Just been having a great Christmas read of this book Entangled Life by Merlin Sheldrake. I can't recommend it highly enough to anybody who is remotely interested in the soil (which should be everyone on here). It is all about fungi and how little we know about them, as mainstream science tends to stick their study in with plants. Every page has some astonishing fact or idea which collectively change the way you'll look at the world. They are extraordinary creatures and have enormous potential to improve our future, as well as our present. First thing we have to do is stop using fungicides...
Entangled Life
- Thread starter martian
- Start date
On the few peas / barley combicrops ive noticed no lightweight grain problem, when no fungicide was used ( not that we use a lot any way. )
was it a fair enough trial ? was it using less seed barley (but the canopy looked physically thick even if it was consisting of peas as well) ?
Im no expert and can someone explain why combicrops seem to help in this way , if they do
was it a fair enough trial ? was it using less seed barley (but the canopy looked physically thick even if it was consisting of peas as well) ?
Im no expert and can someone explain why combicrops seem to help in this way , if they do
Its on my list to read.
Well, it turns out most plants depend on fungi to a large extent...for millions of years plants didn't have roots as such, they relied on fungi to do the job of supplying nutrients and water to the plant in exchange for sugars and lipids etc that they need to grow. This symbiotic relationship continues, even though plants now have their own roots, most of the time they still rely on fungi to do the heavy lifting. A lot of these underground helpers will be connected to each other as well as other plants (the 'wood wide web', albeit in an arable field), this diversity is much healthier for each plant as well as the fungi (there being no mono-cultures in nature) so your barley will be happier and healthier in a combi-crop.On the few peas / barley combicrops ive noticed no lightweight grain problem, when no fungicide was used ( not that we use a lot any way. )
was it a fair enough trial ? was it using less seed barley (but the canopy looked physically thick even if it was consisting of peas as well) ?
Im no expert and can someone explain why combicrops seem to help in this way , if they do
and 'modern' agri plant breeders have bred first for yield in a 'treated' situation.
- Location
- Yorks
Went to a talk by Dr somebodyorother, who was the mycorrhizal fungi expert at (I think) Rothamstead. He said they'd not seen any ill effects on mycorrhizal fungi populations or health from using agricultural fungicides.
He seemed to know what he was talking about. Think all his studdies and expertise was about mycorrhizal fungi, so he was the man in the know. Can't remember his name.
Is there any data which suggests otherwise?
Think I may have heard the same talk...Whatever, I'd managed to convince myself that fungicides only killed the bad guys and we needn't worry about collateral damage. But t isn't just mycorrhizae, there are fungi recycling the straw on the ground, other fungi all over the place, all performing some ecosystem function. The whole system is wonderfully complex, so, no, there is not much data that suggests anything much. Scientists love having one particular thing to study...we had a lovely one digging holes in one of our fields looking for the interaction between one particular mycorrhizal fungus and our crops over a few years, she admitted that she was barely scratching the surface: mycology is a young discipline and an awful lot isn't known about the myriad associations fungi make with each other and with plants and animals.
We were told that we'd get all sorts of problems when we stopped using insecticides, in fact it was one of the best things we've done on this farm, the explosion of wildlife has been so pleasing: we had a birder do a survey last week, on one prairie like field which we didn't get drilled (so stubble rather than cover crops) he counted 250 skylarks, 200 corn buntings and 150 yellowhammers amongst other things. All very nice, but crucially we are not losing crops to BYDV or aphid attack or whatever, there are apparently 1700 'good' insects to every 'bad' one, I suspect the same ratio applies to fungi...so why do we want to upset the mushroom cart? There's no doubt a dose of rust can take out a field of wheat, but a healthy wheat plant (swarming as it will be with beneficial fungi) should be able to deal with pathogens, just as healthy animals don't get sick. @parker is the fellow who knows about this stuff, but it seems sensible to me that we should concentrate on growing healthy crops to produce good food, rather than force-feeding our crops N or whatever and then spending the early summer treating them for the inevitable diseases that will follow.
You still forget to mention Genetics .
ie Breeding healthy plants and animals.
ie Breeding healthy plants and animals.
- Location
- North East Wilts
Another incredible book, the pictures in there say a thousand words, when you see fungi hyphae growing inside healthy roots you realise anything is possible.
- Location
- Yorks
Managing BYDV without using insecticides must be considered a real win for conservation ag farms.
later sowing is an obvious one cant do that with a direct drill quite well though.
But OSR and sugar beet don’t among the crop plants and one other big group I can’t remember
I can see it now
Dear Merlin
I enjoyed your book. Can you come to Groundswell?
All the best
JC
Dear Merlin
I enjoyed your book. Can you come to Groundswell?
All the best
JC
- Location
- Surrey/ Kent Border, UK
What would you think if you could drill earlier, still not use insecticides to control aphids and still not have BYDV?
Nor a slug problem? , hmmm let me see
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
What Farmers Need to Know About Mycorrhizae
What mycorrhizae is, how it impacts crops and what farmers can do to help develop a healthy population of mycorrhizal fungi.
agfuse.com
I meant to put this up for @Grass And Grain but fell asleep instead.
Quite an interesting look at AMF, off the topic of the book sorry but the info is out there.
Various fungicides (way out of my line) seem to have different effects on AMF.
Our own cells are full of fungi of various types as well, so a likely trickle-down effect on the human microbiome as exposure increases?
It's all very much "entangled"; when you consider something as "good" as keeping our teeth longer in life (due to better dentistry) is a likely cause of increased alzheimers' cases - the bacteria responsible for gum disease can now jump the blood-brain barrier due to the decrease in the fungal mass and diversity in our body's cells.
It's a big cart of mushrooms to tip over
- Location
- Surrey/ Kent Border, UK
Nor a slug problem? , hmmm let me see
That’s another myth.
but that doesn't explain a sister and brother who lost there teeth at a young age who have secombed to dementia , as did their father.
its a big subject, and more so as people live longer lives these days.
- Location
- Owaka, New Zealand
Try searching permaculture titles, the principles carry over well to restorative agriculture.
One unsettling fact is that every civilisation that has depended on annual crops for its calories has collapsed. Every single one.
What we're discussing here could well be a part why this is so ?
From an outsider's perspective, Britain really turned that corner with the "Dig for Victory" / "Plough for wheat" campaigns and the inertia remains to this day, there just seems to be general disbelief that perennial species could ever provide enough nutrition to sustain such a population.
"Grass-Fed Nation" is a good read, possibly the UK equivalent of "Call of the Reed Warbler" in that it's an uneasy read for a farmer - but really provoking if you aren't a big Jessy about it
