Why a healthy soil microbiome is essential for agriculture

Background

A groundbreaking pilot project was carried out as part of the Austrian DaFNE programme (Federal State Cooperation for Agricultural Research). The focus was to explore the importance of the soil microbiome for plant resilience – in particular by comparing undisturbed healthy soils and sterilized soils that had been stripped of their microbial community.

Setup

• Four representative maize field plots in Upper and Lower Austria were examined.

• Part of the soil was sterilized using gamma radiation to greatly reduce microbial diversity.

• The soils were then planted with maize in the greenhouse under controlled drought conditions.

Key Findings

Sterilized soil shows similar loss in biomass as compared to plants exposed to water shortage:

• Lower chlorophyl amount

• Massively reduced plant growth

• Lower water retention

• Higher grade of erosion

Result

• Soil colonization with microorganisms is not a nice-to-have, but a central factor for stability, resilience and yield.

• Integrate organic soil care into systemic concepts – for example through catch crops, organic fertilisation or microbiological preparations.

Source: BodenMikrobiom: Bodenmikrobiome und wichtige Ökosystemleistungen – ein Pilotprojekt - BMLUK DaFNE (https://dafne.at/projekte/bodenmikrobiom)