, is happening in pot culture also? And how does that work in a hydroponic culture?

[@keithberns910]

Some of the same processes are at work for a plant to photosynthesize The big difference between growing mediums (potting soil or hydroponics) and a really good healthy functioning soil is that much of the nutrition the plant needs has to be "spoon fed" through the growing mediums whereas the healthy soil system can provide almost everything the plant needs from the minerals of the soil, the nitrogen in the atmosphere and the right biology in the soil to make it all happen! There is no way to duplicate what a really healthy soil can do - we can get close with man made environments, but it is not the same

[@karl6458]

the picture where you said N was applied underneath the seed. I must inform you that this is NOT the case. I have same picture in my fields, here in Estonia. I was growing faba beans 2022 and didnt applied any nitrogen in any form whatsoever, and in autumn I seeded wheat and have the same picture. Unfortunately this ''applied nitrogen beneath seed'' is not the cause of that picture. Would love to hear your new thought process on that take. Thank you.

[@Norbingel]

Hi, where do I get more information about these four functional plant groups she was talking about? Google search doesn't seem to refer to the same things she does.

[@martisbvk]

It’s at 0:38:0 in the video. Google “Jena Biodiversity Experiment” for in depth information.

[@williamhanlan8394]

What about putting seaweeds if you live by the sea

[@robertreznik9330]

I am in an area that is in a severe drought. about 10" in the last 18 months. I planted NT wheat 4" deep with 3" of almost dry soil cover. I put 75 lbs 10-34-00 one inch above the seed and spread 100 lbs ammonia sulfate and 25 lbs of Mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP) that was covered by the seed opener. It had .6" and .5" first of November to get the wheat up. Then .25 in Feb and also March that started crown root development that looks just like pictured at 19 mins. The Seminal roots look like yours also. The crown roots seem to be taking in N and P where the soil has several 100 ppm. Crown roots seem to be getting moisture from the crown fed by Seminal roots Where the fertilizer was not applied has wheat lost to the drought. In my bacterial class it was taught that free living microbes supplied only a little N.

[@Blackhawk182182]

Cool,, but if you listen to Dr Eleign Ingham ,she has a different take on things. Mostly the problem of succession and F/B ratio... According to her succession is driving the biology and you don't want to mix plants of different succession levels as they require different F/C ratios... so how do i get 4 functional groups mixed in a system without violating succession... what dont we understand here... Also, this is really easy if you plant stuff for grazing.. but peppers and pumpkins and stuff like that is also an issue.. how do realistically farm crops like that with these plants mixed in... one will overshadow the other... lets look at peppers as an example... if you plant a companion plant that low so that it doesn't block out the sun, they will suffer.. if you plant taller companions, the peppers will suffer... how do we get the balance right here.

[@jeremyschissler337]

❤

[@user-uy5zw2iq1p]

Amino based nitrogen from fish meal?

[@wyatterp7424]

33:15 Moar plant families

[@jimlewis1992]

34:20 cover crop mixes

[@sandervanstee]

If pants with different microbiones help each other, why is corn so sensitive to competition from other plants even if they are legumes?

[@shaungiesbrecht6720]

Maybe GMO corn can't do that

[@entubaotraducciones272]

Wasn't aware Messi spoke such good english :D ;p

[@rogergietzen2191]

Can someone clarify, is it only inorganic N fertilizer that causes the problem? That blocks the symbiotic relationship of the roots with free living N bacteria? Or both inorganic and organic? She states inorganic is the problem, but at other times I got the impression both are problematic and it's the concentration that matters most.

[@simonecalandriello6837]

What are the answers on that question? I had the same questions. What do do with po and pee and liquids of bokashi? Best regards

[@Forester-qs5mf]

