I was reading Small Acreage Farming and came across an article that
mentioned a relationship between glomalin and fungi. This ties in
with the recent discussion of mycorrhizal fungi, and article was
directed at hand on farmers which makes it particularly interesting
to most of us. Here is a short summary.
Sarah Wright of the USDA Research Service recently discovered a new
compound in the soil. It is a sticky protein that she named
glomalin. In Eastern US soils this compound can be up to 2 percent
of soil mass. In western US soils it is only found in small
amounts. At this point much research is needed, but speculation is
that glomalin is produced by fungi. There does seem to be a
relationship between the presence of fungi and glomalin. Also, the
fertility of the soil is related to both glomalin and the fungi.
What is known is that tilling reduces the amount of glomalin and
the process of soil compaction begins. Without tilling the
glomalin keeps the soil loose and open.
Other factors that impacts glomalin is the addition of fertilizers
and minerals with high acid content.
Those who are encourage no-till agriculture have jumped on this
data to help show the problems with tilling. Others think the big
usage of glomlin will be to indicate soil health. It gives an easy
way to measure soil tilth.
Information extracted from:
Small Acreage Farming
PO Box 219
Fairfield, Idaho 83327
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Jeff Owens (kowens@teleport.com) Zone 6-7 Permaculture
Underground house, solar energy, reduced consumption, no TV