4.25 Phosphorus fertilizer - 85 to 90% of P Fert applied is rapidly immobilized (fixed in soil) ie forms a P 'bank' 5.58 Nitrogen fertilizer - only 10 to 40% taken up by plant. Does not accumulate or form a N 'bank'. Very energy intensive production. 8.50 78,000 tonnes of N in the atmosphere above every Ha of land, but not directly available to plants. 10.05 Microbial enzymes are the key for plants to access N 12.15 If you are forming water stable soil aggregates in the soil then N fixation is taking place (easy test in the field). 13.15 Inorganic N fertilizers inhibit formation of rhizosheaths and water stable aggregates and so inhibit N fixation. 14.30 Almost all research done in the field of Nitrogen fertilizer is meaningless. 16.09 Clean white roots mean nowhere for N fixation to occur. Can be caused by applying inorganic N fert close to seed. 21.05 Fungal energy channel. Legumes are not necessary to fix N. Every green plant can form relationship with free living N fixing bacteria. Plant associated fungi transport N back to plant roots. 27.20 We dont want any Nitrates in our soil, our plants or our animals so don't apply it. 29.30 Microbiomes - soil, roots, stem, leaves, air 31.40 Plant diversity (different functional traits ie different plant families) are important to support a diverse microbiome and stimulate more efficient sharing of nutrients with plants. 34.05 Diverse plant systems with no legumes will fix more N than mixes with legumes. 35.20 Mix with radish, oats, sunflower and phacilia - no N deficiency compared to radish monoculture (yet no legumes). 37.50 Jena experiment. At least 4 different plant functional groups produced higher plant yeild than high applied N. 40.30 Practices that inhibit N fixation - bare fallow, fungicides, pesticides, high inorganic N application, inappropriate grazing. 44.05 How to wean off N fertilizer. You can still use up to 5 kg per Ha N without negative effects (eg 10 Kg Urea per Ha) 46.50 Fish Hydrolysate up to 10L per Ha is an organic form of N which is preferable. Leaf test to determine N requirements. 51.25 Every unit of N is equivalent to 6.5% protein but they are not necessarily complete proteins. Applying large amounts of N to a pasture can produce lots of biomass but stock wont do well on it as its not complete protein. 52.30 Sap tests good for high value horticulture. Pastures and field crops use leaf tests. 54.00 Four functional groups without legumes will fix more N than mixes with legumes. We are using legumes as a substitue for applied N but they are not needed and can be detrimental. 55.00 Fungi to bacteria ratio should be at least 1:1 but preferably up to 2:1. Plants can internalise N fixing bacteria within the plant but fungi make N available from a wider area in the soil. 58.40 Manure fert has a lot of inorganic N in it. Raw manure can be detrimental to soil. 59.40 Don't go cold turkey on reducing N fert. Wean off and can still use up to 5 Kg per Ha N. Dont load N up front at seeding. Apply only when needed or you are wasting money. 1.04.00 Lots of beneficial microbes have plant protection benefits. The more fungicides we use, the more fungal infections we will see in our crops. Only use chemicals if absolutely necessary. Diveristy is the key to plant resilience. 1.06.45 There is nothing good to say about inorganic N. We dont want it in our soil or plants. 1.09.00 Microbes function best in diverse teams. This is why its important to have plant diversity in terms of functional groups to feed these different groups of microbes. 1.13.00 Smart grass, Smart Sward project. Thomas Maloney. Research in Ireland. 1.13.40 Only need to tissue test if plants dont look healthy. Look at the plant roots from the day they germinate. If they are not generating rhyzosheaths then you need to test to see what they are lacking. 1.15.00 Problems with applying inorganic N to cereals. They will look great on top initially but roots will be underdeveloped and they will be susceptable to pests and diseases and grain will be inferior. If grazing and you dont use N, your crop might be half the height but double the nutrient density and livestock will do better on less. Its not the volume thats important its the nutrient density. Use brix measurements to determine if crop is healthy. 1.20.15 Four functional group suggestions from Irish study. Grasses, legumes, chickory, plantain. Alternative example; radish, oats, sunflowers, phacelia. Other suggestions for grazing; Sheeps parsely, burnett (condensed tanins to reduce worm burden, stimulates feed conversion efficiency) 1.23.50 Quorum sensing. Gabe Brown, NZ farmers examples. 6 or 8 plant familes have given great results. Its not the number of species thats important but the number of different plant families (functional groups). At least 4 functional groups is what the research shows is required. 1.28.45 Linseed/flax is a very different plant family, or Phacelia - very different to grasses and legumes. Flax is non competitive and so different to every thing else and is mychorrhizal. Provides functional diversity. 1.21.30 Soil health resource guide available from website.

[@laurier3348]

78000 ton N per hectare ? Thats probably not accurate.

[@123476565656]

That is the metric tons of N2 gas above 1 hectare of land on earth, yes. My result without doing any fancy math that may or may not need to be done gives me 78,839 metric tons of nitrogen per hectare.

[@donsmith5435]

For those who might want to see the math - approximate weight of the atmosphere above 1 square inch at sea level is 14.7 pounds, there are 15,500,031 square inches in a hectare so multiply those together and you have the total pounds of atmosphere above a hectare. By weight (not volume) the atmosphere is about 75.511% Nitrogen, so multiply the previous figure by that to get total pounds of Nitrogen above a hectare, and now divide by 2,204.62, the number of pounds in a metric ton and you get 78,041.64 metric tons per hectare. Test it yourself 14.7 x 15,500,031 x .75511 / 2204.62 = 78,041.64

[@123476565656]

@@donsmith5435 Thanks for the correction - I'd bet my result was from using volume not weight. Still in the same ballpark.

[@donlourie769]

Atmospheric N per acre is 35,961 tons.

[@donsmith5435]

@@donlourie769 Not according to my math - 78,041.64 (metrics tons per hectare) / 2.47105(acres per hectare) = 31,582.37 metric tons per acre - either way it is a lot of N!

[@1ntwndrboy198]

Surely they have GMO plants to take in synthetic nitrogen and if not why not the GMO already for herbicides and pesticides that was Monsanto they also GMO to do a produce but not reproducing

[@morrisvu2772]

From a successful regen farmer (Dr. Elain's 3-Step Regen... video), he replaced GMO seeds with non-GMO seeds, which is actually cheaper, to work in bio-soil field.

[@skorpion6071]

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